Psalms · Chapter 59

Verse 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God] A very proper prayer in the mouth of Nehemiah, when resisted in his attempts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, who opposed the work, and endeavoured to take away the life of the person whom God had raised up to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. I conceive the Psalm to have been made on this occasion; and on this hypothesis alone I think it capable of consistent explanation.

Verse 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God — Thou art God, and canst deliver me; my God, under whose protection I have put myself; and thou hast promised me to be a God all-sufficient, and therefore in honour and faithfulness thou wilt deliver me. He chiefly means Saul by his enemies; but speaks in the plural number, out of reverence to his king, and that he might, as far as he could with truth, lay the blame of these odious practices on those that were about him.

1. Defend me—Literally, set me on high, as in a strong tower, or upon a rocky cliff. The first two verses are an earnest cry for help.

Verse 2. The workers of iniquity] Principally Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian; who were the chief enemies of the poor returned captives.

Bloody men.] The above, who sought the destruction of the Israelites; and particularly, that of Nehemiah, whom four several times they endeavoured to bring into an ambush, that they might take away his life. See Nehemiah 6:1-4.

2. Workers of iniquity—Whom God abhors, Psalm 5:5.

Verse 3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul] For my life. See the passages referred to above.

Verse 3. They lie in wait for my soul — For my life, to take it away. The mighty are gathered against me — They are all mighty, men of honour and estates, and interest in the court and country. They are in a confederacy, united by a league; and actually gathered together against me; combined both in consultation and action. Not for my transgression, nor for my sin — Without any provocation or cause given by me. I am a sinner before thee, O Lord, but I have done them no injury. It was a noble vindication of David’s innocence, in that he could, in the most private retirement, and upon the most serious and deliberate reflection, thus solemnly appeal to God, that he was not chargeable with the least perfidy, wickedness, or crime, which could excite the hatred of his enemies, and give occasion to Saul to pursue him with such eagerness and malice, to his destruction.

3. They lie in wait—It would seem that Saul had sent spies through the city to watch for David, in hopes of assassinating him privately, and that this had been going on for some time before the night when they finally surrounded his house, 1 Samuel 19:11. David, in simplicity, tells God all the movements of the enemy. The mighty—The strong ones; the chiefs of the nation. There is no appeal to any human power above them, therefore he carries his cause directly to God. Not… for my sin—I have committed no offence to cause this.

V. 4. Run-To and fro, to receive Saul’s commands, and to execute them with all speed.

Verse 4. They run and prepare themselves] They leave no stone unturned that they may effect my destruction and prevent the building.

Verse 4. They run — To and fro, first to receive Saul’s commands, and then to execute them with all diligence; and prepare themselves — With the utmost speed and fury, to do me a mischief; or, they dispose themselves, as wnnwky, jeconanu, may be properly rendered. They place themselves here and there about my house, that they may catch me when I go out of it. Awake to my help — Hebrew, ytarql, likraati, to meet me, as I come abroad, and to conduct me away with safety. And behold — With an eye of pity; take cognizance of my case, and exert thy power for my relief.

4. They run and prepare themselves—Military terms to denote the rapidity and order of their movements, and their eagerness for the combat. Awake to help me—Hebrew, to meet me. He prays that God’s movement to meet him as a protector may be more expeditious than theirs to destroy him.

V. 5. The God-A God in covenant with all true Israelites, whom thou hast promised to protect and bless. The heathen-Or, these heathens, who though they are Israelites by birth; yet in their dispositions they are mere Heathens. Be not-For indeed thou canst not according to thy word, be merciful to such incorrigible offenders.

Verse 5. O Lord God of hosts] This was a proper view to take of God. when Israel, a handful of poor distressed captives were surrounded and oppressed by the heathen chiefs above mentioned, and their several tribes. But Jehovah, God of hosts, was the God of Israel; and hence Israel had little to fear.

Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors.] Do not favour the cause of these wicked men. They are אונ בגדי bogedey aven, “changers of iniquity:” they go through the whole round of evil; find out and exercise themselves in all the varieties of transgression. How exactly does this apply to Nehemiah’s foes! They sought, by open attack, wiles, flattery, foul speeches, fair speeches, threats, and ambuscades, to take away his life. Do not show them favour, that they may not succeed in their wicked designs. The prayer here is exactly the same in sentiment with that of Nehemiah, Nehemiah 4:4, 5. Hear, our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach upon their own heads;—cover not their iniquity, “and let not their sin be blotted out.”

Verse 5. O Lord, &c., the God of Israel — In covenant with all true Israelites, whom thou promisest to protect and bless. Awake to visit all the heathen — Or, these heathen, who, though they are Israelites by birth, yet in truth, and in their dispositions and manners, are mere heathen. Be not merciful — Hebrew, ˆjt la, al tachon, Thou wilt not be merciful, that is, Thou canst not with honour, nor according to thy word, be merciful, to any wicked transgressors — Hebrew, ˆwa ydgb lk, cal bogedee aven, perfidious transgressors, or, more literally, prevaricators of wickedness; that is, such as are guilty of great treachery and perfidiousness, meaning such as, with pretences of friendship, persecuted him and other good men, out of malice, and against their own consciences. But neither can God, in consistency with the perfections of his nature, and the truths of his word, show mercy to any incorrigible offenders.

5. O Lord God of hosts—Jehovah God of armies. A term denoting his boundless power. God of Israel—A title denoting his covenant relation to his people, and his consequent special care of them, implying that David’s cause was the cause of Israel. Awake to visit all the heathen—Awake to punish the nations, that is, the heathen or Gentile nations. From this it would appear the issue lay between the “God of Israel,” and the “heathen nations.” We know that Doeg, the Edomite, (1 Samuel 22:22,) was influential in Saul’s court, and instigated him to desperate measures, and it is not improbable that behind Doeg, an Edomitish policy, through the leading men of his nation, operated to make this venal man a political tool for the weakening and overthrow of the new kingly government of Israel. This intrigue brought Edom into direct conflict with Jehovah’s designs concerning David. See on verse 8. In the same way, Haman the Agagite, a descendant of the royal family of Amalek, sought to revenge his nation upon the Jews. Esther 3.

V. 6. Return-Watching for me: which they did at this time all the night long, 1 Samuel 19:11. A dog-When he is pursuing his prey. Go round-When they did not find him in his own house, they sought for him in other parts of the city.

Verse 6. They return at evening] When the beasts of prey leave their dens, and go prowling about the cities and villages to get offal, and entrap domestic animals, these come about the city to see if they may get an entrance, destroy the work, and those engaged in it.

Verses 6, 7. They return at evening — Saul sent once to destroy him, and the messengers went back to inform him that he was ill; but they returned in the evening to bring him even in his bed. They make a noise like a dog — The Hebrew wmhy, jehemu, signifies the confused hum and noise of an assembled crowd. “The psalmist here compares the muttered threats of his enemies to the growlings or snarlings of a dog, ready to bite and tear any person; and the comparison is just and natural.” — Dodd. And go round about the city — When they did not find him in his own house, they sought for him in other parts of the city. They belch out with their mouths — Hebrew, ˆw[yby, jabignun, they pour forth, namely, words, even sharp and bitter words, as the next clause explains it, such as threatenings, calumnies, and imprecations, and that abundantly and vehemently, as a fountain doth waters, as the word signifies. Swords are in their lips — Their expressions are as keen and mischievous as swords; their threats and reproaches are cruel and deadly. For who, they say, doth hear? — David doth not hear us, and God either does not hear, or not regard what we say. They vented their calumnies more freely and dangerously, because privately; so that none could refute them.

Verse 6. They make a noise like a dog. Mr. Jowett, in his christian researches, states, that many dogs in eastern towns have no owners; that they lie in the shade during the heat of the day, and towards evening go about the town half perished with hunger, seeking what meat they can procure. This similé is therefore a fine figure to designate the restless and grovelling temper and habit of unregenerate men.

6. They return at evening—The poetical account, which here gives a deeper insight than the narrative in 1 Samuel 19:11-16, speaks of a succession of nights. They not only patrolled the city, (see verse 3,) but had now closely beset his house. They make a noise like a dog—The half wild, gaunt, starved dogs of the East are scarcely less ferocious, and more disgusting, than wolves. They go in packs, and at night their howling, barking, yelping, and growling are as frightful as they are discordant. See on Psalm 22:16.

