David Spares Saul's Life Again

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 26:1) And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, "Does David not hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, before Jeshimon?"

David had gone to Carmel where he met and married Abigail.  He apparently then hid out in a hill of Hachilah before Jeshimon which was a wilderness north of Hachilah.  Being in close proximity to Ziph, the Ziphites knew David's movements and went to Saul a second time to tell on David (1 Samuel 23:19).  It seems strange that David would hide out in the same area where the Ziphites had told on him before, but perhaps he wanted to stay close to Abigail's home.  This map at Bible Hub shows where Ziph and Hachilah were in relation to Carmel:

(2) Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph.

So much for the good will Saul had seemed to offer after David had spared his life in the cave (1 Samuel 24:17-20), when he heard where David was hiding, his anger toward David was renewed, and he went to the wilderness of Ziph to seek him, taking 3000 choice men, meaning surely men of war, with him.

(3) And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah before Jeshimon, by the road.  But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

Saul encamped at the hill of Hachilah by the road.  David had moved to the wilderness around Hachilah and saw that Saul had come after him.

(4) David therefore sent out spies and understood that Saul had indeed come. (5) And David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched, and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

David had sent out spies who confirmed that Saul had indeed come.  He then went to where Saul was encamped and saw him in the trench with Abner, the captain of his army, and the rest of his army pitched around him.

(6) Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, "Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will go down with you."

David spoke to two men with him, Ahimelech, probably a Hittite at birth who had converted, and Abishai, who was the son of David's sister, Zeruiah, as was Joab.  He asked which one of them would go with him down to Saul's camp, and his nephew, Abishai, said he would go with him.

(7) So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster, and Abner and the people lay round about him.

David and Abishai went to Saul's camp at night.  Saul was sleeping in the trench with his spear stuck in the ground at his pillow, or whatever he was using as a headrest.  Abner and the rest of his army lay all around him.

(8) Then Abishai said to David, "God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day; now therefore, let me strike him, I pray you, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not strike him the second time."

I believe the sense of what Abishai said to David was that the Lord had delivered Saul to him, and he asked that he be allowed to strike Saul with a spear clear to the ground, and he would not have to strike a second time because Saul would surely be dead.

(9) And David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?"

However, David told Abishai not to kill Saul, because he believed no one was able to raise a hand against the Lord's anointed king and not incur guilt for his actions.

(10) David said furthermore, "As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. (11) The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed, but I pray you, take now the spear that is at his bolster, and the jug of water, and let us go."

David told Abishai the Lord would take his own anointed king in His time in His manner, so he would not dream of doing it himself.  However, he did tell Abishai to take Saul's spear and a jug of water which would be sufficient to let Saul know they had been there and what they could have done if they so desired.

(12) So David took the spear and the jug of water from Saul's bolster, and they got away, and no man saw nor knew, neither awaked, for they were all asleep because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

It was David, in fact, who took the spear and the jug of water.  Perhaps the meaning of verse 11 was more like, "let us take the spear...and go."  Even though Saul was surrounded by his captain and all his army, none of them awakened because the Lord had caused a deep sleep to come over them.  David and Abishai got away unnoticed.

(13) Then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great space between them, (14) And David cried to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you who cries to the king?"

David went away from the camp and stood on a hill far away, but close enough, that the people would hear him when he shouted.  It seems David must have been crying out before Abner actually heard him, as he cried out to Abner to answer him as if he had not answered his previous call.  Abner asked who it was who was calling to the king.  Again, it seems evident David had been calling out to Saul before he was heard or was acknowledged.

(15) And David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept your lord, the king? For there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord. (16) This thing is not good that you have done. As the Lord lives, you are worthy to die because you have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jug of water that was at his bolster."

David sarcastically asked Abner if he was a man like no other in Israel, and if so, why then had he let someone have access to the king to destroy him?  David told Abner he was worthy of death because he had not protected the king.  He then showed him where the king's spear and jug of water were that had been at the king's headrest while he slept.

(17) And Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And David said, "My voice, my lord, O king."

Saul knew David's voice and called out to ask if it was indeed David's voice he heard.  It's interesting that Saul still called him, "my son," even though he had given David's wife to someone else and pursued him to kill him.  David answered that it was indeed him.

(18) And he said, "Why does my lord thus pursue after his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil in my hand? (19) Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering, but if the children of men, cursed they before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, 'Go serve other gods.'"

David asked Saul why he pursued him and what he had done to stir him up against him.  He said if it was the Lord who had stirred Saul up against him, then let Him receive an offering, probably meaning himself that he would give if it was indeed the Lord's will.  I don't think David would have used such flippant language if he was sincere about an offering to the Lord to appease His anger toward himself or Saul, either one.  His point was that if God had stirred Saul to kill him, then so be it.  However, if it was men by lies and slanders, then let them be cursed before God because they had driven an innocent man away from his inheritance and forced him to dwell among pagan idolaters.

(20) "Now therefore, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

David asked that Saul not spill his blood before the Lord who knew who was righteous and would surely avenge his death.  And that was because Saul hunted someone as insignificant as a flea, or as one out bird hunting.

(21) Then Saul said, "I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm because my soul was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly."

Saul once again softened toward David, even acknowledging his sin this time which is more than he did the first time David spared his life (1 Samuel 24:17).  He told David to return to his home for he would do him no harm because he had spared his life that day.  He admitted that he had been foolish and mistaken about David.

(22) And David answered and said, "Behold the king's spear! Let one of the young men come over and fetch it."

David returned Saul's spear to him.  However, he asked that one of Saul's young men go and fetch it from David, as he was not so trusting of Saul's apparent change of heart to go down and deliver it to him himself.

(23) "The Lord render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord delivered you into my hand today but I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. (24) And behold, as your life was much set by this day in my eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation."

David went on to suggest that the Lord be the one to render judgment to every man, or perhaps his point was that he had faith that the Lord would render to him according to his faithfulness.  After all, the Lord had delivered Saul into his hand that day, but he would not dare to strike the Lord's anointed.  Then he proposed to Saul that as he had valued Saul's life that day, so let the Lord value his (David's) life and deliver him out of his tribulation.  It's noteworthy that he did not say that Saul should value his life as David had valued his.  He had no confidence in Saul to do the fair thing, but he knew he could depend on his Lord.

(25) Then Saul said to David, "Blessed you, my son David; you shall both do great and also shall still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Saul offered a blessing to David and called him his son again.  He acknowledged that David would go on to do great things, and he would prevail, which seems to be a realization that David would prevail against Saul himself and all his enemies.  So he returned to his palace, and David went on his way.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, tells us that this was the last time Saul and David saw each other.  It seems Saul may have finally come to the full realization that the Lord was with David, and he would indeed prevail against him and his army of David's enemies.

