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Passage Research

Psalm 56 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Psalm 56, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

14
verses
120 / 77
Hebrew words / lemmas
10
classic sermon excerpts
5
preachers & commentators

Psalm 56 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's Count Glosses
בָּטַח bâṭach H982 3 hie, precipitately
הָלַל hâlal H1984 3 be clear, shine
דָּבָר dâbâr H1697 4 word, matter
שָׁאַף shâʼaph H7602 2 inhale eagerly, cover
יָרֵא yârêʼ H3372 3 fear, revere
לָחַם lâcham H3898 2 feed on, consume
נֶפֶשׁ nephesh H5315 2 breathing creature, animal

How preachers through history handled this text

10 public-domain excerpts on Psalm 56, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Matthew Henry 3 Alexander MacLaren 3 Spurgeon 2 Ambrose 1 John Wesley 1

“It seems by this, and many other psalms, that even in times of the greatest trouble and distress David never hung his harp upon the willow-trees, never unstrung it or laid it by; but that when his dangers and fears were greatest he was still in tune for singing God's praises. He was in imminent peril when he penned this psalm, at least when he meditated it; yet even then his meditation of God was sweet. I. He complains of the malice of his enemies, and begs mercy for himself and justice against them, ver. 1, 2, 5-7. II. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 3 (Job to Song of Solomon), on Psalm 56:1–30 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Gath 1 — Ps 56:1

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