📖 Psalms — Chapter 56 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Psalms 56:1 Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would Rswallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.
Psalms 56:2 Mine RTenemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.
Psalms 56:3 RWhat time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Psalms 56:4 RIn God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Psalms 56:5 Every day Rthey wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
Psalms 56:6 They Rgather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
Psalms 56:7 Shall they Rescape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
Psalms 56:8 Thou Rtellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
Psalms 56:9 RWhen I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
Psalms 56:10 RIn God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word.
Psalms 56:11 In God have I put my trust: RI will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
Psalms 56:12 RThy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
Psalms 56:13 RFor thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 56:1–4 — Trust when afraid
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker asks mercy while opponents press against him daily. His confession is not that he never feels fear, but that when fear comes he trusts God. Praise of God's word anchors this resolve and brings human threats into perspective beside the God on whom he depends.
Key Truth: When fear arises, turn toward trust in God.
Check What You Remember
1. What does the speaker ask God to be? (Psalms 56:1)
Find it in Psalms 56:1 (KJV).
2. When will he trust God? (Psalms 56:3)
Find it in Psalms 56:3 (KJV).
3. What does he praise in God? (Psalms 56:4)
Find it in Psalms 56:4 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 56:5–9 — Misrepresented words and remembered tears
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Opponents twist words, hide, and watch the speaker's steps. He appeals to God's justice and pictures his wanderings and tears remembered in a book and bottle. These tender images affirm divine attention to suffering that adversaries dismiss, grounding confidence in God's care rather than the absence of danger.
Key Truth: God remembers the tears and wanderings of his people.
Check What You Remember
1. What do enemies wrest every day? (Psalms 56:5)
Find it in Psalms 56:5 (KJV).
2. What does he ask God to put into a bottle? (Psalms 56:8)
Find it in Psalms 56:8 (KJV).
3. What does he know about God? (Psalms 56:9)
Find it in Psalms 56:9 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Psalms 56:10–13 — Trust, praise, and the light of the living
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The speaker repeats trust in God and promises praise in fulfillment of his vows. He remembers deliverance from death and asks to be kept from falling so he may walk before God. Rescue is connected with renewed life in God's presence rather than mere survival without gratitude.
Key Truth: God's help invites grateful walking before him.
Check What You Remember
1. In whom has he put his trust? (Psalms 56:11)
Find it in Psalms 56:11 (KJV).
2. What will he render to God? (Psalms 56:12)
Find it in Psalms 56:12 (KJV).
3. In what light does he desire to walk? (Psalms 56:13)
Find it in Psalms 56:13 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Isaiah 41:10 — God calls his people away from fear with the promise of his presence.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What truthful confession can you pray when you feel afraid, without pretending the feeling is not real?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How does the fear confession define trust?
2. How do word-twisting and surveillance intensify hostility?
3. How do wanderings and tears become evidence of divine attention?
4. What confidence connects calling and the enemies’ retreat?
5. What purpose joins deliverance from death with kept feet?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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