gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
praise
אֲהַלֵּ֪ל'a.ha.Lel
H1984
to be clear (orig. of sound · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular
word
דְּבָ֫ר֥וֹde.Va.Ro
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
God
בֵּאלֹהִ֣יםbe.lo.Him
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
trust
בָּ֭טַחְתִּיBa.tach.ti
H982
figuratively · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
fear
אִירָ֑א'i.Ra'
H3372
to fear · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
flesh
בָשָׂ֣רva.Sar
H1320
flesh (from its freshness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
do
יַּעֲשֶׂ֖הya.'a.Seh
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Psalms 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Romans 8:31-39 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee…
Luke 12:4-5 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
Psalms 56:10-11 In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.
Psalms 46:1-2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 56:1-7
David, in this psalm, by his faith throws himself into the hands of God, even when he had by his fear and folly thrown himself into the hands of the Philistines; it was when they took him in Gath, whither he fled for fear of Saul, forgetting the quarrel they had with him for killing Goliath; but they soon put him in mid of it, Sa1 21:10, Sa1 21:11. Upon that occasion he changed his behaviour, but with so little ruffle to his temper that then he penned both this psalm and the 34th. This is called Michtam - a golden psalm. So some other psalms are entitled, but this has something peculiar in the title; it is upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, which signifies the silent dove afar off. Some apply this t…
in God . . . his word--By His grace or aid (Psa 60:12; Psa 108:13), or, "I will boast in God as to His word"; in either case His word is the special matter and cause of praise.
flesh--for mankind (Psa 65:2; Isa 31:3), intimating frailty.
John Gill on Psalms 56:4
In God I will praise his word,.... Or praise him for his words for the whole Scripture that was then in being; for those testimonies which were David's counsellors in times of difficulty and distress; and particularly for some word of promise made unto him, he was persuaded would be fulfilled, and in which he gloried and made his boast of, and on which his faith and hope were built; and this he did, and determined to do, in the strength of the Lord, and by the assistance of his grace;
in God I have put my trust; either in times past, and was not ashamed or confounded; or now, as he determined he would in Psalm 56:3;
I will not fear what flesh can do unto me: or continue to fear any or all…
Psalm 56:1-4
1. Be merciful unto me, O God! for man swallows me up [327] he fighting against me, daily oppresseth me. 2. Mine enemies daily swallow me up: surely they be many [328] that fight against me, O Most High! [329] 3. In the day that I was afraid, I did put my trust in thee. 4. In God I will praise his word; in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
1 Be merciful unto me, O God! for man swallows me up [330] It would be difficult to determine whether he speaks here of foreign or domestic enemies. When brought to King Achish he was as a sheep between two bands of wolves, an object of deadly hatred to the Philistines on the one hand, and exposed to equal p…
The Church Fathers
"In God I will praise my discourses, in God I have hoped: I will not fear what flesh doeth to me" [Psalm 56:4]. Wherefore? Because in God I will praise my discourses. If in thyself thou praisest thy discourses: I say not that thou art not to fear; it is impossible that thou have not to fear. For thy discourses either false thou wilt have, and therefore thine own, because false: or if thy discourses shall be true, and thou shalt deem thyself not to have them from God but of thyself to speak; true they will be, but thou wilt be false: but if thou shalt have known that thou canst say nothing true in the wisdom of God, in the faith of the Truth, save that which from Him thou hast received, of whom is said, "For what hast thou which thou hast not received?" Then in God thou art praising thy discourses, in order that in God thou mayest be praised by the discourses of God. ..."In God I have hoped, I will not fear what flesh doeth to me." Wast thou not the same that a little before wast saying, "Have pity on me, O Lord, for man hath trodden me down; all day long warring he hath troubled me"? How therefore here, "I will not fear what flesh doeth to me"? What shall he do to thee? Thou thyself a little before hast said, "Hath trodden me down, hath troubled me." Nothing shall he do, when these things he shall do? He hath had regard to the wine which floweth from treading, and hath made answer, Evidently he hath trodden down, evidently hath troubled; but what to me shall he do? A grape I was, wine I shall be: "In God I have hoped, I will not fear what flesh doeth to me."
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.
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).
אלהים and אנושׁ, Psa 56:2 (Psa 9:20; Psa 10:18), are antitheses: over against God, the majestic One, men are feeble beings. Their rebellion against the counsel of God is ineffective madness. If the poet has God's favour on his side, then he will face these pigmies that behave as though they were giants, who fight against him מרום, moving on high, i.e., proudly (cf. ממּרום, Psa 73:8), in the invincible might of God. שׁאף, inhiare, as in Psa 57:4; לחם, as in Psa 35:1, with ל like אל, e.g., in Jer 1:19. Thus, then, he does not fear; in the day when (Ges. ֗123, 3, b) he might well be afraid (conjunctive future, as e.g., in Jos 9:27), he clings trustfully to (אל as in Psa 4:6, and frequently, Pro…
mere mortals: Or mere flesh, in contrast to the immortal and infinitely more powerful God (see Isa 2:22).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 56:4
In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
In God I will praise his word. Faith brings forth praise. He who can trust will soon sing. God's promise, when fulfilled, is a noble subject for praise, and even before fulfilment it should be the theme of song. It is in or through God that we are able to praise. We praise as well as pray in the Spirit. Or we may read it—in extolling the Lord one of the main points for thanksgiving is his revealed will in the Scriptures, and the fidelity with which he keeps his word of promise. In God I have put my trust. Altogether and alone should we stay ourselves on God. What was a gracious resolve in t…
