Psalms Chapter 54

“Save me, O God, by thy name, etc.] That is, by himself, by his power, and of his grace and goodness; the Lord’s name is often used for himself. David in his distress applies to his God for salvation and deliverance, who only could give it; which was right; and his prayer was remarkably heard and answered: for when Saul came down upon the first discovery, and beset David and his men all around, just as he was about to seize the prey, tidings came to him of the invasion of the Philistines; which obliged him directly to quit his pursuit of David, and return in haste for the defence of his country, (<092326>1 Samuel…”

“See on Psa 4:1, title; Psa 32:1, title; for the history, see Sa1 23:19, Sa1 23:29; 1Sa. 26:1-25. After an earnest cry for help, the Psalmist promises praise in the assurance of a hearing. (Psa 54:1-7) by thy name-- (Psa 5:11), specially, power. judge me--as in Psa 7:8; Psa 26:1.”

“Save me, O God, by thy name - The word “name” here may include the perfections or attributes properly implied in the name. It is a calling on God as God, or in view of all that is implied in his name, or that constitutes the idea of “God.” That name would imply all of power and benevolence that was necessary to secure his salvation or safety. The particular object of the prayer here is that God would save him from the design of the Ziphims to betray him to Saul. In some way David seems to have been apprised of the information which they had given to Saul, or at least to have suspected it so strongly that he felt…”

“Name - By thy own strength. Judge - Plead my cause. Psalms 54:3”

“Ps 54 In this individual lament, occasioned by violent and godless people (54:3), the psalmist turns to God in prayer and maintains his focus on God’s help (54:4). He prays for God to save him from evil and to judge his enemies (54:5, 7). 54:title This psalm refers to the account of 1 Sam 23:19-20, when the Ziphites were bent on violence.”

“judge: Psa 26:1, Psa 43:1, Psa 43:2, Psa 99:4; Pro 23:11; Jer 50:34 Psalms 54:2”

“(Heb.: 54:3-5) This short song is divided into two parts by Sela The first half prays for help and answer. The Name of God is the manifestation of His nature, which has mercy as its central point (for the Name of God is טּוב, v. 8, Ps 52:11), so that בּשׁמך (which is here the parallel word to בּגבוּרתך) is consequently equivalent to בּחסדּך. The obtaining of right for any one (דּין like שׁפט, Psa 7:9, and frequently, עשׂה דּין, Psa 9:5) is attributed to the all-conquering might of God, which is only one side of the divine Name, i.e., of the divine nature which manifests itself in the diversity of its attributes.…”