What does Psalm 56:6 mean?

David points out in this verse that the Philistines of Gath stirred up strife and watched his steps. They looked for an opportunity to kill him. "Watch my steps" is literally "watch my heels." They resembled vicious dogs snapping at the heels of someone they wanted to tear apart. David had entered Philistine territory to escape from Saul (Psalm 56:1; 1 Samuel 21:10). His hopes of hiding were foiled, however, as the people recognized him (1 Samuel 21:11–15). So, David pretended to be insane so the king of the Philistines would refuse to see him. Both the forces of king Saul (1 Samuel 19:1–2) and the Philistines were eager to see David killed.

Jesus, too, was stalked by His enemies. The scribes and Pharisees dogged His steps, hoping for an opportunity to see Him break the Mosaic law. They watched His every action. Luke 6:6–12 reports that Jesus entered the synagogue and found a man with a withered right hand. The scribes and the Pharisees watched Jesus to see if He would heal on the sabbath. They were hoping to find a reason to accuse Him. But Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them whether it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm. They did not answer. When Jesus healed the withered hand, the scribes and Pharisees became furious and discussed plans to deal with Jesus.