Psalm 59 commentary

PSALM 59 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do ot
Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When Saul had
sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill
him.
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "To the Chief Musician. Strange that the painful events in David's life
should end in enriching the repertoire of the national minstrelsy. Out of a sour,
ungenerous soil spring up the honey bearing flowers of psalmody. Had he never
been cruelly hunted by Saul, Israel and the church of God in after ages would have
missed this song. The music of the sanctuary is in no small degree indebted to the
trials of the saints. Affliction is the tuner of the harps of sanctified songsters.
Altaschith. Another "destroy not" Psalm. Whom God preserves Satan cannot
destroy. The Lord can even preserve the lives of his prophets by the very ravens that
would naturally pick out their eyes. David always found a friend to help him when
his case was peculiarly dangerous, and that friend was in his enemy's household; in
this instance it was Michal, Saul's daughter, as on former occasions it had been
Jonathan, Saul's son. Michtam of David. This is the Fifth of the Golden Secrets of
David: God's chosen people have many such. When Saul sent, and they watched the
house to kill him. Great efforts were made to carry the Psalms away to other
authors and seasons than those assigned in the headings, it being the fashion just
now to prove one's learning by disagreeing with all who have gone before. Perhaps
in a few years the old titles will be as much reverenced as they are now rejected.
There are spasms in these matters, and in many other things among the would be
"intellectuals" of the schools. We are not anxious to show our readiness at
conjecture, and therefore are content with reading this Psalm in the light of the
circumstances here mentioned; it does not seem unsuitable to any verse, and in some
the words are very appropriate to the specified occasion.
DIVISIO S. In Psalms 59:1-2 he prays, in Psalms 59:3-4 he complains of his woes,
and again in Psalms 59:5 he prays. Here he inserts a Selah, and ends one portion of
his song. In Psalms 59:6-7 he renews his complaint, in Psalms 59:8-10 declares his
confidence in God, and in Psalms 59:11-13 lifts up his heart in prayer; closing
another part of his Psalm with Selah. Then he prays again in Psalms 59:14-15, and
afterwards betakes himself to singing.

ELLICOTT, "The fascinating conjecture of Ewald which connects this psalm with
the Scythian irruption into Judæa in the reign of Josiah is not easily surrendered.
Some wild nomad tribe supporting itself by pillage, terrifying the inhabitants of a
beleaguered city with an outlandish gesture and speech, seems indicated by the
recurring simile of the “dogs” (Psalms 59:6; Psalms 59:14-15). And, again, the mode
in which the heathen are spoken of in Psalms 59:8, and the effect to be produced far
and wide by the evidence of Jehovah’s power (Psalms 59:13) seems to point to a
foreign invasion. But, on the other hand, the prominence given to the utterances of
this poet’s foes (Psalms 59:7; Psalms 59:12), seems to indicate that his danger was
rather from calumnious and false accusations than from hostile violence. Was he
merely the mouthpiece of the righteous part of the community, whom a hostile or
renegade party is trying to devour, body and soul, character and substance, as the
gaunt scavenger dogs devour in an Eastern city? At first sight an apparent double
refrain (Psalms 59:6; Psalms 59:14; Psalms , 9, 17) promises a regular poetical form,
but the strophes are unequal and the parallelism loose.
COKE, "Title. ‫אל‬ ‫תשׁחת‬ al tashcheth.— This psalm is 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, Psalms 59:3-4. For he represents them as falsely
defaming him, running to prepare themselves and execute Saul's commands; as
some of them besetting his house by night, and like snarling dogs ready to bite,
threatening to lay hold of and murder him; whilst others went about the city to
prevent any possible way of escaping; so that, according to the history, Michal was
forced to let him down through the window to secure his retreat. He, therefore,
earnestly prays for God's protection; declares that his dependance for safety was on
his power; assures himself that God would defend him; and resolves to celebrate the
praises of him who had been his refuge and security in the time of danger.
Chandler.
PETT, "The following Psalms (59-72) comprise the second part of Book Two
(Psalms 42-72). The Book of Psalms divides up into five Books, of which this is the
final part of the second, each of which ends with a special ‘blessing, which are as
follows:
· Book 1. Psalms 1-41, which ends with ‘blessed be YHWH the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting, Amen and Amen.’
· Book 2. Psalms 42-72 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH God, the God of
Israel, Who only does wonderful things. And blessed be His glorious name for ever,
and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.’
· Book 3. Psalms 73-89 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH for evermore.
Amen and Amen.’
· Book 4. Psalms 90-106 which ends with ‘Blessed be YHWH the God of Israel,
from everlasting even to everlasting, and let all the people say, “Amen”. Praise you

YHWH.’
· Book 5. Psalms 107-150 which ends with ‘Let everything that has breath
praise YHWH’. Praise you YHWH.’
In this second book of Psalms it is noticeable that the greater emphasis throughout,
as compared with the first section, is on God as ELOHIM. But this, while
noticeable, must not be over-exaggerated for the name YHWH certainly does
appear fairly often (Psalms 42:8; Psalms 46:7-8; Psalms 46:11; Psalms 47:2; Psalms
47:5; Psalms 48:1; Psalms 48:8; Psalms 50:1; Psalms 54:6; Psalms 55:16; Psalms
55:22; Psalms 56:10; Psalms 58:6; Psalms 59:3; Psalms 59:5; Psalms 59:8; Psalms
64:10; Psalms 68:4 (YH); Psalms 68:7; Psalms 68:16; Psalms 68:20; Psalms 69:13;
Psalms 69:16; Psalms 69:31; Psalms 69:33; Psalms 70:5; Psalms 71:1; Psalms 71:5;
Psalms 71:16; Psalms 72:18, as also does ‘Lord’ (ADO AI), and it should be noted
that the name YHWH appears in the verse which ends the section (Psalms 72:18).
Indeed, there it is specifically associated with ELOHIM, for there He is YHWH
ELOHIM. So in the end this section also is dedicated to YHWH. It is only in
contrast with the first section (1-41), where YHWH predominates, that we
particularly notice the change of title/ ame.
This Second Book contains Psalms from two main sources, firstly from a collection
entitled ‘of the sons of Korah’ (42-49), and the remainder from a collection entitled
‘of David’. Apart from these there are two which are simply dedicated ‘for the Chief
Musician’ (66; 67), one headed ‘of Asaph’ (50; see next section where there are more
songs ‘of Asaph’), and the final one which is entitled ‘of Solomon’. The dedication of
most of the Psalms to ‘the Chief Musician’ or ‘Choirmaster’, indicates that where
necessary they have been adapted for Temple worship, in the case of David
probably by David himself (he had a great interest in Temple worship).
Interestingly the section ends with the note ‘the prayers of David the son of Jesse are
ended’ (Psalms 72:20). But this ascription need only be seen as applying to this
section (or the collection from which the Psalms were obtained), as more Psalms of
David will follow in later sections. It would appear to refer to the fact that the group
of Psalms which are ‘of David’ in this particular section is now coming to its
conclusion, and may be seen as indicating that the Psalms of ‘the sons of Korah’ and
others have been included under his supervision. It might, however, seem to add
strength to the idea that, at least in this section, if a Psalm is said to be ‘of David’,
this is intended to indicate authorship by David himself. On the other hand the final
Psalm is ‘of Solomon’ (the son of David), which could easily have been be seen as ‘a
prayer of ‘David’, because he was of the Davidic house.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
be my fortress against those who are attacking
me.
BAR ES, "Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God - See the notes at Psa_
18:48. This prayer was offered when the spies sent by Saul surrounded the house of
David. They had come to apprehend him, and it is to be presumed that they had come in
sufficient numbers, and with sufficient power, to effect their object. Their purpose was
not to break in upon him in the night, but to watch their opportunity, when he went
forth in the morning, to slay him 1Sa_19:11, and there seemed no way for him to escape.
Of their coming, and of their design, Michal, the daughter of Saul, and the wife of David,
seems to have been apprised - perhaps by someone of her father’s family. She informed
David of the arrangement, and assured him that unless he should escape in the night, he
would be put to death in the morning. She, therefore, let him down through a window,
and he escaped, 1Sa_19:12. It was in this way that he was in fact delivered; in this way
that his prayer was answered. A faithful wife saved him.
Defend me from them that rise up against me - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Set me
on high.” The idea is that of placing him, as it were, on a tower, or on an eminence which
would be inaccessible. These were common places of refuge or defense. See the notes at
Psa_18:2.
CLARKE, "Deliver me from mine enernies, 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 endeavored 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.
GILL, "Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God,.... David had his enemies in
his youth, notwithstanding the amiableness of his person, the endowments of his mind,
his martial achievements, his wise behaviour and conduct, and the presence of God with
him; yea, it were some of these things that made Saul his enemy, who, by his power and
authority, made others; see 1Sa_18:5. Christ had his enemies, though he went about
doing good, both to the bodies and souls of men, continually; the chief priests, Scribes,
and Pharisees, were his implacable enemies, and even the people of the Jews in general:
and the church of God, and members of it, whom David may represent, have their
enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; and as David and Christ, so the church has a

