Psalms 54 — ILT — Scriptura

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54“To the chief musician on Neginoth, a Maskil of David, (54:2) When the Ziphim came and said to Saul, Behold, David is hiding himself with us.” (54:3) O God, by thy name save me, and by thy strength grant me justice.^{Verse 2}(54:4) O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.^{Verse 3}(54:5) For strangers [to goodness] are risen up against me, and powerful oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.^{Verse 4}(54:6) Behold, God is a helper unto me: the Lord is among those that uphold my soul.^{Verse 5}(54:7) He will cause the evil to return upon those that regard me with envy: in thy truth cut them off.^{Verse 6}(54:8) I will liberally sacrifice unto thee: I will give thanks unto thy name, O Lord; for it is good.^{Verse 7}(54:9) For out of all distress hath he delivered me: and my eye hath seen [its desire] on my enemies.

Commentary

(Heb.: 54:3-5) This short song is divided into two parts by Sela The first half prays for help and answer. The Name of God is the manifestation of His nature, which has mercy as its central point (for the Name of God is טּוב, v. 8, Ps 52:11), so that בּשׁמך (which is here the parallel word to בּגבוּרתך) is consequently equivalent to בּחסדּך. The obtaining of right for any one (דּין like שׁפט, Psa 7:9, and frequently, עשׂה דּין, Psa 9:5) is attributed to the all-conquering might of God, which is only one side of the divine Name, i.e., of the divine nature which manifests itself in the diversity of its attributes. האזין (Psa 54:4) is construed with ל (cf. אל, Psa 87:2) like הטּה אזן, Psa 78:1. The Targum, misled by Psa 86:14, reads זרים instead of זרים in Psa 54:5. The inscription leads one to think of the Ziphites in particular in connection with "strangers" and "violent men." The two words in most instances denote foreign enemies, Isa 25:2., Psa 29:5; Eze 31:12; but זר is also a stranger in the widest sense, regulated in each instance according to the opposite, e.g., the non-priest, Lev 22:10; and one's fellow-countrymen can also turn out to be עריצים, Jer 15:21. The Ziphites, although Judaeans like David, might be called "strangers," because they had taken the side against David; and "violent men," because they pledged themselves to seize and deliver him up. Under other circumstances this might have been their duty as subjects. In this instance, however, it was godlessness, as Psa 54:5 (cf. Psa 86:14) says. Any one at that time in Israel who feared God more than man, could not lend himself to be made a tool of Saul's blind fury. God had already manifestly enough acknowledged David.

(Heb.: 54:6-9) In this second half, the poet, in the certainty of being heard, rejoices in help, and makes a vow of thanksgiving. The בּ of בּסמכי is not meant to imply that God is one out of many who upheld his threatened life; but rather that He comes within the category of such, and fills it up in Himself alone, cf. Psa 118:7; and for the origin of this Beth essentiae, Psa 99:6, Jdg 11:35. In Psa 54:7 the Kerמ merits the preference over the Chethמb (evil shall "revert" to my spies), which would at least require על instead of ל (cf. Psa 7:17). Concerning שׁררי, vid., on Psa 27:11. In the rapid transition to invocation in Psa 54:7 the end of the Psalm announces itself. The truth of God is not described as an instrumental agent of the cutting off, but as an impelling cause. It is the same Beth as in the expression בּנדבה (Num 15:3): by or out of free impulse. These free-will sacrifices are not spiritual here in opposition to the ritual sacrifices (Psa 50:14), but ritual as an outward representation of the spiritual. The subject of הצּילני is the Name of God; the post-biblical language, following Lev 24:11, calls God straightway השּׁם, and passages like Isa 30:27 and the one before us come very near to this usage. The praeterites mention the ground of the thanksgiving. What David now still hopes for will then lie behind him in the past. The closing line, v. 9b, recalls Psa 35:21, cf. Psa 59:11; Psa 92:12; the invoking of the curse upon his enemies in v. 8 recalls Psa 17:13; Psa 56:8; Psa 59:12.; and the vow of thanksgiving in v. 8 recalls Psa 22:26; Psa 35:18; Psa 40:10.

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