V. 7. Pour out-Sharp and bitter word’s, abundantly and vehemently, as a fountain doth waters, as this word signifies. Swords-Words as keen and mischievous as swords. For who-David doth not hear us, and God either doth not hear, or not regard what we say.

Verse 7. They belch out with their mouth] They use the lowest insult, the basest abuse. They deal in sarcasm, ridicule, slander, and lies.

Verses 6, 7. They return at evening — Saul sent once to destroy him, and the messengers went back to inform him that he was ill; but they returned in the evening to bring him even in his bed. They make a noise like a dog — The Hebrew wmhy, jehemu, signifies the confused hum and noise of an assembled crowd. “The psalmist here compares the muttered threats of his enemies to the growlings or snarlings of a dog, ready to bite and tear any person; and the comparison is just and natural.” — Dodd. And go round about the city — When they did not find him in his own house, they sought for him in other parts of the city. They belch out with their mouths — Hebrew, ˆw[yby, jabignun, they pour forth, namely, words, even sharp and bitter words, as the next clause explains it, such as threatenings, calumnies, and imprecations, and that abundantly and vehemently, as a fountain doth waters, as the word signifies. Swords are in their lips — Their expressions are as keen and mischievous as swords; their threats and reproaches are cruel and deadly. For who, they say, doth hear? — David doth not hear us, and God either does not hear, or not regard what we say. They vented their calumnies more freely and dangerously, because privately; so that none could refute them.

7. They belch out with their mouth—A continuation of the figure, verse

6. As applied to David’s enemies it is an expression of the lowest contempt.

Verse 8. Thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them] They have mocked us; God will turn them and their schemes into ridicule and contempt: “Thou shalt have all these heathenish nations in derision.”

Verses 8, 9. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them — Shalt disappoint their high confidence and hopeful designs, and then deride them, and make them ridiculous and contemptible to others. Because of his strength — That is, Saul’s strength, because he is too strong for me: or, as to his strength; will I wait on thee — Hebrew, hrmva Ëyla, eeleicha eshmorah, I will observe, or look, to thee. “Saul’s soldiers give me no concern; mine eyes are toward thee;” for God is my defence — Hebrew, ybgvm, mishgabbi, my high place, my refuge.

8. But thou… shalt laugh at them—Indicating with what infinite ease God will frustrate them. See on Psalm 2:4. All the heathen—This recurrence to the Gentile nations suggests how strongly David’s mind is impressed that, back of Saul and the mercenary Doeg, there was a heathen plot, or intrigue, which had worked its way into Saul’s court and threatened evil to the Hebrew people. See note on verse 5. The preceding verses describe David’s enemies. The adversative sense of the particle ve, but, at the beginning of verse 8, changes the subject to the contemplation of the power, mercy and judgment of God.

Verse 9. Because of his strength will I wait upon thee] With this reading, I can make no sense of the passage. But instead of wz[ uzzo, “his strength,” yz[ uzzi, “my strength,” is the reading of fourteen of Kennicott’s and Deuteronomy Rossi’s MSS., of the Vulgate, Septuagint, Chaldee, and, in effect, of the Æthiopic, Syriac, and Arabic; and also of the Anglo-Saxon. To thee I commit all MY strength; all I have I derive from thee, and all the good I possess I attribute to thee. The old Psalter translates, My strenght I shall kepe till the, for myn uptaker thou art. See on Psalm 59:17.

Verses 8, 9. But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them — Shalt disappoint their high confidence and hopeful designs, and then deride them, and make them ridiculous and contemptible to others. Because of his strength — That is, Saul’s strength, because he is too strong for me: or, as to his strength; will I wait on thee — Hebrew, hrmva Ëyla, eeleicha eshmorah, I will observe, or look, to thee. “Saul’s soldiers give me no concern; mine eyes are toward thee;” for God is my defence — Hebrew, ybgvm, mishgabbi, my high place, my refuge.

