to snatch away · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
soul
נַפְשִׁ֡יnaf.Shi
H5315
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
death
מִמָּוֶת֮mi.ma.Vet
H4194
death (natural or violent) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
feet
רַגְלַ֗יrag.Lai
H7272
a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix
falling
מִ֫דֶּ֥חִיmi.De.chi
H1762
a push · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
walk
לְ֭הִֽתְהַלֵּךְLe.hit.ha.lekh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · preposition + verb, hithpael infinitive construct
before
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
God
אֱלֹהִ֑ים'E.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
light
בְּ֝א֗וֹרbe.'or
H216
illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
living
הַֽחַיִּֽיםHa.chai.Yim
H2416
alive · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 116:8-9 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
Job 33:30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.
Revelation 21:23-24 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light the…
Psalms 145:14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
Psalms 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
Isaiah 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 56:8–end
Several things David here comforts himself with in the day of his distress and fear.
I. That God took particular notice of all his grievances and all his griefs, Psa 56:8. 1. Of all the inconveniences of his state: Thou tellest my wanderings, my flittings, so the old translation. David was now but a young (under thirty) and yet he had had many removes, from his father's house to the court, thence to the camp, and now driven out to sojourn where he could find a place, but not allowed to rest any where; he was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains; continual terrors and toils attended him; but this comforted him, that God kept a particular account of all his motions, and numbered all the…
The question implies an affirmative answer, drawn from past experience.
falling--as from a precipice.
before God--in His favor during life.
Next: Psalms Chapter 57
John Gill on Psalms 56:13
For thou hast delivered my soul from death,.... From imminent danger of death, when in the hands of the Philistines; not that the soul can die; that is immortal; but he means his person, on which account he determines to render praise to God: moreover, this may include the deliverance of his soul from a moral or spiritual death, in which he was by nature, being conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity; from which he was delivered by regenerating grace, when he was quickened, who before was dead in trespasses and sins; and so delivered, as that this death should no more come upon him; the grace of God in him being a well of living water, springing up unto eternal life: and it may also be unde…
Psalm 56:12-13
12. Thy vows are upon me, O God! I will pay thy praises. 13. For thou hast delivered my soul from death: hast thou not delivered my feet from falling headlong? that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
12. Thy vows are upon me, O God! I hinted, from the outset, that it is probable this psalm was written by David after he had escaped the dangers which he describes; and this may account for the thanksgiving here appended to it. At the same time, we have evidence that he was ever ready to engage in this exercise even when presently suffering under his afflictions. He declares that the vows of God were upon him; by which he means, that he was bound to pay them, as,…
The Church Fathers
"Because You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from slipping: that I may be pleasing before God in the light of the living" [Psalm 56:13]. With reason he is not pleasing to alien sons, that are put afar off from holy men, because they have not the light of the living, whence they may see that which to God is pleasing. "Light of the living," is light of the immortal, light of holy men. He that is not in darkness, is pleasing in the light of the living. A man is observed, and the things which belong to him; no one knows of what sort he is: God sees of what sort he is. Sometimes even the devil himself he escapes; except he tempt, he finds not: just as concerning that man of whom just now I have made mention:..."Does Job by any means worship God for nought?" [Job 1:9] For this was true light, this the light of the living, that gratis he should worship God. God saw in the heart of His servant His gratuitous worship. For that heart was pleasing in the sight of the Lord in the light of the living: the devil's sight he escaped, because in darkness he was. God admitted the tempter, not in order that He might Himself know that which He did know, but in order that to us to be known and imitated He might set it forth. Admitted was the tempter; he took away everything, there remained the man bereft of possessions, bereft of family, bereft of children, full of God. A wife certainly was left. [Job 2:9] Merciful do ye deem the devil, that he left him a wife? He knew through whom he had deceived Adam....With wound smitten from head even unto feet, whole nevertheless within, he made answer to the woman tempting, out of the light of the living, out of the light of his heart: "you have spoken as though one of the unwise women," [Job 2:10] that is, as though one that has not the light of the living. For the light of the living is wisdom, and the darkness of unwise men is folly. You have spoken as though one of the unwise women: my flesh you see, the light of my heart you see not. For she then might more have loved her husband, if the interior beauty she had known, and had beheld the place where he was beautiful before the eyes of God: because in Him were vows which he might render of praise to God. How entirely the enemy had forborne to invade that patrimony! How whole was that which he was possessing, and that because of which yet more to be…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Gath — A wine-vat, one of the five royal cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3) on which the ark brought calamity (1 Sam. 5:8, 9; 6:17). It was famous also as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath (1…
Jonath-elem-rechokim — Dove of the dumbness of the distance; i.e., “the silent dove in distant places”, title of Ps. 56. This was probably the name of some well known tune or melody to which the psalm was to be sung.
Death, Natural · When averted for a season, is a motive to increased devotedness — When averted for a season, is a motive to increased devotedness
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
In prospect of his deliverance the poet promises beforehand to fulfil the duty of thankfulness. עלי, incumbent upon me, as in Pro 7:14; Sa2 18:11. נדריך, with an objective subject, are the vows made to God; and תּודות are distinguished from them, as e.g., in Ch2 29:31. He will suffer neither the pledged שׁלמי נדר nor the שׁלמי תּודה to be wanting; for - so will he be then able to sing and to declare - Thou hast rescued, etc. The perfect after כּי denotes that which is then past, as in Psa 59:17, cf. the dependent passage Psa 116:8. There the expression is ארצות החיּים instead of אור החיּים (here and in Elihu's speech, Job 33:30). Light of life (Joh 8:12) or of the living (lxx τῶν ζώντων) i…
The light of God’s goodness and salvation will replace the darkness of death (see 18:25-29; 27:1).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 56:13
For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
For thou hast delivered my soul from death. His enemies were defeated in their attempts upon his life, and therefore he vowed to devote his life to God. Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling? One mercy is a plea for another, for indeed it may happen that the second is the necessary complement of the first. It little boots that we live, if we are made to fall in character by the thrusts of our enemies. As lief not be, as live to be bereft of honour, and fallen prostrate before my enemies. That I may walk before God in the light of the living, enj…
