Psalms 55:16 · Bible study
Psalms 55:16 Commentary: The Resolve to Call on God
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How David's declaration to call on God in betrayal reveals faith that trusts in Yahweh's saving power. Study the grammar, context, and confidence of this verse.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The psalmist declares his personal resolve to pray to God and his confidence that Yahweh will save him.
- Key words: “call on God” (prayerful dependence), “Yahweh will save” (covenantal deliverance).
- Main debate: Whether the betrayer is Ahithophel specifically or a generic description of faithless friends.
- Theological theme: Prayer as the response to betrayal, grounded in the covenant faithfulness of God.
- Best use: Pastoral comfort and encouragement for those facing personal betrayal.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
WEB World English Bible 2000
As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me.
KJV King James Version 1769
As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
As for me, I will call upon God; And Jehovah will save me.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
I--to God I call, and Jehovah saveth me.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
As for me, unto God will I call; and Jehovah will save me.
Translations in other languages (9 available)
Yo á Dios clamaré; y Jehová me salvará.
Eu clamarei a Deus, e o SENHOR me salvará.
Que la mort les surprenne,
Ich aber will zu Gott rufen, und der HERR wird mir helfen.
Dat hun de dood als een schuldeiser overvalle, dat zij als levend ter helle nederdalen; want boosheden zijn in hun woning, in het binnenste van hen.
Quanto a me: io griderò, a Dio e l’Eterno mi salverà.
Oby ich śmierć z prędka załapiła, tak aby żywo zstąpili do piekła! albowiem złość jest w mieszkaniu ich, i w pośrodku ich.
至於我，我要求告 神；耶和華 必拯救我。
As for me, I will make my prayer to God, and he will be my saviour.
Verse in Context
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators uniformly see this verse as a statement of determined, confident prayer in the face of overwhelming betrayal. Calvin emphasizes that the future tense “I will call” expresses not something already done but a self-exhortation to the duty of prayer and hope. Barnes notes that David, driven from his home and throne, believed God could deliver him and would do so, even when circumstances seemed hopeless. Gill adds that calling on God here means turning away from all created helpers, idols, angels, or saints, and directing prayer solely to the one who is able to save. The Cambridge Bible draws attention to the use of “Yahweh” (the Lord) as the covenant name, underlining that the psalmist appeals to the faithful God of Israel who has bound himself to his people. Across these interpreters, the core agreement is clear: the act of calling on God and the confidence that he will save are inseparable. Faith both expresses itself in prayer and receives its assurance from the God who hears.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The psalmist resolves to pray to God and trusts that Yahweh will deliver him, even in the context of deep personal betrayal.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the betrayer | The psalmist is betrayed by a close friend, a former companion. | Some commentators (Barnes, Keil) connect the betrayal to Absalom and Ahithophel. Others (Lange) treat the description as a typical figure of faithless friendship. |
| Meaning of 'call on God' | It involves prayer and dependence on God alone. | Gill includes all acts of divine worship, while Calvin emphasizes private prayer with fixed hours as a discipline against weariness. |
| Nature of the psalmist's confidence | The confidence is strong and assured. | Clarke sees it as a foresight of deliverance already accomplished. Calvin regards it as a statement of resolute hope despite present danger. |
| Application of fixed prayer hours | The psalmist prayed at set times (evening, morning, noon). | Calvin commends the practice as helpful for human weakness. Others may see it as culturally specific rather than a binding pattern for Christians today. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Psalm 55 is widely understood as a lament written during a time of intense personal betrayal. The surrounding verses (12, 14) make clear that the enemy is not a stranger but a close friend, a companion who once worshiped alongside the psalmist in the house of God. Barnes connects this to Absalom’s rebellion and the treachery of Ahithophel, David’s trusted counselor. Whether or not one accepts that specific identification, the scene is one of a king forced to flee Jerusalem, leaving behind the temple and the fellowship of the community.
In that crisis, the psalmist does not turn to violence or despair. He turns to prayer. Verse 17 adds that he will pray evening, morning, and noon, fixed hours that mirrored the daily sacrifices in the temple. Calvin points out that these set times were a help against human weakness, training the godly in constancy. The name “Yahweh” in verse 16 is especially significant: it is the personal covenant name of God, the one who had promised to be with his people. By using that name, the psalmist stakes everything on the relationship God himself established.
The surrounding lines also depict a city full of deceit, violence, and strife (9, 11). In such a climate, the simple act of calling on God becomes an act of defiant trust. The psalmist’s confidence is not based on his own strength or on any change in his circumstances, but on the character of the God who has been enthroned from of old (v. 19).
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Psalm 55:16. The verse is stable across Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions.
