תהלים, פרק נ״ו, פסוק ב׳

A hunted man, surrounded by enemies on all sides with nowhere left to run, cries out in desperate prayer for divine mercy [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. He seeks unearned kindness and grace from God, feeling entirely without personal merits or a heavenly advocate to defend him [אלשיך].

The threat he faces is intense and all-consuming. His attackers are eager to swallow, trample, and completely destroy him, much like a person gasping for air [רש"י, מצודת ציון, מלבי"ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Others understand this hostility as a malicious, evil gaze directed at him with pure destructive intent [מאירי]. The conflict is not a passing moment but a constant state of war, combined with crushing, relentless pressure [רש"י, מצודת ציון].

The identity of these pursuers reveals a double trap. One approach suggests that the enemy eager to swallow David is Achish, the king of Gath, along with his servants, to whom David had fled for safety. In this view, the relentless pressure comes from King Saul, who chased David out of the land of Israel and forced him into the hands of the Philistines [רד"ק, אבן עזרא]. Conversely, other commentators identify Saul himself as the primary enemy seeking to swallow David and looking upon him with malice [מאירי, מלבי"ם]. Regardless of the exact identification, the harsh reality is that David's desperate flight from Saul led him directly into the hands of the Philistines, leaving him with absolutely no safe refuge [מצודת דוד].

Despite this profound distress, there is a clear distinction between mortal man and God. David's enemies may mistakenly believe that heavenly forces have turned against him, but David recognizes that his persecution comes only from flesh and blood. Because his attackers are merely mortal, he places his complete trust in God to save him [מלבי"ם]. Furthermore, even with the heavy pressure applied by Saul, David understands that he is ultimately facing a single human being who still retains a fear of heaven in his heart [אלשיך].