Psalm 59 describes David once more surrounded by his enemies: “A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.” This event refers to the historical account in 1 Samuel 19:11-17,
Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”
Saul was angry at David and sought to kill him (see 18:10-11; 19:9-10). So, he ordered soldiers to David’s house to murder him as he slept. And usually, when the king sent men to kill you, it was the end of your very short life. Yet David’s wife conspires to ensure his escape. And in this psalm, David attributes his deliverance to the Lord.
Psalm 59 breaks down into three neat stanzas—separated by the musical pause, Selah (vv. 5, 13) and beginning with the danger of roving dogs (vv. 6, 14). Each stanza also reveals the Lord God as our Fortress and our Strength (vv. 9, 17). Sometimes, vicious dogs surround us, but Christians are more closely surrounded by a gracious God. After three consecutive psalms to the tune of “Do not destroy,” the postscript now reads, “To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth” or “the Lily of Testimony.” It is a fitting conclusion to God’s rescue of David from his perils.
God Delivers Us From Dogs (vv. 1-5)
The first stanza reminds us that God delivers us from dogs. As David pleads, “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” (vv. 1-2). Four times he prays for God to help him: “Deliver me . . . Protect me . . . Deliver me . . . Save me!” He knows that only God can rescue. Yet thankfully, he knows his God with personal intimacy: “O my God!” He is like a child calling for his “daddy” as a pack of dogs tears after him. In those days, people did not keep dogs in their homes as pets. Dogs were wild, ran around in packs, and wreaked havoc in the city. To David, these dogs represent “bloodthirsty men”—“those who rise up against me”—“those who work evil”—“fierce men [who] stir up strife against me. . . . For behold, they lie in wait for my life” (vv. 1-3a).
David has done nothing to deserve their anger (see 1 Sam 19:4-6). He was loyal to the king and had fought in battles to liberate Israel. He did not demand the throne even though Samuel had anointed him king (16:1-13). “For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD, for no fault of mine, they run and make ready” (Ps 59:3c-4a). David does not claim to be sinless, but simply undeserving of harassment. So, he calls Yahweh, his covenant God, to take action on his behalf: “Awake, come to meet me, and see! 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” (vv. 4b-5). David exaggerates as if God needs to be woken up: “Awake . . . Come . . . Meet me, and see! . . . Rouse yourself, O God of Israel!” (see 121:3-4). He pretends like God must be reminded of his name: “You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel.” Then, David boldly tells God what he wants: “Punish all the nations . . . Spare none of those who treacherously plot evil!” This implies a breach of confidence: “to deal faithlessly—to break one’s promise.” For perhaps David was acquainted with these men—even leading them as soldiers when they had served King Saul together. It hurts much worse that they have broken trust.
Sadly, it’s often those who know us best who strike the deepest wounds: family members, trusted friends, fellow believers. Yet God will deliver us from dogs. He is not sleeping or hesitant to help. So, we pray like David who claims three reasons why God should rescue him: First, David’s plight: “For behold, they lie in wait for my life” (v. 3a). God loves his children and will rescue them from troubles. Second, David’s innocence: “For no transgression or sin of mine” (vv. 3b-4a). God knows his children and will not discipline without cause. Then finally, because of David’s God: “You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel” (v. 5a).[1] God holds his children in his faithful and sovereign arms. This is how we pray as well: We tell God openly and honestly about our plight—about those who speak evil against us. We protest your innocence if our conscience is clear. Then, we trust in the God who loves us dearly, who always keeps his promises, and who commands the heavenly angels at his beck-and-call. Such prayers as these will drown out snarling dogs. And at the end of verse 5, the Selah lets us catch our breath and collect ourselves.
God Declares Himself Their Master (vv. 6-13)
Although the vicious dogs return to chase us, God declares himself their Master. “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 ‘Who,’ they think, ‘will hear us?’” (vv. 6-7). These wicked men carry themselves with false bravado because they think they rule the streets. They howl and prowl and growl at night because they believe the darkness hides them (1 Sam 19:11; John 3:19b-20). Imagine an apocalyptic world without semblance of law and order. Like the days of the judges, “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judg 17:6b). The evil run in gangs and packs. They wield their weapons and threaten violence. Sin, left unchecked, is not afraid of consequences: “Who can hear us? Who will stop us?”