Reception History
Jewish tradition, reflected in the Targum, interprets this verse with a messianic note: “The Word of the Lord shall redeem me,” a reading cited by both Clarke and Gill. In the early church, the psalm as a whole was often seen as a type of Christ’s betrayal by Judas (Lange notes this typical reference). Christian liturgies have used Psalm 55 in times of lament, drawing on verse 16 as a model of turning to God when human trust fails. The verse continues to be a source of comfort for believers who find themselves wounded by a friend.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The resolve to pray despite betrayal. The psalmist declares, “As for me, I will call on God.” In a moment when violence and deceit are the language of his enemies, he chooses a different path. He will not retaliate; he will pray.
- Confidence in the covenant name. The word “Yahweh” is deliberate. This is not a generic god but the God who made promises to Israel and keeps them. The psalmist’s certainty that “Yahweh will save me” is rooted in who God is, not in how he feels.
- The discipline of persistent prayer. Verse 17 shows that this is not a one-time cry but a daily practice, evening, morning, and noon. Fixed prayers train the heart to depend on God consistently, not just in emergencies.
Five-point outline
- The crisis: betrayal by a trusted friend (vv. 12, 14).
- The response: a deliberate, personal decision to call on God.
- The foundation: the covenant relationship signified by the name Yahweh.
- The assurance: God will save, this is confident hope, not a wish.
- The practice: continual prayer throughout the day, as modeled in verse 17.
Illustration hooks
- A parent whose teenager has turned against them, choosing to pray each morning instead of lashing out in anger.
- An athlete who, after a teammate cheats and blames them, commits to their training discipline and prays for strength to respond with integrity.
- An employee betrayed by a trusted colleague who decides to pray at set times each day, trusting God rather than scheming for revenge.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How can I trust God when someone I loved has hurt me deeply?
- Is it acceptable to bring my anger and desire for justice to God, as the psalmist does in verse 15?
- What does it mean that God will “save me” here, deliverance from the situation, or something deeper?
Leading a Discussion
Psalm 55:16 sits at the turning point of a psalm of betrayal. The writer has been stabbed in the back by a close friend. Everything in him wants to run, or fight back. Instead, he declares his intention to call on God. This study helps a group explore how such confidence can become real in our own hardest relationships.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 12, 14. What makes this betrayal worse than an enemy’s attack?
- In verse 16, the psalmist says “As for me, I will call on God.” What is he contrasting himself with? Look at the previous verses for clues.
- Why do you think the writer uses the name “Yahweh” (the Lord) here instead of the more general “God”?
- How does verse 17 (evening, morning, and noon) strengthen the resolve expressed in verse 16?
- The psalmist is confident that God will save him. On what is that confidence based, his own goodness, God’s promises, or something else? Support your answer from the text.
- Think of a time you felt betrayed. How did your first response compare to the psalmist’s? What would it mean to “call on God” in that context?
- What practical rhythms of prayer could help you trust God more consistently, even when you are not in crisis?
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 50:15 | Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” |
| Psalms 73:28 | But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. |
| Psalms 91:15 | He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. |
| Psalms 109:4 | In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. |
| Luke 6:11 | But they were filled with rage, and talked with one another about what they might do to Jesus. |
| Luke 6:12 | In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God. |
Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
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What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke observes that the speaker’s confidence to call on God arises from foreseeing both his own deliverance and his enemies’ defeat. He also highlights the Targum’s rendering, “The Word of the Lord shall redeem me,” which places the saving act with the divine Word directly.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights that David’s faith was tested by the most extreme circumstances—exile, loss of throne, and abandonment—yet he still trusted God completely. This shows that no trial is too severe to weaken our confidence that God can and will deliver those who are His friends.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin uses the Psalmist's mention of evening, morning and noon to argue that set hours for prayer are essential. Because we naturally grow weary in devotion, God gave fixed times for public worship, and the same principle should govern private prayer. Calvin's distinctive point is that regular, appointed times protect against remissness and help believers persevere.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
the Lord ] Here and in Psa_55:22 the name Jehovah is significant. It is the covenant-God of revelation to Whom he can appeal, and under Whose protection he can rest.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
For this verse the Geneva annotators highlight
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that calling upon God means praying to Him alone, not to creatures, idols, angels, or departed saints. His confidence that God will save him rests on both God's promise to answer such prayer and on God's power to deliver. Gill notes that the Aramaic paraphrase renders this as "the Word of the Lord shall redeem me."
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
God answers his constant and repeated prayers.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch observe that the psalmist's word choices deliberately echo the confusion of Babel, with the verb for swallowing up meaning annihilation through confounding. They also note that David addresses his betrayer not as a king but as a man his equal, which gains Christological significance in the mouth of the second David.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the psalm as David's cry shortly before Absalom's rebellion, when his trusted counselor Ahithophel turned traitor. He emphasizes the psychological turmoil: the restless reeling of the mind, the longing to escape like a dove, and the ultimate quieting of the soul through persistent prayer.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry highlights David's deliberate choice of prayer as his only defense, even while others rely on violence and worldly security. For Henry, true prayer means both fervent outcry and thoughtful meditation, coming from the whole heart. David is certain that calling on God in this way leads to certain salvation.