Psalm 56, A Dove in Gath

For the director of music. To [the tune of] "A Dove on Distant Oaks." Of David. A miktam. When the Philistines had seized him in Gath.

The account of David at Gath is in I Samuel 21: 10-15.

Psalm 56: 1-2, Slander

 Be merciful to me, O God, 

for men hotly pursue me;

all day long they press their attack.

My slanderers pursue me all day long;

many are attacking me in their pride.

David is pursued physically, but also slandered by his attackers.  (To attack someone, you must first have contempt about them and have reasons to hate them.)

Psalm 56: 3-4, I will trust

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

As is common in the Psalms, David oscillates between concern, pleading and statements of trust,  reliance.

Psalm 56: 5-6, Twisting, lurking

All day long they twist my words;

they are always plotting to harm me.

They conspire,

they lurk,

they watch my steps,

eager to take my life.

David repeats the complaints about slander and lies and pleads for God to bring his enemies down. His parallel accusation escalate in short quick phrases.

Psalm 56: 7, And the nations...

On no account let them escape;

in your anger, O God, bring down the nations.

The last line seems to shift his enemies to the nations, the enemies of all Israel.

Psalm 56: 8, Tears in a bottle

 Record my lament;

list my tears on your scroll--

are they not in your record?

David asks God to write down his lament, to keep a copy of his tears. Alter translates "list my tears on your scroll" as "put my tears in your flask", with the image of a concerned God collecting every tear, keeping track of every sorrow. 

The NIV loses the wordplay in this verse; the Hebrew here is essentially "Count my wanderings (nodi), my tears into your bottle (nod), in your book." The psalmist sings that his nodi are collected into God's nod.

Psalm 56: 9, Turn back my enemies

Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help.

By this I will know that God is for me.

Salvation is not theoretical here -- David expects to see his enemies turned back!

Psalm 56: 10-11, Praise and trust

In God, whose word I praise,

in the LORD, whose word I praise--

in God I trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

David both praises and trusts in God.  I suspect those two actions go together.

Psalm 56: 12-13, Vows and offerings  

 I am under vows to you, O God;

I will present my thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered me from death

and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God in the light of life.

The psalm ends with a statement of trust. David has made vows of obedience to God and has given Him thank offerings. He thanks God for past protection, both against death and also against stumbling.