Psalm 54 commentary

PSALM 54 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
For the director of music. With stringed
instruments. A maskil[b] of David. When the
Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David
hiding among us?”
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "Title. To the Chief Musician on eginoth. The music was to be that
of stringed instruments. Variety is to be studied in our tunes, and in all other
matters relating to sacred song. Monotony is often the death of congregational
praise. Providence is varied, and so should our recording songs be. Maschil. We are
to learn and to teach by what we sing. Edification must not be divorced from
psalmody. A Psalm of David. David's productions were as plentiful as they are
profitable. His varied life was for our benefit, for from it we derive these hymns,
which at this hour are as fresh and as precious as when he wrote them. When the
Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us? To curry
favour with Saul they were guilty of gross inhospitality. What cared they what
innocent blood was shed so that they earned the graceless monarch's smile! David
came quietly among them, hoping for a little rest in his many flights, but they
deserted him in his solitary abode, and betrayed him. He turns to God in prayer,
and so strong was his faith that he soon sang himself into delightful serenity.
Divisions. From Psalms 54:1-3, where the Selah makes a pause for us, the psalmist
pleads with God, and then in the rest of the song, laying aside all doubt, he chants a
hymn of joyful triumph. The vigour of faith is the death of anxiety, and the birth of
security.
COKE, "Title. ‫למנצח‬ ‫בנגינתאּבבוא‬ ‫הזפים‬ lamnatseach binginoth—bebo hazziphim. To
the chief musician on eginoth—when the Ziphims— To the master of the stringed
instruments—when the Ziphites. This Psalm begins with a prayer to God for his
protection. The Psalmist then represents his danger from lawless oppressive men,
who sought after his life. He encourages himself by faith and hope in God, and
declares his resolution to render a solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving to his kind

preserver, who had delivered him out of all his troubles. Of the suitableness of the
Psalm to the occasion, every one who reads it will be convinced.
GUZIK, "This Psalm is titled, To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A
Contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, Is David not
hiding with us? There were actually two times the Ziphites betrayed David unto
King Saul, first in 1 Samuel 23 and the second in 1 Samuel 26. David escaped both
times, but the circumstances of this Psalm seem to best fit the circumstances of 1
Samuel 23, when David learned of the Ziphite betrayal but before the deliverance of
God was displayed (1 Samuel 23:26-29).
This is one of the few Psalms with a specific musical direction: With stringed
instruments. It is also called A Contemplation. The Hebrew word for Contemplation
(maskil) might be better understood as instruction (Boice).
1 Save me, O God, by your name;
vindicate me by your might.
BAR ES, "Save me, O God, by thy name - The word “name” here may include
the perfections or attributes properly implied in the name. It is a calling on God as God,
or in view of all that is implied in his name, or that constitutes the idea of “God.” That
name would imply all of power and benevolence that was necessary to secure his
salvation or safety. The particular object of the prayer here is that God would save him
from the design of the Ziphims to betray him to Saul. In some way David seems to have
been apprised of the information which they had given to Saul, or at least to have
suspected it so strongly that he felt it was necessary for him to move from place to place
in order to find safety.
And judqe me by thy strength - The word “judge” here is used in the sense of
declaring a judgment in his favor, or of vindicating him. See the notes at Psa_7:8.
Compare Psa_18:20; Psa_26:1; Psa_43:1. The idea is, Vindicate or save me by thy
power.
CLARKE, "Save me, O God, by thy name - Save me by thyself alone; so name
here may be understood. The name of God is often God himself. David was now in such

imminent danger of being taken and destroyed, that no human means were left for his
escape; if God therefore had not Interfered, he must have been destroyed. See the
introduction, Psa_54:1-7 (note).
GILL, "Save me, O God, by thy name,.... That is, by himself, by his power, and of
his grace and goodness; the Lord's name is often used for himself. David in his distress
applies to his God for salvation and deliverance, who only could give it; which was right;
and his prayer was remarkably heard and answered: for when Saul came down upon the
first discovery, and beset David and his men all around, just as he was about to seize the
prey, tidings came to him of the invasion of the Philistines; which obliged him directly to
quit his pursuit of David, and return in haste for the defence of his country, 1Sa_23:26;
and upon the second discovery, when Saul came again to take him, Saul was delivered
into the hands of David, who could have took away his life if he would; but he only took
his spear and cruse of water by his bolster, as a proof of his being in his power, 1Sa_
26:12. Of such avail is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. This prayer is
suitable enough to David's antitype and son, the Messiah; see Psa_69:1; and especially to
sensible sinners; who, being made acquainted with, their lost and perishing condition,
inquire the way of salvation; and finding it is not by works, but by Christ alone, apply in
that way for it, and desire that God would save them by his Son; who is his name, in
whom his name is, and whose name Jesus, a Saviour, is of God's giving; and this name is
a strong tower, whither such souls, sensible of danger, flee and are safe; nor is there any
other name in which salvation is, and which is therefore exceeding precious, and like
ointment poured forth; see Exo_23:21. Or, "for thy name's sake" (h); for the sake of the
glory of his divine perfections; which was displayed in the deliverance of David, and
more abundantly in the salvation of lost sinners; such as the wisdom, power,
faithfulness, justice, grace and mercy of God. Such a petition shows that man cannot
save himself; that no creature, none but God can save him; and that a sensible sinner
desires to be saved in such a way that God may be glorified;
and judge me by thy strength; David, though innocent, had many charges laid
against him; his enemies were lively and strong; he puts his cause into the hands of the
Lord, his strong Redeemer, who was able to plead it thoroughly against those that strove
with him; so Christ, his antitype, committed his cause to him that judgeth righteously,
1Pe_2:23; and so should every believer.
HAWKER, "The Psalmist is at the throne of grace in this Psalm, in the exercise of
prayer and praise. He cries to God for deliverance from his enemies, and concludes with
thanksgiving; in the assurance that his prayer is heard and answered.
To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came
and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
Psa_54:1
The title of this Psalm explains the particular trial David was exercised with when he
thus had recourse to a mercy-seat. The history of that part of David’s life we find 1Sa_
23:19, and again 1Sa_26:1. But while we behold David king of Israel in the historical part
connected with this scripture, I would hope that the Reader, by this time, hath seen
enough in David’s history to consider him as a lively type, in many instances, of David’s
Lord. Surely the Holy Ghost intended to direct the church, from so much being recorded

of this man’s history and writings, to look off from him, and to behold a greater than he,
as the chief object proposed from these scriptures. And will not the Reader be led
therefrom to discover, that in the repeated attempts made on David, by the Ziphims and
others, to deliver him into the hands of Saul, there are strong allusions made to the
perfidy and baseness of Judas the traitor, and the Scribes and Pharisees, to deliver the
Lord Christ into the hands of his enemies? The Ziphims proposed to themselves Saul’s
favour and a reward: and Judas’s language was, what will you give me, and I will deliver
him unto you? If we compare 1Sa_23:19-20, with Mat_26:14-16, keeping our eye upon
Jesus as we read this Psalm, we shall trace several things which will serve to keep him
and his unequalled trials in remembrance.
HE RY 1-3, "We may observe here, 1. The great distress that David was now in,
which the title gives an account of. The Ziphim came of their own accord, and informed
Saul where David was, with a promise to deliver him into his hand. One would have
thought that when David had retired into the country he would not be pursued, into a
desert country he would not be discovered, and into his own country he would not be
betrayed; and yet it seems he was. Never let a good man expect to be safe an easy till he
comes to heaven. How treacherous, how officious, were these Ziphim! It is well that God
is faithful, for men are not to be trusted, Mic_7:5. 2. His prayer to God for succour and
deliverance, Psa_54:1, Psa_54:2. He appeals to God's strength, by which he was able to
help him, and to his name, by which he was engaged to help him, and begs he would
save him from his enemies and judge him, that is, plead his cause and judge for him.
David has no other plea to depend upon than God's name, no other power to depend
upon than God's strength, and those he makes his refuge and confidence. This would be
the effectual answer of his prayers (Psa_54:2), which even in his flight, when he had not
opportunity for solemn address to God, he was ever and anon lifting up to heaven: Hear
my prayer, which comes from my heart, and give ear to the words of my mouth. 3. His
plea, which is taken from the character of his enemies, Psa_54:3. (1.) They are
strangers; such were the Ziphites, unworthy the name of Israelites. “They have used me
more basely and barbarously than the Philistines themselves would have done.” The
worst treatment may be expected from those who, having broken through the bonds of
relation and alliance, make themselves strangers. (2.) They are oppressors; such was
Saul, who, as a king, should have used his power for the protection of all his good
subjects, but abused it for their destruction. Nothing is so grievous as oppression in the
seat of judgment, Ecc_3:16. Paul's greatest perils were by his own countrymen and by
false brethren (2Co_11:26), and so were David's. (3.) They were very formidable and
threatening; they not only hated him and wished him ill, but they rose up against him in
a body, joining their power to do him a mischief. (4.) They were very spiteful and
malicious: They seek after my soul; they hunt for the precious life; no less will satisfy
them. We may, in faith, pray that God would not by his providence give success, lest it
should look like giving countenance, to such cruel bloody men. (5.) They were very
profane and atheistical, and, for this reason, he thought God was concerned in honour to
appear against them: They have not set God before them, that is, they have quite cast off
the thoughts of God; they do not consider that his eye is upon them, that, in fighting
against his people, they fight against him, nor have they any dread of the certain fatal
consequences of such an unequal engagement. Note, From those who do not set God
before them no good is to be expected; nay, what wickedness will not such men be guilty
of? What bonds of nature, or friendship, or gratitude, or covenant, will hold those that
have broken through the fear of God? Selah - Mark this. Let us all be sure to set God

