Psalm 59

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;

2 deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.

This psalm was most likely written around the time that David became convinced that Saul was trying to kill him. 1 Samuel 20 provides important background, noting that Saul’s own son Jonathan was not even convinced of Saul’s ill intentions. When it becomes clear that David is going to be driven from his position of leadership in Saul’s army and pursued until death as a traitor, he pours out his heart in this psalm. The weight of all that he is losing begins to be impressed on him -- his position, his best friend, his future and his very life, his wife and family, fellow brothers in arms who may die in the conflict, the unity of the nation, his reputation and honor. David knows at this point that he has to run. He will not fight Saul and prove Saul’s claim that he’s a traitor. Sometimes we forget that this situation was not so cut and dried. Saul could make the case that David was a rival who was turning the army against him, a traitor to king and country. One man’s patriot is another man’s traitor. He can then turn this into a clash of clans -- Benjamin vs. Judah -- and ignite the entire country in a civil war, destroying the unity and trust between the tribes. David could see all of these possibilities and perhaps even wondered if his life and reputation were worth all the trouble. Not knowing what to do, he appeals to God in this psalm to intervene, praying for deliverance and protection from his enemies. This is a prayer for the battlefield. I can imagine ancient and modern soldiers praying this as they faced off their enemies across a field, as men hunt one another in warfare in a fight until death struggle. This is a prayer for anyone who is threatened in other ways: gossip, slander, betrayal. These kinds of things happen in the workplace and in life. They also happen in the context of spiritual warfare. There are forces of evil, enemies of our soul, who are arrayed against us, or in this case, staking out our house to capture us when we come home. The enemy sets traps for us all the time, and this is a prayer for deliverance and protection. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,

4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

David makes the case for his innocence in order to set up the case for the God of justice to intervene. This appeal is ultimately based on the character of God although it hinges on David’s character as well. Later in his life when he is being pursued by Absalom, he won’t make strong claims of innocence. He’s lived more years, done more things, and has had more regrets by that time. But in this situation he can claim rightfully that he is innocent. This is not David declaring that he is perfect by any means. This is entirely situational. He is a young man who has done everything his employer the king has asked him to do. But now that king feels threatened by his success and seeks to dishonor him, so he calls him a traitor and hunts him down. It’s just not fair. David has done everything asked of him, and he’s been successful at it. Rather than reward David for this, Saul who has some real character flaws, lashes out in his insecurity. And Saul’s men, eager to please their master, fall in line behind Saul and his persecution of David. The psalmist’s prayer here is one that can be prayed today by anyone who is suffering unjustly, and there are plenty of examples: the believer in a country where Christians are in a minority and do not enjoy legal or societal protections, the child who lives in a home with terribly selfish and broken parents who mistreat and neglect her, the successful employee who surpasses the expertise of his boss only to find himself pushed out of the company with a falsely tarnished reputation, or the victim of any crime at all for that matter. We join today in praying for those who are suffering unjustly, and like David we appeal to the just judge to intervene on their behalf. 

4b Awake, come to meet me, and see!

