They that see me abroad flee from me.

12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

13 I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; For they take counsel together against me; They devise to take away my life.

14 But I trust in thee, O Lord;

I "Thou art my say,

God."

15 My fate is in thy hand;

Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies,
And from them that persecute me.

16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;

Save me for thy mercies' sake.

17 Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I have called upon thee;

Let the wicked be ashamed,

And let them be silent in the grave. 18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,

19

Which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

O, how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee;

Which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men!

20 Thou wilt hide them in the secret place of thy presence from the machinations of men ;

Thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

Ver. 20. "Secret place of thy presence,"
99 66

a pavilion," &c.

The metaphor is taken from a shepherd, who drives his sheep

to a shelter from the sun or the storm.

21 Blessed be the Lord!

For he showed me his marvellous kindness in the

strong city.

22 I said in my haste,

23

I am cut off from before thine eyes;

Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications,

When I cried unto thee.

O, love the Lord, all ye his saints; For the Lord preserveth the faithful,

And plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your

To these two psalms certain Hebrew words are prefixed, which have much exercised the sagacity of commentators. They are, to the fifty-sixth, "The dumb dove among strangers," and to the fifty-seventh, " Destroy not." Some have supposed the former to allude

Ver. 22. "I said in my haste," &c. The Hebrew word denotes the hurried flight of one escaping panic-struck from his pursuers. It is the word used in the narrative of these events in 1 Sam. xxiii. 26. A.

to the condition of David, when he dwelt as an exile with Achish, king of Gath; and the latter to refer to David's command to his men, when Saul was in his power (1 Sam. xxvi. 9), "Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?" The prevalent opinion seems to be, that they are merely directions to the musicians; as we, at the present day, should use the words "Old Hundred," or "From Greenland's icy mountains."

The two psalms are similar in sentiment and structure. There is nothing in them particularly appropriate to the occasions alluded to above, but their general tenor is in harmony with the circumstances of David during his persecution by Saul. They complain of the malice of his enemies, and pray for relief, closing with expressions of confidence in God. In structure they consist of strophes and refrains, the latter occurring in Psalm lvi. at the fourth and tenth verses, and in Ps. lvii. at the fifth and eleventh verses.

After David's escape from Saul, in the wilderness of Maon, he retired to Engedi, and afterwards to Ziph. In both these places he had it in his power to take Saul's life, but refrained from doing so; and on both occasions Saul, struck with his magnanimity, confessed himself in the wrong, and solemnly promised to persecute him no more. This promise, after making it a second time, he seems to have kept; for we hear of no further attempt of his against David, though the latter kept himself at a distance, and for a time sought shelter with his old enemies, the Philistines, in Gath.

1

PSALM LVI.

Be merciful unto me, O God, for man panteth for my life;

My adversary presseth on me ;

2 Mine enemies daily pant for my life;

For they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High.

3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

4 I will glory in the promise of God;

In God I have put my trust;

I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

5 Every day they wrest my words;

All their thoughts are against me for evil.

6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps,

Lying in wait for my life.

7 Shall they escape by iniquity?

Thou, O God, in thy displeasure shalt cast them down.

8 Thou notest my wanderings;

Put thou my tears into thy bottle :

Ver. 1. "Man panteth for my life." This image is drawn from the chase. David describes his enemies as pursuing him as the hounds pursue the game, or as a beast of prey a feebler animal, pressing on its footsteps, and with open jaws, ready to seize.

Ver. 8. "Put thou my tears into thy bottle." In the sepulchres of the ancients have been found small earthen or glass vessels, to which the name of "Lachrymatories" has been given, from the supposed use of them to hold the tears of the mourn

Are they not recorded in thy book?

9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back;

This I know, for God is for me.

10 I will glory in the promise of God;

I will glory in the promise of Jehovah.

11 In God have I put my trust ;

I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. 12 Unto thee, O God, I will pay my vows;

I will render praises unto thee.

13 For thou hast delivered me from death;

Yea, my feet from falling;

That I may walk before God in the light of the living.

PSALM LVII.

1 BE merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto

Yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my

refuge,

Until these calamities be overpast.

2 I will cry unto God most high;

Unto God that performeth all things for me.

3 He shall send from heaven, and save me

From the reproach of him that panteth for my life. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

ers. Possibly David may have intended to allude to something of the same kind in use among the Hebrews; or it may be only a strong expression of the prayer, "Let not my tears flow unheeded."