EXPOSITION
THIS and the following have been called "twin psalms." They begin with the same words, are nearly of the same length, and have each a refrain which divides them into two portions. Formally, the chief difference between the two is that Psalms 56:1-13. has an epilogue, or appendix (Psalms 56:12, Psalms 56:13), after the second refrain, to which there is nothing correspondent in Psalms 57:1-11. Both psalms were written under circumstances of great distress, and the tone of thought in them is very similar. Each begins with complaint, and earnest prayer for deliverance, while each ends with praise and triumph.
The present psalm has a very complex heading, or "title." First, it is addressed, like most of the other psalms of this book, "to the chief musician," or "precentor." Then it is said to be "On the silent dove of far off regions." Thirdly, it is called "Michtam of David," which some explain as "a golden psalm composed by David." And fourthly, the occasion of its composition is declared to have been "the seizure of David by the Philistines in Gath." David's authorship may readily be accepted, for the psalm is, as Ewald says, "one of the most beautiful in the Psalter." And the occasion is not to be lightly set aside; since, although no seizure of David by the Philistines of Gath is mentioned in 1 Samuel, such an event is quite conceivable; while no compiler or editor of a late date would have ventured to interpolate such a fact into the accepted history of David. The "silent dove" is, no doubt, David himself, who had wished for "the wings of a dove" (Psalms 55:6), and was compelled to be silent while he was in captivity.