before us at all times; for, if we do not we are in danger of becoming desperate.
JAMISO , "Psa_54:1-7. See on Psa_4:1, title; see on Psa_32:1, title; for the history,
see 1Sa_23:19, 1Sa_23:29; 1Sa_26:1-25. After an earnest cry for help, the Psalmist
promises praise in the assurance of a hearing.
by thy name — (Psa_5:11), specially, power.
judge me — as in Psa_7:8; Psa_26:1.
K&D 1-3, "(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 ‫ּוב‬ , v. 8, Ps 52:11), so that
ָ‫ך‬ ְ‫מ‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ְ (which is here the parallel word to ָ‫ך‬ ְ‫ֽת‬ ָ‫בוּר‬ְ‫ג‬ ִ ) is consequently equivalent to ָ‫ך‬ ְ ְ‫ס‬ ַ‫ח‬ ְ . The
obtaining of right for any one (‫ין‬ ִ like ‫ט‬ ַ‫פ‬ ָ‫,שׁ‬ Psa_7:9, and frequently, ‫ין‬ ִ ‫ה‬ ָ‫שׂ‬ ָ‫,ע‬ 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. ‫ין‬ִ‫ז‬ ֱ‫ֽא‬ ֶ‫ה‬
(Psa_54:4) is construed with ְ‫ל‬ (cf. ‫,אל‬ Psa_87:2) like ‫ן‬ֶ‫ּז‬‫א‬ ‫ה‬ ָ ִ‫,ה‬ Psa_78:1. The Targum,
misled by Psa_86:14, reads ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ֵ‫ז‬ instead of ‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ָ‫ז‬ 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 ‫ר‬ָ‫ז‬ 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.
CALVI , "1.Save me, O God! As David was at this time placed beyond the reach of
human assistance, he must be understood as praying to be saved by the name and
the power of God, In an emphatical sense, or by these in contradistinction to the
usual means of deliverance. Though all help must ultimately come from God, there
are ordinary methods by which he generally extends it. When these fail, and every
earthly stay is removed, he must then take the work into his own hands. It was in
such a situation that David here fled to the saints’ last asylum, and sought to be
saved by a miracle of divine power. By appealing, in the second part of the verse, to
God as his judge, he asserts his uprightness. And it must strike us all, that in asking
the divine protection it is indispensably prerequisite we should be convinced of the

goodness of our cause, as it would argue the greatest profanity in any to expect that
God should patronise iniquity. David was encouraged to pray for deliverance by the
goodness of his cause and his consciousness of integrity; nor did he entertain a single
doubt, that on representing this to God he would act the part of his defender, and
punish the cruelty and treachery of his enemies.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Save me, O God. Thou art my Saviour; all around me are my
foes and their eager helpers. o shelter is permitted me. Every land rejects me and
denies me rest. But thou, O God, wilt give me refuge, and deliver me from all my
enemies.
By thy name, by thy great and glorious nature. Employ all thine attributes for me.
Let every one of the perfections which are blended in thy divine name work for me.
Is not thine honour pledged for my defence?
And judge me by thy strength. Render justice to me, for none else will or can. Thou
canst give me efficient justice, and right my wrongs by thine omnipotence. We dare
not appeal to God in a bad cause, but when we know that we can fearlessly carry
our cause before his justice we may well commit it to his power.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
Title. From the inscription, learn,
1. Particular straits and particular deliveries should be particularly remarked: as
David here remembereth the danger he was in by the treachery of the Ziphims.
2. Mighty men will find readily more friends in an evil cause, than the godly do find
in a good cause: as Saul has the Ziphims to offer their service to his cruelly, when
David was in straits.
3. The wicked are very hearty to do an ill turn, and glad to find occasion of it. "Doth
not David, "saith they, "hide himself with us?" as if this had been good and blessed
news. David Dickson (1583-1662), in "A Brief Explication upon the Psalms."
Whole Psalm. The church has taken a clear view in appointing this as one of the
Psalms in commemoration of the passion of Jesus. It is seen with greatest effect as a
simple prophecy of Christ. Read thus, it is very plain and intelligible; requiring little
more than the first idea to exhibit a perfect correspondence with the life and feelings
of the Messiah. William Hill Tucker, in "The Psalms... with otes, "1840.
Whole Psalm. In the first three verses, David being sought for by his enemies, prays
against them. That was his course, he always began his conflict with God,
contending and wrestling with him for a blessing and assistance. He durst not lift up
his hands even against the enemies of God (yet what durst not David do?) till he had
first lifted them up in humble supplication to the Lord his strength. "Who taught
his hands to war, and his fingers to fight." Psalms 144:1. This being done, his
courage breaks out like lightning, he doubts not of slaying his thousands and ten
thousands. So in the fourth and fifth verses, he becomes his own prophet, promising
himself victory. For who can resist him who hath Omnipotence for his second? Or
how can any enemy maintain a fight against that captain who hath beforehand
defeated and broken their forces by his prayers? assured his conquest before he
puts on his armour? Then in the last verses, David concludes where he began,
thankfully acknowledgeth God's goodness in his deliverance, and the dissipation of
his enemies, obliging himself to a return of dutiful affectionate service, in
consideration of so great mercies received. J. Dolben, in a Thanksgiving Sermon,

1665.
Whole Psalm. Blessed Redeemer! give me grace to eye thee, and to call to my
recollection thine exercises amidst the false friends and open foes, which in the days
of thy flesh surrounded thee. Lord! help me so to consider thee, who didst endure
such a contradiction of sinners against thyself, that I may not be weary and faint in
mind. And while the Ziphims of the present hour harass and distress me, and would
deliver my soul up into the hand of the enemy: oh! for grace to be looking unto thee,
and deriving strength from thee, that I may discover thy gracious hand delivering
me out of all my troubles, and making me more than conqueror in thy strength, and
in the power of thy might. Robert Hawker, D.D., 1753-1827.
Ver. 1. Save me, O God. As David was at this time placed beyond the reach of
human assistance, he must be understood as praying to be saved by the name and
the power of God, in an emphatic sense, or by these in contradistinction to the usual
means of deliverance. Though all help must ultimately come from God, there are
ordinary methods by which he generally extends it. When these fail, and every
earthly stay is removed, he must then take the work into his own hands. It was such
a situation that David here fled to the saints' last asylum, and sought to be saved by
a miracle of divine power. John Calvin.
Ver. 1. Judge me by thy strength, or power, i.e., determine, decide my cause by thy
mighty power. Saul, in the cause between him and David, was resolved to end it by
force only, and to arbitrate in no other way than by a javelin, a sword, or his forces.
The psalmist well knew that Saul, in this respect, would be too hard for him; and
therefore applies for protection and justice to one whose power he knew was
infinitely superior to his adversaries, and who, he was assured, could and would
defend him. Samuel Chandler (1693-1766), in "A Critical History of the Life of
David."
COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 54
PRAYER FOR DELIVERA CE FROM E EMIES
Superscription: For the Chief Musician: on stringed instruments. Maschil of David:
when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David himself hide with us?
The historical background here, according to the superscription, is related in 1
Samuel 23:19, which reports the offer of the Ziphites to betray David into the hands
of Saul. The Ziphites became involved in this manner. David and his men had been
joined by Abiathar, a son of Abimelech, who had escaped Doeg's massacre, and
being a priest, he brought the sacred Ephod with him, by means of which David,
after saving Keilah from the hands of the Philistines, escaped to the wilderness of
Ziph, being warned by God through Abiathar.
While David was in that wilderness (Ziph), the Ziphites, hoping to ingratiate
themselves with Saul, offered to betray David, whereupon, again being warned
through Abiathar, David fled to the wilderness of Maon.

The speculation of Bible critics is a very poor substitute for these superscriptions,
which, to us, seem more and more dependable as psalm after psalm is seen to agree
perfectly with what is written in the superscriptions.
There are only seven verses here, and we shall examine them in order instead of
seeking some kind of an outline.
Psalms 54:1
"Save me, O God, by thy name,
And judge me in thy might."
David may very well have been in the wilderness of Maon at the time of writing this
psalm. It was in that wilderness that Saul was almost able to surround David and
capture him; but in what we believe was a providential intervention, Saul received a
message that the Philistines were invading Israel; and "He returned from pursuing
David" (1 Samuel 23:28). This indeed appears to have been a direct answer to
David's prayer. David then took up a stronger position in what is called, "the
stronghold of Engedi" (1 Samuel 23:29).
COKE, "Psalms 54:1. Save me, O God, by thy name— The name of God frequently
denotes the attributes, or providence, or operations of God, in the sacred writings;
and to be saved by his name, is to be saved by the interposition of his power and
goodness. Or the words may be rendered, Save me, ֶ‫ך‬‫בשׁמ‬ beshimka, because of thy
name; viz. "to vindicate the honour of it, and thy truth and faithfulness in the
promises thou hast made me." See old. p. 152 sect. 23. Judege me by thy strength,
or power, means, "determine, decide my cause, by thy mighty power." Saul, in the
cause between him and David, was resolved to end it by force only, and to arbitrate
it no other way than by a javelin, a sword, or his forces. The Psalmist well knew that
Saul, in this respect, would be too hard for him; and therefore applies for protection
and justice to one, whose power he knew was infinitely superior to that of his
adversaries, and who, he was assured, could and would defend him.
WHEDO , "1. By thy name—For, or on account of, thy name. The name of God is
that by which he is known: the manifestation of his nature and attributes, whether
by titles or acts. It is the honour of God—his public fame as avenger of wrong and
defender of the oppressed—to which David appeals. Comp. Exodus 32:12; Joshua
7:9; Psalms 20:1.
By thy strength—The divine nature and strength are his dependence. God is both
disposed and able to save.
TRAPP, "Psalms 54:1 « To the chief Musician on eginoth, Maschil, [A Psalm] of
David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with
us? » Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.