David and Abigail

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 25:1) And Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together and lamented him and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

David had spared Saul's life and returned to his stronghold.  Meanwhile, Samuel had died.  All the Israelites had gathered together to mourn his death, and they buried him at his house in Ramah.  The first 24 chapters of the book of Samuel were thought to have been written by Samuel himself, but obviously he could not have written the rest of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel after he died.  Those have been attributed to the prophets Nathan and Gad.  

David came out of his hiding place and went down to the wilderness of Paran.  Scripture doesn't say specifically that he went there upon hearing of Samuel's death or that he went there to mourn him.  The wilderness of Paran was far south of Ramah.

(2) And was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel, and the man very great, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

Meanwhile, there was a man in Maon, north of the wilderness of Paran, in the tribe of Judah, who was very wealthy and had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats.  His possessions were in Carmel, just north of Maon, and he was there in Carmel shearing his sheep.

(3) Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife, Abigail, a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance, but the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was of the house of Caleb.

The name of the man was Nabal, and he was a rude and evil man of the house of Caleb.  Interestingly, his name meant "fool."  His wife was Abigail, and it appears she was a knowledgeable woman with common sense.  She was also beautiful.

(4) And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, (5) And David sent out ten young men, and David said to the young men, "Get up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name."

David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel, and he sent out ten men to go to Carmel to meet with Nabal and greet him in David's name.

(6) And thus you shall say to him who lives, "Peace to you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have. (7) And now I have heard that you have shearers. Now your shepherds who were with us, we did not hurt them, neither was anything missing from them, all the while they were in Carmel."

David told the ten young men to first offer a blessing of peace to Nabal and to his house and all that he had.  Evidently, David had had occasion to be with Nabal's shepherds, probably because the sheep were feeding near the wilderness of Paran which was not far from Maon and Carmel.  David wanted his messengers to tell Nabal this, and to let him know that he and his army had not hurt the shepherds, nor taken anything from them.

(8) "Ask your young men, and they will show you. Therefore, let the young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a good day. Give, I pray you, whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David."

David, through his messengers, would ask that Nabal ask his own shepherds to verify that he and his army had not harmed them in any way.  Therefore, David hoped one good turn deserved another and his messengers found favor in his eyes.  They had gone to Nabal on a good day when he would be making a feast for his shearers, as was the custom.  David would have his messengers ask if they might be given whatever was at hand that might be spared for David and his men.

(9) And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David and ceased.

David's messengers went to Nabal and told him all that David had told them to say.  Then they waited for Nabal's reply.

(10) And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away every man from his master. (11) Shall I then take my bread and my water and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men whom I do not know where they are from?"

However, Nabal answered David's servants with haughtiness and disdain.  Could it be that he actually did not know David and Jesse, or was it his way of saying that it meant nothing to him whoever had sent them?  That appears to be the more likely case.  After all, David and Nabal were from the same tribe, and surely he knew the fame of David who had slain his ten thousands (1 Samuel 21:11).  He suggested that David and his men were nothing more than rebellious servants who had broken away from their master, and he would never consider giving any of his food and drink that he had prepared for his own shearers to just anyone from who knows where.

(12) So David's young men turned their way and went again and came and told him all those sayings.

David's messengers left Nabal and went back to David and told him all that Nabal had said.

(13) And David said to his men, "Gird you every man his sword." And they girded on every man his sword, and David also girded on his sword, and there went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred stayed by the stuff.

David did not take Nabal's rudeness and condescension lightly.  He instructed his men to gird themselves with their swords, which four hundred of them did while the other two hundred remained with their supplies.

(14) But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master, and he railed on them."

One of Nabal's men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, about David sending messengers to salute her husband.  The original word "barak" that was translated as "salute" means more completely "to bless, to kneel," so David's men had certainly conveyed humility, kindness, and respect toward Nabal.  However, Nabal had berated them with contempt.

(15) "But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither did we miss anything, as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields. (16) They were a wall to us both by night and day all the while we were with them keeping the sheep."

The young man told Abigail how David and his men had been very good to them while they had been in close proximity to them in the wilderness.  They did not hurt them nor take anything from them all the while they were near them in the fields.  As a matter of fact, they had been a wall of protection to them, protecting and defending them against those who might have done them harm.

(17) "Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for evil is determined against our master and against all his household, for he is a son of Belial that one cannot speak to him."

The young man told Abigail that something bad was about to happen because of how her husband had treated David and his men.  It's interesting that a servant of her husband felt comfortable enough to call him a son of Belial, an evil worthless man, to his wife.  She obviously knew what kind of man her husband was and that no one could speak to him reasonably and rationally.  The man told Abigail to consider what she should do to prevent destruction to her household.

(18) Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched grain, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. (19) And she said to her servants, "Go on before me; behold, I come after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

Abigail hurriedly gathered many provisions, loaves, wine, dressed sheep, parched corn, raisins, and fig cakes, and laid them upon donkeys.  She sent her servants on before her, saying she would come after them.  She did not tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

(20) And it was as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the cover of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them.

I believe the sense is that Abigail came on her donkey on the side of the hill under a cover of bushes or trees and saw David and his men before they saw her.  Then she met them.

(21) Now David had said, "Surely in vain have I kept all that he had in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that was his, and he has requited me evil for good. (22) So and more also do God to the enemies of David if I leave of all that is his by the morning light any who pisses against the wall."

David HAD said, so I don't believe he said this to Abigail, but these were the things he had said and was intending to do at that moment.  David felt he had foolishly been good to Nabal's men expecting good in return, but Nabal had returned evil for David's good.  I believe the sense of what David said after that was that he wished the Lord to bless his enemies and perhaps pour evil on himself if he left even one male, man or beast, before the morning.  This was obviously rash and excessive anger on David's part that, and if followed through, would have brought death and destruction to many innocent people.

(23) And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, (24) And fell at his feet, and said, "On me, my lord, on me this iniquity! And let your handmaid, I pray you, speak in your audience, and hear the words of your handmaid."

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and dismounted her donkey and fell on her face at David's feet.  She pleaded with him to put all the blame of her husband's actions on her and to allow her to speak in her defense.  She calls him her lord as a sign of respect and reverence to him, probably to atone for her husband's rudeness in speaking of him as a runaway servant (verse 10).