covenant God to go unto, from whom deliverance from enemies may be desired and
expected;
defend me from them that rise up against me; or, "set me on high above them"
(l); out of their reach, as David was protected from Saul and his men, who rose up in an
hostile manner against him; and as Christ was, when raised from the dead, and exalted
at his Father's right hand; and as the saints are in great safety, dwelling on high, where
their place of defence is the munition of rocks; and therefore it matters not who rise up
against them.
HE RY, "The title of this psalm acquaints us particularly with the occasion on which
it was penned; it was when Saul sent a party of his guards to beset David's house in the
night, that they might seize him and kill him; we have the story 1Sa_19:11. It was when
his hostilities against David were newly begun, and he had but just before narrowly
escaped Saul's javelin. These first eruptions of Saul's malice could not but put David into
disorder and be both grievous and terrifying, and yet he kept up his communion with
God, and such a composure of mind as that he was never out of frame for prayer and
praises; happy are those whose intercourse with heaven is not intercepted nor broken in
upon by their cares, or griefs, or fears, or any of the hurries (whether outward or inward)
of an afflicted state. In these verses,
I. David prays to be delivered out of the hands of his enemies, and that their cruel
designs against him might be defeated (Psa_59:1, Psa_59:2): “Deliver me from my
enemies, O my God! thou art God, and cast 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. Set me on high out of the reach of the
power and malice of those that rise up against me, and above the fear of it. Let me be
safe, and see myself so, safe and easy, safe and satisfied. O deliver me! and save me.” He
cries out as one ready to perish, and that had his eye to God only for salvation and
deliverance. He prays (Psa_59:4), “Awake to help me, take cognizance of my case,
behold that with an eye of pity, and exert thy power for my relief.” Thus the disciples, in
the storm, awoke Christ, saying, Master, save us, we perish. And thus earnestly should
we pray daily to be defended and delivered form our spiritual enemies, the temptations
of Satan, and the corruptions of our own hearts, which war against our spiritual life.
JAMISO , "Psa_59:1-17. See on Psa_57:1, title, and for history, 1Sa_19:11, etc. The
scope is very similar to that of the fifty-seventh: prayer in view of malicious and violent
foes, and joy in prospect of relief.
defend me — (Compare Margin).
rise up ... me — (Compare Psa_17:7).
CALVI , "1Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God! He insists upon the strength
and violence of his enemies, with the view of exciting his mind to greater fervor in
the duty of prayer. These he describes as rising up against him, in which expression
he alludes not simply to the audacity or fierceness of their assaults, but to the
eminent superiority of power which they possessed; and yet he asks that he may be
lifted up on high, as it were, above the reach of this over-swelling inundation. His

language teaches us that we should believe in the ability of God to deliver us even
upon occasions of emergency, when our enemies have an overwhelming advantage.
In the verse which follows, while he expresses the extremity to which he was
reduced, he adverts at the same time to the injustice and cruelty of his persecutors.
Immediately afterwards, he connects the two grounds of his complaint together: on
the one hand, his complete helplessness under the danger, and, on the other, the
undeserved nature of the assaults from which he suffered. I have already repeatedly
observed, that our confidence in our applications to a throne of grace will be
proportional to the degree in which we are conscious of integrity; for we cannot fail
to feel greater liberty in pleading a cause which, in such a case, is the cause of God
himself. He is the vindicator of justice, the patron of the righteous cause everywhere,
and those who oppress the innocent must necessarily rank themselves amongst his
enemies. David accordingly founds his first plea upon his complete destitution of all
earthly means of help, exposed as he was to plots on every side, and attacked by a
formidable conspiracy. His second he rests upon a declaration of innocency. It may
be true that afflictions are sent by God to his people as a chastisement for their sins,
but, so far as Saul was concerned, David could justly exonerate himself from all
blame, and takes this occasion of appealing to God on behalf of his integrity, which
lay under suspicion from the base calumnies of men. They might pretend it, but he
declares that they could charge him with no crime nor fault. Yet, groundless as their
hostility was, he tells us that they ran, were unremitting in their activity, with no
other view than to accomplish the ruin of their victim.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God. They were all
round the house with the warrant of authority, and a force equal to the carrying of
it out. He was to be taken dead or alive, well or ill, and carried to the slaughter. o
prowess could avail him to break the cordon of armed men, neither could any
eloquence stay the hand of his bloody persecutor. He was taken like a bird in a net,
and no friend was near to set him free. Unlike the famous starling, he did not cry, "I
cannot get out, "but his faith uttered quite another note. Unbelief would have
suggested that prayer was a waste of breath, but not so thought the good man, for
he makes it his sole resort. He cries for deliverance and leaves ways and means with
his God.
Defend me from them that rise up against me. Saul was a king, and therefore sat in
high places, and used all his authority to crush David; the persecuted one therefore
beseeches the Lord to set him on high also, only in another sense. He asks to be lifted
up, as into a lofty tower, beyond the reach of his adversary. ote how he sets the
title, My God, over against the word, mine enemies. This is the right method of
effectually catching and quenching the fiery darts of the enemy upon the shield of
faith. God is our God, and therefore deliverance and defence are ours.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS
This Psalm has in its stern contents something no doubt strange to our ears. But
never let us omit to distinguish from each other the times and diverse economies,
and to place ourselves as far as possible, in sympathy with the experience of a heart
which burned for nothing more than for the glorifying of God in this world.
Everything that tended to obscure the theocratic relation of God to his people, called
up in the soul of David the most vehement passion. The scornful oppression with

which Saul and his venal satellites visited him, the man of God, could not but have,
upon the eyes of all, the appearance as if Jehovah were no longer Lord in his own
land, who inexorably adhered to his laws and rights. Treason, falsehood, and every
kind of evil then prevailed unchecked. What wonder, that as formerly Moses in the
wilderness was provoked against the stiff necked people, so also David, whom the
awful holiness of God had already made to tremble, should feel his spirit stirred
against the ungodly who surrounded him, and should say, with Job, "My bowels
boiled within me." Frederick William Krummacher, D.D., in "David, the King of
Israel, "1867.
Ver. 1. O my God. There are two pleas which the psalmist makes use of; one was,
that God was his God, Psalms 59:1; the other was the power and strength of his
enemies. It is a blessed thing to have the covenant to fly to in all times of straits and
troubles; there is always an anchor hold of hope there. My God, is such a plea as
infinitely over balances all other things. He has engaged himself to do his people
good; and it is time for him to work when the enemy exalts himself. The church's
enemies are never so near destruction as when they think they have nothing to do,
but take and divide the spoil. We may plead God's promise and the enemies' power
too; both are a ground of hope to a believer in Jesus. John Hill (1711-1746), in
"Sermons on Several Occasions."
Ver. 1. That rise up against me. He insists upon the strength and violence of his
enemies, with the view of exciting his mind to greater fervour in the duty of prayer.
These he describes as rising up against him, in which expression he alludes, not
simple to the audacity or fierceness of their assaults, but to the eminent superiority
of power which they possessed; and yet he asks that he may be lifted up on high, as
it were, above the reach of this over swelling inundation. John Calvin.
BE SO , "Psalms 59:1. 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.
TRAPP, "Psalms 59:1 « To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when
Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. » Deliver me from mine enemies,
O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
Al-taschith] Destroy not, preserve me from this ambush. See Psalms 57:1, title.
When Saul sent, and they watched the house] But were disappointed by Michal
shifting him out of the way, preferring a husband before a father, though she had
otherwise no great goodness in her. The glory of this deliverance David wholly
ascribeth to God, and seeketh help of him.

Ver. 1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O God] This psalm is the same in substance
with those aforegoing, viz. David’s desire to be delivered from Saul’s craft and
cruelty.
Defend me from them] Heb. Set me on high, far out of their reach.
CO STABLE, "1. David"s question15:1
In his prayer, the psalmist asked Yahweh who could have fellowship with Him,
namely, what kind of person. "Abiding in the Lord"s tent" or sanctuary (i.e, the
tabernacle David had pitched) and "dwelling on His holy hill" (i.e, Mt. Zion) picture
a person who is the guest of God. Guests in the ancient ear East were those who
had an intimate relationship with their host, who had extended his protection and
provisions to them (cf. Psalm 5:4).
In this Psalm , David reflected on the importance of a pure character for those who
would worship God and have an intimate relationship with Him. Stylistically, it
begins with a question and ends with a promise (cf. Isaiah 33:14-16). This style
marks the wisdom literature, and many scholars consider this a wisdom psalm.
[ ote: E.g, Dahood, 1:83; and VanGemeren, pp147-48.] Brueggemann classified it
as a Torah psalm. [ ote: Brueggemann, p42.] The wise person in this psalm
contrasts with the fool in the previous one.
"The pattern of question and answer here may possibly be modelled [sic] on what
took place at certain sanctuaries in the ancient world, with the worshipper asking
the conditions of admittance, and the priest making his reply. But while the
expected answer might have been a list of ritual requirements (cf. Exodus 19:10-15;
1 Samuel 21:4 f.), here, strikingly, the Lord"s reply searches the conscience." [ ote:
Kidner, pp80-81.]
"The ascent to Mount Zion is a question of increasing ethical perfection as well as
geography." [ ote: Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion: An Entry Into the Jewish
Bible, p173.]
COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 59
A PRAYI G SAI T AGAI ST A ARMY
SUPERSCRIPTIO : FOR THE CHIEF MUSICIA ; SET TO ALTASHETH.
A PSALM OF DAVID. MICHTAM; WHE SAUL SE T; A D THEY
WATCHED THE HOUSE TO KILL HIM.