Maschil] Instructing us, saith one, to draw near to God, as dangers draw nearer to
us.
When the Ziphims] Which signifieth flourishing, Erant autem Ziphaei ex stirpe
Caleb 1 Chronicles 2:42. ut et abal, sed degeneres; they might have flourishing
estates, but they had withered souls; else they would never have sought twice ever to
have betrayed good David into the hand of Saul, 1 Samuel 23:19; 1 Samuel 26:1.
Came and said to Saul] If a ruler hearken to lies all his servants are wicked,
Proverbs 29:12; {See Trapp on "Proverbs 29:12"}
Doth not David hide himself with us?] viz. In the wood and wilderness near unto our
city? But what if he did, should they therefore discover him, and so pull the
vengeance of God upon themselves and their city? George Eagles (alias Trudgeover
the world) hid himself in a grain field, was exposed by Ralph Lurdain for money,
and burnt at Chelmsford; where afterwards the same Lurdain was hanged for
stealing a horse; and confessed it was just in God upon him, for betraying that
innocent man. (Acts & Mon.)
Ver. 1. Save me, O God, by thy name] i.e. By thyself, and especially by thy goodness,
whereby thou art nominatissimus in ecclesia, well known in thy Church, as a main
piece of thy name, Exodus 34:6-7.
CO STABLE, "Verse 1-2
God"s name and His power are virtually synonymous. Psalm 54:1 contains
synonymous parallelism. His name represents all that God is and what He has done
(cf. Exodus 34:5-7). David asked God personally to save him with His irresistible
might. He also asked God to regard the prayer for help that proceeded from the
psalmist"s mouth.
EBC, "THE tone and language of this psalm have nothing special. The situation of
the psalmist is the familiar one of being encompassed by enemies. His mood is the
familiar one of discouragement at the sight of surrounding perils, which passes
through petition into confidence and triumph. There is nothing in the psalm
inconsistent with the accuracy of the superscription, which ascribes it to David,
when the men of Ziph would have betrayed him to Saul. Internal evidence does not
suffice to fix its date, if the traditional one is discarded. But there seems no necessity
for regarding the singer as the personified nation, though there is less objection to
that theory in this instance than in some psalms with a more marked individuality
and more fervent expression of personal emotion, to which it is proposed to apply it.
The structure is simple, like the thought and expression. The psalm falls into two

parts, divided by Selah-of which the former is prayer, spreading before God the
suppliant’s straits; and the latter is confident assurance, blended with petition and
vows of thanksgiving.
The order in which the psalmist’s thoughts run in the first part (Psalms 54:1-3) is
noteworthy. He begins with appeal to God, and summons before his vision the
characteristics in the Divine nature on which he builds his hope. Then he pleads for
the acceptance of his prayer, and only when thus heartened does he recount his
perils. That is a deeper faith which begins with what God is, and thence proceeds to
look calmly at foes, than that which is driven to God in the second place, as a
consequence of an alarmed gaze on dangers. In the latter case fear strikes out a
spark of faith in the darkness; in the former, faith controls fear. The name of God is
His manifested nature or character, the sum of all of Him which has been made
known by His word or work. In that rich manifoldness of living powers and
splendours this man finds reserves of force, which will avail to save him from any
peril. That name is much more than a collection of syllables. The expression is
beginning to assume the meaning which it has in post-Biblical Hebrew, where it is
used as a reverential euphemism for the ineffable Jehovah. Especially to God’s
power does the singer look with hopeful petitions, as in Psalms 54:1 b. But the whole
name is the agent of his salvation. othing less than the whole fulness of the
manifested God is enough for the necessities of one poor man; and that prayer is not
too bold, nor that estimate of need presumptuous, Which asks for nothing less. Since
it is God’s "might" which is appealed to, to judge the psalmist’s cause, the judgment
contemplated is clearly not the Divine estimate of the moral desert of his doings, or
retribution to him for these, but the vindication of his threatened innocence and
deliverance of him from enemies. The reason for the prayer is likewise alleged as a
plea with God to hear. The psalmist prays because he is ringed about by foes. God
will hear because He is so surrounded. It is blessed to know that the same
circumstances in our lot which drive us to God incline God to us.
GUZIK, " David's danger.
1. (1-2) Looking to the name and strength of God.
Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your strength.
Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
a. Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength: In his
distress, David relied on both the name and the strength of God. ame speaks of the

nature and character of God; strength of His great power. David knew that God's
strength could respond to his need by what he knew of God's name.
i. By Your name: " othing less than the whole fulness of the manifested God is
enough for the necessities of one poor man." (Maclaren)
ii. David's rescue would be his vindication. His enemies would have greater evidence
that David was in the right and they were in the wrong when God answered this
prayer and preserved this man after His heart.
iii. God gave David a remarkable vindication after each time the Ziphites betrayed
David. Shortly after both times the Ziphites betrayed David he had the opportunity
to kill King Saul. Both times he spared Saul's life (1 Samuel 24 and 26), and both
times Saul admitted his great wrong.
b. Hear my prayer, O God: It was common for David and others in their prayers to
merely ask for God to hear or give ear to their cry. It was assumed that if the good
and merciful God heard, He would act.
ISBET, "
THE AME THAT SAVES
‘Save me, O God, by Thy name.’
Psalms 54:1
I. The appeal of the sinner here is to the name of God.—That name is the expression
or revelation of what God is, and of what He is to the sinner. The character of God,
as the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, and as the God of all grace, is that
which is given us in His name. The name is the written or spoken compendium of
what God is, as proclaimed to us by Himself; for He has not left it to man to give a
name to the God that made Him. He has given a name to Himself, and that name is
‘the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious.’
II. Everything of peace and holiness in us depends on what we know of God.—It is
the revelation of Himself in Christ Jesus, His Son, that displaces our darkness and
fills us with light. When we come to understand that revelation, then the darkness is
passed and the true light is shining, the day has broken and the shadows have fled
away. The name of God, as embodying this revelation of Himself, is that on which
we rest; it contains in brief compass all that a sinner needs to know for the removal
of his fears and for the imparting a true and abiding rest to his weary spirit. The
right understanding of that name is the cure of doubt and the end of all
despondency. Here is our resting-place; for all grace is here, all love is here—
righteous grace, righteous love; grace and love that have come to us through a
righteous channel, and which, therefore, can never be disturbed or doubted. The
righteous love of God! This is what the name proclaims to us—this is what the name

presents to the sinner, that receiving it he may be saved. ‘They that know Thy name
will put their trust in Thee.’ The trust follows and flows out from the knowledge of
the name; that which we know of God as seen in Christ Jesus is that which awakens
our confidence.
III. ‘Save me by Thy name’ is the sinner’s appeal to what God is and what He has
revealed Himself to be.—All that is in God is engaged in the sinner’s behalf, and is
pledged for his salvation. ‘The exceeding riches of the grace of God,’ as shown out in
that name, are the sure ground on which he builds for eternity; and as one who has
believed the good news of these exceeding riches, he looks up to the God of all grace,
and says, in the quiet confidence of faith, ‘Save me by Thy name’ in every day of
trouble. The ame is to him the pledge of deliverance and the ending of all fear.
Illustration
‘It is remarkable that in this, as in so many psalms, the petition with which the
Psalmist opens becomes a matter of thanksgiving and praise, as though it were
already in hand. It is so here (see Psalms 54:7): “He hath delivered”; “Mine eye hath
seen.” Does not this originate in that acceptance of God’s gifts by faith, which
realises that if we ask anything according to His will we have the petition? It is
consigned to us even though not delivered; it is labelled with our name and only
awaits a suitable opportunity to come into our hands. In all the philosophy of
prayer, there is no condition more absolutely imperative than Christ’s “Believe that
ye have received” (Mark 11:25, R.V.).’
PETT, "Heading (Psalms 54:1 a).
Psalms 54:1
‘For the Chief Musician, on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the
Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Does not David hide himself with us?”
Dedicated to the Choirmaster or Chief Musician, and to be played on stringed
instruments, this is another Maschil of David. It is said in the heading to have been
written when the Ziphites, in the Judean wilderness, betrayed David to Saul (1
Samuel 26:1). That was a particularly difficult time for David, for having built up a
private army a few hundred strong, he had previously been in danger of being
handed over to Saul by the men of Keilah, whom he had delivered from the
Philistines (1 Samuel 23:1-13). Having therefore escaped to the wilderness of Judea
he was once more betrayed to Saul by the Ziphites, who may well have been very
concerned at having such a large armed contingent in their territory.
The Psalm divides into two sections separated by the usual word Selah, indicating a
pregnant pause in the singing, when the singers and listeners could pause to
consider what had been said. The two sections are as follows:
· David Prays To Be Delivered From The Hands Of Saul (Psalms 54:1-3).
· David Expresses His Confidence In God’s Protection And Deliverance, And

Assures Him That He Will ot Be Short On Gratitude (Psalms 54:4-6).
Verses 1-3
David Prays To Be Delivered From The Hands Of Saul (Psalms 54:1-3).
Psalms 54:1-2
‘Save me, O God, by your name,
And judge me in your might.
Hear my prayer, O God,
Give ear to the words of my mouth.’
David calls on God to deliver him ‘by His ame’, in other words by the character
and attributes that that ame reveals. It would be in His ame that David was
anointed by Samuel to be Saul’s replacement (1 Samuel 16:12-13), which David no
doubt saw as giving him the right to God’s protection. It was to Samuel that David
first fled when he recognised that he was no longer safe from Saul’s jealousy (1
Samuel 19:18). He was also relying on what that ame revealed of loyalty to those
who observed His covenant (which Saul had failed to do).
‘Judge me in Your might.’ He calls on God as ‘the Strong One’ to consider his case
and act accordingly, demonstrating a verdict in favour of David by acting in might
on his behalf. Confident that he is in the right, David calls on God to hear his
prayer, and listen to what he has to say..
BI 1-7, "Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength.
Phases of piety
I. Piety praying. The prayer has respect to—
1. The character of God (Psa_54:1).
2. The entreatability of God (Psa_54:2).
3. The necessity for God (Psa_54:3).
II. Piety trusting. He had confidence in God—
1. As a Deliverer from his enemies.
2. As the Chastiser of his enemies.
III. Piety worshipping.
1. Worship is voluntary sacrifice. The offering of self is essential to give virtue and
worth to all other offerings.
2. Worship is praise to God.
(1) On account of what He is in Himself.
(2) On account of what He is to us (Verse 7). (Homilist.)