(25) "Let not my lord, I pray you, regard this man of Belial, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he; Nabal his name, and folly with him, but I your handmaid did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent."

Abigail pleaded with David not to pay any attention to such a foolish and worthless man as her husband.  She said he was just as his name indicated, a fool, and therefore his actions were foolish.  However, she said, she had not seen the young men David had sent to her husband.

(26) "Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and your soul lives, seeing the Lord has withheld you from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now let your enemies and they who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. (27) And now this blessing which your handmaid has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord."

Abigail said that as surely as the Lord lived (and David), the Lord had so far withheld David from committing the bloodshed he had intended to avenge himself.  Therefore she prayed a curse upon the enemies of David, either that they be as foolish and utterly impotent to hurt David as was her husband, or that David's anger toward Nabal and his vengeance fall upon his enemies who deserved it more than this foolish man, her husband.  Then as a blessing, she asked that all that she had brought with her (verse 18) be given to David's men.

(28) "I pray you, forgive the trespass of your handmaid, for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, for my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil has not been found in you all your days. (29) Yet a man has risen to pursue you and to seek your soul, but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord your God; and the souls of your enemies, them shall He sling out, as from the middle of a sling."

Abigail asked that David forgive her intrusion in troubling him with her petition.  She either knew the fame of David and that he was blessed by God, or she spoke under influence of the Holy Spirit.  It was probably a bit of both.  She told him that the Lord was going to make an enduring house of David because he fought the battles of the Lord.  She knew no evil had been found in him, yet a man (Saul) had risen up to pursue him and to ultimately kill him.  However, she knew that David's life was bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord, precious to Him, favored and preserved by Him.  But the lives of his enemies the Lord would cast out as quickly and forcefully as a stone slung from a slingshot.

(30) "And it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall have done to my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and shall have appointed you ruler over Israel, (31) That this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid."

Abigail continued with her plea to David.  She asked that when the Lord had fulfilled His promise to make him ruler over Israel, that this incident be of no grief or regret to him because he had avenged himself and shed innocent blood without cause.  However, when the Lord had dealt well with David in delivering him out of the hands of his enemies and seating him as king of Israel, she wished for him to remember her and her plea and advice not to shed blood.

(32) And David said to Abigail, "Blessed the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. (33) And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand."

David recognized the hand of the Lord in sending Abigail to meet him and praised Him.  He was also thankful to Abigail for giving him such good advice and preventing him from doing something he would surely have regretted if he had shed innocent blood just to avenge himself because of one foolish man.

(34) "For indeed, as the Lord of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, except you had hasted and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal by the morning light any that pisses against the wall."

David admitted that as surely as the Lord lived, He who had kept David from hurting Abigail, had she not hurried and come to meet him, he would have killed Nabal and all the males of men and beasts in his house and in his employ by morning light.

(35) So David received of her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, "Go up in peace to your house; see, I have hearkened to your voice and have respected your person."

David received the gifts that Abigail had brought on her donkeys.  After all, that is all he had requested of Nabal, even less (verse 8).  He told her to go back to her house in peace for he had respected her and listened to her and had done what she requested.

(36) And Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king, and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore, she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

When Abigail returned to her house to Nabal, she found he had held a great feast in his house, and he was very drunk.  Therefore she told him nothing of her encounter with David.

(37) But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

The next morning, when Nabal was sober again, Abigail told him all that had transpired between her and David.  Nabal, probably terrified at the notion of what he had barely escaped and perhaps feared it might still happen, passed out and became motionless as a stone.

(38) And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord struck Nabal that he died.

After being in a comatose state for about ten days, the Lord struck Nabal with death.

(39) And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept his servant from evil, for the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail to take her to him as wife.

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he praised the Lord for preventing him from doing evil but taking up his cause Himself and issuing judgment. "'Vengeance is Mine,' saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19).  And the Lord's way was much more just, as He just took out Nabal and no one else in his family or household.  David then sent messengers to Abigail and asked her to be his wife.

(40) And when the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, "David sent us to you, to take you to him as wife." (41) And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, "Behold, your handmaid, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."

David had sent servants to Abigail at her home in Carmel, and they told her that David had sent for her to be his wife.  With the same humility she had shown to David when she met with him, Abigail bowed herself before the servants and said she considered herself only worthy to be a servant to wash the feet of David's servants.  It was as Abigail had requested, "...when the Lord shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember your handmaid." (verse 31)  The Lord had Himself dealt with this man who had done David wrong and brought this good woman to him to be his wife.

(42) And Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on an ass, with five damsels of hers who went after her, and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.

Abigail hurried and rode on a donkey after the messengers of David and brought with her five damsels or maidservants who rode after her.  She indeed became David's wife.

(43) David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they were also both of them his wives.

David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, a town of Judah near Carmel.  This was not the same Ahinoam as was married to Saul (1 Samuel 14:50).  So both Abigail and Ahinoam were David's wives.

(44) But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti, the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

It seems that Saul had previously given David's wife Michal, who was Saul's daughter, to another man in marriage, Phalti or Phaltiel, as called elsewhere.  David’s taking of two wives could be seen as indicative of his growing power and importance, although he was still being pursued by Saul.

Be Exalted, O God, Above the Heavens

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

David had just spared Saul's life when he came into the cave where David was hiding.  After they spoke to one another, Saul went back to his palace, and David went back to his hidden stronghold.  He composed this psalm after that event.

(Psalm 57:1) (To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave) Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for my soul trusts in You; yea, in the shadow of Your wings will I make my refuge, until calamities have passed by.

Altaschith meant literally "do not destroy," so perhaps this was David's instruction to the chief musician who would later put this psalm to music.  Michtam, as has been discussed before has an unknown meaning, but it is a name David gave to some of his psalms.  It comes from a root word meaning "to carve or engrave," so it may have meant a psalm of significance that David specifically wanted engraved to be remembered always.  

David asked that the Lord be merciful to him for he trusted in Him.  He had nowhere else to go; there was no one he could rely on but God.  His only protection was in the shadow of the Lord's wings, using an image of a mother hen protecting her young, so there he desired to stay until his troubles passed.

(2) I will cry to God most high, to God who performs for me. (3) He shall send from heaven and save me from the reproach of him who would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.

David would cry out to the most high God, exalted above all.  The original word "gamar" that was transcribed as "performs" more completely meant "come to an end, complete, perfect."  David trusted that his help would only come from heaven above, not from any man nor from himself.  Only God could save him from Saul and bring his troubles to an end.  Selah meant a pause.  David had faith that God would send forth His mercy in saving him, and faith in His truth in all the promises He made.  God had said that David would be king, so he had faith that he would be brought through all his troubles by God so that he would indeed, be king.

