Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 54:4
Behold, God [is] mine helper: the Lord [is] with them that uphold my soul.
4. God is mine helper ] Taught by his past experience he can say not merely that God will help him, but that God is on his side, so that the issue cannot be doubtful.
the Lord is with them that uphold my soul ] R.V., is of them that uphold my soul: perhaps better, is the Upholder of my soul. The expression is an idiomatic one, and “the sense is not that God is the support of the Psalmist among many others, but that He is so in a supreme degree, that He sums up in Himself the qualities of a class, viz. the class of helpers (so Psa 118:7). Comp. Jdg 11:35, ‘Alas, my daughter, thou hast bowed me down; even thou art my greatest troubler.’ ” (Cheyne). For uphold cp. Psa 3:5 ( sustaineth); Psa 51:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
4 7. A confident expectation of deliverance and vow of thanksgiving.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Behold, God is mine helper – That is, God alone can aid me in these circumstances, and to him I confidently look.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul – My friends; those who have rallied around me to defend me; those who comfort me by their presence; those who sustain me in my cause, and who keep me from sinking under the burden of my accumulated troubles.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 54:4-7
Behold, God is mine helper; the Lord is with them that uphold my soul
God our Helper
I.
When God is the helper of His people.
1. In the great crisis of their conversion. He raiseth from the pit, delivers, saves, etc.
2. In the troubles and afflictions of life. These are many, varied, sometimes severe, etc. Job, the apostles (2Co 1:8-10).
3. In the perils and conflicts of their warfare (Psa 37:14-15; Psa 60:11-12).
4. In their labours and toils in His kingdom (Psa 121:1-2).
5. In weakness, sickness and death (Psa 23:4; Psa 116:1-9).
II. What kind of a helper is God.
1. Always near at hand.
2. Always efficient and sufficient.
3. Perpetual and everlasting.
III. The conclusions to which the subject should lead us.
1. Personal knowledge and reliance on God.
2. Unwavering faith and hope.
3. Constant prayer and supplication. He will be sought and inquired of.
4. Acknowledgment and praise. Bless the Lord at all times, etc. (J. Burns, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Behold, God is mine helper] This would naturally occur to him when he saw that Saul was obliged to leave the pursuit, and go to defend his territories, when he was on the very point of seizing him. God, whose providence is ever watchful, had foreseen this danger, and stirred up the Philistines to make this inroad just at the time in which Saul and his army were about to lay hands on David. Well might he then say, “Behold, God is mine helper.”
Is with them, that uphold my soul.] naphshi, my life. This may even refer to the Philistines, who had at this time made an inroad on Israel. God was even with his own enemies, by making them instruments to save the life of his servant.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Behold; consider it, and see the vanity of all your wicked practices against me.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul; he fights for them, and on my behalf, and therefore against all mine enemies.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. (Compare Ps30:10).
with themon theirside, and for me (compare Ps46:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Behold, God [is] mine helper,…. This being a matter of wonder to be helped in so extraordinary a manner, and a sure and certain case, and what was deserving the attention of others; for the encouragement of their faith and hope in like cases, a “behold” is prefixed unto it: and what is here said is true of David’s son, the Messiah, and is expressed by him in much the same language, Isa 50:9; and of all the saints whom the Lord helps, as at first conversion, out of the pit wherein is no water, out of the horrible pit, the mire and clay of nature’s darkness, ignorance, and unbelief; so out of all their afflictions and temptations, and out of the hands of all their enemies; he helps in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty; and he helps to all mercies, temporal and spiritual, needful for them; which help is quick and present, seasonable and suitable, always sufficient; and is what they have reason to expect both from what he has said to them in promise, and from what he has done for them;
the Lord [is] with them that uphold my soul; that ministered to his sustenance, as Abigail did, and that gathered to him and joined him, and exposed their lives in the defence of him; these the Lord was with, blessed, protected, and afforded them his gracious presence. Such there were with Christ; who followed him in the regeneration; who ministered to him of their substance, whom God rewarded in a way of grace; and he blesses them that bless his, and do good to them; they being the excellent in the earth, in whom is his delight, the apple of his eye, and his jewels. Or the sense is, that the Lord is he that upheld his soul; not only the chief of his upholders, but the only one: so R. Moses l interprets it, that he is the alone upholder, and is instead of all upholders, and answers to them all; who upheld his soul in life, and followed him with his goodness: as when God is said to be the first, and “with the last”, the meaning is, that he is the first and the last, Isa 41:4; see Ps 118:7; so he upheld the soul of Christ in the wilderness, and in the garden, and on the cross; see Isa 42:1. And he upholds all his people in a providential way in their beings, and supplies them with all the necessaries of life; and, in a spiritual way, maintaining their spiritual life, supplying them with all grace, bearing them up under all trials, holding up their goings in his ways, and preserving them to the end.
