Psalms 55:18

18. For there were many with me The sense is obscure. The Hebrew preposition may take the sense of “with,” co-operative, or “with,” antagonistic. In the former it would be explained by 2 Chronicles 32:7-8; 2 Kings 6:16: in the latter we must translate, for there were many against me. In this sense it is used Psalms 55:20, “he hath put forth his hands ‘ with’ ( against) such as be at peace,” and in Psalms 94:16, “Who will rise up for me ‘with’ [that is, against ] the evil doers?” and elsewhere. As Perowne says, “The preposition must be understood according to the context.” The allusion is evidently to David’s Syrian wars, where there were many allied nations fighting “with him,” that is, against him. God delivered my soul then, and “he shall save me” now.