Verse 1
PSALM 54
PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM ENEMIES
Superscription: For the Chief Musician: on stringed instruments. Maschil of David: when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David himself hide with us?
The historical background here, according to the superscription, is related in 1 Samuel 23:19, which reports the offer of the Ziphites to betray David into the hands of Saul. The Ziphites became involved in this manner. David and his men had been joined by Abiathar, a son of Abimelech, who had escaped Doeg's massacre, and being a priest, he brought the sacred Ephod with him, by means of which David, after saving Keilah from the hands of the Philistines, escaped to the wilderness of Ziph, being warned by God through Abiathar.
While David was in that wilderness (Ziph), the Ziphites, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Saul, offered to betray David, whereupon, again being warned through Abiathar, David fled to the wilderness of Maon.
The speculation of Bible critics is a very poor substitute for these superscriptions, which, to us, seem more and more dependable as psalm after psalm is seen to agree perfectly with what is written in the superscriptions.
There are only seven verses here, and we shall examine them in order instead of seeking some kind of an outline.
"Save me, O God, by thy name,
And judge me in thy might."
David may very well have been in the wilderness of Maon at the time of writing this psalm. It was in that wilderness that Saul was almost able to surround David and capture him; but in what we believe was a providential intervention, Saul received a message that the Philistines were invading Israel; and "He returned from pursuing David" (1 Samuel 23:28). This indeed appears to have been a direct answer to David's prayer. David then took up a stronger position in what is called, "the stronghold of Engedi" (1 Samuel 23:29).
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