Passage Research
Psalm 54 — Sermon Preparation
David cries out for rescue when betrayed to Saul by the Ziphites, trusting that God will cut off his enemies and sustain his life. Below is a research summary for Psalm 54, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 9
- verses
- 62 / 52
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 7
- classic sermon excerpts
- 4
- preachers & commentators
Psalm 54 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נֶפֶשׁ | nephesh | H5315 | 2 | breathing creature, animal |
| שֵׁם | shêm | H8034 | 2 | appellation, honor |
| דָּוִד | Dâvid | H1732 | 2 | David |
| זִיפִי | Zîyphîy | H2130 | 1 | Ziphite |
| שָׁרַר | shârar | H8324 | 1 | be hostile |
| מַשְׂכִּיל | maskîyl | H4905 | 1 | instructive, didactic |
| נְגִינָה | nᵉgîynâh | H5058 | 1 | instrumental music, stringed instrument |
How preachers through history handled this text
7 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 54, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“The key of this psalm hangs at the door, for the title tells us upon what occasion it was penned--when the inhabitants of Ziph, men of Judah (types of Judas the traitor), betrayed David to Saul, by informing him where he was and putting him in a way how to seize him. This they did twice (1 Sam. xxiii. 19; xxvi. 1), and it is upon record to their everlasting infamy. The psalm is sweet; …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 54:1–30 (Public Domain)
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