In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the light of the living?
Psalm 56:11-13
When David is seized by the Philistines, his demeanor does not exactly sound like the same person who wrote Psalm 23. Here, in Psalm 56 you find him dragging bottom in recalling all the low, the depressing things, which has happened to Israel.
In fact, he reaches the point where he has to describe those low points as “You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in a bottle.” He adds to that with “Are they not in your book?” He does not want God to forget his troubles, thus he adds “Are they not in Your book?”
Scripture records various books that God has seen fit to make reference to in His Word. It is especially comforting to know that God has a record of things that have been burdensome to us. I asked my friend how she was feeling, to which she replied: “Pastor! I could crawl under the belly of a snake, wearing a top hat, and never touch him.”
David probably felt much the same from his experiences, especially because it now felt that He had endeavored to follow the Lord with a genuine commitment, and yet everything now seemed to “belly up”.
As we read on we discover some very down to earth solutions for his weariness… His enemies will turn back in the day that “I call; this I know, that God is for me. In God whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
So, you have a few “tears in a bottle” because of your experiences in life; the list might appear to be endless, but what can man do to you? Hang on to Him and His promises, and “walk before God in the light of the living.” (11-13)
ETCetera 