לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינֹת מַשְׂכִּיל לְדָוִד׃ - For the conductor, with instrumental music, a Maskil of David.
The Alshich addresses the opening phrasing: why does David begin specifically with "For the conductor, with instrumental music, a Maskil"? Because he was overcome with sorrow over the calamity caused when the Ziphites betrayed him, and Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration) does not rest amidst sadness. Therefore he required "for the conductor, with instrumental music" - playing many melodies so that it would become a "Maskil of David," enabling David to attain understanding and perception, and from that state to sing and recite this psalm.
בְּבֹא הַזִּיפִים וַיֹּאמְרוּ לְשָׁאוּל הֲלֹא דָוִד מִסְתַּתֵּר עִמָּנוּ׃ - When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Is not David hiding among us?"
And this was the cause of his sorrow: the Ziphites came and informed against him, and for this reason David needed those musical melodies to lift himself out of melancholy.
The Ziphites were the inhabitants of the Wilderness of Ziph, named after their locality. "The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, 'Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, facing the wasteland?'" They go up to Gibeah and inform Saul that David is hiding in their midst. "Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the Wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which faces the wasteland by the way, while David remained in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul had pursued him into the wilderness." David learns that Saul is hunting him: "David sent scouts and knew that Saul had indeed arrived" - at first there were only rumors, so David dispatched scouts to survey the area, and he then confirmed that the reports were accurate.
From there, the narrative continues: "David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying, along with Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army; Saul was lying within the circular camp, and the people were encamped around him." This is the episode where they surprised Saul in his sleep, and Avishai sought to strike him down, but David answered him: Who can stretch forth his hand against Hashem's anointed and be guiltless? In the end, they took the water jug, and David thereby proved to Saul that he had drawn right up to him and could have struck him, yet harbored no ill intent toward him. For our purposes, what pertains directly is the betrayal: the people of Ziph sought to deliver David into Saul's hands.
אֱלֹהִים בְּשִׁמְךָ הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי וּבִגְבוּרָתְךָ תְדִינֵנִי׃ - O God, save me by Your Name, and judge me by Your might.
Midrash Tehillim (Shocher Tov) expounds: David said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, if a minor officer (kotentin) pursues a person, one appeals against him to an eparch, an officer of higher rank. If an eparch pursues someone, one appeals against him to the king. But if the king pursues the eparch, to whom can he appeal? To whom can he turn to obtain justice, given that the king is the supreme authority? He can appeal to no one but You. The only One who can save from the hand of the king is the One who is higher than the king, namely the Holy One, Blessed be He. Thus David said: Master of the Universe, Saul is king; to whom can I lodge a complaint against him? I can only appeal to You: "Save me by Your Name, and judge me by Your might" - I have no recourse but Your Name, and it is Your might that must judge my cause and rescue me from Saul's hand.
The Midrash continues explaining "and judge me by Your might": Just as You wrote in Your Torah, "You shall not deliver a slave to his master." If regarding such a slave, who descends from the sons of Ham and was an idolater only yesterday, You were nevertheless commanded not to deliver him to his master when he fled - how much more so should You not surrender me into Saul's hand, when I am a prince, the son of a prince for five generations! As it is stated: Nachshon begot Salma, and Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Oved, and Oved begot Yishai, and Yishai begot David. The Midrash further explains: "Might" (gevurah) refers to the Torah, as it is stated, "Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, might is mine," and likewise, "Mighty in the battle of Torah." That is to say: Judge me according to the principles of Your Torah; just as it is written in Your Torah that a slave is not to be delivered to his master, so too, do not surrender me to my master, to Saul.
Radak explains: By the Name upon which I call - save me; and by Your might in which I trust - judge me, meaning: take up my cause against them, for I am one and they are many. Now, this phrasing is puzzling, since "tadinani" literally means "judge me" (put me on trial), whereas David typically pleads, "Do not rebuke me in Your wrath." Therefore, most commentators, including Rashi, explain that the intent is: avenge my cause against my enemies, just as in the verse, "For the Lord will judge His people" - which does not mean He will condemn them, but rather that He will execute their judgment against those who oppress them.