Leupold expresses perfectly our full confidence in this superscription. "We give full
credence to the heading as being historically reliable and as actually reflecting the
situation out of which the Psalm grew."[1] "The whole character of the Psalm is
Davidic; and the 'title' has more intrinsic weight than the conjectures of critics,
especially critics who all disagree with one another."[2]
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROU D (1 Samuel 9:11-18)
David's victory over Goliath of Gath made him popular with the people who sang,
"David hath slain his tens of thousands; and Saul has slain his thousands"! Saul's
jealousy was strongly kindled against David. He promised David his daughter
Merab for wife, but then gave her to another. Then Saul learned that Michal loved
David, and hoping to get David killed, he promised him Michal provided David
would go out and kill 200 Philistines. This David promptly did and was soon
married to Michal, thus becoming Saul's son-in-law.
Saul's hatred of David grew worse. Twice he tried to murder David by casting his
spear at him, but David remained unharmed. Then Saul tried to get Jonathan to
slay David, but Jonathan refused. Jonathan warned David that Saul was
determined to kill him.
Then came the incident that resulted in this psalm. Saul sent a detachment of his
army to surround David's house and to kill him next morning. David's wife Michal
aided David's escape by letting him down from an upper window, and then placing
a dummy made of a teraphim and a pillow of goat-hair in David's bed.
ext morning, when the men demanded to see David, Michal said, "He is sick." Saul
sent and demanded that they bring David in his bed in order that Saul might kill
him; and when the deception was discovered, Saul demanded to know of Michal
why she had allowed David to escape; and she excused herself by saying that David
had threatened to kill her.
Of all the psalms dealing with David's difficulties with Saul, this is the very earliest.
As Delitzsch stated it, "This is the earliest of the Davidic Psalms which are dated
from Saul's persecutions."[3]
"The Psalm divides into four parts, two of them terminated by the word "Selah,"
and the other two by refrains."[4] These divisions are (1) Psalms 59:1-5; (2) Psalms
59:6-9; (3) Psalms 59:10-13, and (4) Psalms 59:14-17.
Psalms 59:1-5
"Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:
Set me on high from them that rise up against me
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,

And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul;
The mighty gather themselves together against me:
ot for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault;
Awake thou to help me, and behold.
Even thou, O Jehovah, God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Arise to visit all the nations:
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors, (Selah)"
"Set me on high" (Psalms 59:1). This is often translated either "protect" or
"defend," thus giving us four one-word prayers in this first verse. These are
"deliver, protect, deliver, save!" These urgent repeated cries for God's help
emphasize the dramatic nature of the crisis David faced. He was one man, alone,
hated, pursued, proscribed by the king, condemned to death without a trial, and an
entire army at the disposal of his chief enemy had been commissioned to kill him.
Hopeless? o indeed; God was with David!
"From mine enemies" (Psalms 59:1). Who were all these enemies of David?
"Saul became his enemy through jealousy; Saul's partisans took sides with him
against David; he had enemies at the court of Achish; there were enemies in his own
family; even his son Absalom hated him; even one of his counselors, Ahithophel
betrayed him; and besides these, there were foreign enemies on all sides: Philistines,
Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Syrians, Mesopotamians, etc."[5]
As we have frequently noticed, many of these psalms deal with hatred, opposition,
oppression, injustice, slander, violence, etc., encountered by one who trusts God and
looks to him continually for deliverance from implacable enemies on all sides. "The
constant recurrence of this note in the Psalter is doubtless intended to provide a
large measure of comfort and encouragement for the various circumstances of trial
to which the godly are exposed."[6]
"Workers of iniquity" (Psalms 59:2). David here pleads for deliverance because of
the character of his foes. (1) They are evil workers (Psalms 59:2); (2) they are
bloodthirsty men (Psalms 59:3), and (3) David has never wronged any of them.
" ot for my transgression ... nor my sin ... without my fault" (Psalms 59:3-4). This
is a three-fold protestation of innocence on David's part. As Dummelow noted, this

may not be taken as proof of David's being sinless in God's sight, but "Probably
mean that he had done nothing to provoke the hostilities of his enemies."[7]
"The mighty gather themselves together against me" (Psalms 59:3). Spurgeon
thought that this means that 'All' the mighty ones united against David. " o one of
them was absent from the muster when there was a saint to be murdered. They were
too fond of such sport to be absent."[8] We cannot say whether or not Spurgeon was
correct in the application of this principle to the situation here; but well we know
that such an attitude is very frequently that of the world toward the people of God.
"Arise to visit all the nations" (Psalms 59:5). This line has given commentators a lot
of trouble. The usual explanation is that of Yates, "Although basically the lament of
an individual, it has overtones which adapt it to national use also."[9] This is the
third time that we have encountered this world-wide international element in the
Psalms. (See Psalms 56:7; Psalms 57:9, and again here). Please see discussion of all
these. It is an earmark of Davidic authorship in all three. Kidner pointed out that
this international flavor even existed in that very early prayer in the life of David,
before his victory over Goliath. He prayed, "I come to thee in the name of Jehovah
of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied ... I will smite thee,
and take thy head from off thee.., that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel" (1 Samuel 17:45,46).
"Here the picture widens as David now king (when this Psalm was written), applies
the personal prayer to a larger situation, 1e., that of the nation."[10] Our own view
differs from this in that we think the supposition that the psalm was written years
after the event that prompted it, after David was king, is unnecessary.
Leupold also sustained this same view: At the very time when Saul's men were
surrounding the house of David with the intention of killing him, the Philistines
were also harassing Israel (it will be remembered that when David was in the cave
of Adullum, Saul had to leave off the pursuit to repel an attack from the Philistines).
"Thus when David reflected upon his own distress (in this Psalm), he felt that when
God took his case in hand, God would also, at the same time, deliver Israel from the
attacks of the heathen."[11]
Thus the mention of "the nations" here is quite natural and understandable.
"God of hosts ... God of Israel ... visit all the nations" (Psalms 59:5). Three reasons
are given here as grounds for David's prayer for God's intervention. "(1) He is the
God of hosts, (2) He is the covenant God of Israel, and (3) He is also the God of all
nations"[12]
This first paragraph ends with the word "Selah," which was probably some kind of
a musical direction to the singers.
EBC, "THE superscription makes this the earliest of David’s psalms, dating from
the Sauline persecution. It has many points of connection with the others of that

group, but its closest affinities are with Psalms 55:1-23, which is commonly
considered to belong to the period of incubation of Absalom’s rebellion (cf. Psalms
55:10 with Psalms 59:6; Psalms 59:14, and Psalms 55:21 with Psalms 59:7. The
allusion to enemies patrolling the city, which is common to both psalms, seems to
refer to a fact, and may in this psalm be founded on the watchfulness of Saul’s
emissaries: but its occurrence in both weakens its force as here confirmatory of the
superscription. It does not necessarily follow from the mention of the "nations" that
the psalmist’s enemies are foreigners. Their presence in the city and the stress laid
on words as their weapons are against that supposition. On the whole, the contents
of the psalm do not negative the tradition in the title, but do not strongly attest it. If
we have accepted the Davidic authorship of the other psalms of this group, we shall
extend it to this one; for they clearly are a group, whether Davidic or not. The psalm
falls into two principal divisions (Psalms 59:1-9 and Psalms 59:10-17), each closing
with a refrain, and each subdivided into two minor sections, the former of which in
each case ends with Selah, and the latter begins with another refrain. The two parts
travel over much the same ground of petition, description of the enemies, confidence
in deliverance and in the defeat of the foes. But in the first half the psalmist prays
for himself, and in the second he prays against his persecutors, while assured
confidence in his own deliverance takes the place of alarmed gaze on their might
and cruelty.
The former half of the first part begins and ends with petitions. Imbedded in these is
a plaintive recounting of the machinations of the adversaries, which are, as it were,
spread before God’s eyes, accompanied with protestations of innocence. The
prayers, which enclose as in a circlet, this description of unprovoked hatred, are
varied, so that the former petitions are directed to the singer’s deliverance, while the
latter invoke judgment on his antagonists. The strong assertion of innocence is, of
course, to be limited to the psalmist’s conduct to his enemies. They attack him
without provocation. Obviously this feature corresponds to the facts of Saul’s
hatred of David, and as obviously it does not correspond to the facts of Israel’s
sufferings from foreign enemies, which are supposed by the present favourite
interpretation to be the occasion of the psalm. o devout singer could so
misunderstand the reason of the nation’s disasters as to allege that they had fallen
upon innocent heads. Rather, when a psalmist bewailed national calamities, he
traced them to national sins. "Anger went up against Israel, because they believed
not in God." The psalmist calls God to look upon the doings of his enemies. Privy
plots and open assaults are both directed against him. The enemy lie in wait for his
life; but also, with fell eagerness, like that of soldiers making haste to rank
themselves in battle array, they "run and set themselves." This is probably simply
metaphor, for the rest of the psalm does not seem to contemplate actual warfare.
The imminence of peril forces an urgent prayer from the threatened man. So urgent
is it that it breaks in on the parallelism of Psalms 59:4, substituting its piercing cry
"Awake, behold!" for the proper second clause carrying on the description in the
first. The singer makes haste to grasp God’s hand, because he feels the pressure of
the wind blowing in his face. It is wise to break off the contemplation of enemies and
dangers by crying to God. Prayer is a good interruption of a catalogue of perils. The
petitions in Psalms 59:5 are remarkable, both in their accumulation of the Divine

names and in their apparent transcending of the suppliant’s need. The former
characteristic is no mere artificial or tautological heaping together of titles, but
indicates repeated acts of faith and efforts of contemplation. Each name suggests
something in God which encourages hope, and when appealed to by a trusting soul,
moves Him to act. The very introductory word of invocation, "And Thou," is
weighty. It sets the might of God in grand contrast to the hurrying hatred of the
adversary; and its significance is enhanced if its recurrence in Psalms 59:8 and its
relation to "And I" in Psalms 59:16 are taken into account.
The combination of the Divine names is remarkable here, from the insertion of God
(Elohim) between the two parts of the standing name, Jehovah of hosts. The
anomaly is made still more anomalous by the peculiar form of the word, Elohim,
which does not undergo the modification to be expected in such a construction. The
same peculiarities occur in other Elohistic psalms. [Psalms 80:4; Psalms 80:19, and
Psalms 84:8] The peculiar grammatical form would be explained if the three words
were regarded as three coordinate names, Jehovah, Elohim, Zebaoth, and this
explanation is favoured by good critics. But it is going too far to say, with Baethgen,
that "Zebaoth can only be understood as an independent Divine name (Komm., in
loc.). Other explanations are at least possible, such as that of Delitzsch, that
"Elohim, like Jehovah, has become a proper name," and so does not suffer
modification. The supplicatory force of the names, however, is clear, whatever may
be the account of the formal anomalies. They appeal to God and they hearten the
appellant’s confidence by setting forth the loftiness of God, who rules over the
embattled forces of the universe, which "run and set themselves in array" at His
bidding and for His servant’s help, and before which the ranks of the foes seem thin
and few. They set forth also God’s relation to Israel, of which the single suppliant is
a member.
The petition, grounded upon these names, is supposed by modern commentators to
prove that the psalmist’s enemies were heathens, which would, of course destroy the
Davidic authorship, and make the singer a personification of the nation. But against
this is to be observed the description of the enemies in the last clause of Psalms 59:5
as "apostates," which must refer to Israelites. The free access to the "city," spoken
of in Psalms 59:6, is also unfavourable to that supposition, as is the prominence
given to the words of the enemy. Foreign foes would have had other swords than
those carried between their lips. The prayer that Jehovah would arise to visit "all
nations" is much more naturally explained, as on the same principle as the
judgment of "the peoples" in Psalms 7:1-17. All special cases are subsumed under
the one general judgment. The psalmist looks for his own deliverance as one
instance of that world wide manifestation of Divine justice which will "render to
every man according to his deeds." ot only personal considerations move him to
his prayer; but, pressing as these are, and shrill as is the cry for personal
deliverance, the psalmist is not so absorbed in self as that he cannot widen his
thoughts and desires to a world wide manifestation of Divine righteousness, of
which his own escape will be a tiny part. Such recognition of the universal in the
particular is the prerogative in lower walks of the poet and the man of genius; it is
the strength and solace of the man who lives by faith and links all things with God.

