561 To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be gracious to me, O God, for men trample upon me; all day long foemen oppress me; 2 my enemies trample upon me all day long, for many fight against me proudly. 3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust without a fear. What can flesh do to me? 5 All day long they seek to injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil. 6 They band themselves together, they lurk, they watch my steps. As they have waited for my life, 7 so recompense them for their crime; in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 56:1-7
Commentary on Psalm 56:1-7
(Read Psalm 56:1-7)
Be merciful unto me, O God. This petition includes all the good for which we come to throne of grace. If we obtain mercy there, we need no more to make us happy. It implies likewise our best plea, not our merit, but God's mercy, his free, rich mercy. We may flee to, and trust the mercy of God, when surrounded on all sides by difficulties and dangers. His enemies were too hard for him, if God did not help him. He resolves to make God's promises the matter of his praises, and so we have reason to make them. As we must not trust an arm of flesh when engaged for us, so we must not be afraid of an arm of flesh when stretched out against us. The sin of sinners will never be their security. Who knows the power of God's anger; how high it can reach, how forcibly it can strike?