Chapter Text
A Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
Summary
Psalm 59 is a plea for deliverance from violent enemies. David asks God to defend him from those who rise up against him and deliver him from workers of iniquity. His enemies return at evening, prowling like dogs around the city, snarling and howling.
David contrasts their threats with God's power, declaring that the Lord shall laugh at them and hold the heathen in derision. God is his defense, the God of his mercy. He asks God not to slay them immediately but to scatter them, so that the people may see God's judgment. He will sing of God's power and mercy.
Meaning
This psalm teaches that God's response to human threats is sometimes laughter, for the plots of the wicked are absurd before omnipotent power. The request not to slay enemies immediately but to scatter them reveals David's desire that God's justice be publicly visible.
The repeated metaphor of enemies as howling dogs emphasizes their degraded, bestial nature when they oppose God's purposes. Against this backdrop, God stands as a fortress of mercy, and the believer's proper response is not retaliation but worship.
Background
Attributed to David as a Michtam with the designation Al-taschith, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him (1 Samuel 19:11). Michal, David's wife, helped him escape through a window.
The psalm's imagery of enemies circling the city like dogs at night may reflect the actual siege of David's house, transforming a terrifying historical moment into enduring theology of trust.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-2Cry for deliverance from enemies
- vv. 3-5Plea of innocence and appeal for justice
- vv. 6-7Enemies portrayed as prowling dogs
- vv. 8-10God laughs; the psalmist waits
- vv. 11-13Petition for righteous judgment
- vv. 14-15Return of the howling dogs
- vv. 16-17Morning song of strength and mercy
Key Verses
“Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.”— 59:9
A pivotal declaration of trust amid danger, this verse captures the psalm's movement from fear to confidence in God as a fortified refuge.
“But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.”— 59:16
One of the Psalter's great morning praises, frequently quoted in worship as a model of turning trial into testimony and song.
“Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.”— 59:17
The closing refrain joins divine power and mercy, summarizing the psalm's theology that strength and steadfast love belong together in God.
People & Places
People
- David — The psalmist and future king of Israel, here pursued by Saul's assassins at his own house.
- Saul — Reigning king of Israel who, in jealousy, sent men to watch David's house and kill him (1 Samuel 19).
Places
- Jacob — Poetic name for the covenant nation of Israel, over whom God is declared to rule.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Though primarily a personal lament, verse 5 widens the horizon to God's judgment of 'all the heathen,' anticipating the eschatological reckoning of nations found throughout the prophets. Verse 13's declaration that God 'ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth' foreshadows the universal kingship later realized in Messiah (Psalm 2; Zechariah 14:9). Early Christian readers also heard in David's unjust persecution a type of Christ, the righteous sufferer surrounded by enemies yet vindicated by the Father.
Devotional
David writes this psalm with armed men circling his house at nightfall, yet he ends it singing. That movement — from siege to song — is the heart of the chapter.
When trouble prowls around our lives like the dogs of verse 6, the temptation is to match its noise with our own anxious chatter. David instead waits (v. 9), trusting that God's strength is steadier than the threat.
The morning song of verse 16 is not denial of the night; it is defiance of it. Mercy, he discovers, outlasts malice — and so will yours.
Literary Style
An individual lament psalm and michtam of David, set to the tune 'Al-tashheth.' It features a recurring refrain (vv. 6, 14; vv. 9, 17), vivid animal imagery, imprecation, and the lament-to-praise movement characteristic of Hebrew petitionary poetry, marked by two Selah pauses.