The instruments here strike in, so as to fix attention on the spectacle of God aroused
to smite and of the end of apostates.
The comparison of the psalmist’s enemies to dogs occurs in another psalm ascribed
to David. [Psalms 22:16; Psalms 22:20] They are like the masterless, gaunt, savage
curs which infest the streets of Eastern cities, hungrily hunting for offal and ready
to growl or snarl at every passer-by. Though the dog is not a nocturnal animal,
evening would naturally be a time when these would specially prowl round the city
in search of food, if disappointed during the day. The picture suggests the enemies’
eagerness, lawlessness, foulness, and persistency. If the psalm is rightly dated in the
superscription, it finds most accurate realisation in the crafty, cruel watchfulness of
Saul’s spies. The word rendered by the A.V. and R.V. "make a noise" is "said
usually of the growling of the bear and the cooing of the dove" (Delitzsch). It
indicates a lower sound than barking, and so expresses rage suppressed lest its
object should take alarm. The word rendered (A.V. and R.V.) "belch" means to
gush out, and is found in a good sense in Psalms 19:1. Here it may perhaps be taken
as meaning "foam," with some advantage to the truth of the picture. "Swords are in
their lips"-i.e., their talk is of slaying the psalmist, or their slanders cut like swords;
and the crown of their evil is their scoff at the apparently deaf and passive God.
PETT, "Verses 1-5
Heading (Psalms 59:1 a).
‘For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul
sent, and they watched the house to kill him.’
Like the last two Psalms this is another Psalm which is dedicated to the Choirmaster
or Chief Musician, and set to the tune of ‘Do ot Destroy’. It is a Psalm of David, a
Michtam (plea for ‘cover’ or protection).
The provenance of the Psalm is said to be when Saul sent some of his men to watch
David’s house in order to kill him (1 Samuel 19:1; 1 Samuel 19:8 ff.). Compare our
interpretation of Psalms 55. And there can be do doubt that in spite of its reference
to the nations, the Psalm is of a very personal kind. ote the contrast between ‘me’
(regularly) and ‘my people’ (Psalms 59:11). Indeed, the references to the nations
could arise from the fact that those who came to kill David were mainly mercenaries
recruited by Saul for his standing army. Israel’s farmers would not want to be part
of a standing army for they had wok to do in the fields. Such mercenaries may well
be in mind in 1 Samuel 14:21, for ‘Hebrews’ (compare Habiru) is an unusual term
for Israelites except as used by foreigners, (it is rarely if ever used by Israelites of
themselves), and they are described in that verse as contrasted with Israelites.
Furthermore we know that in those days foreign mercenaries were sometimes
known as Habiru (stateless persons). Compare how many of David’s men also
appear to have been foreigners.
David Prays For Deliverance From Armed Men, Including Foreign Mercenaries,
Sent By Saul, Who Seek His Life As They Watch His House With A View To Killing
Him When He Emerges (Psalms 59:1-5).

As a prominent commander David’s house would be well guarded. He was also
married to Saul’s daughter Michal, who was, of course, in the house with him. And
he was popular with the people. Thus Saul had three good reasons for not simply
openly sending in his soldiers to kill David. He therefore sent them to watch David’s
house with a view to killing him surreptitiously when he emerged (1 Samuel 19:11).
In view of David’s own possible escort, this would require a good number of men.
Michal, who would know her father well, appears to have been suspicious of the
men who had gathered outside the house, which as befitted David’s position would
have been a large one, and warned David of what was afoot (1 Samuel 19:11).
Indeed, her father may have sent her a warning to make sure that she kept out of
the way. Thus she had good grounds for being suspicious.
So, aware of what was happening, David calls on God to deliver him, declaring his
innocence, and describing the unscrupulous and bloodthirsty men who are out to
assassinate him.
Psalms 59:1-2
‘Deliver me from my enemies, O my God,
Set me on high from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from the bloodthirsty men.’
He calls on God to deliver him from ‘his enemies’, ‘the workers of iniquity’,
‘bloodthirsty men’. With that in view he asks to be ‘set on high’ by God, out of
danger’s reach, so that they will not be able to touch him. The thought is of his being
secure, as though in a fortified tower (see Psalms 59:9; Psalms 59:16).
He knew that that his adversaries were not just soldiers sent to perform their duty
of arresting him so that he could have a fair trial, but men who hated him, selected
because of their willingness to be part of a plot against him, and not averse to
shedding innocent blood. At this stage Saul dared not attack him openly, for there
were too many who might have come to David’s support, including his own son
Jonathan. But in his jealousy, and because he suspected David of having an eye on
the throne, he was determined to kill him, even though he had promised Jonathan
that he would not (1 Samuel 19:6). Thus Saul had had to find men willing to be a
part of his plot, some of whom would no doubt be mercenaries who only therefore
owed loyalty to him.
Having been made a public Psalm, the Psalm was a reminder to all that when
trouble beset them, in whatever form, they could look to God for help. We all find
ourselves at times beset by troubles, and even possibly the target of influential
people. At such times we can call on this and similar Psalms for comfort, as they lift
us up to God for protection under His wings.
K&D 1-9, "First part. As far as Psa_59:4 we recognise strains familiar in the Psalms.

The enemies are called ‫י‬ ַ‫מ‬ ֲ‫ֽומ‬ּ‫ק‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫מ‬ as in Job_27:7, cf. Psa_17:7; ‫ים‬ִ ַ‫ע‬ as shameless, ‫ים‬ִ‫נ‬ ָ‫פ‬ ‫י‬ֵ ַ‫ע‬ or
‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫פ‬ֶ‫נ‬ ‫י‬ֵ ַ‫;ע‬ as in Isa_56:11, on account of their bold shameless greediness, dogs. On ‫לא‬ in a
subordinate clause, vid., Ewald, §286, g: without there being transgression or sin on my
side, which might have caused it. The suffix (transgression on my part) is similar to Psa_
18:24. ּ‫ן‬‫ו‬ ָ‫־ע‬ ִ‫ל‬ ְ (cf. Job_34:6) is a similar adverbial collateral definition: without there
existing any sin, which ought to be punished. The energetic future jeruzûn depicts those
who servilely give effect to the king's evil caprice; they run hither and thither as if
attacking and put themselves in position. ‫ן‬ֵ‫ּונ‬‫כ‬ ִ‫ה‬ = ‫ן‬ֵ‫ּונ‬‫כ‬ ְ‫ת‬ ִ‫,ה‬ like the Hithpa. ‫ה‬ ָ ַⅴ ִ‫,ה‬ Pro_26:26,
the Hothpa. ‫ס‬ ַ ַⅴ ֻ‫,ה‬ Lev_13:55., and the Hithpa. ‫ר‬ ֵ ַⅴִ‫,נ‬ Deu_21:8. Surrounded by such a
band of assassins, David is like one besieged, who sighs for succour; and he calls upon
Jahve, who seems to be sleeping and inclined to abandon him, with that bold ‫י‬ ִ‫את‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫ל‬ ‫ה‬ ָ‫עוּר‬
‫ה‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫,וּר‬ to awake to meet him, i.e., to join him with His help like a relieving army, and to
convince Himself from personal observation of the extreme danger in which His charge
finds himself. The continuation was obliged to be expressed by ‫ה‬ ָ ፍְ‫,ו‬ because a special
appeal to God interposes between ‫ה‬ ָ‫עוּר‬ and ‫ה‬ ָ‫יצ‬ ִ‫ק‬ ָ‫.ה‬ In the emphatic “Thou,” however, after
it has been once expressed, is implied the conditional character of the deliverance by the
absolute One. And each of the divine names made use of in this lengthy invocation,
which corresponds to the deep anxiety of the poet, is a challenge, so to speak, to the
ability and willingness, the power and promise of God. The juxtaposition Jahve Elohim
Tsebaoth (occurring, besides this instance, in Psa_80:5, 20; Psa_84:9), which is peculiar
to the Elohimic Psalms, is to be explained by the consideration that Elohim had become a
proper name like Jahve, and that the designation Jahve Tsebaoth, by the insertion of
Elohim in accordance with the style of the Elohimic Psalms, is made still more imposing
and solemn; and now ‫צבאות‬ is a genitive dependent not merely upon ‫יהוה‬ but upon ‫יהוה‬
‫אלהים‬ (similar to Psa_56:1, Isa_28:1; Symbolae, p. 15). ‫ל‬ ֵ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׂ‬ִ‫י‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫ּה‬‫ל‬ ֱ‫א‬ is in apposition to this
threefold name of God. The poet evidently reckons himself as belonging to an Israel
from which he excludes his enemies, viz., the true Israel which is in reality the people of
God. Among the heathen, against whom the poet invokes God's interposition, are
included the heathen-minded in Israel; this at least is the view which brings about this
extension of the prayer. Also in connection with the words ‫ן‬ֶ‫ו‬ፎ ‫י‬ ֵ‫ד‬ְ‫ֽג‬ּ ‫ל־‬ ָⅴ the poet, in fact, has
chiefly before his mind those who are immediately round about him and thus disposed.
It is those who act treacherously from extreme moral nothingness and worthlessness (‫ן‬ֶ‫ו‬ፎ
genit. epexeg.). The music, as Sela directs, here becomes more boisterous; it gives
intensity to the strong cry for the judgment of God; and the first unfolding of thought of
this Michtam is here brought to a close.
The second begins by again taking up the description of the movements of the enemy
which was begun in Psa_59:4, Psa_59:5. We see at a glance how here Psa_59:7
coincides with Psa_59:5, and Psa_59:8 with Psa_59:4, and Psa_59:9 with Psa_59:6.
Hence the imprecatory rendering of the futures of Psa_59:7 is not for a moment to be
entertained. By day the emissaries of Saul do not venture to carry out their plot, and
David naturally does not run into their hands. They therefore come back in the evening,

