Psa. 54:Title**| Maschil
| See note on the superscription of Psa. 32.
Psa. 54:Titlea| of| Psa. 3 title
Psa. 54:Titleb| Ziphites| 1|Sam. 23:19;| 26:1
Psa. 54:11| save
| In this psalm, instead of asking God to have mercy on his enemies in His faithfulness, David asked God to annihilate his enemies (v. 5), while he himself was seeking to participate in the enjoyment of God in His help, sustenance, and salvation (vv. 1-4). A spiritual person would not pray in such a way. In typifying Christ as the fighting Victor (cf. note 31 in 1|Chron. 22), David was justified in asking God to annihilate his enemies; but in his spiritual living, it was not right for David to hate his enemies and to ask God to destroy them. This is against the nature of the spiritual life of God’s chosen people, and even against God’s holy word in the Old Testament in Prov. 25:21-22, quoted by the apostle Paul in Rom. 12:20. See note 71 in Psa. 3.
Psa. 54:3a| set| Psa. 16:8;| 86:14
Psa. 54:4a| Helper| Psa. 118:7
Psa. 54:51| faithfulness
| Or, truth.
Psa. 54:61| praise
| Or, give thanks to.