2 Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
BAR ES, "Hear my prayer, O God - My earnest cry for deliverance from the
designs of those who would betray me.
Give ear to the words of my mouth - Incline thine ear to me, as one does who
wishes to hear. See the notes at Psa_17:6.
CLARKE, "Hear my prayer - In his straits he had recourse to God; for from him
alone, for the reasons alleged above, his deliverance must proceed.
GILL, "Hear my prayer, O God,.... The psalmist first puts up his petitions, and then
desires to be heard; his distress, and the fervency of his spirit, not suffering him to
observe order;
give ear to the words of my mouth; for the prayer which was conceived in his mind,
and inwrought there by the Spirit of God, was expressed vocally.
CALVI , "2.Hear my prayer, O God! The language is expressive of his earnestness.
He was led to this fervor of supplication by the extremity of his present
circumstances, which is alluded to in the following verse, where he complains of
being surrounded by men fierce, barbarous, and unrestrained by a sense of religion.
There was no necessity for his informing God of a fact which was already known to
him; but he disburdens his own heart by venting the cause of his fear and
disquietude. By calling his enemies strangers, (288) he seems to refer to their
barbarity, whether he applied the name to the Ziphites only, or, in general, to the
whole army of Saul. Others consider him, in this term, to advert to their degeneracy
as children of Abraham; and it is true that the Jews are repeatedly stigmatised by
the prophets under this form of expression, when they had cast themselves out of the
Church of God by their profligacy or impiety. But in this passage it seems to be used
in a different sense. As even enemies are accustomed, in some measure, to respect
the ties of kindred and relationship, David would point out to us the monstrous
inhumanity of the men who now surrounded him, by the fact that they assaulted

him as strangers, as persons who had never known him, or as if he had been born in
some distant part of the world. He calls them, also, terrible ones, (289) not mighty,
or powerful ones, as some have rendered the word; for that falls short of the
meaning intended by David, which was, that they were divested of all humanity, and
ready to rush upon him like wild beasts. Hence the fear with which he resorted to
the protection of God. He adds, that they sought after his soul, to denote that
nothing would content their insatiable cruelty but his life. And the better to express
the unbridled nature of their fury, he tells us that they had no respect to God. The
only thing which could be supposed, in the circumstances, to act as a restraint upon
their minds, was the consideration of there being a judge in heaven to whom they
were amenable for their conduct; and being insensible to this, what moderation
could be expected of them?
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. Hear my prayer, O God. This has ever been the defence of
saints. As long as God hath an open ear we cannot be shut up in trouble. All other
weapons may be useless, but all prayer is evermore available. o enemy can spike
this gun.
Give ear to the words of my mouth. Vocal prayer helps the supplicant, and we keep
our minds more fully awake when we can use our tongues as well as our hearts. But
what is prayer if God hear not? It is all one whether we babble nonsense or plead
arguments if our God grant us not a hearing. When his case had become dangerous,
David could not afford to pray out of mere custom, he must succeed in his pleadings,
or become the prey of his adversary.
Ver. 2. (second clause). Let the words of my mouth with which I have defended my
cause, be pleasing and acceptable to thee. For in this way can prayers and words of
the mouth be correctly distinguished, unless any one should wish simply to
understand by them prayers uttered by the mouth; but, as I have said, the phrase is
more emphatic. Hermann Venema, 1697-1787.
COFFMA , "Verse 2
"Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me,
And violent men have sought after my soul:
They have not set God before them. (Selah)"
The greatness of David is seen in the fact that in whatever difficulty he found
himself, he always turned to God in prayer. Here he earnestly pleaded for God's
help against unbelieving enemies.
"Strangers are risen up against me" (Psalms 54:3). These were the Ziphites who had

no business whatever meddling in the affairs of Israel. They were pagans "who set
not God before them." Furthermore, their willingness to help Saul may have been
due to Saul's involvement with their pagan gods. Saul had even named one of his
sons Ethbaal, after the old Canaanite god Baal. God's rejection of Saul was
undoubtedly due, at least partially, to his tolerance of such pagan deities.
"They have not set God before them" (Psalms 54:3). As Spurgeon said, "David felt
that atheism lay at the bottom of the enmity that pursued him."[1] This, of course,
points squarely at the pagan Ziphites.
3 Arrogant foes are attacking me;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
people without regard for God.[c]
BAR ES, "For strangers are risen up against me - That is, foreigners; those of
another nation or land. Saul and his friends who sought the life of David were his own
countrymen; these persons who sought go betray him were another people. They
attempted to gain the favor of Saul, or to secure a reward from him, by betraying to him
an innocent man whom he was persecuting.
And oppressors seek after my soul - Seek after my life. The word here rendered
“oppressors” means people of violence; the proud; the haughty; persecutors; tyrants.
The word properly denotes those who exert their power in an arbitrary manner, or not
under the sanction of law.
They have not set God before them - They do not act as in the presence of God.
They do not regard his authority. See the notes at Psa_36:1. The word “Selah” here
merely marks a musical pause. It indicates nothing in regard to the sense.
CLARKE, "Strangers are risen up against me - The Ziphites.
And oppressors - Saul, his courtiers, and his army.
They have not set God before them - It is on no religious account, nor is it to
accomplish any end, on which they can ask the blessing of God.
Selah - This is true.

GILL, "For strangers are risen up against me,.... Meaning such as Doeg the
Edomite, or Heathen soldiers, that Saul had hired and took into his army, who were
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; and such as these rose up against David's
antitype, the Messiah, Psa_2:1, Act_4:27. Or rather the Ziphims, who were of his own
nation, yea, of his own tribe, yet used him as barbarously as the very Heathens would
have done, or worse; and who, though notwithstanding they were of Israel, might not be
Israelites indeed, but strangers to an inward experience of divine and spiritual things:
for men may be professors of religion, and yet be strangers to God in Christ, to Christ
himself, and the way of salvation by him, and communion with him; to the Spirit of God,
and the operations of his grace on the heart; to themselves, their own hearts, and their
state and condition by nature; to the Gospel of Christ, and to the people of God; and
these are sometimes the most violent persecutors of good and spiritual men;
and oppressors seek after my soul; or "life" (i), to take it away; as did Saul and his
army; who are "the mighty" or "strong ones" (k), as the word here used signifies; see
1Sa_24:11; and as the Jewish sanhedrim, Scribes and Pharisees, sought after the soul or
life of Christ, to take that away, as they did;
they have not set God before them. They did not consider themselves as under the
omniscient eye of God; they did not set his word before them, as the rule of their
conduct, but cast it behind their backs; nor did they regard his providential mercies and
layouts as a motive to engage them to obedience to him, but despised them; they had not
the fear of God before their eyes, nor in their hearts, nor any concern for his glory; and
therefore did the wicked things they did against his servant.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.
JAMISO , "strangers — perhaps Ziphites.
oppressors — literally, “terrible ones” (Isa_13:11; Isa_25:3). Such were Saul and his
army.
not set ... them — acted as atheists, without God’s fear (compare Psa_16:8).
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. For strangers are risen up against me. Those who had no
cause for ill will had gone against him; persons to whom he could have given no
offence, for they were strangers to him. They were aliens to his God also, and should
these be allowed to worry and destroy him. A child may well complain to his father
when strangers come in to molest him. What right have they to interfere? Let them
leave off meddling and mind their own concerns.
And oppressors seek after my soul. Saul, that persecuting tyrant, had stamped his
own image on many more. Kings generally coin their own likeness. He led the way,
and others followed seeking David's soul, his blood, his life, his very existence. Cruel
and intense were they in their malice, they would utterly crush the good man; no
half measure would content them.
They have not set God before them. They had no more regard for right and justice

than if they knew no God, or cared for none. Had they regarded God they would not
have betrayed the innocent to be hunted down like a poor harmless stag. David felt
that atheism lay at the bottom of the enmity which pursued him. Good men are
hated for God's sake, and this is a good plea for them to urge in prayer.
Selah. As if he said, "Enough of this, let us pause." He is out of breath with
indignation. A sense of wrong bids him suspend the music awhile. It may also be
observed, that more pauses would, as a rule, improve our devotions: we are usually
too much in a hurry: a little more holy meditation would make our words more
suitable and our emotions more fervent.
Ver. 3. Strangers: aliens to his truth, men who from unbelief have estranged
themselves from all lot and portion in his covenants --oppress and persecute.
William Hill Tucker.
Ver. 3. (first clause). The Chaldee interpreter reads, proud men, instead of
strangers, a reading which also is found in eight of Kennicott's Codices. So also
Psalms 86:14. William Walford, in "The Book of Psalms. A ew Translation, " etc.,
1837.
Ver. 3. (first clause). There is a great mistake made by rendering the word oyrz
(zarim) strangers. The Ziphites surely were Israelites, and not strangers. The fact is
this, that word is taken from hrz (zarah) the primary meaning of which is "to
scatter, "to "disperse, "also "to sift, "as grain. Hence it signifies, likewise
figuratively, to sift a matter, to investigate, to search out, to trace out. So here, David
complains of the new and dangerous enemies he had got in the Ziphites, who
became Saul's spies. When he pleads, therefore, for deliverance, saying, "Save me,
O God, " etc., he describes the danger he was in: For spies have risen against me.
Benjamin Weiss, in " ew Translation, Exposition, and Chronological Arrangement
of the Psalms, "1858.
Ver. 3. Oppressors seek after my soul; i.e., my life at least; my soul also they would
destroy, if it lay in their power, as the Papists delivered up John Huss to the devil.
John Trapp, 1611-1662.
Ver. 3. Selah. See "Treasury of David", Vol. 1, pp. 25,29,346,382; and Vol. 2, pp.
249-252.
ELLICOTT, "(3) For strangers.—This verse, with some variations, occurs again
(Psalms 86:14); some MSS. even reading here “proud,” instead of “strangers.” With
the received reading we must understand by the word “foreign oppressors”—
though, doubtless, the inscription of the Psalm may be defended by taking the word
in a derived sense of those Israelites who have degenerated, and so deserve the name
“aliens.”
COKE, "Psalms 54:3. Strangers are risen up against me— The inhabitants of Ziph,
and of the wilderness and mountains near it, might very probably, as some think, be
chiefly aliens and foreigners, under the dominion of the Hebrews. But it is to be
remarked, that ‫זרים‬ zarim, strangers, is not always to be understood of persons who
are strangers by birth or nation, but as to acquaintance, manners, and affection, of
a hostile disposition and mind, strangers as to religion, virtue, compassion, and