and that evening after evening (cf. Job_24:14); they snarl or howl like dogs (‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ ָ‫,ה‬ used
elsewhere of the growling of the bear and the cooing of the dove; it is distinct from ‫,נבח‬
Arab. nbb, nbᐓ, to bark, and ‫,כלב‬ to yelp), because they do not want to betray themselves
by loud barking, and still cannot altogether conceal their vexation and rage; and they go
their rounds in the city (like ‫יר‬ ִ‫ע‬ ָ ‫ב‬ ֵ‫ּוב‬‫ס‬, Son_3:2, cf. supra Psa_55:11), in order to cut off
their victim from flight, and perhaps, what would be very welcome to them, to run
against him in the darkness. The further description in Psa_59:8 follows them on this
patrol. What they belch out or foam out is to be inferred from the fact that swords are in
their lips, which they, as it were, draw so soon as they merely move their lips. Their
mouth overflows with murderous thoughts and with slanders concerning David, by
which they justify their murderous greed to themselves as if there were no one, viz., no
God, who heard it. But Jahve, from whom nothing, as with men, can be kept secret,
laughs at them, just as He makes a mockery of all heathen, to whom this murderous
band, which fears the light and in unworthy of the Israelitish name, is compared. This is
the primary passage to Psa_37:13; Psa_2:4; for Ps 59 is perhaps the oldest of the Davidic
Psalms that have come down to us, and therefore also the earliest monument of
Israelitish poetry in which the divine name Jahve Tsebaoth occurs; and the chronicler,
knowing that it was the time of Samuel and David that brought it into use, uses this
name only in the life of David. Just as this strophe opened in Psa_59:7 with a distich
that recurs in Psa_59:15, so it also closes now in Psa_59:10 with a distich that recurs
below in v. 18, and that is to be amended according to the text of that passage. For all
attempts to understand ‫י‬ִ ֻ‫ע‬ as being genuine prove its inaccuracy. With the old versions it
has to be read ‫י‬ִ ֻ‫;ע‬ but as for the rest, ‫אשׁמרה‬ must be retained in accordance with the
usual variation found in such refrains: my strength, Thee will I regard (1Sa_26:15;
observe, 2Sa_11:16), or upon Thee will I wait (cf. ְ‫,ל‬ Psa_130:6); i.e., in the consciousness
of my own feebleness, tranquil and resigned, I will look for Thine interposition on my
behalf.
BI 1-17, "Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God.
Revelations of the good and bad in human nature
I. The enmity of man towards man.
1. From the description that David here gives of his enemies, we learn that—
(1) They hated him with a deadly hate. They sought nothing less than his life;
they were “bloody men.”
(2) They hated him without a cause. “Without my fault.”
(3) They hated him with furious rage. They are represented as furious beasts of
prey, as ravenous dogs, as malignant slanderers, whose words are cutting as a
“sword,” from whose mouth belches the lava of abuse.
(4) They hated him with persistent effort. They watch in the day, wait in
ambush, return at night, and thus on until their fiendish purposes are attained.
2. The fact that men are thus enemies to men—
(1) Argues human apostasy. At some time or other there has happened in human

life a moral earthquake which has riven the social body into pieces.
(2) Reveals the need of Christ. He reconciles man to man by reconciling all men
to God.
II. The appeal of selfishness to heaven. What merit is there in such a prayer as this? Can
it ever meet acceptance with that God who willeth not the death of a sinner, and who is
not “willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”?
III. The confidence of piety in God. Despite all the imperfections of David’s character,
the root of the matter was in him. “I will sing aloud of thy mercy,” etc. Perfection of
character is only gradually reached. “The acorn,” it has been said, “does not become an
oak in a day; the ripened scholar was not made such by a single lesson; the well-trained
soldier was not a raw recruit yesterday; it is not one touch of the artist’s pencil that
produces a finished painting; there are always months between seed-time and harvest;
even so, the path of the just is like the ‘shining light’ which shineth more and more unto
the perfect day.” (Homilist.)
God’s defence of His persecuted people
A lady was wakened up by a very strange noise of peeking against the window-pane, and
she saw a butterfly flying backward and forward inside the window-pane in great fright,
and outside a sparrow pecking and trying to get at it. The butterfly did not see the glass,
and expected every moment to be caught; and the sparrow did not see the glass, and
expected every moment to catch the butterfly; yet all the while the little creature was as
safe as if it had been three miles away, because of the glass between it and the sparrow.
So it is with the Christians who are abiding in Christ. His presence is between them and
every danger. It really does seem that Satan does not understand about this mighty and
invisible power that protects us, or else he would not waste his efforts—like the sparrow,
he does not see. And Christians are often like the butterfly, and do not see their defence,
and so are frightened, and flutter backwards and forwards in terror. But all the while
Satan cannot touch the soul that has the Lord Jesus between itself and him. (Christian
Age.)
2 Deliver me from evildoers
and save me from those who are after my blood.
BAR ES, "Deliver me from the workers of iniquity - The workers of iniquity
here referred to were Saul and those whom he employed to carry out his murderous
purpose - the people that had been sent to slay him.

And save me from bloody men - Hebrew, “Men of bloods;” that is, men whose
trade is blood; who seek to shed my blood, or who seek my life. See Psa_5:6, note; Psa_
26:9, note; Psa_55:23, note.
CLARKE, "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 endeavored to bring into
an ambush, that they might take away his life. See Neh_6:1-4.
GILL, "Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,.... See Gill on Psa_6:8;
and save me from bloody men; such as Saul sent to kill David, as appears from the
title of the psalm; and such as were concerned in the death of Christ; and such, are the
enemies of God's people, the followers of the man of sin. The heap of words, the various
expressions used in a way of petition, in this verse and Psa_59:1, show the distress the
psalmist was in, and whom he represents; his importunity, earnestness, and fervency in
prayer.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Saul was treating
him very unjustly, and besides that was pursuing a tyrannical and unrighteous
course towards others, therefore David the more vehemently appeals against him.
Evil men were in the ascendant at court, and were the ready tools of the tyrant,
against these also he prays. Bad men in a bad cause may be pleaded against without
question. When a habitation is beset by thieves, the good man of the house rings the
alarm bell; and in these verses we may hear it ring out loudly, "deliver me,
""defend me, ""deliver me, ""save me." Saul had more cause to fear than David
had, for the invincible weapon of prayer was being used against him, and heaven
was being aroused to give him battle.
And save me from bloody men. As David remembers how often Saul had sought to
assassinate him, he knows what he has to expect from that quarter and from the
king's creatures and minions who were watching for him. David represents his
enemy in his true colours before God; the bloodthirstiness of the foe is a fit reason
for the interposition of the righteous God, for the Lord abhors all those who delight
in blood.
CO STABLE, "Eight characteristics describe this kind of person in more detail.
Together they picture a person of integrity.
1. He speaks the truth sincerely, rather than being double-tongued, i.e, not
saying what is true some of the time and lying at other times (Psa_15:2 c).

2. He does not slander other people by saying things that are untrue and
destructive about them (Psa_15:3 a).
3. He does not do evil to his neighbor (i.e, anyone with whom he comes in
contact, Psa_15:3 b; cf. Proverbs 14:17-24).
4. He does not initiate or propagate information that would discredit others
(Psa_15:3 c).
5. He does not approve of those who turn away from the Lord but honors
others when they choose to follow God"s ways (Psa_15:4 a-b).
6. He keeps his promises even when it costs him to do so (Psa_15:4 c).
"His honor is more important than his wallet." [ ote: VanGemeren, p152.]
7. He does not charge interest on money he loans to his brethren, thus taking
advantage of their weakness (Psa_15:5 a; cf. Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36).
8. He does not pervert justice for his own advantage and so bring hardship on
others (Psa_15:5 b; cf. Deuteronomy 27:25).
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
BAR ES, "For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul - They lie in wait as wild beasts
do for their prey, ready to spring upon it. The word used here is often employed to
denote the act of lying in ambush; of watching in secret places to spring upon a victim:
Jdg_9:32; Jdg_21:20; Psa_10:9. The word “soul” here means “life.” They lie in ambush
that they may kill me.
The mighty are gathered against me - Strong men; hostile men; cruel men. Saul

