Psalms 56 (Part II)

⁵ All day long they twist my words;
    all their schemes are for my ruin.
⁶ They conspire, they lurk,
    they watch my steps,
    hoping to take my life.
⁷ Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;
    in Your anger, God, bring the nations down.

The enemies take his words and say them in ways that are not his intended meanings.  Satan did the same with Jesus while tempting Him.  He misquoted God's Words by the slightest bit so as to alter God's intentions. He also did the same to Adam and Eve while tempting them.  "Did God really say ..." he teases as he spreads confusion.  Today we could easily quote Satan as saying "Surely God doesn't want you to not be happy!  You deserve to be happy and God wants you to be happy!  If He loves you and wants you to be happy, then you should do (write in that thing that opposes God's Word)."  Misquotes and missed intentions leading to confusion and the death of saint influences and the saints themselves.  This is the goal of hell itself. 

Much like how Psalms 59 is written, the enemies here are described as being on a constant watch and wait to catch David open to an attack so he might be killed at the first opportunity.  David prays for his enemies to be consumed by their wickedness that they do not escape and that God brings not just them down but their whole wicked kind (nation).

⁸ Record my misery;
    list my tears on Your scroll—
    are they not in Your record?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    when I call for help.
    By this I will know that God is for me.

I believe David is saying to God, "You know what has happened.  You have seen my heartbreak and dread of these attacks.  You have watched my fight."  It is as if he is calling upon God to review the record and know that he has fought on the side of God doing the right things.  He is calling upon God to know the pain he has suffered and the extent of himself he has given to this fight.  "God look upon my suffering and what has been done."  The only thing missing is a request for mercy - oh wait, that's in the first verse, "be merciful to me".

Verse 9 is the most important verse to me.  I do not like how The Message Bible interprets it.  It says, "If my enemies run away, turn tail when I yell at them, then I'll know that God is on my side."  I think this is very opposite the intention of David's writing and heart.  Is David presenting a Gideon type of fleece here to God?  He will only know that God is with him if he yells at the enemy and they run?  This does not represent David's method in any other writing, at least to me. 

I read this in a different context and timeline.  First, David calls out to God for help and then his enemies turn back.  The Jewish Bible presents this as "On the day when I cry unto You, then shall my enemies turn back."  Isn't this the way our life actually works?  How many times have I experienced this?  God is simply waiting on me to get my life back into order (again) and call out to Him as my only refuge, my only safety, THEN HE starts working everything out for me.  I have to put my faith out front.  I must live by faith first.

This Jewish text continues, "of this I have knowledge, for God is for me."  When I cry unto God, then my enemies turn away; I know this from God's Word that God is for me.  The Jewish word for knowledge there is a reference to the knowledge of the Torah.  This is an important distinction to make here in this text.  We do not know this fact of God's response because of our experience first, but because God says He hears our cry and is for us.  This is the way it should be.  Unfortunately for me, experience has to often teach me.  But, casting that aside, the most important aspect to accept here is that "God is for me" and I know it.  I believe it.  And "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Rom 8:31)