Psalm 56: Trust in God

For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.* A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.


I.
Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High,
when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?

II
All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.
They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,
recorded in your book?
My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?

III
I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,
For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.

* [Psalm 56] Beset physically (Ps 56:2–3) and psychologically (Ps 56:6–7), the psalmist maintains a firm confidence in God (Ps 56:5, 9–10). Nothing will prevent the psalmist from keeping the vow to give thanks for God’s gift of life (Ps 56:13). A refrain (Ps 56:5, 11–12) divides the Psalm in two equal parts.