would employ on this occasion not the weak, the cowardly, the faint-hearted, but men of
courage and strength; men who were unscrupulous in their character; men who would
not be likely to be moved by entreaty, or turned from their purpose by compassion. It is
not mere “strength” that is here referred to, but that kind of strength or courage which
can be employed in a desperate enterprise, and which is suited to accomplish any
scheme of wickedness, however daring or difficult.
Not for my transgression, nor for my sin - This is done not on account of my
violating the laws of the land, nor because it is alleged that I am a sinner against God.
David was conscious that he did not deserve this treatment from the hand of man. He
bad been guilty of no wrong against Saul that exposed him to just punishment. He
carried with him the consciousness of innocence as to any crime that could have made
this treatment proper; and he felt that it was all the result of unjust suspicions. It was
not improper for him to refer to this in his prayer; for, however he might feel that he was
a sinner in the sight of God, yet he felt that a great and grievous wrong was done him by
man; and he prayed, therefore, that a righteous God would interpose. See Psa_7:8, note;
Psa_17:2, note; Psa_35:24, note; Psa_43:1, note.
CLARKE, "For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul - For my life. See the passages
referred to above.
GILL, "For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul,.... As the men did that watched his
house, when Saul sent to kill him; so the Jews sought and lay in wait to take away the life
of Christ; and very often was it the case of the Apostle Paul, that he was in danger of his
life, through the lying in wait of the Jews; so Satan makes use of cunning devices,
stratagems, and wiles, to ruin the souls of God's people, if possible; and false teachers lie
in wait to deceive them. The emphasis lies upon the word "soul", which is so precious,
and the redemption of which has cost so much, even the blood of Christ;
the mighty are gathered against me; or, "dwell by me"; see Psa_56:6; around his
house, the soldiers that Saul sent; and such were the enemies of Christ, Psa_69:4; the
chief priests, Scribes, and elders, men of great authority and influence among the
people; the kings of the earth and rulers, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,
and people of the Jews, Act_4:26; yea, Satan, and his principalities and powers; and who
are also those against whom the saints wrestle, and would be too mighty for them, were
it not that God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and the holy angels, are on their side;
not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord; as the cause of such usage and
treatment. David was not without original sin, in which he was conceived and born; nor
without inward corruptions, of which he often complained; nor without actual
transgressions, and some very gross ones, and which he owned and confessed, and
prayed for the pardon of: but in the case of Saul there was no transgression nor iniquity
in him, as he declared to him himself, and appeals to God for the truth of it, 1Sa_24:11.
One of the words here used signifies "rebellion" (m); of this he was not guilty; he never
entered into any treasonable measures, nor committed any treasonable practices, nor
conspired against the life and crown of his sovereign; in this respect he was quite clear

and innocent. Christ, his antitype, was entirely without sin, without original or actual
transgression; he had no sin in his nature, nor committed any in his life; he had none
inherent in him, only the sins of his people imputed to him; and therefore the usage he
met with from men was very cruel and unjust. And as for the saints, though they are not
free from sin, original and actual, yet in the case for which they suffer reproach, and are
persecuted by men, they are not criminal; they have done nothing to deserve such usage;
they do not suffer as evildoers, but as Christians, 1Pe_4:15.
HE RY 3-7, " He pleads for deliverance. Our God gives us leave not only to pray, but
to plead with him, to order our cause before him and to fill our mouth with arguments,
not to move him, but to move ourselves. David does so here.
1. He pleads the bad character of his enemies. They are workers of iniquity, and
therefore not only his enemies, but God's enemies; they are bloody men, and therefore
not only his enemies, but enemies to all mankind. “Lord, let not the workers of iniquity
prevail against one that is a worker of righteousness, nor bloody men against a merciful
man.”
2. He pleads their malice against him, and the imminent danger he was in from them,
Psa_59:3. “Their spite is great; they aim at my soul, my life, my better part. They are
subtle and very politic: They lie in wait, taking an opportunity to do me a mischief. They
are all mighty, men of honour and estates, and interest in court and country. They are in
a confederacy; they are united by league, and actually gathered together against me,
combined both in consultation and action. They are very ingenious in their contrivances,
and very industrious in the prosecution of them (Psa_59:4): They run and prepare
themselves, with the utmost speed and fury, to do me a mischief.” He takes particular
notice of the brutish conduct of the messengers that Saul sent to take him (Psa_59:6):
“They return at evening from the posts assigned them in the day, to apply themselves to
their works of darkness (their night-work, which may well be their day-shame), and then
they make a noise like a hound in pursuit of the hare.” Thus did David's enemies, when
they came to take him, raise an out cry against him as a rebel, and traitor, a man not fit
to live; with this clamour they went round about the city, to bring a bad reputation upon
David, if possible to set the mob against him, at least to prevent their being incensed
against them, which otherwise they had reason to fear they would be, so much was
David their darling. Thus the persecutors of our Lord Jesus, who are compared to dogs
(Psa_22:16), ran him down with noise; for else they could not have taken him, at least no
on the feast-day, for there would have been an uproar among the people. They belch
out with their mouth the malice that boils in their hearts, Psa_59:7. Swords are in their
lips; that is, reproaches that would my heart with grief (Psa_42:10), and slanders that
stab and wound my reputation. They were continually suggesting that which drew and
whetted Saul's sword against him, and the fault is laid upon the false accusers. The
sword perhaps would not have been in Saul's hand if it had not been first in their lips.
He pleads his own innocency, not as to God (he was never backward to own himself
guilty before him), but as to his persecutors;. what they charged him with was utterly
false, nor had he ever said or done any thing to deserve such treatment from them (Psa_
59:3): “Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord! thou knowest, who knowest
all things.” And again (Psa_59:4), without my fault. Note, (1.) The innocency of the
godly will not secure them from the malignity of the wicked. Those that are harmless like
doves, yet, for Christ's sake, are hated of all men, as if they were noxious like serpents,
and obnoxious accordingly. (2.) Though our innocency will not secure us from troubles,

yet it will greatly support and comfort us under our troubles. The testimony of our
conscience for us that we have behaved ourselves well towards those that behave
themselves ill towards us will be very much our rejoicing in the day of evil. (3.) If we are
conscious to ourselves of our innocency, we may with humble confidence appeal to God
and beg of him to plead our injured cause, which he will do in due time.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul. They were in ambuscade
for the good man's life. He knew their design and cried to God to be rescued from it.
Like wild beasts they crouched, and waited to make the fatal spring; but their
victim used effectual means to baffle them, for he laid the matter before the Lord.
While the enemy lies waiting in the posture of a beast, we wait before God in the
posture of prayer, for God waits to be gracious to us and terrible towards our foes.
The mighty are gathered against me. one of them were absent from the muster
when a saint was to be murdered. They were too fond of such sport to be away. The
men at arms who ought to have been fighting their country's battles, are instead
thereof hunting a quiet citizen; the gigantic monarch is spending all his strength to
slay a faithful follower.
ot for my transgression, not for my sin, O Lord. He appeals to Jehovah that he had
done no ill. His only fault was, that he was too valiant and too gracious, and was,
besides, the chosen of the Lord, therefore the envious king could not rest till he had
washed his hands in the blood of his too popular rival. We shall always find it to be
a great thing to be innocent; if it does not carry our cause before an earthly
tribunal, it will ever prove the best of arguments in the court of conscience, and a
standing consolation when we are under persecution. ote the repetition of his
declaration of integrity. David is sure of his innocence. He dares repeat the plea.
Ver. 3. (first clause). On the expression, they lie in wait for my soul, compare 1
Samuel 19:11, "And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life
soul tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain; "and Psalms 7:2; Psalms 7:5. E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Ver. 3. The mighty are gathered against me, is rendered by Chandler, The mighty
are turned aside to lay snares against me.
Ver. 3. The mighty are gathered against me. As if he would say, "But I am weak, be
thou, however, my strength, and vindicate my innocence." Arnd.
Ver. 3-4. He pleads his own innocency, not as to God, but as to his persecutors. ote,
1. The innocency of the godly will not secure them from the malignity of the wicked.
Those that are harmless like doves, yet for Christ's sake are hated of all men, as if
they were noxious like serpents, and obnoxious accordingly.
2. Though our innocency will not secure us from troubles, yet it will greatly support
and comfort us under our troubles. The testimony of our conscience for us, that we
have behaved ourselves well toward those that have behaved themselves ill towards
us, will be very much our rejoicing in the day of evil. If we are conscious to ourselves
of our innocency, we may with humble confidence appeal to God, and beg of him to
plead our injured cause which he will do in due time. Matthew Henry.

BE SO , "Psalms 59:3. 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. ot 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.
WHEDO , "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.
ot… for my sin—I have committed no offence to cause this.
PETT, "Psalms 59:3-4
‘For, lo, they lie in wait for my life,
The mighty gather themselves together against me,
ot for my transgression, nor for my sin, O YHWH.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault,
Awake yourself to help me, and behold.’
David points out to God that these mean are lying in wait for his life (an indication
of the personal nature of the Psalm), although not for anything that he has done
because he is innocent. It is not because of any particular sin or rebellion of which
he is guilty, for in this regard he is without fault. He is totally loyal to Saul.
And he stresses the strength of the force that has come against him. ‘The mighty’
suggests that he recognised, as he surveyed them through a window, that they
included some of Saul’s best warriors, powerful men who had come together for the
sole purpose of assassinating him. He was not a fearful man, and he knew how to
look after himself, something which Saul would have taken into account when
determining the size of the force that he chose to send. But he knew that this
assassination squad was too strong for him and the men who were with him to be
able to cope with.
He points out their zeal to take him. They have ‘hastened and prepared themselves’
(it bears all the signs of a rushed operation hatched by Saul in one of his periods of
severe depression), and he has done nothing to deserve it (see 1 Samuel 20:1). So he

calls on YHWH to ‘awake Himself’ on his behalf, and take note of what is
happening. Saul has aroused these men on his side, let YHWH now arouse Himself
on David’s side.
All of us may feel at some time or other that the whole world is against us, even
though it is not our fault. At such times we too can pray this prayer. And no one
experienced this kind of situation more than our, Lord Jesus Christ, Who was
constantly beset by men who were trying to get Him.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to
attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
BAR ES, "They run and prepare themselves - That is, they “hasten” to
accomplish this; they are quick to obey the command of Saul requiring them to slay me.
The word “prepare” refers to whatever was deemed necessary to enable them to
accomplish what they had been commanded to do - arming themselves, making
provision for their journey, etc.
Without my fault - That is, without anything on my part to deserve this, or to justify
Saul and those employed by him in what they attempt to do. David, in all this, was
conscious of innocence. In his own feelings toward Saul, and in all his public acts, he
knew that he had sought only the king’s welfare, and that he had been obedient to the
laws.
Awake to help me - That is, “arouse,” as one does from sleep. See the notes at Psa_
7:6. Compare Psa_35:23. The word rendered “to help me,” is rendered in the margin, “to
meet me.” This is the meaning of the Hebrew. It is a prayer that God would meet him, or
come to him, and aid him.
CLARKE, "They run and prepare themselves - They leave no stone unturned
that they may effect my destruction and prevent the building.

