Episode Transcript
Psalm 59 (ESV)
1Deliver 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.
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.
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
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, “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
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
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.
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.
CONSIDER
Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. He holds the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School and served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary for fifteen years. She is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.
The superscription for this psalm is quite specific: “Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and kill him in the morning.” The setting for this psalm is 1 Samuel 19:11ff. Saul surrounded David’s house to kill him, but David’s wife, Michal, warned David that Saul’s men were approaching and lowered him out the window with a rope so that he escaped with his life. The opening lines of the psalm confirm this as David prays, “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God . . . For behold, they lie in wait for my life” (Ps. 59:1, 3 ESV).
David prays imprecation or cursing over his enemies. We have seen this in several psalms already. Aren’t we told to pray for our enemies, even to bless them? This potential conflict is not easy to ignore, because it occurs in so many different psalms. It is important to remember that these are prayers to God, not actions against an enemy. David transfers his anger and emotion over to God because it is God who must act in these situations. God invites us to openly express our anger because he has reserved judgment for himself: “Vengeance is mine,” declares the Lord (Deut. 32:35 esv; Rom. 12:19).
As Christians, we must understand that although we may face injus-tices, structural evils, and a host of earthly enemies arrayed against us, this is not our ultimate struggle. There are larger perspectives that we, as Christians, have been given. Paul says that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). When we see these refer-ences to enemies in the Psalms, we should be reminded of our real and more profound struggle with the Evil One and his satanic forces. We also should remember that whatever curses are called down upon enemies are all fully borne by Jesus Christ, who became “a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). Therefore, whenever we pray or sing psalms, we always (as with all of Scripture) encounter them as Christians and sing them through the lens of the new covenant. Every psalm becomes a pointer to greater realities that have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is precisely what enables us, in the end, to love our enemies and pray for them.
In this psalm David prays for deliverance. His language is vivid and raw because he is desperate and fleeing for his life. But, even in the midst of his anguish, David understands and foresees that God is his fortress and final hope (vv. 16–17).
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
HYMN
Sing Psalm 59 with the Seedbed Psalter today. We suggest the tune LLANGLOFFAN ("O God of Earth and Altar") for vv. 1–15; and the tune FORREST GREEN ("I Sing the Mighty Power of God") for vv. 16–17. You can hear the tunes played online by Julie here and here, respectively. If you listen to the podcast audio version, we will sing the psalm using these tunes. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 Deliver me from those, O God, who are my enemies;
Protect me from all those who do rise up to threaten me.
2 Deliver me from wicked ones and evil-doing men,
And save me from the wickedness of those bloodthirsty men.
3 See how they lie in wait for me! They fiercely do combine
against me, Lord; they do conspire for no offense of mine.
4 I’ve done no wrong, yet they in wait are ready to seize me.
Arise to help and meet with me, look on my plight and see!
5 Awake, Almighty Lord of hosts, O God of Is-ra-el,
Arouse Yourself to punish all the traitors who rebel. Selah
6 At ev’ning they go to and fro; they make great noise and sound;
They snarl like dogs and prowl about the city all around.
7 See what they spew out from their mouths, for in their lips are swords;
And they say, “Who can possibly hear any of our words?”
8 But You, O Lord, will laugh at them, You at the nations scoff;
9 My strength, I’ll watch and wait for You, my fortress and my rock.
10 My God will meet me in His love; He’ll let me gloat and see
the end of all those wicked ones, who mock and slander me.
11 But do not kill them, Lord, our shield, or people will forget;
By Your strong power, bring them down, and make them wander yet.
12 And for the sins which their mouths speak, the words their lips let fly,
Let them be caught in their own pride, because they curse and lie.
13 Consume them in Your wrath, O Lord; consume till they’re no more.
It will be known to ends of earth that Jacob’s God is Lord. Selah
14 At ev’ning they go to and fro; they make great noise and sound;
They snarl like dogs, and prowl about the city all around.
15 They wander, searching for their food and if not satisfied,
They howl like dogs and prowl around, and don’t care how they’ve lied.
16 But I’ll sing of Your strength, O God; at dawn Your love I’ll praise;
For You’re my fortress and refuge in all my troubled days.
17 O God, You are my strength, and I sing praises unto You;
O God, You are my fortress, full of lovingkindness true.
