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In Psalms 56, we read David’s words during a time of extreme stress. There came a time when the young warrior was captured by the Philistines in the area of Gath. You will recall that David defeated and killed the Philistines’ beloved warrior, Goliath, in battle (1 Samuel 17). Goliath’s hometown was Gath. You can imagine that this was a place where David was most hated. David gives us an idea of how dangerous this area was to him: It was there that David was being hunted down (Psalms 56:1-2); David’s enemies were spreading lies about him (Psalms 56:5); and they were constantly planning and scheming to destroy David (Psalms 56:6).
In the midst of all this stress and fear, David makes this amazing declaration of faith: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You …” and “… in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalms 56:3,11).
David knew that by actively choosing to trust in God, one can overcome fear and find peace even amidst the most difficult circumstances. So, whenever you are feeling anxious or threatened, turn to prayer and trust in God’s protection.
Larry Fitzgerald
Woodlawn Church of Christ
Abilene, TX
This is a good article. I love the Psalms by David. They have show his wonderful heart to the Lord.
I would point out, thought, a slight spelling error in the article. In the Scripture references, the book should be listed as “Psalm” and not “Psalms” — as in Psalm 56:1-2 and not Psalms 56:1-2. Each individual Psalm is a singular psalm. The only time the term “Psalms” is used is in the title of the book, “The Book of Psalms,” since it is a collection of many different individual Psalms.