GILL, "They run and prepare themselves without my fault,.... Or, "without sin
in me"; or "without punishment in them"; so the same word is rendered, 1Sa_28:10.
"They run", in an hostile manner, "against me", as the Syriac version adds; or like dogs
up and down, about the city, to find him and kill him; see Psa_59:7. Or this may denote
their readiness and swiftness to shed blood, Pro_1:16; "and prepare themselves" with
weapon, with instruments of death, as the men did that were sent to kill him; and as the
band of men that came with Judas to take Christ prepared themselves with swords and
staves. The Targum is,
"they order or ordain war;''
which they prosecuted without any occasion of it from him, and wilt, impunity in them.
Wherefore it follows,
awake to help me; or "to meet me" (n); see Gen_46:29; with succour and supplies,
and to deliver out of the hands of enemies. The Lord, though he neither slumbers nor
sleeps, yet seems to be asleep when he does not arise to help his people, but suffers the
enemy to prevail; and when he seems to take no notice of their case, but hides his eyes,
and shuts them as a man asleep. Hence the following petition,
and behold; the distress the psalmist was in, and the wickedness and malice of his
enemies against him.
JAMISO , "prepare, etc. — literally, “set themselves as in array.”
awake — (Compare Psa_3:7; Psa_7:6), appeals to God in His covenant relation to His
people (Psa_9:18).
CALVI , "4.Awake to hasten for my help, and behold. In using this language, he
glances at the eagerness with which his enemies, as he had already said, were
pressing upon him, and states his desire that God would show the same haste in
extending help as they did in seeking his destruction. With the view of conciliating
the divine favor, he once more calls upon God to be the witness and judge of his
cause, adding,and behold The expression is one which savours at once of faith and
of the infirmity of the flesh. In speaking of God, as if his eyes had been hitherto shut
to the wrongs which he had suffered, and needed now for the first time to be opened
for the discovery of them, he expresses himself according to the weakness of our
human apprehension. On the other hand, in calling upon God to behold his cause,
he shows his faith by virtually acknowledging that nothing was hid from his
providential cognisance. Though David may use language of this description, suited
to the infirmity of sense, we must not suppose him to have doubted before this time
that his afflictions, his innocence, and his wrongs, were known to God. ow,
however, he lays the whole before God for examination and decision.
He prosecutes the same prayer with still greater vehemency in the verse which
succeeds. He addresses God under new titles, calling him Jehovah, God of Hosts,
and the God of Israel, the first of which appellations denotes the immensity of his

power, and the second the special care which he exerts over the Church, and over all
his people. The manner in which the pronoun is introduced, and Thou, etc., is
emphatical, denoting that it was as impossible for God to lay aside the office of a
judge as to deny himself, or divest himself of his being. He calls upon him to visit all
the nations: for although the cause which he now submitted was of no such
universal concernment, the wider exercise of judgment would necessarily include
the lesser; and on the supposition of heathens and foreigners being subjected to the
judgment of God, it followed that a still more certain and heavy doom would be
awarded to enemies within the pale of the Church, who persecuted the saints under
the guise of brethren, and overthrew those laws which were of divine appointment.
The opposition which David encountered might not embrace all nations; but if these
were judicially visited by God, it was absurd to imagine that those within the
Church would be the only enemies who should escape with impunity. In using these
words, it is probable also that he may have been struggling with a temptation with
which he was severely assailed, connected with the number of his enemies, for these
did not consist merely of three or four abandoned individuals. They formed a great
multitude; and he rises above them all by reflecting that God claims it as his
prerogative, not only to reduce a few refractory persons to submission, but to
punish the wickedness of the whole world. If the judgments of God extended to the
uttermost parts of the earth, there was no reason why he should be afraid of his
enemies, who, however numerous, formed but a small section of the human race. We
shall shortly see, however, that the expression admits of being applied without
impropriety to the Israelites, divided, as they were, into so many tribes or peoples.
In the words which follow, when he deprecates the extension of God’s mercy to
wicked transgressors, we must understand him as referring to the reprobate, whose
sin was of a desperate character. We must also remember, what has been already
observed, that in such prayers he was not influenced by mere private feelings, and
these of a rancorous, distempered, and inordinate description. ot only did he know
well that those of whom he speaks with such severity were already doomed to
destruction, but he is here pleading the common cause of the Church, and this under
the influence of the pure and well-regulated zeal of the Spirit. He therefore affords
no precedent to such as resent private injuries by vending curses on those who have
inflicted them.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. They run and prepare themselves without my fault. They are
all alive and active, they are swift to shed blood. They prepare and use their best
tactics; they besiege me in my house, and lay their ambuscades as for some notable
enemy. They come up fully armed to the attack, and assail me with all the vigour
and skill of a host about to storm a castle; and all for no cause, but out of gratuitous
malice. So quick are they to obey their cruel master, that they never stay to consider
whether their errand is a good one or not; they run at once, and buckle on their
harness as they run. To be thus gratuitously attacked is a great grief. To a brave
man the danger causes little distress of mind compared with the injustice to which
he is subjected. It was a cruel and crying shame that such a hero as David should be
hounded down as if he were a monster, and beset in his house like a wild beast in its
den.

Awake to help me, and behold. When others go to sleep, keep thou watch, O God.
Put forth thy might. Arouse thee from thy inaction. Only look at thy servant's sad
condition and thy hand will be sure to deliver me. We see how thorough was the
psalmist's faith in the mercy of his Lord, for he is satisfied that if the Lord do but
look on his case it will move his active compassion.
Ver. 3-4. See Psalms on "Psalms 59:3" for further information.
Ver. 4. They run, as armed warriors rushing to the assault (Psalms 18:29). The
Hebrew for "prepare themselves, "(Heb.) means also "they establish themselves;
"they make firm their footing, like forces assaulting a city. Job 30:14. A. R. Fausset.
Ver. 4. They run and prepare. The zeal and diligence of the wicked in the cause of
unrighteousness might well reprove the languor and tardiness of saints in the work
of faith and labour of love. In the church of God nothing is the source of more
mischief than the want of true zeal and liveliness. It is only when "many run to and
fro" that "knowledge shall be increased." William S. Plumer.
Ver. 4. Without fault. As it respected Saul, he was a faithful subject and an obedient
son-in-law. Benjamin Boothroyd.
Ver. 4. Awake to help me, literally, Awake to meet me. In time of temptation the
Lord seems to be absent from us, and not to observe our distress--to be, as it were,
as Jesus, in the storm, is described as having been "asleep in the hinder part of the
ship." Mr 4:38. But it is only an appearance; the Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps
(Psalms 121:4); he is always ready to come to our help when we call upon him. O.
Prescott Hiller.
Ver. 4. And behold. The expression is one which savours at once of faith and of the
infirmity of the flesh. In speaking of God, as if his eyes had been hitherto shut to the
wrongs which he had suffered, and needed now for the first time to be opened for
the discovery of them, he expresses himself according to the weakness of our human
apprehension. On the other hand, in calling upon God to behold his cause, he shows
his faith by virtually acknowledging that nothing was hid from his providential
cognisance. John Calvin.
BE SO , "Psalms 59:4. 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 ‫,יכוננו‬
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,
‫,לקראתי‬ 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.
5 You, Lord God Almighty,