9. Because of his strength—Rather, O my strength, I will watch for thee, or, wait for thee. David fully understood the strength and temper of his enemies and the power and faithfulness of God, and he chooses to wait the vindications of Providence. God is my defence—My high place, or tower.

V. 10. Prevent-Thou wilt help me sooner than I expect.

Verse 10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me] The mercy of God shall go before me, and thus help me in all my doings. God shall let me see my desire] The sentence is short. God will let me see concerning my enemies, i.e., how he will treat them.

Verse 10. The God of my mercy — The giver of all that mercy and comfort which I have or hope for; shall prevent me — With the blessings of his goodness, Psalm 21:3. Thou shalt help me seasonably, before it be too late, and sooner than I expect. God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies — Namely, in their disappointment and overthrow, as it follows; which was very desirable to David, no less for the public good than for his own safety and happiness. Dr. Waterland renders the clause, God shall make me look upon mine enemies. “The word rendered enemies,” yrrwv, shorerai, “properly signifies insidious men, who craftily observed and lay in wait for him. David says, God will cause me to see them, or, see among them; that is, to discover their plots and contrivances to ruin me, that they may not prove fatal to me; or to see them fall by the destruction which they intend me.”

10. God… shall prevent me—Shall go before me. Shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies—God will cause me to look upon their overthrow. The word “enemies,” here, signifies those who lie in wait, my spies, my watchers.

V. 11. My people-Over whom thou hast appointed me to be governor in due time. Forget-Their former danger, and thy glorious mercy in delivering them. Scatter-Let them wander from place to place, that they may carry the tokens of thy justice, and their own shame to all places.

Verse 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget] I believe the Chaldee gives the true sense of this verse: “Do not slay them suddenly, lest my people should forget. Drive them from their habitations by thy power, and reduce them to poverty by the loss of their property.” Preserve them long in a state of chastisement, that Israel may see thou hast undertaken for them: that thy hand is on the wicked for evil, and on them for good. The Canaanites were not suddenly destroyed; they were left to be pricks in the eyes and thorns in the sides of the Israelites. It is in a sense somewhat similar that the words are used here.

Verse 11. Slay them not — Hebrew, µgrht la, al tahargeem, Thou wilt not slay them, namely, suddenly, or at once; lest my people — My countrymen, those over whom thou hast appointed me to be governor in due time; forget — Their former danger, thy glorious mercy in delivering them, and their own duty to thee for it. Hereby it plainly appears that David, in his prayers against, and predictions concerning his enemies, was not moved by private malice or desire of revenge, but by the respect which he had to God’s honour, and the general good of his people. Scatter them by thy power — wm[ynh, hanigneemo, Make them to wander. As they have wandered about the city and country to do me mischief, so let their punishment be agreeable to their sin; let them wander from place to place for meat, (as it is expressed verse 15,) that they may carry the tokens of thy justice, and their own shame, to all places where they come. And bring them down — From that power and dignity in which thou hadst set them, which they so wickedly abused; and from the height of their carnal hopes of success against me.

Ver. 11. Slay them not, lest my people forget. Those men were David’s friends while in favour, but now they are his worst foes. Therefore, in the goodness of his heart, he prays for a protracted state of correction, as was the case during the remaining six years of Saul’s reign, that the people might keep their eye on men unstable as water. So is the gloss of the Chaldee paraphrast.

11. Slay them not—Probably an allusion to the punishment of Cain, and of the Israelites in the desert. Genesis 4:12, 14; Numbers 32:13. He would have their punishment exemplary, to deter others from sin. Scatter them—Cause them to wander. The word means to stagger, reel, and is applied to an irregular, objectless moving from place to place as a wanderer. The participle is translated fugitive in Genesis 4:12, 14. This was David’s condition in his exile, 2 Samuel 15:20. It was considered more terrible than death. Psalm 109:10.

V. 12. Pride-For their proud and insolent speeches against thee. Lying-For their execrations and lying reports, which they have spread concerning me.