The Malbim explains: "Save me by Your name" - save me by virtue of Your Name, for You are the One Who saves those who take refuge in Him and that is Your Name, and salvation stems from chesed (lovingkindness). "And by Your might vindicate me" - champion my cause against the enemies; this judgment stems from gevurah (might), to exact just retribution from them as they deserve.
Sforno, on the other hand, interprets "tadinani" according to its literal meaning: "Save me by Your name" through the attribute of mercy, and if it is Your will to judge me with strict might - You judge me, and not them. This is akin to what David said, "Let me fall into the hand of the Lord... but let me not fall into the hand of man." Let my punishment not come through flesh and blood, who have no mercy or pity, but rather through You alone.
אֱלֹהִים שְׁמַע תְּפִלָּתִי הַאֲזִינָה לְאִמְרֵי־פִי׃ - O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
Why this repetition? Radak explains: "My prayer" refers to the heart, while "the words of my mouth" refers to speech. The Malbim explains: Hear my prayer, and in addition, give ear to the words of my mouth - to the words I express alongside the prayer. The Malbim adds a rule that he repeats in several places: Wherever there is a primary matter and a secondary matter, the primary is stated with the term shemi'ah (hearing), while the secondary is stated with ha'azanah (giving ear), as in: "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth." The prayer itself is the essence - "Hear my prayer" - and for the additional, accompanying words - "Give ear."
כִּי זָרִים קָמוּ עָלַי וְעָרִיצִים בִּקְשׁוּ נַפְשִׁי לֹא שָׂמוּ אֱלֹהִים לְנֶגְדָּם סֶלָה׃ - For strangers have risen up against me, and ruthless men seek my soul; they do not set God before them. Selah.
Radak notes that some explain "strangers" as referring to the Ziphites, and "ruthless men" to Shaul and his faction; a ruthless man is typically a ruler, a tyrannical ruler. David thus pleads to be rescued from both the Ziphites and the tyrant. Ibn Ezra interprets differently: "Strangers" are foreigners, who are not from our people, while "ruthless men" refers to the Ziphites, about whom this entire psalm revolves - "When the Ziphites came and said to Shaul." According to this, David is not referring to Shaul here at all; rather, he is asking for rescue from the Ziphites who seek to deliver him into Shaul's hand. It is regarding them that he says, "they do not set God before them" - they do not fear that Hashem will repay them according to their evil deeds.
The Malbim explains along the lines of Radak: "Strangers" are the Ziphites, called strangers because they were not relatives of Shaul, but unrelated to him. "Ruthless men" refers to Shaul and his warriors, who seek to kill me without due judgment, purely out of their tyranny; for a tyrannical ruler does not govern according to justice and law, but acts unlawfully. "They do not set God before them" - they take no notice that God stands before them, acting directly against Hashem's will. "Selah" - and with this the subject concludes, following the Malbim's consistent approach of interpreting "Selah" as the conclusion of a topic.
Sforno explains: "They do not set God before them" - the objective of their actions was not for His honor, blessed be He, but rather to curry favor with the king for their own benefit. Their betrayal of David did not stem from a divine command to uphold the honor of the monarchy, but from simple calculation: it pays to stay in good favor with the king, who holds power and authority, and it will be rewarding. It was not the honor of Heaven that was before their eyes, but personal gain.
In the sefer Tehillot Maharitz, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky wonderfully explains this duplication: David asks that Hashem hear his prayer in a time of distress, even if the prayer is not as it should be. For a hunted man cannot focus his intent properly; his mind is unsettled and he is unable to concentrate, just as the Sages said that one who travels on the road prays a shortened prayer. Someone who lacks peace of mind cannot offer a fully proper prayer. And this is the meaning of "give ear to the utterances of my mouth": God, hear my prayer, and even if it is not proper, being merely "the utterances of my mouth" - words that come out of the mouth without deep intent and contemplation - give ear even to them and answer me.