l Apud Aben Ezram in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 54:6-9) In this second half, the poet, in the certainty of being heard, rejoices in help, and makes a vow of thanksgiving. The of is not meant to imply that God is one out of many who upheld his threatened life; but rather that He comes within the category of such, and fills it up in Himself alone, cf. Psa 118:7; and for the origin of this Beth essentiae, Psa 99:6, Jdg 11:35. In Psa 54:7 the Ker merits the preference over the Chethb (evil shall “revert” to my spies), which would at least require instead of (cf. Psa 7:17). Concerning , vid., on Psa 27:11. In the rapid transition to invocation in Psa 54:7 the end of the Psalm announces itself. The truth of God is not described as an instrumental agent of the cutting off, but as an impelling cause. It is the same Beth as in the expression (Num 15:3): by or out of free impulse. These free-will sacrifices are not spiritual here in opposition to the ritual sacrifices (Psa 50:14), but ritual as an outward representation of the spiritual. The subject of is the Name of God; the post-biblical language, following Lev 24:11, calls God straightway , and passages like Isa 30:27 and the one before us come very near to this usage. The praeterites mention the ground of the thanksgiving. What David now still hopes for will then lie behind him in the past. The closing line, v. 9 b, recalls Psa 35:21, cf. Psa 59:11; Psa 92:12; the invoking of the curse upon his enemies in v. 8 recalls Psa 17:13; Psa 56:8; Psa 59:12.; and the vow of thanksgiving in v. 8 recalls Psa 22:26; Psa 35:18; Psa 40:10.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Consolations. | |
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.
We have here the lively actings of David’s faith in his prayer, by which he was assured that the issue would be comfortable, though the attempt upon him was formidable.
I. He was sure that he had God on his side, that God took his part (v. 4); he speaks it with an air of triumph and exultation, Behold, God is my helper. If we be for him, he is for us; and, if he be for us, we shall have such help in him that we need not fear any power engaged against us. Though men and devils aim to be our destroyers, they shall not prevail while God is our helper: The Lord is with those that uphold my soul. Compare Ps. cxviii. 7, “The Lord taketh my part with those that help me. There are some that uphold me, and God is one of them; he is the principal one; none of them could help me if he did not help them.” Every creature is that to us (and no more) that God makes it to be. He means, “The Lord is he that upholds my soul, and keeps me from tiring in my work and sinking under my burdens.” He that by his providence upholds all things by his grace upholds the souls of his people. God, who will in due time save his people, does, in the mean time, sustain them and bear them up, so that the spirit he has made shall not fail before him.
II. God taking part with him, he doubted not but his enemies should both flee and fall before him (v. 5): “He shall reward evil unto my enemies that observe me, seeking an opportunity to do me a mischief. The evil they designed against me the righteous God will return upon their own heads.” David would not render evil to them, but he knew God would: I as a deaf man heard not, for thou wilt hear. The enemies we forgive, if they repent not, God will judge; and for this reason we must not avenge ourselves, because God has said, Vengeance is mine. But he prays, Cut them off in thy truth. This is not a prayer of malice, but a prayer of faith; for it has an eye to the word of God, and only desires the performance of that. There is truth in God’s threatenings as well as in his promises, and sinners that repent not will find it so to their cost.
