EXPOSITION
THE composition of this psalm by David, asserted in the title, is generally allowed. Internal evidence seems to indicate for its date the earlier portion of David's public life—that during which he suffered persecution at the hands of Saul. There are two considerable difficulties connected with the title:
"Shiggaion" is connected by some with the "Shigioneth" of Habakkuk 3:1, which is commonly explained to be a particular kind of tune or tunes. But the identity of the two words is uncertain, and the identity of their meaning, at an interval of nearly six centuries, is still more open to question. The meaning of "Shiggaion" has really to be guessed from the context; and the most probable of the conjectures made would seem to be, either simply, "a poem of David," or "a lyrical composition of David "—a meaning which obtains a certain amount of support from the Arabic. With respect to "Cush the Benjamite," it has been argued
The psalm has but one marked division, that between Habakkuk 3:1-5 and Habakkuk 3:6-17, where the term selah occurs. The remainder runs on continuously, without any marked break.