Psalm LIV

To the chiel’ Musician. On Neginotli. Mascliil. A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said unto Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

1 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy sti-ength.

2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: They have not set God before them. Selah.

4 Behokl, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. 6 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.

6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord, for it

is good.

7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble:

And mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.

The title is such as we have already met with, “On NeginotJt’ and “3Iaschil;” and the occasion when it was first written is mentioned as the time when the men of Ziph informed against David.

The burden of this Psalm is simply — to what quarter should one look for help in the time of trouble? Wholly to the Lord. “Save me by thy name” (ver. ]), reminds us of John xvii. 11. We are kept by the putting forth of God’s perfections in our behalf, truth, mercy, love, power, wisdom, holiness. Our Lord was so kept by the Father, when he prayed in the words of verse 1, using them as his own, and giving his Church an instance in himself of that safe keeping. The Selah-^OM^e of thoughtfulness in verse 3 is beautifully followed by” Behold’’’ of verse 4. It is q. d., silent prayer followed by confidence of an answer.

It is in verses 6 and 7 that the future dawns on our view. David, David’s Son, and all who follow David’s Son, may exult in the prospect of that sacrifice of thankfulness to be offered. When delivered out of all distress, we shall look with triumph on our enemies; for as Calvin remarks (quoted by Hengstenberg), “Only let the eye be pure, and we can piously and holily refresh ourselves with the manifestations of God’s justice.” That will be the time of the hallelujah in Rev. xix, 1 — i, all resulting from his name glorified, his name manifested as “good.” (Ver. 6.)

We have therefore in this short Psalm,
The Righteous One’s help found in the Lord’s name.