8 You have seen my wanderings; put the drops from my eyes into your bottle; are they not in your record?
Let my prayer come to your ears, O Lord, and give attention to my cry, make an answer to my weeping: for my time here is short before you, and in a little time I will be gone, like all my fathers.
Go back and say to Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, The Lord, the God of David your father, says, Your prayer has come to my ears, and I have seen your weeping; see, I will make you well: on the third day you will go up to the house of the Lord.
For the Lamb who is on the high seat will be their keeper and their guide to fountains of living water: and God will make glad their eyes for ever.
All these came to their end in faith, not having had the heritage; but having seen it with delight far away, they gave witness that they were wanderers and not of the earth.
Those who put in seed with weeping will get in the grain with cries of joy. Though a man may go out weeping, taking his vessel of seed with him; he will come again in joy, with the corded stems of grain in his arms.
And I saw the dead, great and small, taking their places before the high seat; and the books were open, and another book was open, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by the things which were in the books, even by their works.
And the stages of their journey on their way out were put down in writing by Moses at the order of the Lord: these are the stages of their journey and the way they went. On the fifteenth day of the first month they went out from Rameses; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out by the power of the Lord before the eyes of all the Egyptians, While the Egyptians were placing in the earth the bodies of their sons on whom the Lord had sent destruction: and their gods had been judged by him. So the children of Israel went from Rameses and put up their tents in Succoth. And they went on from Succoth and put up their tents in Etham on the edge of the waste land. And from Etham, turning back to Pi-hahiroth which is before Baal-zephon, they put up their tents before Migdol. And journeying on from before Hahiroth, they went through the sea into the waste land: they went three days' journey through the waste land of Etham and put up their tents in Marah. And from Marah they went on to Elim: and in Elim there were twelve water-springs and seventy palm-trees; and they put up their tents there. And they went on from Elim and put up their tents by the Red Sea. Then from the Red Sea they went on and put up their tents in the waste land of Sin. And they went on from the waste land of Sin, and put up their tents in Dophkah. And they went on from Dophkah, and put up their tents in Alush. And they went on from Alush, and put up their tents in Rephidim, where there was no drinking-water for the people. And they went on from Rephidim, and put up their tents in the waste land of Sinai. And they went on from the waste land of Sinai and put up their tents in Kibroth-hattaavah. And they went on from Kibroth-hattaavah, and put up their tents in Hazeroth. And they went on from Hazeroth, and put up their tents in Rithmah. And they went on from Rithmah, and put up their tents in Rimmon-perez. And they went on from Rimmon-perez, and put up their tents in Libnah. And they went on from Libnah, and put up their tents in Rissah. And they went on from Rissah, and put up their tents in Kehelathah. And they went on from Kehelathah, and put up their tents in Mount Shepher. And they went on from Mount Shepher, and put up their tents in Haradah. And they went on from Haradah, and put up their tents in Makheloth. And they went on from Makheloth, and put up their tents in Tahath. And they went on from Tahath, and put up their tents in Terah. And they went on from Terah, and put up their tents in Mithkah. And they went on from Mithkah, and put up their tents in Hashmonah. And they went on from Hashmonah, and put up their tents in Moseroth. And they went on from Moseroth, and put up their tents in Bene-jaakan. And they went on from Bene-jaakan, and put up their tents in Hor-haggidgad. And they went on from Hor-haggidgad, and put up their tents in Jotbathah. And they went on from Jotbathah, and put up their tents in Abronah. And they went on from Abronah, and put up their tents in Ezion-geber. And they went on from Ezion-geber, and put up their tents in the waste land of Zin (which is Kadesh). And they went on from Kadesh, and put up their tents in Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom. And Aaron the priest went up into the mountain at the order of the Lord, and came to his death there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old at the time of his death in Mount Hor. And news of the coming of the children of Israel came to the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who was living in the South in the land of Canaan. And from Mount Hor they went on, and put up their tents in Zalmonah. And they went on from Zalmonah, and put up their tents in Punon. And they went on from Punon, and put up their tents in Oboth. And they went on from Oboth, and put up their tents in Iye-abarim at the edge of Moab. And they went on from Iyim, and put up their tents in Dibon-gad. And from Dibon-gad they went on, and put up their tents in Almon-diblathaim. And from Almon-diblathaim they went on, and put up their tents in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. And they went on from the mountains of Abarim, and put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho; Planting their tents by the side of Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the lowlands of Moab. And in the lowlands of Moab by Jordan at Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, When you go over Jordan into the land of Canaan, See that all the people of the land are forced out from before you, and put to destruction all their pictured stones, and all their metal images, and all their high places: And take the land for yourselves, for your resting-place: for to you I have given the land as your heritage. And you will take up your heritage in the land by the decision of the Lord, to every family its part; the greater the family the greater its heritage, and the smaller the family the smaller will be its heritage; wherever the decision of the Lord gives to any man his part, that will be his; distribution will be made to you by your fathers' tribes. But if you are slow in driving out the people of the land, then those of them who are still there will be like pin-points in your eyes and like thorns in your sides, troubling you in the land where you are living. And it will come about that as it was my purpose to do to them, so I will do to you.
By faith Abraham did as God said when he was ordered to go out into a place which was to be given to him as a heritage, and went out without knowledge of where he was going.
In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers;
When they went about from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people. He would not let anyone do them wrong; he even kept back kings because of them,
And David said to himself, Some day death will come to me by the hand of Saul: the only thing for me to do is to get away into the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up hope of taking me in any part of the land of Israel: and so I may be able to get away from him.
So David went away from there and took cover in a strong place at Adullam; and his brothers and all his father's people, hearing of it, went down to him there. And everyone who was in trouble, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, came together to him, and he became captain over them: about four hundred men were joined to him. And from there David went to Mizpeh in the land of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and mother come and make their living-place with you till it is clear to me what God will do for me. And he took them to the king of Moab and they went on living with him while David was in his safe place. And the prophet Gad said to David, Do not go on living in this place but go into the land of Judah. Then David went away and came to the woodland of Hereth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 56
Commentary on Psalms 56 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 56
Ps 56:1-13. Upon Jonath-elem-rechokim—literally, "upon the dove of silence" of distant places; either denoting a melody (see on Ps 9:1) of that name, to which this Psalm was to be performed; or it is an enigmatical form of denoting the subject, as given in the history referred to (1Sa 21:11, &c.), David being regarded as an uncomplaining, meek dove, driven from his native home to wander in exile. Beset by domestic and foreign foes, David appeals confidently to God, recites his complaints, and closes with joyful and assured anticipations of God's continued help.
1, 2. would swallow—literally, "pants as a raging beast" (Ac 9:1).
2. enemies—watchers (Ps 54:5).
most High—As it is not elsewhere used absolutely for God, some render the word here, arrogantly, or proudly, as qualifying "those who fight," &c.
3. in—or literally, "unto."
thee—to whom he turns in trouble.
4. in God … his word—By His grace or aid (Ps 60:12; 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 (Ps 65:2; Isa 31:3), intimating frailty.
5, 6. A vivid picture of the conduct of malicious enemies.
7. Shall they escape? &c.—or better, "Their escape is by iniquity."
cast … people—humble those who so proudly oppose Thy servant.
8. God is mindful of his exile and remembers his tears. The custom of bottling the tears of mourners as a memorial, which has existed in some Eastern nations, may explain the figure.
9. God is for me—or, "on my side" (Ps 118:6; 124:1, 2); hence he is sure of the repulse of his foes.
12. I will render praises—will pay what I have vowed.
13. The question implies an affirmative answer, drawn from past experience.
falling—as from a precipice.
before God—in His favor during life.