Psalm 59
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל תַּשְׁחֵת֮ לְדָוִ֪ד מִ֫כְתָּ֥ם בִּשְׁלֹ֥חַ שָׁא֑וּל וַֽיִּשְׁמְר֥וּ אֶת הַ֝בַּ֗יִת לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ
BSB
Deliver Me from My Enemies
(1 Samuel 19:1–24)
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
1Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise against me.
2Deliver me from workers of iniquity,
and save me from men of bloodshed.
3See how they lie in wait for me.
Fierce men conspire against me
for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
4For no fault of my own,
they move swiftly to attack me.
Arise to help me, and take notice.
5O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel,
rouse Yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to the wicked traitors.
Selah
6They return in the evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.
7See what they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from their lips:
“For who can hear us?”
8But You, O LORD, laugh at them;
You scoff at all the nations.
9I will keep watch for You, O my strength,
because You, O God, are my fortress.
10My God of loving devotion will come to meet me;
God will let me stare down my foes.
11Do not kill them,
or my people will forget.
Scatter them by Your power,
and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield.
12By the sins of their mouths
and the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride,
in the curses and lies they utter.
13Consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
so it may be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
Selah
14They return in the evening,
snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.
15They scavenge for food,
and growl if they are not satisfied.
16But I will sing of Your strength
and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning.
For You are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17To You, O my strength, I sing praises,
for You, O God, are my fortress,
my God of loving devotion.
Introduction
Psalms 59
This psalm is of the same nature and scope with six or seven foregoing psalms; they are all filled with David's complaints of the malice of his enemies and of their cursed and cruel designs against him, his prayers and prophecies against them, and his comfort and confidence in God as his God. The first is the language of nature, and may be allowed; the second of a prophetical spirit, looking forward to Christ and the enemies of his kingdom, and therefore not to be drawn into a precedent; the third of grace and a most holy faith, which ought to be imitated by every one of us. In this psalm, I. He prays to God to defend and deliver him from his enemies, representing them as very bad men, barbarous, malicious, and atheistical (Psa 59:1-7). II. He foresees and foretels the destruction of his enemies, which he would give to God the glory of (Psa 59:8-17). As far as it appears that any of the particular enemies of God's people fall under these characters, we may, in singing this psalm, read their doom and foresee their ruin.
To the chief musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when Saul sent and they watched the house to kill him.
Cross-references: Ps 59:1 · Ps 59:8