The weapons, though, of David’s enemies, are not sharp teeth and claws, but sword-speech: angry words, accusing slander, blustering bellows to bully their victims into submission (see 55:21; 57:4). All of us have vicious dogs snapping at our heels, barking and yapping with baseless criticism. Their venomous speech often bubbles to the surface like the foaming saliva of rabid beasts. And we try not to let their words affect us, but still they hurt. Sometimes, they intimidate. We worry about what other people think who hear them. We are the hunted—the prey, surrounded by a pack of dogs each taking their lump of flesh. They think that no one hears—that no one plans to stop them. Yet there is One who hears—One who promises to judge them—One who will not let their wickedness go unpunished. And they must always listen to him, for he is their Maker and their Master. David does not fear these feral dogs, for he knows that Yahweh rules them: “But you, O LORD, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision” (59:8; 37:13). The Lord confidently mocks his enemies to their face, for only fools would try to overthrow Omnipotence. God scoffs at “the kings of the earth and the rulers who set themselves against the LORD and against his Anointed” (2:4; see v. 2). “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” (v. 1).
David trusts in the God who laughs: “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” (59:9-10). The Lord is David’s Strength—his unassailable Fortress who surrounds him with “steadfast love” (see vv. 16-17) and promises certain victory over enemies. So, David remains on constant watch—not just for trouble, but for the strength and protection of his faithful God: “I will watch for you, for you, O God.”[2] Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by the dangers and the dogs around us that we take our eyes off God. We forget he is our Strength and Shield—our Fortress and Salvation. We forget he is our Master and the sovereign King of all. We must resolve to watch for God—to look for him when trouble comes—when the snarling dogs surround us—when it’s hard to see in darkness. We must resolve to watch for God especially in the dead of night. For as we watch for God, he reveals his steadfast love. He surrounds us with his presence and lifts our gaze to look in triumph on our enemies.
God promises David victory, but David surprises with his request: “Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield! 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, …” (vv. 11-12). “Kill them not,” is not a plea for pardon—for God to just forget about their sin. As David still calls for justice, “Make them totter . . . bring them down. . . let them be trapped in their pride.” He condemns “the sin of their mouths . . . the cursing and lies that they utter.” David doesn’t want the Lord to kill them, but to make an example of them. He doesn’t want them suffocated, but for the Lord to make them eat their words. Instead of public execution, he desires a public exposure of their sins. For their “pride” (literally, their “height”) is an artificial exaltation by those who “rise up” against the Lord, unlike the genuine heights of God’s almighty “fortress” (vv. 9, 16-17). David calls for drawn-out justice like the series plagues on Egypt. For we can easily forget past dangers if God removes them quickly. Often, we must sit awhile in our pain to know the pleasure of God’s deliverance. This tells us something of why God allows evil to exist. He doesn’t always eliminate it right away. Sometimes, he calls for gradual justice. And as he permits such evil to stick around, it strengthens us, builds our faith in him, and ultimately brings him glory. We might wonder, at times, why God prolongs our struggles. Why can’t he simply bring them to an end? Why won’t he change that other person’s heart? God always has a reason. He doesn’t waste our pain. And sometimes, he delays his judgment to bring the wicked to repentance.
Because of Christ’s redemption, we can pray for justice in multiple directions. We can pray with David, “Kill them not, lest my people forget.” God is glorified when all the world sees them put on trial and declared as “Guilty!” But God is also glorified when they repent—when the punishment for their sins is laid on Christ—when they receive his mercy. And even if they don’t repent, their punishment still brings God glory. For they are consumed “in wrath” until “they are no more, that they may know that God rules over Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah” (v. 13). The Lord reminds us that the unrepentant will one day face his wrath: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom 12:19). For on that final day, God will no longer stay his judgment, but pour it out in full. In Psalm 59, the double repetition of “consume them” means to destroy them utterly. Therefore, both salvation and justice point ultimately to God’s glory. God gets the glory when the righteous are saved. And God gets the glory when the unrighteous receive his wrath.
Perhaps David recalls the snarling scorn of the giant, Goliath: “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Sam 17:43-47).
David is not afraid of Saul and his dogs any more than he feared Goliath. In fact, he views each challenge as another opportunity to unveil God’s glory. Our enemies may boldly claim, “Who will hear us? Who will stop us?” And they receive their answer, “The God and Father of Jesus Christ will hear you, and he is not impressed with your bravado!” For whether God rescues his people entirely or simply muzzles the dogs who speak against us, it all reveals his glory.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:16-18).
What you believe about the Son of God, will make the difference between judgment and salvation. Whether you trust in the name of Jesus determines the way you will glorify him. But know that either way God receives all glory (Phil 2:9-11).
God Delights in Grateful Praise (vv. 14-17)
God delights in grateful praise even though David is still in danger and his circumstances have not changed: “Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city. They wander about for food and growl if they do not get their fill” (Ps 59:14-15). His enemies are howling, prowling, growling dogs. But now, instead of ferocious beasts, they are desperate for food, willing to do whatever it takes to satisfy their stomachs. They sleep throughout the day, then wake at night to scavenge from garbage heap to garbage heap. And they whimper because they cannot eat the only food they really want.