humanity. See Psalms 69:8.; Hosea 5:7. That this is the Psalmist's meaning appears
from the following words: Oppressors seek after my life, who have not set God
before them: a description which well agrees with the character and conduct of
these treacherous Ziphites. Chandler.
WHEDO , "3. Strangers—The word denotes foreigners, heathen, those who are
not of the seed of Israel. If the reference is to the Ziphites, such they were to David
in spirit, and in this moral sense the word often occurs. Compare Jeremiah 23:14;
Matthew 18:17. But it may refer to Doeg the Edomite, and the political intrigues of
his nation through him, to destroy the Hebrew monarchy.
Oppressors seek after my soul—Fierce men search after my life. They were Saul’s
spies, and the allusion seems to be to the king’s order, (1 Samuel 23:23,) “See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and
come ye again to me… and I will go with you.”
TRAPP, "Psalms 54:3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek
after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
Ver. 3. For strangers are risen up against me] He meaneth not foreigners, but home
dwellers; Saul, Doeg, Ziphims, othi et spurii, strangers to religion, reason, common
humanity; Jews outwardly, but not inwardly; heathens upon the matter, Psalms
59:5, Amos 9:7, Revelation 11:2. The pope showed himself no better in delivering up
for money Zemes the Great Turk’s brother, who fled to him for safeguard of his life,
wrongfully sought after.
Oppressors seek after my soul] i.e. My life at least; my soul also they would destroy,
if it lay in their power, as the Papists delivered up John Huss to the devil when they
burnt him; and would not allow Jerome of Prague a confessor, though he requested
it. So the monster of Milan, that made his enemy first curse Christ in hope of life,
and then stabbed him to death, saying, ow go soul and body to the devil (Bodin. de
Rep.). So he that, for spite, procuring a man to be hanged, and seeing him penitent,
said, I am afraid the rogue will go to heaven.
They have not set God before them] This was the root of all their outrages, they
made no reckoning of God, prout est iudexet vindex mali, as he is a severe judge,
and a sharp revenger of sin and wickedness.
CO STABLE, "The Ziphites were strangers to David, and Saul"s soldiers were
violent antagonists of David. David could expect divine assistance because their
hostility was contrary to God"s will. David was Israel"s anointed king whom God
intended to place on Saul"s throne. This verse is almost identical to Psalm 86:14.
EBC, ""Strangers," in Psalms 54:3, would most naturally mean foreigners, but not

necessarily so. The meaning would naturally pass into that of enemies-men who,
even though of the psalmist’s own blood, behave to him in a hostile manner. The
word, then, does not negative the tradition in the superscription; though the men of
Ziph belonged to the tribe of Judah, they might still be called "strangers." The verse
recurs in Psalms 86:14, with a variation of reading-namely, "proud" instead of
"strangers." The same variation is found here in some MSS and in the Targum. But
probably it has crept in here in order to bring our psalm into correspondence with
the other, and it is better to retain the existing reading, which is that of the LXX and
other ancient authorities. The psalmist has no doubt that to hunt after his life is a
sign of godlessness. The proof that violent men have not "set God before them" is
the fact that they "seek his soul." That is a remarkable assumption, resting upon a
very sure confidence that he is in such relation to God that enmity to him is sin. The
theory of a national reference would make such identification of the singer’s cause
with God’s most intelligible. But the theory that he is an individual, holding a
definite relation to the Divine purposes and being for some end a Divine instrument,
would make it quite as much so. And if David, who knew that he was destined to be
king, was the singer, his confidence would be natural. The history represents that
his Divine appointment was sufficiently known to make hostility to him a manifest
indication of rebellion against God. The unhesitating fusion of his own cause with
God’s could scarcely have been ventured by a psalmist, however vigorous his faith,
if all that he had to go on and desired to express was a devout soul’s confidence that
God would protect him. That may be perfectly true, and yet it may not follow that
opposition to a man is godlessness. We cannot regard ourselves as standing in such a
relation; but we may be sure that the name, with all its glories, is mighty to save us
too.
GUZIK, "(3) The description of the need.
For strangers have risen up against me,
And oppressors have sought after my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah
a. For strangers have risen up against me: David's troubles came from the Ziphites,
as noted in the title of this Psalm and in 1 Samuel 23:14-24. The Ziphites were
Israelis; they were even of the same tribe as David (Judah). Yet their betrayal of
David was so contrary to both David and God's cause that David could rightly refer
to them as strangers, as oppressors who sought David's life.
i. "The Ziphites, though David's countrymen, acted the part of 'strangers' or
'aliens,' in seeking to deliver him up to his unjust and cruel enemy." (Horne)
ii. Today some who are outwardly counted among the people of God will act as

strangers as they betray the Son of David to gain the favor of those allied with the
king of this world, the Prince of the Power of the Air.
b. They have not set God before them: Their problems were not only in relation to
David, but also in relation to God. Their rejection of David was just another way
that they rejected God. We don't know if David specifically had Saul in mind, but it
certainly fit the jealous king.
i. "David felt that atheism lay at the bottom of the enmity which pursued him. Good
men are hated for Gods sake, and this is a good plea for them to urge in prayer."
(Spurgeon)
ii. "This was a bad period for David. It was a time when seemingly he had nowhere
to turn. He was unsafe even in the wilderness, and there was hardly anyone he could
trust." (Boice)
PETT, "Psalms 54:3
‘For strangers are risen up against me,
And violent men have sought after my life,
They have not set God before them. [Selah
He points out to God that strangers and violent men have risen up against him and
are seeking his life, because they have not given consideration to God’s purposes.
They are not looking to God for guidance (something that David constantly did. See
for example, 1 Samuel 23:9-12; 2 Samuel 2:1). ‘Strangers’ regularly signifies
‘foreigners’ of whom there may well have been a good number in Saul’s standing
army. Having come to dwell in Israel they would be content to be on full time duty
because they possessed no land which had to be cultivated (they may have included
the Habiru of 1 Samuel 14:21. Habiru (landless people) were often mercenaries).
One such was Doeg the Edomite who might well have been in David’s mind.
(David’s mighty men also included non-Israelites). Or ‘strangers’ may refer to the
Ziphite wilderness dwellers, who lived lives separately from ‘civilised society’.
4 Surely God is my help;
the Lord is the one who sustains me.

BAR ES, "Behold, God is mine helper - That is, God alone can aid me in these
circumstances, and to him I confidently look.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul - My friends; those who have rallied
around me to defend me; those who comfort me by their presence; those who sustain me
in my cause, and who keep me from sinking under the burden of my accumulated
troubles.
CLARKE, "Behold, God is mine helper - This would naturally occur to him
when he saw that Saul was obliged to leave the pursuit, and go to defend his territories,
when he was on the very point of seizing him. God, whose providence is ever watchful,
had foreseen this danger and stirred up the Philistines to make this inroad just at the
time in which Saul and his army were about to lay hands on David. Well might he then
say, “Behold, God is mine helper.”
Is with them, that uphold my soul - ‫נפשי‬ naphshi, my life. This may even refer to
the Philistines, who had at this time made an inroad on Israel. God was even with his
own enemies, by making them instruments to save the life of his servant.
GILL, "Behold, God is mine helper,.... This being a matter of wonder to be helped
in so extraordinary a manner, and a sure and certain case, and what was deserving the
attention of others; for the encouragement of their faith and hope in like cases, a
"behold" is prefixed unto it: and what is here said is true of David's son, the Messiah,
and is expressed by him in much the same language, Isa_50:9; and of all the saints
whom the Lord helps, as at first conversion, out of the pit wherein is no water, out of the
horrible pit, the mire and clay of nature's darkness, ignorance, and unbelief; so out of all
their afflictions and temptations, and out of the hands of all their enemies; he helps in
the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty; and he helps to all mercies, temporal
and spiritual, needful for them; which help is quick and present, seasonable and
suitable, always sufficient; and is what they have reason to expect both from what he has
said to them in promise, and from what he has done for them;
the Lord is with them that uphold my soul; that ministered to his sustenance, as
Abigail did, and that gathered to him and joined him, and exposed their lives in the
defence of him; these the Lord was with, blessed, protected, and afforded them his
gracious presence. Such there were with Christ; who followed him in the regeneration;
who ministered to him of their substance, whom God rewarded in a way of grace; and he
blesses them that bless his, and do good to them; they being the excellent in the earth, in
whom is his delight, the apple of his eye, and his jewels. Or the sense is, that the Lord is
he that upheld his soul; not only the chief of his upholders, but the only one: so R. Moses
(l) interprets it, that he is the alone upholder, and is instead of all upholders, and