Verse 12. For the sin of their mouth] This verse has puzzled all the commentators. If we take tacj chattath for sin-offering instead of sin, we shall get a better sense. Some of Nehemiah’s enemies made a profession of the Jewish religion. Tobiah and his son were allied by marriage to the Jews; for Eliashib the priest had married his grandson to the daughter of Sanballat; and this produced a connexion with Tobiah, the fast friend of Sanballat. Besides this very priest had given Tobiah one of the great chambers in the house of the Lord, where formerly the meat-offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithe of the corn and wine and oil were kept; Nehemiah 13:4, 5, 7-9. And there were children of Tobiah (probably the same family) who professed to be of the Levites, Nethinim, or children of Solomon’s servants; but as they could not show their father’s house and their seed, whether they were of Israel; these, and others which were children of the priests, were put out of the priesthood, and out of the sacred service, as polluted; as having sprung from intermarriages with heathens. See Ezra 2:59-62. Tobiah was expelled from the house of the Lord by Nehemiah, and all his household stuff thrown out of doors: Nehemiah 13:7, 8. And this was doubtless one ground of the enmity of Tobiah to Nehemiah; and in this verse of the Psalm he may allude particularly to his occupancy of the chamber of offerings, which offerings, instead of being given to the Levites, were consumed by Tobiah and his household. This may be fairly gathered from Nehemiah 13:6, 10, 11. Here then we have the sin of their mouth; their eating the offerings that belonged to the Levites; so that the temple service was deserted, the Levites being obliged to go and till the ground in order to obtain the means of life. And if we take tacj chattath for sin-offering, it may refer to promises of sacrifice and offering which Tobiah and his family made, but never performed. They ate instead of offering them; and here was the sin of their mouth, in connexion with the words of their lips, and their cursing and lying which they spake, for which the psalmist calls upon the Lord to consume them, that they may not be, Psalm 59:13.

Verse 12. For the sin of their mouth, &c. — For their ungodly, injurious, and pernicious speeches, of which he spoke verse 7. Let them even be taken — Hebrew, wdklyw, vejillachedu, they shall be taken as in a snare, namely, in order to their ruin; in their pride — For their proud and insolent speeches against thee; and for cursing and lying — For their execrations, and lying reports, which they have raised or spread abroad; which they speak — Which they are ready to utter upon all occasions.

12. For the sin of their mouth—Hebrew, the sin of their mouth, the word of their lips; that is, every word of their lips is sin. Hammond: “So many words, so many sins.” And this continuous falsehood, slander, and perjury, should be cause of divine procedure to judgment.

V. 13. Not be-In the land of the living any more.

Verse 13. Consume them in wrath — By degrees, and after thou hast made them to wander about, verse 11. That they may not be — Namely, any more in the land of the living; and let them know — Experimentally, and to their cost; that God ruleth — Over and above them; that though Saul be king, yet God is his superior in power and authority, and all things shall be ordered among us, not as Saul pleases, but as God pleases; and therefore I shall be preserved, and at the proper time crowned, in spite of all that Saul or his forces can do against me. In Jacob unto the ends of the earth — In the land, and over the people of Israel, whose king and governor he is in a peculiar manner, and throughout the world. The sense is, that by those eminent and extraordinary discoveries of thy power, wisdom, and justice, it may be evident, both to them, and to all that hear of it, that thou art no inferior or local deity, like the gods of the heathen, but the high and mighty Jehovah, the Creator, Upholder, Governor, and Judge of the whole world.

13. Consume them… that they may not be—He speaks of them as a conspiracy, a combination of wicked men. In this sense they would lose their power and fall to pieces when they should become divided in counsel. This literally took place afterwards, on another occasion, when Ahithophel’s counsel was rejected, and consummated when Absalom was slain. See note on Psalm 55:9. Unto the ends of the earth—Again the intrigues of heathen enmity to Israel are referred to, as in verses 5 and 8, which see. The sense is, “They shall know to the ends of the earth that God ruleth.” Compare 1 Samuel 17:46.

Verse 14. At evening let them return] He had mentioned before, Psalm 59:6, that these persons came like beasts of prey round the city striving to get in, that they might take possession. Now, being fully assured of God’s protection, and that they shall soon be made a public example, he says, Let them return and make a noise like a dog, &c., like dogs, jackals, and other famished creatures, who come howling about the city-walls for something to eat, and wander up and down for meat, grumbling because they are not satisfied, Psalm 59:15. Nehemiah had made up all the breaches; and had the city guarded so well day and night, by watches who continually relieved each other, that there was no longer any fear of being taken by surprise: and now they must feel like the hungry beasts who were disappointed of their prey.