And the continuation provides the reason: "For strangers have risen against me" - this is the reason I cannot dedicate my thought and focus properly, for I am hunted, and whoever is hunted certainly lacks peace of mind. And one could suggest homiletically to read the phrasing this way: "and tyrants have sought," and then "my soul has not set God before it, Selah" - my soul is unable to set God before it and concentrate, because I am hunted.
The Maharitz Dushinsky further explains "they have not set God before them": when a wicked person does an evil deed knowing it is evil, there is a chance he will repent, for he is conscious that his actions are corrupt and contrary to the will of Hashem, and perhaps at some point he will be stirred, hearing a mussar lecture or a prayer that awakens him. But worst of all is when a person commits wickedness for the sake of Heaven. For this there is no remedy, for who can correct him? Anyone who comes to rebuke him is seen in his eyes as someone obstructing him from performing a mitzvah and distancing him from the service of Hashem, and naturally must be resisted.
And he cites a wonderful explanation from the author of the Akeidat Yitzchak on what is written concerning the people of Sodom, "wicked and sinful to Hashem exceedingly": why was there no remedy for them other than to overturn and destroy them? Because had they merely been wicked and sinful people who knew their actions were wrong, they might still have repented. But they were "to Hashem exceedingly" - everything with them was done for the honor of the Creator. How so? You must not feed and support the poor, for who created the poor? The Holy One, blessed be He. Just as Turnus Rufus asked Rabbi Akiva: Who created the poor? Hashem; if so, how can you oppose His decree? Hashem decreed that he be poor, and you come to provide him with sustenance? This is also the reason the Christians have persecuted us for two thousand years: Hashem decreed that we be persecuted, and whoever adds to it is rewarded - after all, He exiled them from His land, so persecute them more, and you are considered righteous for doing the will of Hashem.
Based on this, a perplexing matter is resolved: it is understandable for a wicked person to do wickedness outside the law, but how did the people of Sodom enshrine their wickedness into law? For example, there are nations where theft is second nature; a story is told of a contractor who employed a worker, and that worker told him that if he walks down a building and sees a drill or an electric tool left behind by a craftsman, if he does not take it with him, he leaves feeling as though he forgot something. That is nature. And yet, it is obvious that no society writes into law, "Thou shalt steal." How, then, did the people of Sodom enshrine their practice into law? Rather, according to the author of the Akeidah, this is wonderful: since they did it "to Hashem exceedingly" - holding that it is forbidden to support the poor because that goes against the will of Hashem - it had to be written into law, for mitzvot are celebrated and not hidden in shame.
From here, says the Maharitz Dushinsky, we also understand the plain meaning in our psalm. David asks, "cut them off," bring them down and destroy them, and why? "For they have sought my soul, and have not set God before them, Selah" - they do not believe that God is against them; on the contrary, they imagine that God is with them. When Achitophel pursued David, he had every justification: David is wicked, look at what he has done, he deserves it, a sufferer stricken by Heaven, and they pinned every foulness, vile deed, transgression, and sin onto David. They do not feel that God is against them, but that God is on their side, and it turns out that through their actions they believe they are fulfilling a mitzvah. Therefore David says: for these people there is no remedy, and the only remedy is for You to cut them off and bring them down.
הִנֵּה אֱלֹהִים עֹזֵר לִי אֲדֹנָי בְּסֹמְכֵי נַפְשִׁי׃ - Behold, God is a helper to me; my Lord is among those who support my soul.
Radak explains: they cannot harm me by coming and slandering me to Saul, for Hashem, Who is Master of all - which is why the Divine Name denoting Masterhood is used here - will be "among those who support my soul." There are two approaches to explaining "among those who support my soul." Radak, as well as Ibn Ezra, explains: Hashem will come to the aid of those people from Israel who support my soul, assisting their efforts and helping them.