answers to them all; who upheld his soul in life, and followed him with his goodness: as
when God is said to be the first, and "with the last", the meaning is, that he is the first
and the last, Isa_41:4; see Psa_118:7; so he upheld the soul of Christ in the wilderness,
and in the garden, and on the cross; see Isa_42:1. And he upholds all his people in a
providential way in their beings, and supplies them with all the necessaries of life; and,
in a spiritual way, maintaining their spiritual life, supplying them with all grace, bearing
them up under all trials, holding up their goings in his ways, and preserving them to the
end.
HE RY, "We have here the lively actings of David's faith in his prayer, by which he
was assured that the issue would be comfortable, though the attempt upon him was
formidable.
I. He was sure that he had God on his side, that God took his part (Psa_54:4); he speaks
it with an air of triumph and exultation, Behold, God is my helper. If we be for him, he is
for us; and, if he be for us, we shall have such help in him that we need not fear any
power engaged against us. Though men and devils aim to be our destroyers, they shall
not prevail while God is our helper: The Lord is with those that uphold my soul.
Compare Psa_118:7, “The Lord taketh my part with those that help me. There are some
that uphold me, and God is one of them; he is the principal one; none of them could help
me if he did not help them.” Every creature is that to us (and no more) that God makes it
to be. He means, “The Lord is he that upholds my soul, and keeps me from tiring in my
work and sinking under my burdens.” He that by his providence upholds all things by
his grace upholds the souls of his people. God, who will in due time save his people,
does, in the mean time, sustain them and bear them up, so that the spirit he has made
shall not fail before him.
JAMISO , "(Compare Psa_30:10).
with them — on their side, and for me (compare Psa_46:11).
K&D 4-7, "(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 ְ of ‫י‬ ֵ‫כ‬ ְ‫ּמ‬‫ס‬ ְ 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 Kerî merits the
preference over the Chethîb (evil shall “revert” to my spies), which would at least require
‫ל‬ ַ‫ע‬ instead of ְ‫ל‬ (cf. Psa_7:17). Concerning ‫י‬ ָ‫ר‬ ֲ‫ֽר‬ּ‫שׁ‬, 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 ‫ה‬ ָ‫ב‬ ָ‫ד‬ְ‫נ‬ ִ (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 ‫י‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ‫יל‬ ִ ִ‫ה‬ is the Name of
God; the post-biblical language, following Lev_24:11, calls God straightway ‫ם‬ ֵ ַ‫,ה‬ 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.
CALVI , "4.Behold! God is my helper Such language as this may show us that
David did not direct his prayers at random into the air, but offered them in the
exercise of a lively faith. There is much force in the demonstrative adverb. He
points, as it were, with the finger, to that God who stood at his side to defend him;
and was not this an amazing illustration of the power with which faith can
surmount all obstacles, and glance, in a moment, from the depths of despair to the
very throne of God? He was a fugitive amongst the dens of the earth, and even there
in hazard of his life — how, then, could he speak of God as being near to him? He
was pressed down to the very mouth of the grave; and how could he recognize the
gracious presence of God? He was trembling in the momentary expectation of being
destroyed; and how is it possible that he can triumph in the certain hope that Divine
help will presently be extended to him? In numbering God amongst his defenders,
we must not suppose that he assigns him a mere common rank amongst the men
who supported his cause, which would have been highly derogatory to his glory. He
means that God took part with those, such as Jonathan and others, who were
interested in his welfare. These might be few in number, possessed of little power,
and cast down with fears; but he believed that, under the guidance and protection of
the Almighty, they would prove superior to his enemies: or, perhaps, we may view
him as referring, in the words, to his complete destitution of all human defenders,
and asserting that the help of God would abundantly compensate for all. (291)
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. Behold, God is mine helper. He saw enemies everywhere, and
now to his joy as he looks upon the band of his defenders he sees one whose aid is
better than all the help of men; he is overwhelmed with joy at recognizing his divine
champion, and cries,
Behold. And is not this a theme for pious exultation in all time, that the great God
protects us, his own people: what matters the number or violence of our foes when
HE uplifts the shield of his omnipotence to guard us, and the sword of his power to
aid us? Little care we for the defiance of the foe while we have the defence of God.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. The reigning Lord, the great Adonai is
in the camp of my defenders. Here was a greater champion than any of the three
mighties, or than all the valiant men who chose David for their captain. The
psalmist was very confident, he felt so thoroughly that his heart was on the Lord's
side that he was sure God was on his side. He asked in the first verse for deliverance,
and here he returns thanks for upholding: while we are seeking one mercy which we
have not, we must not be unmindful of another which we have. It is a great mercy to
have some friends left us, but a greater mercy still to see the Lord among them, for
like so many cyphers our friends stand for nothing till the Lord sets himself as a
great unit in the front of them.

Ver. 4. Behold, says he, I produce a certain fact, well known, demonstrated by a new
proof, and worthy of all attention; for the particle behold, contains this breadth of
meaning. Hermann Venema.
Ver. 4. Christ sees with the utmost clearness, that God will be his own helper, and of
them--the disciples and believers-- that uphold his soul. In the same moment, does
he foresee the destruction of his enemies. He views, in thought, the armies of Titus,
the fall of the Jewish nation, and the dispersion of the remnant. He beholds the
avenging hand of God, stretched in fury over the destroyers. William Hill Tucker.
Ver. 4. (second clause). Such as take part with the persecuted saints, God will take
part with them! The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. David Dickson.
Ver. 4-5. He is assured of help to himself and to his friends, and of vengeance to his
enemies. Whence learn,
1. Fervent prayer hath readily a swift answer, and sometimes wonderfully swift,
even before a man have ended speech, as here David findeth in experience. Behold,
saith he, God is my helper.
2. The sight of faith is very clear and piercing through all clouds when God holds
forth the light of his Spirit unto it, it can demonstrate God present in an instant;
ready to help in greatest straits: Behold, God is my helper.
3. There is more joy in God's felt presence than grief in felt trouble; for, Behold,
God is mine helper, was more comfortable to David than his friends' unkindness,
and strangers' malice was grievous. David Dickson.
COFFMA , "Verse 4
"Behold, God is my helper:
The Lord is of them that uphold my soul.
He will requite the evil unto mine enemies:
Destroy thou them in thy truth."
"The Lord is of them that uphold my soul" (Psalms 54:4). "This is a literal
rendition of the Hebrew";[2] but the thought is not that the Lord is merely one of
David's helpers, but that it is no other than God himself who supports and aids all
of those helpers who are helping David. "Like a string of zeroes, our many friends
stand for nothing, unless the Lord sets himself as a unit in front of them; then their
number is innumerable."[3] Who were David's human helpers? They were the "six
hundred men"; they were the "thirty-three mighty men"; they were "all in Israel
who loved the Lord," and who prayed to be rid of the blatant paganism of Saul.
"He will requite the evil unto mine enemies" (Psalms 54:5) "The center of the Psalm
is God's faithfulness; therefore right will be vindicated and enemies will be
punished."[4] othing is further from the Spirit of God than the foolish notion that
God is never really going to punish anybody.
COKE, "Psalms 54:4. The Lord is with them that uphold my soul— These words

are capable of a double sense, each applicable to the context. Either "God is with
them who uphold me, as their friend and helper, to assist and prosper them;" or,
"God is amongst them; he is one of the number of those who support me, and will
preserve me in safety."
WHEDO , "4. Behold, God is mine helper—From the treachery and enmity of men
the psalmist turns in confidence to God. Help, here, literally means to surround, as
if to protect on all sides. The complementary word in the next hemistich is uphold,
support, make strong. The participial form of the two words denotes a present
helping and upholding, as if faith already felt the prayed-for relief. Calvin: “Then
must it needs be that he excelled wonderfully in strength of faith, whereby,
surmounting so many obstacles, he penetrated even from hell to heaven.” The form
is very expressive, not only counting God in the class of his helpers, but placing him
as his sole reliance.
TRAPP, "Psalms 54:4 Behold, God [is] mine helper: the Lord [is] with them that
uphold my soul.
Ver. 4. Behold, God is mine helper] And that mine enemies might have seen, had
they set God before them. The Dutch have a proverb, Where God hath a mind to
destroy a man, he first putteth out his eyes.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul] That favour my righteous cause, and
wish my welfare, as doth Jonathan, and the rest that fear God; who although they
be but few and feeble in comparison, yet they have God with them and for them (
non interfuit modo, sed etiam praefuit), and how many do you reckon him for? as
Antigonus once said. David was environed, and in great danger to be surprised; but
God rescued him by an invasion of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 23:27-28. The Lord
knoweth how to deliver his, 2 Peter 2:9 R. Moses expounded it, God is loco omnium,
et super omnes, instead of all, and above all.
David was confident that God would help and sustain him. He also believed God
would punish those who opposed him, and he asked God to do so. He could pray
this way because what his adversaries were doing was contrary to God"s will.
"The imprecation is not vindictive but expressive of trust in divine justice. Evil must
be repaid." [ ote: VanGemeren, p391.]
EBC, "Prayer is, as so often in the Psalter, followed by immediately deepened
assurance of victory. The suppliant rises from his knees, and points the enemies
round him to his one Helper. In Psalms 54:4 b a literal rendering would mislead.
"The Lord is among the upholders of my soul" seems to bring God down to a level
on which others stand. The psalmist does not mean this, but that God gathers up in
Himself, and that supremely, the qualities belonging to the conception of an
upholder. It is, in form, an inclusion of God in a certain class. It is, in meaning, the

assertion that He is the only true representative of the class. Commentators quote
Jephthah’s plaintive words to his daughter as another instance of the idiom: "Alas,
my daughter thou art one of them that trouble me"-i.e., my greatest troubler. That
one thought, vivified into new power by the act of prayer, is the psalmist’s all-
sufficient buckler, which he plants between himself and his enemies, bidding them
"behold." Strong in the confidence that has sprung in his heart anew, he can look
forward in the certainty that his adversaries (lit. those who lie in wait for me) will
find their evil recoiling on themselves. The reading of the Hebrew text is, Evil shall
return to; that of the Hebrew margin, adopted by the A.V. and R.V, is, He shall
requite evil to. The meanings are substantially the same, only that the one makes the
automatic action of retribution more prominent, while the other emphasises God’s
justice in inflicting it. The latter reading gives increased force to the swift transition
to prayer in Psalms 54:5 b.
That petition is, like others in similar psalms, proper to the spiritual level of the Old
Testament, and not to that of the ew; and it is far more reverent, as well as
accurate, to recognise fully the distinction than to try to slur it over. At the same
time, it is not to be forgotten that the same lofty consciousness of the identity of his
cause with God’s, which we have already had to notice, operating here in these
wishes for the enemies’ destruction, gives another aspect to them than that of mere
outbursts of private vengeance. That higher aspect is made prominent by the
addition "in Thy troth." God’s faithfulness to His purposes and promises was
concerned in the destruction, because these were pledged to the psalmist’s
protection. His well-being was so intertwined with God’s promises that the Divine
faithfulness demanded the sweeping away of his foes. That is evidently not the
language which fits our lips. It implies a special relation to God’s plans, and it
modifies the character of this apparently vindictive prayer.
GUZIK, " Proclamation and prayer.
1. (4-5a) The proclamation.
Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is with those who uphold my life.
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
a. Behold, God is my helper: Though a hunted man, David could confidently expect
God's help. His present adversity had not led him to question the goodness of God,
but to appeal to it.
i. "David was bringing himself and then his enemies to God's attention, he now

