Psalm 54 — Yahweh is My Help
54 Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
5 He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good.
7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
David was an outlaw in Israel. He was a national hero, a warrior, a winner; but all of that changed when King Saul turned against his son-in-law. Saul’s house, Saul’s family, and a divided nation anxiously watched the drama unfold. Everyone chose sides and lived uncomfortably with the family feud. David sought refuge at Keilah, but God answered his prayer about the men of Keilah being ready to surrender him to Saul. David’s men scattered; and God’s anointed hid in the wilderness of Ziph, southeast of Hebron in Judah (1 Sam. 23:1–14). Jonathan, son of Saul, found David and they forged a covenant between them at Horesh (1 Sam. 23:15–19). Then, the Ziphites, sons of Judah, betrayed David by going to Saul at Gibeah and revealing his location. Saul had them spy on David until he mobilized. They encircled David, and at the last minute a report that the Philistines had raided the land caused Saul to retreat (1 Sam. 23:20–29). Later, the Ziphites betrayed David to Saul again, prompting the incident at the Hill of Hacilah near Jeshimon (1 Sam. 26:1–25).
Psalm 54 captures David’s passionate plea for YHWH to deliver him, lamenting the treachery of his intra-tribal foes. The subject is justice, the product of God’s salvation and judgment. The message is that God’s name, representing His person and work, is powerful to save His people needing help on their day of trouble. David, in covenant with YHWH, is identified as the protagonist of the story. His problem is the ruthless Ziphites, who serve as the evil antagonists. The structure is: I. (vv. 1–3) A plea and lament to YHWH; II. (vv. 4–5) A testimony of YHWH’s salvation and judgment; III. (vv. 6–7) A vow of commitment with confidence. Psalm 54 is in the category of individual lament Psalms, and it uses very familiar language found in other Psalms.
The setting of Psalm 54 is recorded at the opening (Title). For the choir director reminds us this is a liturgical song to be sung. On stringed instruments suggests either further instruction for accompaniment or a distinction in how the Psalms were accompanied (c/f Psalm 3, 4). A Maskil of David reveals our author and the purpose for the Psalm’s use. Maskil is a teaching term revealing a didactic employment. Maskils were songs that taught students God’s Word. When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Is not David hiding himself among us?” affords us two historical settings (1 Sam 23:15–29; 1 Sam 26:1–25).
David pleaded with God to grant salvation through justice (v. 1). O God is a great way to open a prayer. Save me reminds us of Peter’s brief prayer while sinking on his sojourn atop Lake Galilee. The suppliant prays for relief from his crisis using few words. By Thy name shows us where David’s confidence for answered prayer resided. Someone’s name carries with it the person’s reputation. The name of Jesus is above every other name in this regard. Jesus’ name means, “YHWH saves.” And vindicate me by Thy power clarifies David’s quest for justice. He is wrongfully being pursued by a madman, who has spooked the nation to betray David. King Saul is a despot, and his dictatorial regime is set against the power of God’s will. Jesus Christ is the power of God (1 Cor 1:24), providing all authority in executing just judgment.
David requested a hearing from God (v. 2). O God continues the sense of lament. Elohim is the title of mighty God. Hear my prayer informs our theology and gives us an example of how to pray and who to pray to in our day of adversity. Man foolishly relies on himself in trouble because although he believes in the transcendent God out there somewhere, he has trouble believing in a God who is immanent. David does not suffer this ignorance when he prays, “Give ear to the words of my mouth.” We believe in our covenant God, who has partnered with His Son, our one Mediator (Heb 8:6; 12:24), who ever works intercession for us (Heb 7:25). Jesus brings our prayers to the Father. We pray in Jesus’ name, to the Father, and through the Holy Spirit. We trust that He hears, listens, answers, and ensures His will is done in every matter.
David lamented the problem he had with ungodly relatives (v. 3). For strangers have risen against me gives us the basis for the suppliant’s need for a hearing. Strangers (Heb. zarim) is a word that is commonly used of foreigners, but it serves for those in the community of Israel who disregarded YHWH and their covenant relationship/obligations to Him (Is 1:4). How many in the church today are like the Ziphites? They claim to be under covenant with Jesus Christ, but they hinder the church in a myriad of ways. And violent men have sought my life reveals the extent of threat David was under. Many pastors have endured the work of savage wolves (Acts 20:29–30), who have powerfully organized the removal of God’s anointed man from leading the local church. They have not set God before them is the distinguishing feature. Worldly men rise to power in the church, and they have little or no interest in the things of the Spirit of Christ. You will know them by their lack of interest in the Bible. David kept his eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of His faith. He lived his faith in the only One he could trust (Ps 118:8).