(4) My soul is among lions; I lie among them who are set on fire, the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

David felt surrounded by men fierce and savage as lions.  He was among those burning with rage, not beasts, but men whose spears and arrows were like the teeth of wild beasts.  Their tongues were like sharp swords in that they cut him with their slander and lies.  It is evident that although he had talked his way out of the last encounter with Saul when he showed him he had spared his life, he did not trust Saul and surely expected him to continue to pursue him.

(5) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, Your glory above all the earth.

I believe David's point was that he wished the Lord to show how He was exalted above all the earth and the heavens by saving him as only He could and having the glory of God in his deliverance be observed by all. 

(6) They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me, into the midst where they have fallen. Selah.

David knew his enemies had laid traps for him, and because of that, he was depressed and just tired.  I know he had not lost all hope and faith as he continued to say that his enemies had laid traps in which they themselves had fallen.  Disheartened though he might be, David recalled what the Lord had done for him.  Saul had hunted David, but the Lord had delivered Saul to David.

(7) My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise. (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, psaltery and harp! I will awake early.  

However down and tired he was, David intended to keep his heart fixed on God, and of Him, he would sing and give praise.  And with that purpose, he revived himself with calls to awaken his soul.  He called on musical instruments to make this a hymn of praise.  David may have meant that he intended to wake up early with songs of praise, but as the original word transcribed as "early" literally meant "dawn," I believe his point was that he would wake the dawn with his joyous singing.

(9) I will praise You, O Lord, among the people; I will sing to You among the nations. (10) For Your mercy is great to the heavens and Your truth to the clouds.

David vowed to always praise the Lord among the people and sing His praises to all the nations because of His exceedingly great mercy and truth, greater and higher than the highest heights that man could conceive of, the clouds and the heavens.

(11) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, Your glory above all the earth.

As a matter of fact, David wished the Lord to be exalted even above the heavens with His glory above all the earth and above all angels in heaven.  

Once again David had composed a psalm when he felt depressed that began with his complaints which led him to prayer which led to faith in God that led him to rejoicing in God.  It is a wonderful model for what we should do when we are feeling persecuted and depressed.  After all, the Lord inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).  Perhaps David intended this psalm to be a model prayer, and that is why he called it a michtam.

As Psalm 108 began with some of the same words which ended Psalm 57, it is reasonable to assume David may have composed it at the same time.

(Psalm 108:1) (A Song, Psalm of David) O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.

In Psalm 57, David had said his heart was fixed on the Lord and that he would sing and give praise to the Lord (Psalm 57:7).  Then he called upon his soul to awaken, as well as musical instruments to make his psalm a hymn of praise.  He composed this psalm, calling it a song.  It does seem like this is the song he had rallied his soul (his glory) to sing.

(2) Awake, psaltery and harp; I will awake early. (3) I will praise You, O Lord among the people, and I will sing praises to You among the nations.

David repeated the same words of Psalm 57 in this song.  He called on musical instruments and himself to wake early or perhaps he meant to wake the dawn.  He would praise the Lord among all the people and sing His praises among the nations.

(4) For Your mercy is great above the heavens and Your truth to the clouds. (5) Be exalted, O God, above the heavens and Your glory above all the earth!

Once again, David declared that the Lord's great mercy and truth were greater and higher than the highest heights that man could conceive of, the clouds and the heavens.  David cried out in song that he wished the Lord to be exalted even above the heavens with His glory above all the earth and above all angels in heaven.  

(6) That Your beloved may be delivered; save with Your right hand and answer me.

His prayer would seem to be that the Lord deliver him from his persecution by Saul.  He implored the Lord to answer his prayer and save him.  However, Albert Barnes pointed out in his commentary on the Bible, that, "The word rendered 'beloved,' and the verb rendered 'may be delivered,' are both in the plural number, showing that it is not an individual that is referred to, but that the people of God are intended."  Indeed, this same song was sung in Psalm 60, referring to God's people.

(7) God has spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem and mete out the valley of Succoth.

God had spoken prophecies concerning David through His prophet Samuel, and he would rejoice in those.  If David's prayer in Psalm 57 is what led him to faith and then to rejoicing and singing, the effects continued to grow as he now proclaimed the things he would do as king.  Enemies had to be dislodged from Israel's territory, and lands properly settled and managed, in Shechem on the west side of the Jordan River, as well as in Succoth on the east.

(8) Gilead, mine; Manasseh, mine; Ephraim also the strength of my head; Judah, my lawgiver;

As David continued, it is obvious he spoke by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, as these words more accurately belong to the Lord.  David claimed them as king of Israel.  Gilead and Manasseh already belonged to Israel.  Ephraim had been blessed by God with battle skills and the strength of a firstborn bull (Deuteronomy 33:17).  1 Chronicles 12:30 spoke of Ephraim as "mighty men of valor, famous throughout the house of their fathers."  Ephraim was known for its military prowess and significant numbers and was considered the strength of Israel.  Judah was the lawgiver, and the king's scepter was given to David who was from the tribe of Judah, and the scepter continued in that tribe until the Messiah came, as prophesied by Jacob in Genesis 49:10.

(9) Moab, my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia I will triumph.

God through David would have dominion over Moab and Edom, and they would be as insignificant as a washpot or a shoe cast upon the floor.  He would triumph over Philistia.

(10) Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? 

Who would bring David into the strong city yet unconquered? Who would lead him into Edom which was yet to be conquered?

(11) Not, O God, have cast us off? And will not You, O God, go forth with our hosts?

Obviously, it would be only God who would lead David.  However, the wording of this verse is rather difficult.  I wrote it just as it would be without the KJV's added words for better understanding.  The KJV and other versions would have it read, "Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?"  To me, it doesn't sound like language David would be using at this point, if David did indeed write this song at this time.  If it was written at this time, but was directed by inspiration of God, or was actually written at a different time, it certainly could reflect a time when it felt like God had cast him or Israel off.  However, David would have faith that God surely would lead them.  

However, if not written with the KJV's "helping" words that might possibly not form the right context, could David possibly be saying that God surely would not have cast off His people or him, David?  That seems to fit this time and place better, in my opinion.  But either way, David has great faith that the Lord will lead him and Israel, no matter what!

(12) Give us help from trouble, for vain the help of man.

David asked the Lord to help His people out of their troubles, as only He could.  Mere men will always disappoint and be essentially useless, but God is where our real help comes from. 