5 You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

Two psalms earlier David had aroused himself to worship. He had been hiding in a cave but he got a glimpse of God’s glory and awakened his soul to sing (57:7,8). Now he uses one of the same words to ask God to do the same, to rouse himself to come to meet David where he is at and punish the nations and those who treacherously plot evil. The language seems inappropriate at first glance, but we understand that it is a metaphor. We know that God never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:4), but there are times that it seems like it. For David, this is one of those times. God is asleep on the job, the job of being constantly present with the faithful and the task of judging the nations. David’s first desire (after waking God up) is that God meet with him, that he have a God-encounter, and that in doing so, God’s eyes would be open to the reality of what is happening, to the injustice of it all. This does seem rather impudent for a man to speak to God in this way, but it is simply another example of the way in which the psalms use language that expresses exactly how we feel. How many times have I thought to myself, “God, why were you asleep on this one?” “Wake up and do something!” David immediately addresses the LORD by multiple titles of respect -- YHWH, God of hosts (angel armies), and the God of Israel, but once again demands that He wake up and punish the nations. The reference to the nations is interesting because the conflict David is facing is with his own countrymen. It is Saul who is pursuing him, and yet even though Saul is a fellow Jew, he is acting like a pagan, no different than the surrounding nations who do not believe in God. The parallel line to “the nations” is “those who treacherously plot evil”, and this certainly describes Saul’s actions. When anyone abandons belief in God (and I’m putting Saul in this category), the ends justify the means. Anything can be rationalized, including treachery, when the value of the goal is believed to outweigh the ethical transgression. This is how groups of people (nations) who do not believe in God would be expected to act. When a member of the household of faith does it, we must call it out for what it is. Saul is no different than a pagan king at this point, but David doesn’t presume to execute judgment upon Saul himself, he trusts a groggy God to do it. Wake up God and do justice! Our ultimate hope is not in human justice but in the perfect justice of God that is administered in truth and mercy. 

6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

7 There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips— for “Who,” they think, [Hebrew lacks they think] “will hear us?”

David characterizes his enemies as howling prowling dogs, ceaselessly bellowing as if no one heard them. Like an animal, they lack all self-awareness as they are completely focused on themselves. Dogs were scavenging animals who hung out around dead and decaying things, finishing off what higher order predators had killed. Being somewhat domesticated they also hung out around humans, eating their garbage. Comparing someone to a dog was never a compliment and even today in the middle east, dogs are not generally thought of in a positive light. The particular activity of these dogs that David highlights is their howling, their contrast noise-making. It is one of the things that irritates me most about my own dog. Dogs howl and bark at nothing as if to say, “I’m here!” when absolutely no one cares. These enemies of David seemed to be all over the city, particularly during the evening when people were trying to rest, and they were barking up a high volume of slander. The phrase, “swords in their lips” indicates the maliciousness of their words -- they were potentially deadly. The nature of politics hasn’t changed much in 3,000 years. Each evening you can listen to howling dogs in our national media, prowling for something to talk about, swords in their lips to divide and conquer all in the pursuit of both profit (number of viewers and therefore advertising dollars) and power (influence over policy and politicians). Like a bellowing dog, they lack the self-awareness to realize that many people have stopped listening to them. If you want to be taken seriously, unlike a barking dog, speak the truth. Be a voice that people can trust. Commit yourself to speaking truth regardless of which way the political winds are blowing. You will find that there are people who will hear you. Just stop barking nonsense. 

8 But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.

The sight of YHWH laughing was one of the first metaphors introduced in the Psalms (2:4), and it occurs again here and in Psalm 37:13. This is the laughter of mockery, laughing at the futility of God’s human enemies who are trying to resist his sovereignty. While the psalmist’s howling dog enemies are irritating to him, God finds them laughable. David’s enemies are acting like pagans, God holds them up in mockery. This text likely pre-dates Psalm 2, David’s coronation hymn for his son Solomon, meaning this is actually likely the first use of this phrase in the Psalms at least chronologically. Did David’s experience with his enemies here during the time of Saul inform his understanding of God’s sovereignty? David had been anointed king himself, but didn’t assume the throne until the death of Saul some seven years later. During those seven years of waiting, David was comforted by the fact that God had authorized the anointing and he would certainly see to it that David would fulfill His purpose for his life. Can we have that kind of confidence today, that God is sovereign and the actions of the nations and political leaders are all underneath his sovereign rule? The interplay of divine sovereignty and human free will is certainly a mystery, but the Bible seems to be quite clear that God rules absolutely everything and even those who are actively working against him are still working to fulfill his purposes. To demonstrate this Paul uses the example of Pharaoh's hardened heart, even going so far as to say that God hardened his heart. Such a strong view of God’s sovereignty can bring great encouragement to believers who see governments and world leaders working in opposition to the church. The New Testament church relied on the truth of God’s sovereignty to continue pressing forward in the face of persecution, praying the 2nd Psalm in Acts 4 when they first faced opposition. In uncertain times, hold on to the sovereignty of God and know that he is in control. The things that worry you may be the things that God is laughing about. This is an imperfect analogy but it’s something like the way parents might laugh at a toddler who is trying to push over an adult. “Ah, that’s cute!” But it ain’t going to happen. 