brings God before his own attention." (Kidner)
ii. Maclaren had in mind that David said, Behold, God is my helper to his enemies.
"The suppliant rises from his knees, and points the enemies round him to his one
Helper." (Maclaren)
iii. "Little care we for the defiance of the foe while we have the defence of God."
(Spurgeon)
b. The Lord is with those who uphold my life: The sense of this remarkable
statement is that Adonai is among those who help me by upholding my life.
i. "In 4b the ancient versions, followed by most modern ones, seem to have found the
Hebrew text too startling, where it numbers God 'among' the upholders of my life.
But this is not belittling Him; it is seeing His hand behind the human help."
(Kidner)
ii. He will repay my enemies for their evil: "They worked for evil, and they shall
have their wages." (Spurgeon)
PETT, "Verses 4-6
David Expresses His Confidence In God’s Protection And Deliverance And Assures
Him That He Will ot Be Short On Gratitude (Psalms 54:4-6).
Psalms 54:4-5
‘Behold, God is my helper,
The Sovereign Lord is of those who uphold my life.
He will requite the evil to my enemies,
Destroy you them in your truth.’
Having prayed to God he is confident of God’s help and protection. He sees God as
his helper. For had God not anointed him to replace Saul? How then could He not
help him to escape from Saul? And he sees Him as the Sovereign Lord (adonai) Who
is the Upholder of his life, as One Who is on his side. He is thus confident that God
will respond to the evil of his enemies by Himself acting against them, requiting
them for what they are doing. And that, having by anointing David demonstrated
His favourable attitude towards him, He will be true to His promise so given.
BI 4-7, "Behold, God is mine helper; the Lord is with them that uphold my soul
God our Helper
I.
When God is the helper of His people.
1. In the great crisis of their conversion. He raiseth from the pit, delivers, saves, etc.
2. In the troubles and afflictions of life. These are many, varied, sometimes severe,

etc. Job, the apostles (2Co_1:8-10).
3. In the perils and conflicts of their warfare (Psa_37:14-15; Psa_60:11-12).
4. In their labours and toils in His kingdom (Psa_121:1-2).
5. In weakness, sickness and death (Psa_23:4; Psa_116:1-9).
II. What kind of a helper is God.
1. Always near at hand.
2. Always efficient and sufficient.
3. Perpetual and everlasting.
III. The conclusions to which the subject should lead us.
1. Personal knowledge and reliance on God.
2. Unwavering faith and hope.
3. Constant prayer and supplication. He will be sought and inquired of.
4. Acknowledgment and praise. “Bless the Lord at all times,” etc. (J. Burns, D. D.)
5 Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
in your faithfulness destroy them.
BAR ES, "He shall reward evil unto mine enemies - Margin, “those that
observe me.” The original word here means literally “to twist, to twist together;” then, to
press together; then, to “oppress,” or to treat as an enemy. The reference here is to those
who pressed upon him as enemies, or who endeavored to crush him. The idea is that
God would recompense them for this conduct, or that he would deal with them as they
deserved.
Cut them off in thy truth - In thy faithfulness; in thy regard for what is right. This
is simply a prayer, or an expression of strong confidence, that God would deal with them
as they deserved, or that he would not suffer such conduct to pass without a proper
expression of his sense of the wrong. There is no evidence that David in this prayer was
prompted by private or vindictive feeling.

CLARKE, "He shall reward evil - Saul and his courtiers, instead of having God’s
approbation, shall have his curse.
Cut them off in thy truth - Thou hast promised to save me; these have purposed to
destroy me. Thy truth is engaged in my defence; they will destroy me if permitted to live:
to save thy truth, and to accomplish its promises, thou must cut them off.
GILL, "He shall reward evil unto mine enemies,.... That eyed him as Saul did;
that observed his haunts, where he resorted, and who were with him, as the Ziphites did
under Saul's direction; as the Word (m) here used for "enemies" signifies: the mischief
they had devised for him, he believed, would be returned upon their own heads; the pit
they digged they would fall into themselves; and the net they had spread for others their
own feet would be taken in. This was true as of David's enemies, so of Christ's, the
wicked Jews, who narrowly watched him to take every advantage against him;
cut them off in thy truth; root and branch, as Saul, and his family, and his courtiers,
quickly were, according to the truth of promises made to David, and of threatenings unto
them.
HE RY, " God taking part with him, he doubted not but his enemies should both flee
and fall before him (Psa_54:5): “He shall reward evil unto my enemies that observe me,
seeking an opportunity to do me a mischief. The evil they designed against me the
righteous God will return upon their own heads.” David would not render evil to them,
but he knew God would: I as a deaf man heard not, for thou wilt hear. The enemies we
forgive, if they repent not, God will judge; and for this reason we must not avenge
ourselves, because God has said, Vengeance is mine. But he prays, Cut them off in thy
truth. This is not a prayer of malice, but a prayer of faith; for it has an eye to the word of
God, and only desires the performance of that. There is truth in God's threatenings as
well as in his promises, and sinners that repent not will find it so to their cost.
JAMISO , "He shall ... evil — or, “Evil shall return on” (Psa_7:16) my enemies or
watchers, that is, to do me evil (Psa_6:7).
in thy truth — Thy verified promise.
CALVI , "5.He shall reward evil unto mine enemies As the verb ‫ישיב‬ , yashib, may
be rendered he shall cause to return, (292) it seems to point not only at the
punishment, but the kind of punishment, which would be awarded to his enemies, in
the recoiling of their wicked machinations upon their own heads. Some give an
optative signification to the verb, understanding the words to express a wish or
prayer; but I see no reason why it should not be taken strictly in the future tense,
and imagine that David intimates his certain expectation that this favor, which he
had already prayed for, would be granted. It is by no means uncommon to find the
prayers of the Psalmist intersected with sentences of this kind, inserted for the
purpose of stimulating his faith, as here, where he announces the general truth, that
God is the righteous judge who will recompense the wicked. With the view of

confirming his hopes, he adverts particularly to the truth of God; for nothing can
support us in the hour of temptation, when the Divine deliverance may be long
delayed, but a firm persuasion that God is true, and that he cannot deceive us by his
divine promises. His confidence of obtaining his request was grounded upon the
circumstance that God could no more deny his word than deny himself.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies. They worked for
evil, and they shall have their wages. It cannot be that malice should go unavenged.
It were cruelty to the good to be lenient to their persecutors. It is appointed, and so
it must ever be, that those who shoot upward the arrows of malice shall find them
fall upon themselves. The recoil of their own gun has often killed oppressors.
Cut them off in thy truth. ot in ferocious revenge is this spoken, but as an Amen to
the sure sentence of the just Judge. Let the veracity of thy threatenings be placed
beyond dispute, the decree is right and just, let it be fulfilled. It is not a private
desire, but the solemn utterance of a military man, a grossly injured man, a public
leader destined to be a monarch, and a man well trained in the school of Moses,
whose law ordains eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.
Ver. 4-5. See Psalms on "Psalms 54:4" for further information.
Ver. 5. Cut them off. He desires that God would destroy them with a death dealing
blow, which is the force the word tmu contains; its primitive sense is to be silent, to
keep silence, whence it is transferred to a stroke penetrating deeply and striking
fatally, such as is called a silent blow, opposed to a sounding one, which is wont to
rebound and not pierce deeply. Hermann Venema.
COKE, "Psalms 54:5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies— ‫לשׁררי‬ leshoreri, to
them who, with a hostile mind, watch and observe me. This was the conduct of the
Ziphites to David: they acted as Saul's spies, and watched David, to betray him to
destruction. See 1 Samuel 23:23. The next clause should be rendered in the future,
conformable to this.
WHEDO , "5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies—The “evil” they sought to
do to me shall recoil upon themselves. God shall turn it back upon them. So the
word rendered “reward” properly signifies. It is another instance of the lex talionis.
Cut them off in thy truth—The optative sense, here, is to be taken in connexion with
the qualifying words “thy truth.” Only in accordance with this does David invoke
divine interference. Immutability and authority of law are the gist and essence of the
prayer. If these fail all is lost. Prayer for the deliverance of the righteous cannot be
answered without the reformation or the destruction of the wicked; that is,
destruction as to their power to do evil.
TRAPP, "Psalms 54:5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy
truth.
Ver. 5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies] Or, mine observers, that watch me a

mischief. I shall escape out of trouble, and they shall come in my stead, Proverbs
11:8.
Cut them off in thy truth] i.e. According as thou hast pronounced against such as
seek and suck innocent blood.
GUZIK, "(5b-6) The prayer.
Cut them off in Your truth.
I will freely sacrifice to You;
I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
a. Cut them off in Your truth: David came to prayer again. He asked God to kill or
cast out his enemies, and to do it in Your truth. David could pray such bold prayers
against his enemies because he believed more than his self interest was at risk; so
was God's truth.
i. Cut them off: "He desires that God would destroy them with a death–dealing
blow, which is the force the word ‫צמת‬ contains; its primitive sense is to be silent, to
keep silence, whence it is transferred to a stroke penetrating deeply and striking
fatally, such as is called a silent blow, opposed to a sounding one, which is wont to
rebound and not pierce deeply." (Venema, cited in Spurgeon)
ii. "Thou hast promised to save me; these have purposed to destroy me. Thy truth is
engaged in my defence; they will destroy me if permitted to live: to save thy truth,
and to accomplish its promises, thou must cut them off." (Clarke)
iii. Some are uncomfortable with prayers that ask for the doom of enemies. It's true
that Jesus told us to pray in a more generous way for our enemies (Matthew 5:43-
44). Yet there is nothing wrong with the basic principle of wanting to see good
triumph and for God to do His work against those who do evil.
iv. David lived out another aspect of this prayer. He prayed, Cut them off in Your
truth but refused to take vengeance in his own hands. Immediately after the second
betrayal of the Ziphites (1 Samuel 26:1) David had the opportunity to kill King Saul
in his sleep and he refused to do it. David would not cut him off; he waited upon
God to do it.

b. I will freely sacrifice to You: This described what is sometimes called a freewill
sacrifice - one that is given to God without specific reference to a previous vow
made. It was a sacrifice that didn't need to be made; it was done freely out of
gratitude.
i. "Freely sacrifice; not by constraint, as many do, because they are obliged to it, and
cannot neglect it without shame and inconvenience to themselves; but with a willing
and cheerful mind, which thou lovest in and above all sacrifices." (Poole)
c. I will praise You name, O Lord, for it is good: David said this in anticipation of
God's rescue, but not in a demand for the rescue. He was able to praise God while
the problem remained and before the prayer was answered.
i. "Christians should follow his example: they should consider how great things God
hath done for them, and should never suffer the voice of praise and thanksgiving to
cease in the church of the redeemed." (Horne)
6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
BAR ES, "I will freely sacrifice unto thee - The Hebrew words rendered
“freely,” mean with “willingness, voluntariness, spontaneousness.” The idea is, that he
would do it of a free or willing mind; without constraint or compulsion; voluntarily. The
reference is to a free-will or voluntary offering, as distinguished from one, that was
prescribed by law. See Exo_35:29; Exo_36:3; Lev_7:16; Lev_22:18; Num_15:3; Num_
29:39. The idea is, that as the result of the divine interposition which he prayed for, he
would bring voluntary offerings to God in acknowledgment of his goodness and mercy.
I will praise thy name, O Lord - I will praise thee. See Psa_52:9.
For it is good - That is, God himself is benevolent; and David says that he would
express his sense of God’s goodness by offering him praise.