III. He promises to give thanks to God for all the experiences he had had of his goodness to him (v. 6): I will sacrifice unto thee. Though sacrifices were expensive, yet, when God required that his worshippers should in that way praise him, David would not only offer them, but offer them freely and without grudging. All our spiritual sacrifices must, in this sense, be free-will-offerings; for God loves a cheerful giver. Yet he will not only bring his sacrifice, which was but the shadow, the ceremony; he will mind the substance: I will praise thy name. A thankful heart, and the calves of our lips giving thanks to his name, are the sacrifices God will accept: “I will praise thy name, for it is good. Thy name is not only great but good, and therefore to be praised. To praise thy name is not only what we are bound to, but it is good, it is pleasant, it is profitable; it is good for us (Ps. xcii. 1); therefore I will praise thy name.“
IV. He speaks of his deliverance as a thing done (v. 7): I will praise thy name, and say, “He has delivered me; this shall be my song then.” That which he rejoices in is a complete deliverance–He has delivered me from all trouble; and a deliverance to his heart’s content–My eye has seen its desire upon my enemies, not seen them cut off and ruined, but forced to retreat, tidings being brought to Saul that the Philistines were upon him, 1Sa 23:27; 1Sa 23:28. All David desired was to be himself safe; when he saw Saul draw off his forces he saw his desire. He has delivered me from all trouble. Either, 1. With this thought David comforted himself when he was in distress: “He has delivered me from all trouble hitherto, and many a time I have gained my point, and seen my desire on my enemies; therefore he will deliver me out of this trouble.” We should thus, in our greatest straits, encourage ourselves with our past experiences. Or, 2. With this thought he magnified his present deliverance when the fright was over, that it was an earnest of further deliverance. He speaks of the completing of his deliverance as a thing done, though he had as yet many troubles before him, because, having God’s promise for it, he was as sure of it as if it had been done already. “He that has begun to deliver me from all troubles, and will at length give me to see my desire upon my enemies.” This may perhaps point at Christ, of whom David was a type; God would deliver him out of all the troubles of his state of humiliation, and he was perfectly sure of it; and all things are said to be put under his feet; for, though we see not yet all things put under him, yet we are sure he shall reign till all his enemies be made his footstool, and he shall see his desire upon them. However, it is an encouragement to all believers to make that use of their particular deliverances which St. Paul does (like David here), 2Ti 4:17; 2Ti 4:18, He that delivered me from the mouth of the lion shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to his heavenly kingdom.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
4. Behold! God is my helper Such language as this may show us that David did not direct his prayers at random into the air, but offered them in the exercise of a lively faith. There is much force in the demonstrative adverb. He points, as it were, with the finger, to that God who stood at his side to defend him; and was not this an amazing illustration of the power with which faith can surmount all obstacles, and glance, in a moment, from the depths of despair to the very throne of God? He was a fugitive amongst the dens of the earth, and even there in hazard of his life — how, then, could he speak of God as being near to him? He was pressed down to the very mouth of the grave; and how could he recognize the gracious presence of God? He was trembling in the momentary expectation of being destroyed; and how is it possible that he can triumph in the certain hope that Divine help will presently be extended to him? In numbering God amongst his defenders, we must not suppose that he assigns him a mere common rank amongst the men who supported his cause, which would have been highly derogatory to his glory. He means that God took part with those, such as Jonathan and others, who were interested in his welfare. These might be few in number, possessed of little power, and cast down with fears; but he believed that, under the guidance and protection of the Almighty, they would prove superior to his enemies: or, perhaps, we may view him as referring, in the words, to his complete destitution of all human defenders, and asserting that the help of God would abundantly compensate for all. (291)