9 O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress.

10 My God in his steadfast love [The God who shows me steadfast love] will meet me; God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

To this point David’s requests have implied the strength of his faith in God to justly punish his enemies, but in these verses he just flat out states his confidence. He describes God as his strength and his fortress (similar to the opening of Psalm 18:2, which was probably written later). That God is his strength suggests internal fortitude to withstand the pressures he’s facing. That God is his fortress suggests that David is resting in the reality of God’s presence, justice, and steadfast love. Strength enables us to act, while a fortress enables us to rest. The fact that David is watching for God to come and meet with him suggests that God hasn’t done anything yet, but David is still adamant in his confidence. He is certain that God in his steadfast love will meet him. This is a wonderful metaphor of presence. David is expecting a visitor and so he is watching, waiting, anticipating. And when God shows up in his favor, David will look in triumph on his enemies. David’s bold faith was likely nurtured through his past experiences. As the slayer of Goliath and hundreds of other soldiers in battle, he had gained confidence in God’s strength to flow through him. He knew what that felt like, and so he had no doubt that he would feel it again. He knew that his cause was just, and he knew his anointing was real. God’s promises would be fulfilled even if David couldn’t see how. The good new for us is that God has come to meet us and enabled us to look in triumph on our enemies. God literally came to us in Jesus and meets us where we are at. Jesus becomes our strength (our activating power) and our fortress (our security where we find rest from our striving). In his faithful love he meets us and satisfies our deepest needs. We look in triumph on the two great enemies of mankind -- sin and death because of his death and resurrection. 

11 Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter [wander] by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!

Somewhat surprisingly David does not pray for the death of his enemies. Rather he prays that the Lord make them totter, that he make them waver and bring them down. This is the same word that is used of the wandering Cain in Genesis 4. The reason for this “mercy” is that they might live to be an example to others, that every sight of them would serve as a reminder to others of what happens when one resists the will of God. This may have something to do with the shame/honor culture where the worst thing that can happen to someone is to live in shame. Notice also that David is not taking vengeance into his own hands, and this is consistent with similar prayers in the Psalms. David is entrusting God to do the tottering. He is relinquishing his right to avenge and expressing confidence that the God of justice will see that his cause prevails. This verse also acknowledges that David is a part of a community with the references to “my people” and “our shield.” David’s enemies are ultimately enemies of God’s people as well. He is the anointed king and an attack on him is an attack on God himself and His desire for his people. So David is also interceding here for the good of the nation. This is my prayer for our world as well -- that God would cause those who promote lies to totter and fall. They must. Reality is what it is, and no amount of denying reality will change it. If we believe in an ultimate morality of right and wrong, good and evil, 

12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13 consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah

David’s enemies are condemned by their own words. The cursing is not profanity but rather speaking in anger and expressing a desire for harm to come to others. Their pride becomes a trap, blinding them from seeing reality while they live in the echo chamber of others who affirm them in their lies. Pride is the first and deadliest sin. and David argues that it is the basis for the crimes for which they should be punished. The idea of the power of words to do harm and to result in condemnation is a frequent theme in the psalms. Words do hurt. James 3 tells us that they have incredible destructive power, setting the world on fire, poisoning the well, inciting division. I fear that we are living in such a time when it’s far too easy to say something clever but not completely true on Twitter. It’s not always the bald-faced lies but the half-truths and innuendo that polarize people and incite anger and hatred. Because words are so powerful -- for good and for evil, take care in how you wield them. See that your words are a force for good, building others up, bringing people together, while at the same time being absolutely honest. After stating the crime, David requests the punishment: consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more. This seems to contradict his earlier request that they be left alive to serve as an example to others. However, the Hebrew here could be translated, “finish them off”, with the root idea of “completion, bringing to an end”, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that they be physically removed from among the living, but that they cease to have any effect. These liars may be silenced without being killed. They may be so humiliated and so discredited that either they stop talking or no one listens to them. Either way, the effect is the same. David states that the result of this judgment is that everyone who hears of it will know that God rules over Jacob (Israel) and to the ends of the earth. God’s sovereignty and good judgment will be clear to all as the lies and the liars are exposed for what they are. 

14 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

15 They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill.

It’s unusual for a psalm to have a repeating chorus and even more unusual that it would be the portion about the psalmists’ enemies. That is the case here where David’s enemies return as dogs roaming the city, howling and prowling, wandering for food, growling if they aren’t satisfied. These scavengers live off of the work of others. Yes, they have to work to get the scraps, strip the remaining flesh off the bone, and chew the bone to get to the marrow. It’s nasty work, but this is in their nature. The comparison of enemies to dogs is a particularly nasty one, and that is David’s intention. In the first chorus relating his enemies to dogs, the focus is on his enemies’ words - swords that destroy without care, like a pack of ravenous wolves. The focus here is on their inability to find satisfaction as they move from one kill to another. The comparison of enemies to animals is not that far from reality because humans are similar to animals in many ways -- biology, appetite, instincts, etc. But there are some fundamental differences -- immortality, consciousness, moral agency. The psalmist is suggesting that his enemies have become less than human in a way -- living as if there were no life after death and consequent judgment, driven by their appetites rather than their conscience, rootless and selfish, survival-oriented. It is a rich metaphor that also gives us a window into what it looks like to live divorced from the reality of God because all of these animal characteristics are often evident in the life of someone who believes that they are merely highly evolved animals. Psalms 13 and 35 make this case -- the person who lives as if there were no judgment will soon find themselves behaving like an animal, treating people as if they were a loaf of bread, a commodity to be consumed, essentially de-humanized. One of the results of the gospel is that it re-humanizes people as individuals who come to realize that they are loved completely and eternally by the most powerful being in the universe, that they are more than highly evolved animals who are eking out an existence in a dog eat dog world, always hungry and never satisfied. 

16 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.

17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

These two verses form the second part of the chorus of this psalm. The first two verses (14-15) are about the prowling, howling, growling dogs, which is then followed by this pair of verses (16-17) on David’s trust in his fortress God. The parallel to this chorus is in verses 6-7 (prowling, howling, sword-wielding dogs) and verses 9-10 (God and his steadfast love are my strength and fortress). David’s emphatic statement of trust begins with a promise to sing, much like Psalm 57. The theme of his song is God’s strength and his steadfast love. David will sing this out loud in the morning because God has been a fortress and a refuge in the day of his distress. Note the play on “morning” and “day” (referring to an entire season). Singing out loud in the morning is a great idea. It awakens the body and soul, quite literally, and it starts one’s day with a heaping helping of reality. In verse 17, David identifies God as his strength and his fortress, familiar metaphors that come from David’s personal experience as a soldier. I can’t speak from personal experience, but I can’t think of an occupation that is more physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding than that of a soldier -- then and now. Today they must carry 60-100 pounds of gear while moving in combat. They must make instant life and death decisions with incomplete information. They must consider their own safety as well as the safety of their comrades. How wonderful it must be to find rest in a fortress, an absolutely secure place from which you cannot be shot and killed but from which you can fight in relative safety (as opposed to open field combat). God is that refuge and fortress if we will run to him, our strong tower. It begins with a song in the morning that sets our feet firmly in reality, the steadfast love of the Lord is with us, there is no need to fear.