Psalm 54 To the Chief Musician. With Contemplation of David When the Ziphites Went and Said to Saul, “Is David Not Hiding with Us?”

 ¹Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your strength.

²Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

And oppressors have sought after my life;

They have not set God before them. Selah

⁴Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil.

Cut them off in Your truth.

⁶I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name,

O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For He has delivered me out of all trouble;

And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Preamble

This Psalms backdrop is when David in fleeing from Saul went to a city of Judah called Ziph, however its residents soon betrayed his presence amongst them to Saul.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your strength.”

 In praying to the Lord, David asks that the Lord save him by His Name, for it is only by the Name of the Lord that we who believe in Him are saved. Now his asking to be vindicated by the Lord’s strength means that David’s deliverance would not come by his hand, but only by the Lords, who in saving him by His hand would be vindicating his servant David of any wrongdoing.

Vs. 2-3 ²Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

And oppressors have sought after my life;

They have not set God before them. Selah

David’s plea to the Lord comes not only because of Saul and his men, but also since strangers (i.e., foreigners), have now also risen up against him, not doubt being directed and spurned on by Saul. As well oppressors (violent, unjust people who see an opportunity in hunting David to advance themselves with Saul), are also seeking after his life. None of these then have set God before them, for if they had they would not be hunting and hounding His servant David, who was guilty of nothing.

Vs. 4 ⁴Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who uphold my life.

Even though such things are occurring to him David’s faith and resolve remains strong. For he knows that God is his (our) helper, that the Lord is with those who uphold his (our) lives.

Vs. 5 “He will repay my enemies for their evil.

Cut them off in Your truth.”

Just as surely as the Sun rises in the eastern morning sky to awaken a new day, so will the Lord arise to repay all of His (our) enemies for their evil. He will by His Words truth cut them all off!

Vs. 6-7 ⁶I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name,

O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For He has delivered me out of all trouble;

And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Knowing this causes David (and us) to want to freely sacrifice to the Lord, to give freely and joyfully to the Lord all our offerings, for we will praise His Name, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name, for it is Good. And so, with eyes of faith David sees past the current troubles to his end, therefore he boldly declares that the Lord has delivered him (us all) out of all trouble, that He has caused him (us all) to see our desires upon our enemies! Forever then we will be with Him! 

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.