David gave testimony to his trust in God, by sharing what YHWH had done for him to the audience of Israel (v. 4). Behold warrants a good long look at what is before the reader. God is my Helper bears witness from past experience. “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation…How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God (Ps 146:3,5).” Christians have an advocate with the Father. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said (Jn 14:26; c/f Jn 15:26).”
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul introduces a new title for God. Adonai implies David’s submission. In Psalm 51, he poured out his confession. Each subsequent Psalm reveals David in the position of the righteous. His enemies remain under judgment and subject to the just wrath of God (Rom 1:18–32). Peace with God and access to Him is the privilege of one reconciled by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who made atonement for His people (Rom. 5:1–11). Jesus is the sustainer of all things (Col 1:17; Heb. 1:3). The believer in Jesus is in trouble in the world, but his soul is secure because his salvation is sustained by the Lord of all.
David prophesied of justice while asking God for it (v. 5). The verb tense changes again to the future. He will recompense the evil to my foes is the believer’s hope of just judgment. YHWH is the avenger of His people, who have endured much evil from the beginning. Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord, I will repay, serves as a crucial reminder to Christians plotting revenge against their enemies. Don’t do it; but rather, pray like David. The promise is ever-present, but the execution is in His time. Evil and evildoers will not prevail. It is a gracious act to warn the unrighteous of coming judgment, and it relieves a bit of pressure, too. Surely David wrote his Psalms as therapy for himself, and we are blessed to share in his therapy amidst similar sufferings.
Destroy them in Thy faithfulness appears to be imprecatory, but it is toned down a bit in the Hebrew. We might translate this clause, “Silence them in Your truth.” Truth exposes evil like light pierces darkness. We know Jesus, the truth, has exposed our deceitful hearts. In the last days, he will expose evil (Eph 5:11) in the world by His coming again to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges and wages war (Rev 19:11).
David committed himself to worship YHWH in word and sacrifice at the tabernacle (v. 6). In this third and final section, the suppliant becomes the witness. Willingly, I will sacrifice to Thee is a promise to worship. Sacrifice is at the heart of worshiping YHWH. It is conducted in the place where God chose to place His name. The tabernacle illustrated the approach of sinful people into the presence of a holy God. The place stabilized with the temple at Jerusalem. Jesus’ body replaced that temple, and now the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer is the place of worship to YHWH through Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of blood and goats was merely a type of the perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus on the cross of Calvary. David’s votive offering (Lev 7:11–18) was a free will exercise of extra thanksgiving. It was consumed by the one who offered it in communion with God.
I will give thanks to Thy name accompanies the action of sacrifice. Word and sacrifice were public displays of communion and worship. Thanksgiving was the heart attitude of the worshiper, and it remains the heart of the one in Christ in every age. We give thanks, in Jesus’ name, for everything that pertains to God. O Lord, for it (Thy name) is good comforts us in all of our theological musings. “Lord” in the English disguises the proper translation “Yahweh” in the Hebrew. From God (v. 1), to Lord (v. 4), to YHWH is a progression in clarification. David is calling out to the covenant God of Israel. He is standing on the promises of God, His Savior. He is trusting in the righteous judgment of the just Judge. If he is in the right, vindication is assured; but ultimately, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to those who trust in Him. Salvation is assured.
David shared his confident testimony and satisfaction in YHWH’s justice (v. 7). For He has delivered me from all trouble reminds us that God is working all thing together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). Jesus promised we would have trouble in this world, but He assures that He has overcome the world. We trust in Him to work out the fulfillment of His promises in every believer, in every age, and in every place. And my eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies is not taking pleasure in the punishment of the wicked; but rather, it is a rejoicing in the perfect justice of God.
The enemies of those in Christ are the enemies of YHWH. They practice atheism, regardless of their testimony on the existence of God. Their actions speak louder than their words. Paul said that he knew whom he had believed, and he was convinced that Jesus was able to keep him against the day of evil. He did not just believe it, but he lived it, too. Do you share in the confidence of David and of Paul? Are you in trouble, today? Have you called upon the name of the Lord to be delivered from your enemy, the devil, and his plots to destroy you?
In sum, we have heard the cry of the believer in YHWH. His plea for a hearing is based on the promise of God to hear, to listen, and to answer the prayers of His people. His problem is solved by the faithful and powerful God, who delivers His people in truth and righteousness. YHWH’s judgment is as sure as His salvation. Let us bring our sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord…for He is good and an ever-present help in times of need (1 Sam 7:12). Blessed be His name!
David Norczyk
Lakewood, California
July 11, 2021