Yet David drowns out the dogs with grateful praise to God: “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” (v. 16). David sings of God’s strength from out of the darkness and stakes his hope in the coming dawn (see 1 Sam 19:11). Those dogs will do whatever dogs will do, but as for David he will sing. He will praise the Lord who made him. For David trusts in Yahweh as his refuge: “O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love” (Ps 59:17).[3] These are the notes of David’s song: Strength and love; power and grace; light and life; all glory be to God! David praises Yahweh for his protection and his provision in the darkness.[4]
Likewise, we can’t stop dogs from being dogs. We cannot prevent either bark or bite. But we can drown them out with grateful praises to our God. We can diminish their power with exultant notes of praise. For the God who love us, laughs at them. And he is a God whom we can trust to be our Fortress, Refuge, and Strength. For after David, would come a Savior, Jesus Christ, our true Anointed King. He would be more innocent than David ever claimed to be—in actuality, sinless (1 Pet 2:22). Yet he too would be hunted like prey by howling, prowling, growling enemies who sought to take his life. Evil workers would set themselves against him and plot together against the Lord and his Anointed (Ps 2:2). Bloodthirsty men would dog his steps, slander his character, and falsely accuse him of treachery. They would seek his blood and the blood of all his followers throughout history. Then, they would lie in wait for his life and stir up strife against him. The night would be their hour and the power of their darkness (John 13:30; Luke 22:53). Yet the Father would mark his enemies and belittle their feeble attempts. He would be Christ’s Fortress and his Strength—his Refuge full of steadfast love. He would prepare his Son to triumph over enemies—to make them pay with justice in the end. He would consume them in their arrogance and destroy them by his wrath. So, that all might know the God of nations who reigns from heaven to the ends of earth. Selah.
At his victory, David’s greater Son would sing of his Father’s strength and give him glory. He would sing redemption: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34a). He would sing his triumph: “‘It is finished’ [as] he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30b). He would sing aloud of God’s steadfast love on the morning of that third day. Then, he would sing the Great Commission to his disciples: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). “O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.”
Psalm 59 gives us the strength to praise the Lord—to drown out the dogs. For we know how David faced his enemies with courage and with hope. We know how Jesus faced his enemies with faith in God. We know how David composed this psalm and how Christ, the Son of David, sang it after him. And now this psalm returns to us—the followers of Christ, so that we have a song to sing when we are scared. We have a Fortress and a Refuge we can run to in the dark. We have a Father in heaven whose steadfast love will never leave us. We have a Savior who took the curses and the sword-words in our place. And we are promised victory—to one day look upon our enemies in triumph. So, we praise our God as we drown out all the dogs.
Life Application Study:
- Read the historical account in 1 Samuel 19 to understand the context of Psalm 59. What emotions do you think David felt at the time? Do you also know the feeling of being persecuted without cause? Describe your troubles to the Lord.
- Why does David call for gradual justice (Ps 59:11-12) before God exacts his final justice (v. 13)? What does this teach you about God’s purposes for permitting evil to continue in this world?
- Make a list of all the reasons you have to sing and praise the Lord. Start with the prompts in Psalm 59. Then, give all glory to God even if your circumstances have not changed.
- Walk through Psalm 59 and underline every time you find a name for God. Then, memorize Proverbs 18:10 as you delight in your “strong tower.”
Pray Psalm 59:
- Thank you, O my God, for your steadfast loyal love (vv. 10, 16-17).
- Keep me safe from all those who seek to harm me (vv. 1-8, 14-15).
- Make them an example of your righteous judgments (vv. 11-12).
- O Lord, may all the earth know you as King of kings (v. 13).
- I sing praise to you as my Fortress and my Strength (vv. 9, 16-17).
[1] The emphatic “you” sets apart the Lord as the psalmist’s only hope.
[2] As his enemies watch him (1 Sam 19:11), David keeps his watch on God (see Hab 2:1). Although his enemies are “fierce men” (azim, v. 3), the Lord is David’s “Strength” (oz, vv. 9, 16-17).
[3] The word “fortress” (mishgav) forms an inclusio with the related word, “protect” (sagav), in verse 1.
[4] David employs three different verbs in verses 16-17 to express his joy: “I will sing” (shir), “I will sing aloud” (ranan), and “I will sing praises” (zamar). In this second refrain, he changes only one consonant from the first refrain (v. 9) to shift the focus onto praise: from “watch” (smr) to “sing” (zmr).