(291) The phrase, אדני בסמכי, Adonai besomkey, which Calvin renders, “The Lord is with them that uphold,” is translated by Hammond, “The Lord among the sustainers;” and he remarks, that this form of expression, which is not unusual among the Hebrews, signifies no more than “God is my upholder; not one of many upholders, but my only upholder.” Thus, when Jephtha (Jud 11:35) tells his daughter, “Thou art among the troublers of me,” or “one of them that trouble me,” the meaning simply is, that she very much grieved and troubled him. So Psa 55:18, “There were many with me;” i e. , “God was with me,” which is as good as the greatest multitude. This is the sense in which the learned Castellio understands the passage, rendering it, “ Dominus is est qui mihi vitam sustentat;” “The Lord is he who sustains my life;” and he defends it by the above and like arguments. With this the Septuagint agrees: “ Κυριος ἀντιλήπτωρ τὢς ψνχὢς μου,” “The Lord is the defender of my soul;” and also the Syriac, Arabic, and Aethiopic.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) With them . . .Better, is a supporter of my life. So LXX. and Vulgate.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Behold, God is mine helper From the treachery and enmity of men the psalmist turns in confidence to God. Help, here, literally means to surround, as if to protect on all sides. The complementary word in the next hemistich is uphold, support, make strong. The participial form of the two words denotes a present helping and upholding, as if faith already felt the prayed-for relief. Calvin: “Then must it needs be that he excelled wonderfully in strength of faith, whereby, surmounting so many obstacles, he penetrated even from hell to heaven.” The form is very expressive, not only counting God in the class of his helpers, but placing him as his sole reliance.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
David Expresses His Confidence In God’s Protection And Deliverance And Assures Him That He Will Not Be Short On Gratitude ( Psa 54:4-6 ).
Psa 54:4-5
‘Behold, God is my helper,
The Sovereign Lord is of those who uphold my life.
He will requite the evil to my enemies,
Destroy you them in your truth.’
Having prayed to God he is confident of God’s help and protection. He sees God as his helper. For had God not anointed him to replace Saul? How then could He not help him to escape from Saul? And he sees Him as the Sovereign Lord (adonai) Who is the Upholder of his life, as One Who is on his side. He is thus confident that God will respond to the evil of his enemies by Himself acting against them, requiting them for what they are doing. And that, having by anointing David demonstrated His favourable attitude towards him, He will be true to His promise so given.
Psa 54:6
‘With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice to you,
I will give thanks to your name, O YHWH, for it is good,
For he has delivered me out of all trouble,
And my eye has seen (my desire) on my enemies.’
David then promises that he himself will respond in gratitude. He will sacrifice a freewill offering to God, and will give thanks to Him under His covenant Name of YHWH, a Name which he declares to be ‘good’ (totally reliable, dependable and trustworthy). Contrast this offering of a sacrifice with Psa 51:16 where, because he had sinned with a high hand, he knew that no sacrifice would be acceptable until he was sure of forgiveness as a consequence of God’s free and unmerited favour.
The goodness of YHWH’s Name is especially brought out by the fact that He has delivered David from ‘all trouble’, something demonstrated by the fact that David’s eye has seen what was necessary for his deliverance on his enemies. (‘Desire’ is not there in the Hebrew. David did not desire their discomfiture as such, in the sense of wanting them to suffer and gloating over them. He sought it because it was the only way in which he could be delivered)
Note the fairly unusual use (in this Second Part of Psalms) of the Name YHWH. It is an indication that he is seeing God as having helped him because He is the covenant God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 54:4. The Lord is with them that uphold my soul These words are capable of a double sense, each applicable to the context. Either “God is with them who uphold me, as their friend and helper, to assist and prosper them;” or, “God is amongst them; he is one of the number of those who support me, and will preserve me in safety.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader, do observe how Christ, in the days of his flesh, found support and confidence in resting himself wholly upon his Father; so have the faithful done, so must the faithful do, in all ages. The close and event of all the exercises of God’s people come to the same happy issue; they must and will see their desire upon all their enemies.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 54:4 Behold, God [is] mine helper: the Lord [is] with them that uphold my soul.
Ver. 4. Behold, God is mine helper ] And that mine enemies might have seen, had they set God before them. The Dutch have a proverb, Where God hath a mind to destroy a man, he first putteth out his eyes.
The Lord is with them that uphold my soul
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 54:4-5
4Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.
5He will recompense the evil to my foes;
Destroy them in Your faithfulness.
Psa 54:4-5 As the psalmist described his enemies in Psa 54:3, in Psa 54:4-5 he characterizes God and asks for Him to act against his foes.