you who are the God of Israel,
rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to wicked traitors.[c]
BAR ES, "Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts - God of armies: commanding
all the armies of heaven - the angels, and the stars and constellations drawn out in the
form of armies; thou, thus endowed with all power, and able to subdue all people though
arrayed and combined for purposes of evil - awake to my help. On the meaning of the
phrase “God of hosts,” see the notes at Isa_1:9.
The God of Israel - The God of the Hebrew people - the descendants of Jacob or
Israel - the Protector of thy people - awake to help me, one of those who, being of that
covenant people, come under the promise of protection.
Awake to visit all the heathen - On the word here rendered “heathen” - ‫גוים‬ gôyim
- see the notes at Psa_2:1. It is from the use of this word in this verse and in Psa_59:8, as
remarked in the Introduction to the psalm, that DeWette infers that the psalm could not
have been composed on the occasion referred to in the title, and argues, that this term
could not be applied by David to Saul and his followers. This objection, however, will
lose its force if the word is understood as denoting people who had the usual character of
pagans, who were fierce, bloody, savage, cruel. In this sense the word might be employed
with reference to those who were engaged in seeking the life of David. David, using the
common word “heathen” or “nations,” as denoting those who are wicked, cruel, harsh,
prays that God would awake to visit them; that is, to visit them for purposes of
punishment, or so to visit them as to prevent their carrying out their designs.
Be not merciful to any tricked transgressors - That is, Arrest and punish them
“as” transgressors, or “being” transgressors. This prayer is not inconsistent with a desire
that such people might be converted, and “thus” obtain mercy; but it is a prayer that God
would not suffer them, being wicked people, to go at large and accomplish the work of
wickedness which they designed. See General Introduction Section 6. (5) (e).
Selah - A musical pause. See the notes at Psa_3:2.
CLARKE, "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 favor the cause of these
wicked men. They are ‫און‬ ‫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 favor, that they may not succeed in their wicked designs. The prayer here
is exactly the same in sentiment with that of Nehemiah, Neh_4:4, Neh_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.”
GILL, "Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts,.... Of the armies in heaven, the
angels, and of all the inhabitants of the earth; who are all under him, and at his dispose,
and can do among them and with them whatsoever he pleases;
the God of Israel; of the people of Israel, literally understood; and mystically of all the
elect of God, Jews and Gentiles. The former epithet is expressive of his power, this of his
grace and goodness in a covenant way; and both encouraged the psalmist to address him
on the following account:
awake to visit all the Heathen: either the wicked Israelites that rose up against
David, and sought to take away his life, who behaved like Heathens towards him, and
were accounted as such by him; and the petition is, that God would arise and punish
them, everyone of them, according to their deserts: or else the Gentiles, properly so
called, whom he desires the Lord would visit, either in a way of grace, by sending the
Gospel to them, and taking out of them a people for his name, as he did, Act_15:14;
foreseeing, by a spirit of prophecy, that the Jews would be rejected for their ill usage of
the Messiah; See Gill on Psa_59:1, title: or in a way of punishment for their idolatry and
impiety; and particularly the antichristian states and powers, called the Heathen, and
Gentiles, and nations of the earth, Psa_10:16; may be here meant; whom God will visit
for their idolatry, blasphemy, and bloodshed;
be not merciful to any wicked transgressors; that are perfidiously and
abominably wicked, as Judas Iscariot, the Romish antichrist. The Targum renders it,
"princes of a lie"; that speak lies in hypocrisy, and are given up to believe a lie, as the
followers of antichrist. God is merciful to wicked men and to transgressors, but not to
wicked transgressors; apostates may be meant, such as deal perfidiously and
treacherously, as the word (o) used signifies; who sin wilfully and knowingly, after they
have received the knowledge of the truth; sin against light and evidence, and obstinately
and wickedly persist therein: who sin the sin against the Holy Ghost, the sin unto death,
which is not to be prayed for, 1Jo_4:16; or otherwise this may seem to be contrary to the
command and example of Christ, Mat_5:44.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa_3:2.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 5. Thou, thyself, work for me personally, for the case needs
thine interposition.
Therefore, because I am unjustly assailed, and cannot help myself.
O Lord, ever living, God of Hosts, able to rescue me;
the God of Israel, pledged by covenant to redeem thine oppressed servant;
awake to visit all the heathen, arouse thy holy mind, bestow thy sacred energies,

punish the heathen among thine Israel, the false hearted who say they are Jews and
are not, but do lie. And when thou art about the business, let all the nations of thine
enemies, and all the heathenish people at home and abroad know that thou art upon
circuit, judging and punishing. It is the mark of a thoughtful prayer that the titles
which are in it applied to God are appropriate, and are, as it were, congruous to the
matter, and fitted to add force to the argument. Shall Jehovah endure to see his
people oppressed? Shall the God of hosts permit his enemies to exult over his
servant? Shall the faithful God of a chosen people leave his chosen to perish? The
name of God is, even in a literal sense, a fortress and high tower for all his people.
What a forceful petition is contained in the words, "awake to visit"! Actively
punish, in wisdom judge, with force chastise.
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Be merciful to them as men, but not as
transgressors; if they continue hardened in their sin, do not wink at their
oppression. To wink at sin in transgressors will be to leave the righteous under their
power, therefore do not pass by their offences but deal out the due reward. The
psalmist feels that the overthrow of oppression which was so needful for himself
must be equally desirable for multitudes of the godly placed in like positions, and
therefore he prays for the whole company of the faithful, and against the entire
confraternity of traitors.
Selah. With such a subject before us we may well pause. Who would not sit still and
consider, when vengeance is being meted out to all the enemies of God? How wrong
is that state of mind which hates to hear of the punishment of the wicked!
Ver. 5. O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel. In time of straits we should set our
eyes most upon those styles of God which most serve to strengthen our faith,
especially such as hold forth his power and goodwill to employ his power for us.
David Dickson.
Ver. 5. Lord God of hosts. YAHVEH, Elohim, Tsebaoth; as in Ps 80:4,19 84:8.
Compare 2 Samuel 5:10, 1 Kings 19:10; 1 Kings 19:14, Psalms 89:8. From "The
Psalms translated from the Hebrew, with otes chiefly exegetical." By William Kay,
D.D., 1871.
Ver. 5. Lord God of hosts. Some have thought this equivalent to God of battles; the
true force of the epithet, however, is, "Sovereign of the stars, material hosts of
heaven, and of the angels their inhabitants." A. A. Hodge, in "Outlines of Theology,
"1866.
Ver. 5.
1. God of hosts, and therefore able;
2. God of Israel, and therefore willing. Andrew A. Bonar.
BE SO , "Psalms 59:5. 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, ‫אל‬
‫,תחן‬ 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, ‫בגדי‬ ‫כל‬
‫,און‬ 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.
TRAPP, "Psalms 59:5 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel,
awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.
Ver. 5. Awake to visit all the heathen] These pagan Israelites, who might have some
heathens also among them, Saul’s slaughtermen, men fleshed in blood.
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors] Heb. that treacherously work iniquity,
that do it consulto et data opera, desperadoes, reprobates, destined to eternal
destruction.
WHEDO , "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 Psalms 59:8. 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
CO STABLE, "Verse 5
In conclusion, David observed that such a person will experience stability in his life,
as well as enjoying intimate fellowship with God.
The fact that David listed a total of10 moral qualities in this psalm may indicate that
he wanted to suggest a comparison with the Ten Commandments. Though the
contents of these lists are not the same, they both identify traits that mark a person
who is walking in the will of God. The rabbis identified613commands in the Mosaic
Law. Isaiah mentioned six that are very important ( Isaiah 33:15-16), Micah listed
three ( Micah 6:8), and Habakkuk boiled them down to one, namely, faith (
Habakkuk 2:4).
A believer needs to make sure he is walking in the will of God consistently to enjoy

fellowship with God and stability in his life. [ ote: See Swindoll, pp47-55.]
EBC, "With startling suddenness, as if one quick touch drew aside a curtain, the
vision of God as He really regards the enemies is flashed on them in Psalms 59:8.
The strong antithesis expressed by the "And Thou," as in Psalms 59:5, comes with
overwhelming force. Below is the crowd of greedy foes, obscene, cruel, and
blasphemous; above, throned in dread repose, which is not, as they dream,
carelessness or ignorance, is Jehovah, mocking their fancied security. The
tremendous metaphor of the laughter of God is too boldly anthropomorphic to be
misunderstood. It sounds like the germ of the solemn picture in Psalms 2:1-12, and
is probably the source of the similar expression in Psalms 37:13. The introduction of
the wider thought of God’s "mocking"-i.e., discerning, and manifesting in act, the
impotence of the ungodly efforts of "all nations"-is to be accounted for on the same
principle of the close connection discerned by the devout singer between the
particular and the general, which explains the similar extension of view in Psalms
59:5.
PETT, "Psalms 59:5
‘Even you, O YHWH, God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Arise to visit all the nations,
Do not show favour to any wicked transgressors. [Selah’
David has recognised the diversity of Saul’s assassination squad, mercenaries from a
number of nations, and he may well have felt that the whole world was against him.
So he calls on God to deal with them all, and not to spare any of them, because they
are showing themselves to be evil men. It would not even have crossed his mind to
take part in an operation like this himself. It was totally abhorrent to him.
Alternately it may be that the sight of all these foreign soldiers out to get him has
awoken his mind to the perils that Israel is facing from nations round about (see 1
Samuel 14:47-48), and thus causes him, in the nobility of his heart, to pray for
Israel’s deliverance as well as his own, and not spare any wicked transgressors. He
would not be unaware of the threats facing Israel. It might thus indicate his breadth
of mind in that, in spite of his own troubles, he is still concerned for Israel’s fate.
ote his description of God as, ‘YHWH, God of Hosts, God of Israel’. In his
extremity he recognises that he needs a powerful God to save him, not only YHWH
his covenant God, but YHWH Who is the God of Hosts, sovereign over all hosts of
heaven and earth, and with a special concern for Israel. This title would be
especially apposite if his thought had turned for a moment to Israel’s wider
problems.
Some see this verse as added to the Psalm later (or altered to suit) when it became a
public Psalm and a prayer for the deliverance of Israel. Many hymns today are later
altered for some purpose, whilst still being attributed to the original author. This
cannot be discounted, but it is not really necessary. The nation’s fate was always on

Daid’s heart.
‘Selah.’ This musical note might be seen as indicating a break in his words, giving
time for thought and worship when it became a public Psalm.
6 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
BAR ES, "They return at evening - Many have rendered this in the imperative,
as in Psa_59:14, “Let them return at evening,” etc. So Luther renders it, and so also
DeWette. But the more natural and obvious interpretation is to render it in the
indicative, as describing the manner in which his enemies came upon him - like dogs
seeking their prey; fierce mastiffs, howling and ready to spring upon him. From the
phrase “they return at evening,” thus explained, it would seem probable that they
watched their opportunity, or lay in wait, to secure their object; that having failed at
first, they drew off again until evening, perhaps continuing thus for several days unable
to accomplish their object.
They make a noise like a dog - So savages, after lurking stealthily all day, raise the
war-whoop at night, and come upon their victims. It is possible that an assault of this
kind “had” been attempted; or, more probably, it is a description of the manner in which
they “would” make their assault, and of the spirit with which it would be done.
And go round about the city - The word “city” is used in a large sense in the
Scriptures, and is often applied to places that we should now describe as “villages.” Any
town within the limits of which David was lodged, would answer to this term.
CLARKE, "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.
GILL, "They return at evening,.... It was at evening Saul sent messengers to watch

Psalm 59 commentary

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