Verses 14, 15. And at evening let them return, &c. — This is a repetition of the sixth verse, but is to be understood in a different sense. The sixth verse is a real complaint of their fury and diligence in pursuing him; here he speaks of them with a kind of indifference and contempt; and as free from any apprehension of danger from them. “Let them, if they please, return in the evening, growl at me like dogs, and watch all the avenues of the city, to take me; yet, like greedy dogs, they shall want their food, and wander about, as those shivering for hunger; for they shall not be satisfied, but murmur on account of their disappointment.” The Hebrew verbs of these verses are in the future tense, and ought to have been rendered, “They shall return, &c. They shall make a noise, and go round about the city. They shall wander about, shivering for hunger, and, because not satisfied, they shall murmur.” — Chandler and Houbigant.

14. And at evening let them return—Or, they shall return. A recurrence of the refrain, verse 6, and an expression of the last degree of contempt, which must have produced inimitable effect in the musical performance.

Verses 14, 15. And at evening let them return, &c. — This is a repetition of the sixth verse, but is to be understood in a different sense. The sixth verse is a real complaint of their fury and diligence in pursuing him; here he speaks of them with a kind of indifference and contempt; and as free from any apprehension of danger from them. “Let them, if they please, return in the evening, growl at me like dogs, and watch all the avenues of the city, to take me; yet, like greedy dogs, they shall want their food, and wander about, as those shivering for hunger; for they shall not be satisfied, but murmur on account of their disappointment.” The Hebrew verbs of these verses are in the future tense, and ought to have been rendered, “They shall return, &c. They shall make a noise, and go round about the city. They shall wander about, shivering for hunger, and, because not satisfied, they shall murmur.” — Chandler and Houbigant.

15. Let them wander—Or, they shall wander. The metaphor of hungry dogs prowling about the city for some offal to alleviate their hunger, but finding nothing, is here carried out to illustrate that God would punish these conspirators through their own bloodthirsty passions, by withholding the object of their desire and defeating their deadly schemes. Thus sin becomes an instrument of its own punishment. Grudge—The Hebrew word should here take its more usual sense of to tarry, lodge, continue. The sense is: “If these hungry dogs, prowling for food, be not satisfied, they will continue all night, even to exhaustion, in their fruitless search.” This completes the metaphor, and finishes the picture of their wretchedness.

Verse 16. I will sing of thy power] For it was because thy hand was upon me for good, that I have thus succeeded in my enterprises. Yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy] I shall publish abroad what thou hast done; and done not for my worthiness, nor for the worthiness of the people; but for thy own mercy’s sake.

In the day of my trouble.] When I came with small means and feeble help, and had the force and fraud of many enemies to contend with, besides the corruption and unfaithfulness of my own people; thou wast then my defence; and in all attacks, whether open or covered, my sure refuge. I will, therefore, sing of thy mercy in the morning—I will hasten to acquit myself of a duty I owe to thee for such singular interpositions of mercy and power.

16. But I will sing of thy power—The antithesis is here brought out between David’s enemies and himself. They shall wander up and down like hungry dogs for food and find nothing; but I, fully rescued, will “sing of thy power,” etc. In the morning—Contrasted with the night work of his enemies. They continue all night in fruitless attempts to destroy me, but I, in the morning, will sing… of thy mercy.

Verse 17. Unto thee, O my strength] A similar sentiment to that expressed, Psalm 59:9. But the words are very emphatic: God is my strength; God is my elevation. My God is my mercy. I have nothing good but what I have from God. And all springs from his dwelling in me. God, therefore, shall have all the glory, both now and for ever. As many persons may still think that the inscription to this Psalm is correct, the following analysis may be applied in that way; or considered as containing a general resolution of the Psalm, without referring it to any particular occasion.

17. God is my defence—A repetition of the refrain of verse 9. The first double refrain (verses 6, 14) sets forth the vileness and impotence of his enemies; the second, (verses 9, 17,) the majesty, power, and mercy of God.