(13) Through God we shall do valiantly, for He shall tread down our enemies.

Through God, His people were and are now able to do wondrous things.  David was confident that God would tread down his enemies.  This was a prophecy that was fulfilled to David, but it remains true for the followers of the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

David Spares Saul's Life

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 24:1) And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi."

When we last left David, before the interlude of psalms, Saul had left off from pursuing David because he was told that the Philistines were invading the land, and he went to take care of them.  Meanwhile, David had moved on to En Gedi, but Saul was informed that he was hiding out there.

(2) Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.

Saul took three thousand choice men out of his army and went to search out David and his men upon the rocks of En Gedi which, it seems, were the delight of the wild goats.

(3) And he came to the sheepcotes by the way where there was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet, and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.

A sheepcote was a pen or covered enclosure for sheep which could have been a cave for them to get out of the heat of the sun during the day or rest at night.  Saul came to such a place and went into a cave to relieve himself, which was the meaning of the phrase to cover one's feet.  I suppose it comes from the fact that if one crouched to relieve himself, his garments would cover his feet.  David and his men happened to be hiding in the sides of that cave, obviously in deep recesses not visible to Saul.

(4) And the men of David said to him, "Behold the day of which the Lord said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it shall seem good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.

Although there is no record of the Lord saying those exact words, David's men told him that this was evidently the day the Lord had delivered Saul into his hand to do what seemed right to him.  David just arose and secretly came up behind Saul and cut off the skirt of his robe.

(5) And it came to pass afterward that David's heart struck him because he had cut off Saul's skirt.

After David had done what he had done, he felt guilty about cutting off Saul's skirt, probably because he realized he had taken advantage of the king, his sovereign, in a compromising and undignified position.

(6) And he said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord."

David told his men that he could not consider taking the life of his king, as he was the anointed king of the Lord.

(7) So David stayed his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way.

Thus David stayed his men from rising up against Saul with his words.  And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

(8) David also arose afterward and went out of the cave and cried after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself.

After Saul went out of the cave, David also rose up and went out after Saul.  He spoke to him, and when Saul looked back at him, David bowed before the king.

(9) And David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to men's words, saying, 'David seeks your harm'?"

David then asked Saul why he listened to the people who said that David sought his harm.  Actually, it was Saul who stirred men against David, but David chose to lay the blame on others rather than to accuse Saul. 

(10) "Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord had delivered you today into my hand in the cave and bade kill you, but I spared you, and I said, 'I will not put forth my hand against my lord for he is the Lord's anointed.'"

David went on to tell Saul that he had just witnessed that the Lord had delivered Saul to him by bringing him into the very cave where David was hiding.  It was not the Lord who bade David to kill Saul, but rather he himself felt prompted to do it.  The original word "amar" that was transcribed as "bade" also means "to say in one’s heart, to think, to intend."  The fact that the Lord had sent Saul into the cave with David made his first impulse be that He was delivering him for him to kill him.  But that was only his knee-jerk reaction.  He spared Saul's life and told him that he had consciously decided he would not put forth his hand to do any harm to the Lord's anointed king.  

(11) "Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of your robe in my hand, for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that neither evil nor transgression is in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, yet you hunt my soul to take it."

David then showed Saul the edge of the skirt of his robe that he had cut off, demonstrating the fact he had had an opportunity to kill him, but he did not.  He reasoned that because of that, Saul should realize that David wished no evil against him and would not sin against him.  However, Saul was intent on killing David.

(12) "The Lord judge between me and you, and the Lord avenge me of you, but my hand shall not be upon you."

David told Saul it was for the Lord to judge between him and Saul, and if it was His will, it was for the Lord to avenge David of Saul, but he himself would not lay a hand upon him.  Once again, the Lord through David was giving Saul a chance to repent of his actions against David.

(13) "As says the proverb of the ancients, 'Wickedness proceeds from the wicked,' but my hand shall not be against you."

It's not one of the Biblical proverbs, but it was an old saying that wickedness proceeded from the wicked.  It could have been David's way of gently hinting to Saul that only a wicked man would choose to do wickedness as in Saul pursuing David for no good cause.  However, in David's case, he would do no evil against the king because he was not wicked.  Jesus spoke truth into this old saying when He said that a good tree could not produce bad fruit, and a corrupt tree could not bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:18).  He also said that the evil could not speak good things, for out of the abundance of their hearts, their mouths spoke (Matthew 12:34).

(14) "After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea."

David asked Saul who it was that he pursued.  In David's opinion, it was after one who was completely incapable of defending himself against the king and his vast army, one who could do no harm to the king, one as insignificant as a flea or a dead dog.  

(15) "The Lord therefore be judge and judge between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand."

David again called on the Lord to judge between him and Saul, to see the injustice of Saul's pursuit of him, take up his cause, and deliver him out of the hand of Saul.

(16) And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

Saul had stood still and heard David out.  I'm sure he was awestruck when he saw David come out of the cave he had just been in with the skirt of his robe in his hand.  He asked David a rather rhetorical question if it was truly him who spoke to him.  He called him his son, as David was his son-in-law.  He then wept aloud.

(17) And he said to David, "You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded you evil. (18) And you have showed this day how you have dealt well with me, for when the Lord had delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me."

Saul told David that he was more righteous than he, Saul, was.  He recognized that David had only done good toward him, as he had only desired evil against David.  Specifically, Saul could see how David had dealt with him that very day, when the Lord had delivered Saul right to him, and he did not kill him.

(19) "For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go well away? Therefore the Lord reward you good for what you have done to me this day."

Saul's point was that it was highly unusual for a man to find his enemy and then to let him go away safely.  Therefore he offered a blessing to David that the Lord bless him mightily for the good he had done to Saul.  David had often prayed to the Lord to take out his enemy (Psalm 17:13, Psalm 140:10), so it would have been reasonable for David to assume that the Lord had answered his prayers and had delivered Saul into his hand to kill him.  However, David chose a spiritual Godly response.  

This reminds me of the time in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas had been beaten and thrown in prison, and they prayed and sang praises to God.  Their prayers were answered, and a great earthquake came and broke all the prison bars.  However, Paul and Silas did not leave.  The prison guard had awakened, and when he saw all the prison cells opened, he took out his sword to kill himself, knowing that he would have been killed for letting all the prisoners escape.  Paul stopped him, saying they were still there, and he was converted.  He then took them home with him, and his whole household was saved.  The next day the magistrates sent word to let Paul and Silas go free.  Had Paul and Silas run free thinking very reasonably that the Lord sent the earthquake to answer their prayers and free them, a man and his entire household would not have been saved.  And isn't that the ultimate will of God, that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4)?  And as it was also still His will that Paul and Silas be freed, that was still done.  When we do the right thing according to God's will, He will bless and protect us.  And even if it doesn't seem to us that we were saved or protected from harm, I guarantee that God works all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28).  

