Psalms of David

This is the first Psalm the second set of five psalms attributed to David in Book 2 of the Biblical Psalter. These songs, Psalms 56 to 60 are designated as Miktam, a word that only appears six times in the Old Testament, in the introductions to these Psalms and also in Psalm 16. (Psalms 51 to 55 were Maskil.) But what is Miktam? The footnote to the ESV says that Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term. Others say it is a musical instrument because the prefix m’ means time of, place of, instrument of etc. But that all depends on the meaning of the other part of Miktam, the verb katam.

Psalms in Book 2 are like Book 1 in that they are mostly lament and distress although they now include a communal voice in addition to the singular voice of the first book.

The books of Psalms are roughly themed like this:

Book 1: Psalms 1 – 41: God is beside us.
Book 2: Psalms 42 – 72: God goes before us.
Book 3: Psalms 73 – 89: God is all around us.
Book 4: Psalms 90 – 106: God is above us.
Book 5: Psalms 107 – 150: God is among us.

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

A: 56 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
² my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.

B: ³ When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

C: ⁵ All day long they injure my cause;
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.

D: ⁶ They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.

X: ⁷ For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

D’: ⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?

C’: ⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, that God is for me.

B’: ¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹ in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

A’: ¹² I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Psalm 56 ESVUK (I have added paragraph breaks and section letters to reveal the psalms poetic structure.)

Summary

This is a passage from Psalm 56 in the Bible. The psalmist expresses their trust in God and seeks His deliverance from enemies who oppress and attack them. They find solace and confidence in God’s protection, acknowledging that no harm can ultimately be done to them. The psalmist also expresses their commitment to fulfil their vows to God and offers thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The passage emphasizes the psalmist’s unwavering faith in God’s presence and salvation.

That summary, I cheated by using AI, is not that different from those I have read written by theologians. It could be that the AI reads the same summaries that I do, but it does not really look at the context. Context not only tells us what the song would have meant to the original readers but also helps us to apply it to our lives.

The context is shown in the positioning of this psalm, in the rather long title and in the structure of the psalm.

Positioning

The introduction of Psalm 56 cones straight after that of Psalm 54, and the B and B’ sections are developments of the last words in Ps 55, “But I will trust in you.” These five Psalms are a continuation of the section marked as Maskil. We tend to read Psalms as stand-alone songs, but there are connections so it is worth working through them in order.

Title

No one knows what The Dove on Far-off Terebinths means, the best guess is that it is the name of the tune it is set to.

Katam the second part of Miktam is only used once in the Bible, in Jeremiah 2:22 and means stain. However, there is another meaning which is found all over the Semitic languages, and that is covering.

Psalm 16, the only other Psalm called a Miktan is quoted in the New Testament as being about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because we have died and are risen in Jesus the stain of our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus.

Structure

Psalm 56 is a chiasm. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. The first and second sections (A and B) are two verses long, the next two (C and D) are one verse long, and there is a central section (X). After this, the sequence is reversed (D’ to A’). The B and B’ sections are very similar to each other and seem to serve as a refrain.

It could be written as a modern song:

Verse 1 (A)
Chorus 1 (B)
Verse 2 (C&D)
Tag (X)
Verse 3 (D’&C’)
Chorus 2 (B’)
Verse 4 (A’)

Putting it together

If we set aside the refrain which is B and B’ and the central section X there is a progression in this song.

The C-C’ section (v 5 & 9) contrasts “all their thoughts are against me” with “God is for me.” In the same way in the D-D’ section (v 6 & 8), there is a contrast between “they watch my steps” and “You have kept count of my tossings.” The word translated as tossings in the ESV is also translated as confessions, sorrows and misery, but the translation in most English versions is wanderings. The link is steps and wanderings.

The A-A’ pair act just like they do in most chiastic Psalms. The psalmist brings their complaint to God at the beginning of the song and praises God in advance for God delivering them at the end. Putting the A-A’, C-C’ and D-D’ section together the psalm works to the formula of the previous five psalms which were described as Maskils, or philosophical songs. But This song, Psalm 56 is not described as a Maskil and there are other parts of the song.

Avenge is not the same as revenge

The awkward part of this song, which I marked as X, is verse 7. David is clearly asking for vengeance from God. People often confuse the terms avenge and revenge. To avenge is when you pay someone back for what they have done for you, to take revenge is when you pay someone back for what they have done to you. At no point in this psalm does David seek to get revenge himself, he is in the pickle he is in now because he has twice refused to take revenge on Saul. Instead, he leaves the vengeance to God. Vengeance is God’s and God’s alone. David and other psalmists recognise that right cannot triumph when evil is in control. In the eyes of Christians who have not faced persecution, we often feel uncomfortable about this: We pray “Thy kingdom come,” but do not like it when psalmists point out what this can mean. David is concerned with justice and knows that God is a god of justice. He leaves it to God, who judges and avenges fairly and without prejudice of one side or another.

Praise God, trust God, do not be afraid

I’ve left what I consider the best part to last.

Parts B and B’ act like a refrain in this psalm. The first time it is used it looks odd, the normal sequence of the lament is broken and the chorus of praise and trust is inserted, pre-emping the usual place for praise to appear in the second part of the psalm. This makes a big difference to the meaning of the psalm making the themes of praise and trust in God the main focus rather than the vengeful stuff in the centre. This is not a song about vengeance. This is a song of praise in a time of trouble.

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