Bible Commentaries
Psalms 54

Verses 1-2

God’s name and His power are virtually synonymous. Psalms 54:1 contains synonymous parallelism. His name represents all that God is and what He has done (cf. Exodus 34:5-7). David asked God personally to save him with His irresistible might. He also asked God to regard the prayer for help that proceeded from the psalmist’s mouth.

Verses 1-3

1. Prayer for deliverance 54:1-3

Verses 1-7

Psalms 54

David composed this individual lament psalm after the Ziphites had told King Saul where he was hiding (1 Samuel 23:19). He expressed great confidence in God’s protection of him in it. The psalm is a fitting prayer for any believer who is maligned by others.

Verse 3

The Ziphites were strangers to David, and Saul’s soldiers were violent antagonists of David. David could expect divine assistance because their hostility was contrary to God’s will. David was Israel’s anointed king whom God intended to place on Saul’s throne. This verse is almost identical to Psalms 86:14.

Verses 4-5

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.]

Verses 4-7

2. Confidence in God 54:4-7

Verses 6-7

David was so sure that God would deliver him that he spoke of offering a freewill sacrifice of worship for God’s deliverance. This would have been the peace (fellowship) offering (Leviticus 3; Leviticus 7). He believed God would deliver him because God is good (cf. Psalms 52:9). In Psalms 54:7, the psalmist spoke of his deliverance as already past, as a way of expressing his confidence in God. He would have found satisfaction in God punishing his enemies for their evil, not because he hated them personally.

When God’s people experience opposition from others who seek to thwart His will, they can count on His eventual deliverance. It may not come this side of the grave, but God will punish evildoers and reward those who trust and obey Him. [Note: See Swindoll, pp. 141-51.]