Back to David and Saul, God was giving Saul another chance to repent, but it was up to Saul to follow through.

(20) "And now, behold, I know well that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand."

Saul admitted to David that he was now truly convinced that David was to be king, seeing that the Lord had preserved him from Saul's hand.  He probably also recalled the prophecy of Samuel that the Lord had torn his kingdom away from him and had given it to a neighbor of his (1 Samuel 15:28).  Interestingly, it was after Samuel had turned to leave Saul, that Saul laid hold of the skirt of Samuel's robe, and it tore.  That is when Samuel told Saul that his kingdom would also be torn from him.  And back to the present time, David had torn the skirt of Saul's garment, reinforcing God's will that David would take over the kingdom from Saul.

(21) "Swear now therefore to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house."

Saul then asked David to swear an oath that he would not destroy his descendants after him, thereby destroying his name out of his father's house.  That had been the usual custom at the time.  When one advanced to the throne of another, he usually destroyed all remaining descendants so that there would be no rivals with him.

(22) And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

David did swear to Saul that he would not cut off his posterity, and Saul went back to his palace in Gibeah.  Interestingly, David and his men went back to their stronghold.  It seems he wisely did not trust Saul not to reverse his thinking and go back to trying to kill him.  After all, had there been a true repentance on Saul's part, he might have invited his son-in-law back to his palace and back to David's home with David's wife, Saul's daughter.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 17:1) (A Prayer of David) Hear the right, O Lord, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer not out of feigned lips.

David was still hiding out from Saul in strong holds at En Gedi when we last left him.  He may have composed this psalm at that time.  He prayed that the Lord hear the cry of the righteous, which is how the word that was translated as "right" is usually interpreted.  He asked that the Lord hearken to and regard his prayer that came from honest lips, not deceitful ones.

(2) Let my sentence come forth from Your presence; let Your eyes behold the things that are equal.

David asked God to pronounce a sentence in his case.  He prayed that the Lord consider what was just and right.

(3) You have proved my heart; You have visited in the night; You have tried me and shall find nothing; I am purposed my mouth shall not transgress.

David said that the Lord had examined his heart, even in the secret quiet times of the night.  The Lord had tried David.  The word translated as "tried" meant more precisely "refined."  The Lord had tried and refined David as he was subjected to many trials.  I believe there is always something sinful to be found in us flawed humans, like perhaps pride in the fact we think we are sinless.  As 1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  However, I believe that David meant in this case he had done nothing wrong to deserve his enemies' treatment of him.  In fact, he had purposed within himself not to do or say evil against Saul and his men who sought his life.

(4) Concerning the works of men, by the word of Your lips, I have kept from the paths of the destroyer.

With respect to the works or doings of men, God's word had preserved David and had kept him from falling into the hands of the destroyer, the devil and his evil minions.

(5) Hold up my goings in Your paths, that my footsteps do not slip.

David prayed that the Lord uphold and support him in His ways, in the way he should go, that he not slip and fall into sin and danger.

(6) I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, my speech.

David called upon the Lord because he knew He would hear him.  He had confidence that the Lord would hear the words that he spoke.

(7) Show Your marvelous lovingkindness, O You who save by Your right hand those who put their trust from those who rise up.

David asked that the Lord show His "marvelous" loving kindness, more precisely "distinguished, separated," as only the Lord could do, over and above what could be imagined by mere men, the Lord who saved those who put their trust in Him against those who would rise up against them.

(8) Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Your wings, (9) From the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies compassing me about.

David asked that the Lord protect him as one would protect the tender pupils of their eyes, hide him under His protective wings as a mother hen would protect her chicks.  David asked for that protection from the wicked men who oppressed him and surrounded him.

(10) They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly.

Fat often referred to wealth and power, which Saul certainly had, but I believe David referred more to their pride and vanity.  They were puffed up with pride and self-righteousness as the stomach might be with fat, and therefore they spoke proudly.

(11) They have now compassed us in our steps; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth, (12) Like as a lion is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

David's enemies surrounded him and his small army wherever they went, intently following their tracks like a hunter or like a lion tracking its prey, lurking in secret places ready to pounce and seize its prey at once.

(13) Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down; deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword. 

David prayed that the Lord rise up and frustrate or thwart his enemy's plans.  He asked the Lord to deliver him from the hand of his enemy with His sword which could mean any divine instrument or method the Lord used.  

(14) From men Your hand, O Lord, from men of the world who have their portion in this life and whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure; they are full of children and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

David prayed that the Lord deliver him by His hand from men who had their portion only among the living, meaning they had nothing to look forward to in the afterlife.  The Lord gave them what they wanted.  All things either come from the Lord or are permitted by Him, so in that respect He filled them with secret treasures on earth to be left to their children, but they had laid up no treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

(15) As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Your likeness.

In contrast to his enemies who sought only worldly goods, David would look to the Lord.  He would be completely satisfied to awake every morning to His Lord.  However, the meaning is surely deeper, in that David would be more than satisfied to awake from the dead in the presence of His Lord.

David's Prayer for Defense Against His Enemies

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 54:1) (To the Chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, "Does not David hide himself with us?") Save me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength.

This psalm appears to more properly chronologically follow historical events than the last one.  David specifically wrote that he composed this psalm when the Ziphites told Saul that David was hiding among them.  That is what led Saul to having David surrounded when he was suddenly called away from pursuing David because a messenger had come and told him the Philistines were invading his land.

"Neginoth" is probably a stringed instrument on which David wished this psalm to be played.  "Maschil" is the name David gave some of his psalms, but its meaning is somewhat obscure.  It appears to come from a root word meaning "circumspect, intelligent," so perhaps it meant a psalm offering wisdom and instruction.  David prayed that the Lord save him by His great name that encompassed all the perfections and attributes properly implied in His name, and that He judge his cause and vindicate him by the Lord's perfect and righteous judgment.

(2) Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

David had already put out his petitions to the Lord, to save him and judge him; now he pleaded with the Lord to hear his requests.

(3) For strangers are risen up against me and oppressors seek after my soul; they have not set God before them. Selah.