Ibn Ezra cites in the name of Rabbeinu Moshe that it is impossible to explain that Hashem is merely one among those who support my soul, for it is unfitting to speak that way of the Holy One, blessed be He - is He just one among many supporters? Therefore Rabbeinu Moshe explained: the Holy One, blessed be He, alone outweighs all other supporters. But Ibn Ezra says that in his view, the explanation is as we explained in the name of Radak: that Hashem will rescue him from those who seek his harm and will assist those who support his soul.
The Malbim also follows this direction: "God is a helper to me" - He helps me help myself through my own strength, granting me that strength. For the meaning of a "helper" is not that I lift something in your place, but rather that you lift and I support. A person must make his own effort, and I do make that effort, and for this I thank Hashem for assisting me. Furthermore, "the Lord is with those who support my soul" - regarding my men who support and help me, Hashem joins with them to uphold me. That is to say: I see no difficulty in this phrasing, and the meaning is that Hashem is among my helpers and not among theirs, among those who aid me and not those who aid them. Indeed, in his commentary on the words (Biur HaMilot), the Malbim writes "with the help of those who support my soul," which aligns with the Radak's explanation that Hashem aids the hands of those who support my soul.
Maharitz Dushinsky offers a wonderful insight here. David says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we mention the Name of Hashem our God." When other kings prepared for battle, they would prepare the army, conducting drills and tests to evaluate their readiness. But David says: I am not like that. When I want to know whether to go out to war, I do not inspect the army's readiness; rather, I examine entirely different metrics. I go to the Beit Midrash and begin to learn. If I see that I merit to clarify the matter in accordance with practical halachah (asukei shem'ata aliba d'hilchata), that I do not stumble in halachic rulings, and that I reach sound conclusions with the sugya being clear - it is a sign that I have received divine illumination from Hashem. Then I know: go out to battle, and you will succeed. And concerning David it was said that the halachah follows him everywhere, a level above which there is none. But if I arrive and "darkness was over the face of the deep" - which refers to the Babylonian Talmud - the sugya is obscure, I struggle to comprehend, remaining with unresolved doubts and difficulties without reaching a clear conclusion, I know that this is not the right time for battle, and it must be postponed.
This is what he meant by "I considered my ways and turned my feet back to Your testimonies": when I calculate which path to take, I return my feet to the Beit Midrash and to the holy Torah, and based on my success in Torah study, I know whether I will succeed in battle. And this is "but we mention the Name of Hashem our God" - for the Holy One, blessed be He, His Name, and the Torah are one, and the entire Torah consists of names of the Holy One, blessed be He. Through engagement in Torah study, we know whether to go forth and fight.
Incidentally, the Chida cites this advice: a person who faces great doubt and dilemma, not knowing how to act and having no great Torah scholar to consult, should consult the holy Torah. How? Let him sit and learn for an hour, and afterward reconsider the matter; from Heaven he will be guided on the path of truth. The reason is that through Torah study, a person elevates himself to a higher spiritual plane and receives, as it were, divine intellect. The Torah he learned then advises him and stands among his helpers. The source for this is King David: "I considered my ways and turned my feet back to Your testimonies."
According to this, Maharitz Dushinsky explains our verse: "Behold, God is a helper to me" - and from where am I so confident that Hashem will assist me? Because "the Lord is with those who support my soul": in matters of the soul, in Torah study, I saw that Hashem supported and helped me; I reached definitive conclusions, derived halachot from the sugya, and witnessed blessing in my learning. And since He supported me in spiritual matters of the soul, this serves as proof that in physical matters as well, Hashem will be "a helper to me."
יָשִׁיב הָרַע לְשֹׁרְרָי בַּאֲמִתְּךָ הַצְמִיתֵם׃ - He will repay the evil to my watchful foes; in Your truth, destroy them.