1. God is my helper BDB 740, KB 810, Qal participle, cf. Psa 27:9; Psa 30:10; Psa 37:40; Psa 118:7
2. the Lord (Adon, BDB 10) is the sustainer of my soul (BDB 701, KB 759, Qal participle, cf. Psa 37:17; Psa 37:24; Psa 41:12; Psa 51:12; Psa 71:6; Psa 145:14)
3. He will recompense (lit. return, BDB 996, KB 1427). MT has Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense, but the Masoretic scholars suggested that it be read (Qere) as a Hiphil imperfect used in a jussive sense.
4. The psalmist asked God to destroy (lit. put to silence, BDB 856, KB 1035, Hiphil imperative, cf. Psa 143:12) his enemies as they were trying to silence him, cf. Psa 69:4; Psa 73:27; Psa 94:23; Psa 101:5; Psa 101:8
Psa 54:5
NASB, NRSVin Your faithfulness
NKJV, LXXin Your truth
TEVbecause he is faithful
NJBin your constancy
JPSOAby Your faithfulness
REBshow yourself faithful
The MT has faithfulness (BDB 54, see SPECIAL TOPIC: Believe, Trust, Faith, and Faithfulness in the Old Testament ). It seems to link back to the psalmist’s assertions about God in Psa 54:4.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
LORD *. One of the 134 alterations of Jehovah to Adonai by the Sopherim. App-32.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 54:4-5
Psa 54:4-5
“Behold, God is my helper:
The Lord is of them that uphold my soul.
He will requite the evil unto mine enemies:
Destroy thou them in thy truth.”
“The Lord is of them that uphold my soul” (Psa 54:4). “This is a literal rendition of the Hebrew”; but the thought is not that the Lord is merely one of David’s helpers, but that it is no other than God himself who supports and aids all of those helpers who are helping David. “Like a string of zeroes, our many friends stand for nothing, unless the Lord sets himself as a unit in front of them; then their number is innumerable. Who were David’s human helpers? They were the “six hundred men”; they were the “thirty-three mighty men”; they were “all in Israel who loved the Lord,” and who prayed to be rid of the blatant paganism of Saul.
“He will requite the evil unto mine enemies” (Psa 54:5) “The center of the Psalm is God’s faithfulness; therefore right will be vindicated and enemies will be punished. Nothing is further from the Spirit of God than the foolish notion that God is never really going to punish anybody.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 54:4. David believed God was his helper. One way of helping him was to strengthen his friends in their support of him. See comments at Psa 3:2 for Selah.
Psa 54:5. Reward evil meant to put some form of punishment upon David’s enemies. Cut them off denoted that the enemies would be prevented from carrying out their plots against David. In thy truth meant that God’s dealing with the wicked enemies would be according to truth, that is, it would be the true way of dealing with them.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 118:6, Psa 118:7, Psa 118:13, 1Ch 12:18, Isa 41:10, Isa 42:1, Isa 50:7-9, Rom 8:31, Heb 13:6
Reciprocal: 1Sa 23:14 – Saul 1Sa 23:19 – the Ziphites Psa 30:10 – be thou Psa 40:17 – help Psa 63:7 – Because Psa 124:1 – The Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 54:4-5. Behold, God is my helper Consider it, and see the vanity of all your wicked practices against me. The Lord is with them that uphold my soul He fights for them, and on my behalf, and therefore against all mine enemies. He shall reward evil to mine enemies He shall bring upon themselves the mischief they intended for me. Cut them off in thy truth For, or according to, thy truth; whereby thou art engaged to fulfil thy promises made to me, and thy threatenings denounced against thine and mine implacable enemies.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
54:4 Behold, God [is] mine helper: the Lord [is] with {d} them that uphold my soul.
(d) No matter how few, as he was with Jonathan.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Confidence in God 54:4-7
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David was confident that God would help and sustain him. He also believed God would punish those who opposed him, and he asked God to do so. He could pray this way because what his adversaries were doing was contrary to God’s will.
"The imprecation is not vindictive but expressive of trust in divine justice. Evil must be repaid." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 391.]