Psalms · psalm 59 of 150
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Psalm 59 is a Miktam of David, written when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him. David asks God to deliver him from the violent men who lie in wait, affirms that God laughs at them and calls him his fortress. It ends with the commitment to sing in the morning of God's strength and steadfast love.
The title dedicates it to the choirmaster, according to Do Not Destroy, calls it a Miktam of David and links it to the time Saul sent messengers to watch his house and kill him. First Samuel 19:11-17 tells how his wife Michal helped him escape through a window. The psalm has two refrains, repeated in verses 6 and 14, and in verses 9 and 17.
David begins with a plea: deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from those who work evil and save me from bloodthirsty men. They lie in wait for his life, and fierce men stir up strife against him, for no transgression or sin of his. They run and make ready though he is without fault. He asks the Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, to rouse himself and punish all the nations, and to spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
Then he describes his enemies with a repeated image: each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. There they are, bellowing with their mouths, with swords in their lips, for they say: who hears? But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision. David affirms: O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. My God in his steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
He asks that God not kill them, lest his people forget, but make them totter by his power, for the sin of their mouths and the words of their lips. Let them be trapped in their pride, and let it be known that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. The enemies return at evening, howl like dogs, prowl about the city and wander about for food. But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning, for you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David asks to be delivered from his enemies and set securely on high, safe from those who rise up against him. His request is concrete: protection in the midst of real danger.
The Lord laughs at David's enemies and holds the nations in derision. Though they seem mighty, before God they have no strength, and that conviction gives security.
David calls God my Strength and declares that he will watch for him, because God is his fortress. The word wait becomes confident vigilance.
David promises to sing in the morning of God's strength and steadfast love, because he has been his refuge in the day of distress. The night of danger ends in a morning of song.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That God deliver him from his enemies and protect him from bloodthirsty men. — Psalm 59:1-2
Answer: For no transgression or sin of his. — Psalm 59:3-4
Answer: Dogs that howl and prowl about the city. — Psalm 59:6
Answer: He laughs at them and holds all the nations in derision. — Psalm 59:8
Answer: My Strength, my fortress. — Psalm 59:9
Answer: God's strength and steadfast love. — Psalm 59:16
Psalm 59 encourages us to pray in the nights of threat. David moves from fear to song, not because the enemies disappeared but because he remembered who his strength was. In a small group you can think of each person's hard nights and pray that mornings of song will come.
The psalm also shows that prayer can be watchful. David says he will wait for God, and in Hebrew the word suggests guarding or keeping watch. It is a prayer that does not disengage but pays attention to how the Lord acts. That daily attention forms a more mature faith.
Psalm 59 ends with a song to God's steadfast love. Psalm 60 changes the scene: from personal persecution to a defeat of the people of Israel and a cry for help in war.
According to 1 Samuel 19:11-17, his wife Michal, Saul's daughter, warned him of the danger, let him down through a window and put a household idol in the bed to deceive the messengers. That is how David could flee. The psalm sees that scene as a prayer for help.
In verse 11 he says not to kill them, lest his people forget. He wants the humiliation of the enemies to be a visible lesson for Israel about God's power. It is a hard request to understand, but it shows that his desire is for God to be acknowledged.
It is a poetic way of saying that God is not frightened by the powerful, as also in Psalm 2:4. It expresses his sovereignty: what looks like a great threat to David is small before him. God's laughter is a comfort to the sufferer, not a mockery of pain.