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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
Psalm 54. This is an individual lament, asking (as many laments do) for God's help against those who threaten the lives of the faithful. The title connects the song to the events of 1 Sam. 23:19, where the Ziphites, among whom David was hiding, informed Saul of where David was, promising to hand David over to him. The psalm directs its singers to God's protection and is therefore well-suited for the pious to use when they are under threat of deadly persecution; for those who do not face such persecution, this psalm is appropriate to sing on behalf of their brethren in danger.
54:1-3 O God, Save Me from the Ruthless. The psalm opens by describing the circumstances: ruthless men, who have no respect for God (they do not set God before themselves) seek my life (v. 3). In such a case the proper appeal is to God's name (vv. 1, 6; God's name can be an image for his personal presence, cf. Lev. 19:12; Deut. 6:13; or else as the sum of his revealed character; cf. Ex. 34:6). There is also an appeal to God's might (which is always greater than any might of the enemies).
54:3 The term strangers can refer to people from outside Israel (e.g., "foreigners," Isa. 1:7; Obad. 11). In context the Ziphites, who belong to Judah, are acting like Gentiles in opposing God's faithful. As the ESV footnote explains, some Hebrew manuscripts read "insolent men" (Hb. מידז, zdym, in place of מירז, zrym, a change of only one letter to another with similar appearance), which is the term found in the very similar Ps. 86:14. This word is also well-suited to the situation, where Israelites are acting unfaithfully (cf. 119:21, 51, 69, 78, 85, 122; the same word is rendered "arrogant" in Prov. 21:24; Mal. 3:15; 4:1).