CLARKE, "I will freely sacrifice unto thee - Or, I will sacrifice nobly unto thee.
Not only with a willing mind, but with a liberal hand will I bring sacrifice unto thee.
For it is good - Thy name is good; it is descriptive of thy nature; full of goodness and
mercy to man. And it is good to be employed in such a work: whoever worships thee in
sincerity is sure to be a gainer. To him who orders his conversation aright, thou dost
show thy salvation.
GILL, "I will freely sacrifice unto thee,.... Not legal sacrifices; no, nor freewill
offerings the law gives directions about, though the allusion is to them; but the freewill
offerings of his mouth, Psa_119:108; the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, on
account of help, salvation, and deliverance, as appears from the following clause; which
he determines to offer, not by constraint, but willingly; not by force, but of a ready mind;
freely, and with all his heart. The sacrifice of his antitype is himself, his soul and body, as
in union with his divine Person; and this was offered up to God, against whom man has
sinned, and whose justice must be satisfied; and this was done freely and voluntarily; he
gave himself an offering; he laid down his life of himself, and that for sinners. The
sacrifices of his people are their prayers and praises, their acts of beneficence, and the
presentation of their souls and bodies in divine service; all which they do freely, under
the influence of divine grace;
I will praise thy name, O Lord; which explains what is meant by sacrificing: this is
what is due to the Lord, and comely in his people;
for it is good; either the name of God; and therefore to be praised. He himself is good,
as, he is, both in a way of providence and of grace; and it is good, both pleasantly and
profitably good, to sing praises to him, Psa_147:1.
HE RY, "He promises to give thanks to God for all the experiences he had had of his
goodness to him (Psa_54:6): I will sacrifice unto thee. Though sacrifices were expensive,
yet, when God required that his worshippers should in that way praise him, David would
not only offer them, but offer them freely and without grudging. All our spiritual
sacrifices must, in this sense, be free-will-offerings; for God loves a cheerful giver. Yet he
will not only bring his sacrifice, which was but the shadow, the ceremony; he will mind
the substance: I will praise thy name. A thankful heart, and the calves of our lips giving
thanks to his name, are the sacrifices God will accept: “I will praise thy name, for it is
good. Thy name is not only great but good, and therefore to be praised. To praise thy
name is not only what we are bound to, but it is good, it is pleasant, it is profitable; it is
good for us (Psa_92:1); therefore I will praise thy name.”
JAMISO , "I will freely, etc. — or, present a freewill offering (Lev_7:16; Num_
15:3).
CALVI , "6.I will freely sacrifice unto thee. According to his usual custom, he
engages, provided deliverance should be granted, to feel a grateful sense of it; and
there can be no doubt that he here promises also to return thanks to God, in a

formal manner, when he should enjoy an opportunity of doing so. Though God
principally looks to the inward sentiment of the heart, that would not excuse the
neglect of such rites as the Law had prescribed. He would testify his sense of the
favor which he received, in the manner common to all the people of God, by
sacrifices, and be thus the means of exciting others to their duty by his example.
And he would sacrifice freely: by which he does not allude to the circumstance, that
sacrifices of thanksgiving were at the option of worshippers, but to the alacrity and
cheerfulness with which he would pay his vow when he had escaped his present
dangers. The generality of men promise largely to God so long as they are under the
present pressure of affliction, but are no sooner relieved than they relapse into that
carelessness which is natural to them, and forget the goodness of the Lord. But
David engages to sacrifice freely, and in another manner than the hypocrite, whose
religion is the offspring of servility and constraint. We are taught by the passage
that, in coming into the presence of God, we cannot look for acceptance unless we
bring to his service a willing mind. The last clause of this verse, and the verse which
follows, evidently refer to the time when the Psalmist had obtained the deliverance
which he sought. The whole psalm, it is true, must have been written after his
deliverance; but up to this point, it is to be considered as recording the form of
prayer which he used when yet exposed to the danger. We are now to suppose him
relieved from his anxieties, and subjoining a fresh expression of his gratitude: nor is
it improbable that, he refers to mercies which he had experienced at other periods of
his history, and which were recalled to his memory by the one more immediately
brought under our notice in the preceding verses; so that he is to be understood as
declaring, in a more general sense, that the name of God was good, and that he had
been delivered out of all trouble I have already adverted, in a former psalm, (Psalms
52:6,) to the sense in which the righteous are said to see the destruction of their
enemies. It is such a sight of the event as is accompanied with joy and comfort; and
should any inquire, whether it is allowable for the children of God to feel pleasure in
witnessing the execution of Divine judgments upon the wicked, the answer is
obvious, that all must depend upon the motive by which they are influenced. If their
satisfaction proceed in any measure from the gratification of a depraved feeling, it
must be condemned; but there is certainly a pure and unblameable delight which we
may feel in looking upon such illustrations of the divine justice.
Psalms 52
PsalmsPsalms 55
SPURGEO , "Ver. 6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee. Spontaneously will I bring my
freewill offerings. So certain is he of deliverance that he offers a vow by
anticipation. His overflowing gratitude would load the altars of God with victims
cheerfully presented. The more we receive, the more we ought to render. The
spontaneousness of our gifts is a great element in their acceptance; the Lord loveth a
cheerful giver.
I will praise thy name, O Lord. As if no amount of sacrifice could express his joyful
feelings, he resolves to be much in vocal thanksgiving. The name which he invoked
in prayer (Psalms 54:1), he will now magnify in praise. ote how roundly he brings
it out:

O Jehovah. This is ever the grand name of the revealed God of Israel, a name which
awakens the most sublime sentiments, and so nourishes the most acceptable praise.
one can praise the Lord so well as those who have tried and proved the
preciousness of his name in seasons of adversity. The psalmist adds,
for it is good, and surely we may read this with a double nominative, God's name is
good, and so is his praise. It is of great use to our souls to be much in praise; we are
never so holy or so happy as when our adoration of God abounds. Praise is good in
itself, good to us, and good to all around us. If David's enemies are described in
Psalms 54:3 as not setting God before them, he here declares that he is of a different
mind from them, for he resolves to have the Lord in perpetual remembrance in his
sacrifices and praises.
Ver. 6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee. He would sacrifice freely: by which he does
not allude to the circumstance, that sacrifices of thanksgiving were at the option of
worshippers, but to the alacrity and cheerfulness with which he would pay his vow
when he had escaped his present dangers. John Calvin.
COFFMA , "Verse 6
"With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice unto thee:
I will give thanks unto thy ame, O Jehovah, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble;
And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies."
That sudden cessation of Saul's pursuit of David in the wilderness of Maon was as
dramatic and evident an answer to prayer as anyone could imagine; and David no
doubt understood it to mean that God would indeed deliver him and preserve him,
hence the confidence of these last verses.
"Confidence having now mounted up to certainty, and regarding his deliverance as
already surely accomplished, David promises to make a freewill-offering as soon as
he is able to approach the sanctuary. The freewill-offering mentioned here is the one
mentioned in umbers 15:3."[5]
"And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies" (Psalms 54:7). We believe
this translation is defective because, as Rawlinson said, "There is nothing about
`desire' in the original."[6] That is the reason the word `desire' is written in italics in
many versions, including the ASV. Rawlinson proposed this as a better rendition,
"Mine eye has looked calmly and leisurely upon my defeated enemies."[7]
Certainly this is a thousand times better than that of J. M. P. Smith, who rendered
it, "My eye has gloated over my foes." He then called it a " asty note of personal
vengeance."[8]

"This is probably not personal vindication, but an affirmation of how things must
work in a world ruled by God's faithfulness."[9]
WHEDO , "6. I will freely sacrifice—Hebrew, with a free-will offering I will
sacrifice, etc. ‫,נדבה‬ (nedabah,) is always used for the free-will offering in the
Pentateuch, and generally elsewhere. Its peculiarity consisted in its pure
spontaneity, springing solely from the willing heart of the worshipper, without the
prompting of a legal requirement or an antecedent vow, with which it, namely, the
votive offering, stood in contrast. The free-will sacrifices of the text “were not
spiritual in opposition to the ritual sacrifices, (as in Psalms 50:14 ; Psalms 51:17,)
but ritual as an outward representation of the spiritual.”—Delitzsch. The free-will
offering belonged to the class of peace offering on receiving the answer of prayer,
and assured acceptance and fellowship with God. The remaining members of the
verse corroborate the view here given. It is good—That is, thus to give thanks.
TRAPP, "Psalms 54:6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O
LORD for [it is] good.
Ver. 6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee] Or, liberally; not with an ill will and
pinchingly. The Arabic rendereth it, Laudabo te obediens. Praise is the best
sacrifice, and obedience is the best praise.
I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good] Thy name is good, and it is a good
thing to praise it; for thereby men do thee right, help thee to thine own, secure to
themselves former favours, and procure future.
David was so sure that God would deliver him that he spoke of offering a freewill
sacrifice of worship for God"s deliverance. This would have been the peace
(fellowship) offering ( Leviticus 3; Leviticus 7). He believed God would deliver him
because God is good (cf. Psalm 52:9). In Psalm 54:7, the psalmist spoke of his
deliverance as already past, as a way of expressing his confidence in God. He would
have found satisfaction in God punishing his enemies for their evil, not because he
hated them personally.
When God"s people experience opposition from others who seek to thwart His will,
they can count on His eventual deliverance. It may not come this side of the grave,
but God will punish evildoers and reward those who trust and obey Him. [ ote: See
Swindoll, pp141-51.]
EBC, "The closing verses of this simple little psalm touch very familiar notes. The
faith which has prayed has grown so sure of answer that it already begins to think
of the thank offerings. This is not like the superstitious vow. "I will give so-and-so if
Jupiter"-or the Virgin-"will hear me." This praying man knows that he is heard,
and is not so much vowing as joyfully anticipating his glad sacrifice. The same

Psalm 54 commentary

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