Not only were Saul and his army and servants pursuing David, but now strangers, the men of Ziph, who did not personally know him and his circumstances with Saul, also rose up against him.  They had not set God before them, which I believe meant they had not consulted God to know if they acted according to His will.  They rather acted according to their own will and to save their own skins being more afraid of what Saul might do to them than what their Lord might want and do.  Selah was a pause for reflection.

(4) Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with them who uphold my soul.

David knew that God helped him, and he had faith that the Lord was with those who defended David's life, like his dear friend Jonathan and his small army of defenders.

(5) He shall reward evil to my enemies; cut them off in Your truth.

The original word "shub" which was translated as "reward" actually more precisely means "turn back."  David had faith that the Lord would turn back the evil that his enemies intended for him, and yes, that might mean turning it back on themselves, therefore rewarding them with the evil they had intended for David.  David prayed that his enemies be cut off according to the Lord's truth in the promises He had made to David regarding his reign as king.

(6) I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

David proclaimed that he would freely sacrifice to his Lord.  He did not mean ritual sacrifices as that was impossible in his present circumstances but rather sacrifices of himself.  As Paul said in Romans 12:1, David presented his body as a living sacrifice to God.  At this time he offered freewill offerings of his mouth in the form of praise and thanksgiving for His name and His nature and being were all good.

(7) For He has delivered me out of all trouble, and my eye has seen it upon my enemies.

David acknowledged that God had delivered him out of all his troubles up to that point, and he had seen his enemies thwarted each time.  And for that, David freely praised the Lord, and he had faith that the Lord would deliver him again.  C. H. Spurgeon in The Treasury of David wrote, "He turns to God in prayer, and so strong was his faith that he soon sang himself into delightful serenity."

William Hill Tucker, who published a commentary on Psalms in 1840, wrote that this psalm was seen as a prophecy of Christ.  "Read thus, it is very plain and intelligible, requiring little more than the first idea to exhibit a perfect correspondence with the life and feelings of the Messiah."  I took the "challenge" and re-read it that way:

(1) Save me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength.

With the help of Matthew Henry and his commentary on this psalm, I now see the Ziphites as a representation of Judas Iscariot.  They were of David's tribe, his own people, and they turned him in to the king.  Jesus came to His own people, and they plotted against Him and went to the head of the government to have Jesus crucified.  In John 12:27, Jesus actually used the words, "Save Me from this hour..."

(2) Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

Jesus prayed to God on different occasions.  The most famous is His prayer in Gethsemane asking that the present cup be passed from Him (Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42), but of course, He went on to say that God's will be done.  However, in His human flesh, He did agonize.  Again in John 12:27, He first said, "Now is My soul troubled..."  Hebrews 5:7 spoke of Jesus in the flesh who "had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears..."  So these words in the psalm could be seen as the words of Jesus.

(3) For strangers are risen up against me and oppressors seek after my soul; they have not set God before them.

Absolutely strangers and oppressors sought after Jesus's soul and did not look to God.

(4) Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is with them who uphold my soul.

Of course, God, and the part of Jesus who was God, gave Him strength to do the Father's will.  And the Lord was with those who were His friends and His defenders.

(5) He shall reward evil to my enemies; cut them off in Your truth.

Just as the Lord would turn back the evil that David's enemies intended for him, certainly the evil intended by killing Jesus did not have the desired effect.  Jesus conquered death and His movement grew.  Satan's evil plans had certainly been cut off by God's truth in that through Jesus's death and resurrection, the whole world could be saved from death.

(6) I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, and He did it willingly.

(7) For He has delivered me out of all trouble, and my eye has seen it upon my enemies.

And of course, Jesus was delivered from all His earthly troubles and now sits at the right hand of the Father.  And His will is being done on earth as He sees millions being saved from their enemies, and even previous enemies coming to repentance in Jesus Christ.

Complaining Leads to Praying Leads to Faith Leads to Rejoicing

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

Saul had been pursuing David relentlessly, and David had just narrowly escaped Saul when Saul and his army had David and his small army surrounded.  However, a messenger suddenly had come to Saul and told him their land was being invaded by the Philistines, and Saul left off from pursuing David and went back to fight the Philistines.  It is believed that David could have composed the following psalm at that time:

(Psalm 13:1) (To the chief musician, A Psalm of David) How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

I find it hard to believe that David would have composed this psalm so soon after God had delivered him out of the hand of Saul.  But then again, in his weakened state of despair, did he even realize that it was God keeping him out of Saul's hands?  God had obviously not forgotten David, but why did he prolong his suffering at the hands of Saul?  God could have taken Saul out at any point.  He could have never sent the evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14) to trouble Saul.  But God's actions are always perfect; He can be nothing other than perfect.  His judgment is completely righteous and just; it can be no other way, as it is His very nature.  Saul had rejected the will of God in preference to his own; he had sinned against God.  God was completely righteous in punishing Saul's sin; however, He was actually providing a way for Saul to repent.  When Saul was plagued by the evil spirit, he was soothed by David's harp.  But rather than reflect on what had brought him to such circumstances and repent for his sins, he was arrogant and jealous of David and driven to hatred of him.

In the case of David, God was teaching David to have complete reliance on Him.  David had already demonstrated that he could lie and rely on trickery to save his skin.  He had lied and had Jonathan lie for him when he failed to appear at the king's table during a feast (1 Samuel 20:6), and that almost got Jonathan killed by Saul (1 Samuel 20:33) when he cast his javelin at him.  The priests at Nob did get killed when Ahimelech helped David after he lied to him about his circumstances (1 Samuel 21:2).  David's methods were not the best, and God wanted David to depend solely on Him, so He allowed David to be pursued relentlessly by Saul in order for him to realize it was only by God's grace and protection that Saul did not succeed in killing him.  Of course, God had not forgotten David or hidden His face from him.  God was refining David to be His chosen king, the man after His own heart, and the father of the line from which the Messiah would come.

(2) How long shall I take counsel in my soul, sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

David felt so sad and forgotten by the Lord that he felt he must devise his own plans to save himself.  He wondered how long he would have to live like that with his enemy exalted over him.  But I believe that was the point, to have David reach the point when he knew that his own personal counsels and devices were useless and that only God could save him.  David knew that; that's why he lamented the fact that God seemed not there for him.  Perhaps God had indeed pulled back for a time to have David earnestly seek Him, let go of his own ego, and patiently wait on the Lord.  Let go and let God, as they say.  

(3) Consider and hear me, O Lord my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep death.