Rashi explains "to my watchful foes" (leshorerai) - to those who are hostile to me, looking upon me with enmity. The word is related to seeing or gazing, as in "I see it, but not now; I behold it (ashurenu), but not close," and likewise, "branches run over the wall (shur)," where a wall is called a shur because from it one looks into the distance. The Radak expands on this: the Holy One, blessed be He, will turn back upon them the evil they inflict upon me, because they are my shorerai, watching me with ill intent, their entire gaze toward me being malevolent. Similarly, "and Saul eyed (oyen) David with hostility" - oyen derives from casting an evil eye upon him, scrutinizing him negatively.
"In Your truth, destroy them" - since You are true, and You have declared that You punish the slanderer and the one who seeks to kill his fellow, and that "God seeks the pursued." The Radak adds another explanation: "Your truth" refers to the promise that I will reign as king, an enduring and unchangeable truth. If they harm me, Your truth will not be fulfilled; therefore, through that very truth by which You promised that I will reign, destroy them.
Ibn Ezra explains "He will repay the evil" - the very evil they devised against me, He will turn back upon them. This resolves the specific phrasing, for it would have seemed more appropriate to say "He will bring evil"; why then does it say "He will repay (or return) evil"? Because that exact harm they sought to inflict upon me will be turned back upon them - measure for measure (middah keneged middah) - through which a person perceives the hand of Hashem, making it evident to them that this comes from You. The Malbim explains: the Holy One, blessed be He, will likewise repay my enemies and return their evil upon them according to their wickedness, and this stems from "Your truth," for You promised and assured me the kingdom, and therefore You will bring evil upon them.
בִּנְדָבָה אֶזְבְּחָה־לָּךְ אוֹדֶה־שִּׁמְךָ יְהֹוָה כִּי־טוֹב׃ - With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your Name, Hashem, for it is good.
כִּי מִכׇּל־צָרָה הִצִּילָנִי וּבְאֹיְבַי רָאֲתָה עֵינִי׃ - For He has delivered me from all trouble, and my eye has looked upon my enemies.
The Malbim explains: I will sacrifice to You with a generous heart, and give thanks to Your Name, for it is good. And on what account? When David was pursued, Shaul and his men encircled David to capture him, and this took place at the Rock of Divisions (Sela Hamaḥlekot). There the verse relates that messengers immediately arrived to tell Shaul that the Pelishtim had raided the land. At that very moment, David had already said, "I said in my haste, all men are deceitful" - even Shmuel, who promised that I would reign, seems to have spoken falsely, for here Shaul is about to kill me. Yet at the very last moment, the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered him, as word reached Shaul of the Pelishti raid, "and Shaul returned from pursuing David," and in this way he was saved. Concerning this deliverance he says, "For He has delivered me from all trouble."
"And my eye has looked upon my enemies" - even though I already saw my enemies directly before my eyes, within range of sight, I did not have to fight them and shed blood, and from this too You saved me. This is the crux of the miracle: that my eye only looked upon my enemies, but I was not forced to kill them. For indeed, David was pained no less by the thought of having to kill a fellow Jew pursuing him - or Heaven forbid harming Shaul himself, having sworn not to strike Hashem's anointed - than he was by the pursuit itself. Therefore he gives thanks that his eye merely beheld his enemies, while You took them away, and I was spared having to kill my enemies who are my brothers.
The sefer Zeh HaSha'ar notes by way of allusion: the initial letters of the words "Mikol tzarah hitzilani uve'oyevai" form the word mitzvah (מצוה) - alluding to the principle that "a mitzvah protects and rescues," that a mitzvah shields and delivers a person from all trouble. Furthermore, the initial letters of "Mikol tzarah hitzilani" alone spell matzah (מצה). What is the connection of matzah here? Based on what is written in the holy sefer Divrei Yechezkel in the name of the holy Zohar: in the merit of the Jewish people eating matzah on Pesach, they are spared harsh judgment on Rosh Hashanah - so that during that year there will be no decrees, troubles, or persecutions. This is the allusion: "He has delivered me from all trouble" - throughout the year I am saved from all trouble in the judgment of Rosh Hashanah through the power of the matzah, and through it the year will be assured without tribulations or evil decrees, but rather blessed with good decrees, salvations, and consolations, Amen and Amen.