Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
Psalm 56 stands among David's songs of thanksgiving for personal rescue from his enemies. The opening cry is a plea for divine mercy from one pressed by hostile men who fight unceasingly, seeking to swallow him up and overwhelm and destroy him. It belongs with Psalms 46 to 72, which together display human frailty, weakness and utter need alongside God's great strength, love and mercy.
The same plea applies prophetically to Christ, who left the glory of heaven to redeem humanity yet met hostility, hunting and opposition from the very people He came to save, so that it describes His suffering. His experience enters the psalm because His own Spirit inspired the psalmist. In that setting the verse meets a circumstance of life with God's teaching, giving encouragement and keeping power to God's faithful children in times of trouble.
Psalm 56 stands among David's songs of thanksgiving for personal rescue from his enemies. The opening cry is a plea for divine mercy from one pressed by hostile men who fight unceasingly, seeking to swallow him up and overwhelm and destroy him. It belongs with Psalms 46 to 72, which together display human frailty, weakness and utter need alongside God's great strength, love and mercy.
The same plea applies prophetically to Christ, who left the glory of heaven to redeem humanity yet met hostility, hunting and opposition from the very people He came to save, so that it describes His suffering. His experience enters the psalm because His own Spirit inspired the psalmist. In that setting the verse meets a circumstance of life with God's teaching, giving encouragement and keeping power to God's faithful children in times of trouble.