David prayed that the Lord hear him and consider his agony.  Lightening David's eyes could have different meanings.  Perhaps his eyes were actually darkened, clouded with much grief.  He wished them to be lightened and brightened with renewed strength.  Perhaps it was more a metaphor of how dark things felt, and David wished them to be lightened.  Or perhaps he meant that he wanted the Lord to enlighten his eyes and himself to see God's plan.  In whatever respect, David felt that if his eyes were not lightened, he would die.  He had a dread of dying.  Contrast that to Paul in the New Testament who looked forward to dying because he would be in eternity with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8).  Of course, David did not have the full knowledge of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice at this point, but I believe the Lord was teaching him not to fear death but to depend on Him.

(4) Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him;" those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

Another reason that David prayed that the Lord hear him was that his enemy would think he had prevailed against him and would rejoice.  Is that a bit of ego speaking that David wanted to be the winner?  No one wants to lose to someone who deceitfully and unjustly won.  I think injustice bothers us more than losing.  And God is not unjust.  David appealed to the righteousness of God that evil not be allowed to win.  And the Lord does care about that in some instances depending upon what His will is at that time.  In Deuteronomy 32:27, He said He didn't want to punish His people so harshly that the enemy would have faith in their own strength and believe that He had been unable to save them.

(5) But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

David turned from complaining to proclaiming his faith in the Lord and His mercy and His salvation.  I love the way Dr. John Gill described David's transition in his Exposition of the Bible:

The faith, hope, and comfort of the psalmist grew and increased by prayer; from complaining he goes to praying, from praying to believing; he trusted not in himself, not in his own heart, nor in his own righteousness and merits, but in the mercy of God; and not in the bare absolute mercy of God, but in the grace and goodness of God...

And of course, faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

(6) I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.

And finally from believing to rejoicing!  And in that I finally come to realize the lesson of this psalm.  Throughout this short psalm, I have tried to reconcile David's complaints about a God whom he accuses of forgetting him when He had done so much for him with the man after God's own heart.  How were David's complaints any different from the complaints of the Israelites in the desert whom God often punished?  As always, it comes back to the heart of man.  God knows the heart, and He also knows human weakness.  In his weakness, David complained, but then he prayed to the One who could resolve his complaints, and in praying, he began to have faith in God to save him, and finally he rejoiced in God, who inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).  This psalm is a perfect representation of the weakness of man in times of trouble and a guide for what to do about it.

Saul Pursues David

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 23:14) And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

David had come out of hiding to fight the Philistines in Keilah, but when God told him that the men of Keilah would turn him over to Saul, he fled again.  He hid out in the strong rocks and caves of a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph, a city in the southern part of Judah.  Saul sought him every day, but God did not allow him to find him.

(15) And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood.

It appears that David may have heard or seen Saul coming near to where he was, and he hid out in the woods of Ziph.  He had 600 men with him; perhaps the forest was a better place for them to hide.

(16) And Jonathan Saul's son arose and went to David in the wood and strengthened his hand in God. (17) And he said to him, "Fear not, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you, and you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you, and that also Saul my father knows."

Saul's son, Jonathan, came to David in the woods.  He encouraged and strengthened David's faith in the Lord.  That is what good Christian friends are supposed to do, lift each other up in times of trouble and build them up spiritually.  He told David not to fear Saul because he would not find him, that he would be king over Israel.  Whether Jonathan received a revelation that that would indeed happen, or he had faith that it would happen, he was sure that David would be king, and that he, Jonathan, would always be next to him, not wishing to be the next king which would have naturally been the case as the son of Saul, but next to David, God's chosen king and his best friend, to aid him in whatever was needed.  And his father knew that to be the case, also.

(18) And they two made a covenant before the Lord, and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.

Jonathan and David renewed their covenant of friendship and loyalty, and David stayed there in the woods while Jonathan went back to his home.

(19) Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Does not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the woods in the hill of Hachilah which is on the south of Jeshimon? (20) Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down, and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand."

Saul had returned to his usual residence in Gibeah, and the people of Ziph came to him there and informed him that David was hiding in the woods there, specifically in a hill called Hachilah, south of Jeshimon in Judah.  These were men of David's own tribe of Judah who were turning him in.  It's just as David had said in the last post in Psalm 31:11, he was a reproach even to his neighbors.  The Ziphites encouraged the king to go down to Ziph, and they would deliver David to him.

(21) And Saul said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. (22) Go, I pray you, prepare yet and know and see his place where his haunt is, who has seen him there, for it is told me that he deals very subtly."

Saul commended the Ziphites for telling him where David was hiding and considered them blessed of the Lord because they had compassion on him on account of his troubles with David.  It always turns my stomach when evil people call on God to help them in their evil schemes, as if God wanted Saul to kill His anointed.  Talk about using God's name in vain!  I suppose as Saul was once a follower of God, perhaps he didn't even realize how far he had dropped out of God's favor.  He told the Ziphites to go back and make sure they knew exactly where David was, as he knew him to be quite crafty in his hiding.

(23) "See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides himself, and come again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you, and it shall come to pass, if he is in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah."

Saul continued, telling the Ziphites to go and learn all of David's hideouts, and when they returned to him with certainty, he would then go with them to Ziph, and he would search him out throughout all the thousands of people in Judah.  This delay of Saul's may have actually been of the Lord to give David time to get away.

(24) And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul, but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

The Ziphites returned to their land, but David and his men had moved to the wilderness of Maon in the plain rather than on the hill where he had been; he was now even further south of Jeshimon.

(25) Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David; therefore he came down to a rock and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon.

Saul and his men then went to seek David, perhaps because the Ziphites had returned and informed him of where David was, or maybe because he got impatient, we aren't told.  Then it was told to David that Saul and his men had come down to get him, and he went to a rock, probably a rocky cave, to hide in the wilderness of Maon.  Then Saul heard David was there and pursued him there.

(26) And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain; and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men to take them.

Saul and his men went to the very mountain where David was hiding.  They were on one side of the mountain, and David was on the other.  David ran to get away from Saul, but by then Saul and his men had him and his men surrounded.

(27) But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!" (28) Therefore Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines. Therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.

At that moment, certainly designed by God in His perfect timing, a messenger came to Saul to tell him that the Philistines had invaded their land.  So Saul left off his pursuit of David and returned to fight the Philistines.  Afterward, the place was called Sela Hammahlekoth, which literally meant "rock of divisions," which I suppose referred to the fact that Saul was on one side of the rocky mountain and David on the other, with just the top of the rocky mountain between them or dividing them.

(29) And David went up from there and dwelt in strong holds at En Gedi.

So David left the wilderness of Maon and went to En Gedi which was a deserted and cavernous place at the Dead Sea, and he likely dwelt in the caves there.