Presented, November 1, 2009 Return to Psalms
Psalm 59
We are told the
occasion that inspired this psalm, when Saul sent men to watch the house
of David in order to kill him.
The events are recorded in 1 Samuel 18 & 19.
Though King Saul has been condemned by God, David is cherishes by
him as a valiant warrior UNTIL the people start praising David above
Saul. The women would sing,
“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (18:7).
This made the king jealous who
sought to kill him. No
matter what King Saul tried he failed (sending David to battle, etc.).
He even gave to David his daughter Michal as wife (for a dowry of
100 Philistine foreskins).
David got 200 foreskins and the Lord was with David which made King Saul
more the fearful of him.
When Jonathan refuses to help Saul kill David we find that, “Saul
also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in
the morning.” (19:11)
Michal helps David flee from Saul.
This began Saul’s pursuits of David in the wilderness.
OUR psalm was
written on behalf of this occasion, either during the ordeal or later as
he recalled God’s blessing on him. This
is described by some as the earliest of David’s psalms of oppression
from King Saul.
There are lessons for us to learn
from this as we deal with our enemies.
Let us notice this psalm.
a.
Delivery – this is a
request to physically be spared.
This is not unjust because David has learned to trust in God AND
the Lord’s promises to him have yet to be fulfilled (becoming King – 1
Sam. 16).
b.
Defense – David has done
nothing wrong. The charges
and actions of his enemies are unwarranted and driven by evil motives.
c.
His
enemies – described as:
Workers of iniquity –
these were evil men with evil motives and evil conduct.
We shall see this more as this psalm develops.
Bloodthirsty
men – meaning they craved blood, even of the innocent.
They wanted to KILL David.
d.
Putting
the gravity of the situation together, David’s request of God is a TALL
order of faith. Do we have
that type of faith?
Do we have enemies? Are they as numerous as David’s?
Will we trust in God to deliver us? (Matt. 5:43-48, Rom.
12:17-21)
a.
They lie in wait – Who
were David’s enemies?
Have you thought about this?
Here was David, virtually alone fleeing from Saul (remember this
is his first time having to flee).
It is David vs. the king and his entire army. One author
described the enemies of David this way, “"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." (Commentary on the Holy Bible, J.R. Dummelow,
p. 352; via Coffman’s Commentary on the Psalms)
b.
NOT
for his transgressions or sins (3), he had not even done anything to
provoke them (4) – David
is TOTALLY innocent in this ordeal.
This does not mean David had never committed sin, but what he was
enduring was through no fault of his.
We must never forget that often the righteous DO suffer at the hands
of the wicked –
2 Tim. 3:12.
John 15:18-25 finds the
Lord reminding his apostles that they would suffer as they revealed the
truth. Vs. 25 says, “But
this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their
law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.”
Suffering does NOT always mean guilt.
In fact, sometimes when people try to do right, they are despised
and attacked. Usually it by men of such character as David describes in
this psalm.
c.
David’s request of God –
do NOT be merciful to the wicked, either nations nor transgressors. (5)
At this time David is fleeing from Saul (the transgressor) and
his army (the nation), but ad to this the many armies that were enemies
of Israel (the Philistines, etc.).
The point – if one is an enemy of God, he was also an enemy of
David.
Food for thought for us – who have we made into our enemies?
Is it simply workers of evil (those opposed to God) or those who
resist us, even in our sins (i.e. the prophets who were hated)?
If our enemies are NOT God’s enemies we have a problem.
a.
They growl like dogs unrefined
(6). The description is that of wild dogs.
They act without civility - as hate often produces.
We find a similar statement in Psalm 22:16 where David prophesied
or our Lord’s crucifixion.
b.
Their mouths are filthy
(7) – the usual tool of the wicked and enemies of righteous – their
tongues. Belching – the foul
smell of a burp, cutting and blaspheming without accountability.
How often we must remind ourselves of the damage the tongue can do
–
James 3:8 says, “But
no one can tame the tongue.
It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
Vs. 6 says, “And the tongue
is a fire, a world of iniquity.
The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole
body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by
hell.”
Also don’t forget
Matthew 12:34, “Brood of
vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Friends, it was vile words that falsely convicted our Lord.
Throughout scripture vile words have destroyed households, led to
murder, caused wars and accomplished many other evil things.
c.
David early on sees the power of God to overcome them (8-10) –
The Lord shall laugh at them and hold them in derision (or contempt).
Therefore David will WAIT for the Lord.
With faith, David knows he will prevail because of the strength
of God.
Such language is typical of David and has been discussed often.
Tonight I remind us of one point from these verses – “I
will wait for You, O Lord my strength.”
David was willing to let God accomplish His will in HIS time.
Do we have such patience with God?
BE patient!
Luke 18:7, “And shall God
not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He
bears long with them?”
d.
“Do
not slay them” (11).
Why? This is a peculiar statement as most of us would love for God to
completely remove our enemies from our sight.
But is that always the best thing?
The reason for David’s request – “Lest
the people forget”.
THOUGHT: Do you ever thank God for your enemies?
What good can they accomplish?
i.
They can increase our faith –
James 1:3
ii.
They put this world into proper
perspective – if we had no enemies would we really want to leave? Phil.
1:23 speaks of Paul’s dilemma
iii.
They
serve as examples of how NOT to live and what wickedness accomplishes
iv.
They
can draw the righteous closer together
v.
As
they suffer punishment for their wickedness (and evil DOES bring
punishment) we are reminded of what we face if we do not remain
faithful.
BUT, know in this that David is NOT
requesting that his enemies prevail, but rather that they be scattered.
e.
Their sinful mouths again described
(12) – The harm the tongue can cause cannot be overemphasized.
NOTE the tools of the wicked – lies and cursing (both profanity
and wishing evil on others).
Both are despised by God –
Proverbs 6:16 describes 7
things God hates – the tongue is constantly emphasized.
What is behind such words? PRIDE and arrogance!
1 Peter 5:5 tells us that
God resists the proud.
Proverbs 13:10, “By
pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.”
Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; though they join
forces, none will go unpunished.”
f.
His
desire –
that in these things they might
know that God rules in Jacob (13)
First let us note the beginning of this verse, “consume them in wrath, consume them that they may not be.”
Is this the opposite of vs. 11?
Obviously not – the desire is that their WICKED WAYS be defeated
and overcome.
The purpose – to establish that God is in charge.
And He is!
g.
But
they still wander about the city and howl
(14-15).
Why is this repeated? I may
not know the exact reason, but a lesson in this I see: Could it be a
reminder that even when God prevails in a circumstance, we must NOT let
down our guard. The
enemy is always there.
After tempting Jesus and failing, Luke 4:13 tells us, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him
until an opportune time.”
We must NEVER let down our guard – Satan is always on the prowl – 1
Thess. 5:6 tells us to not sleep but to be sober.
a.
In
such times David sang to God
–It is evident that David LOVED to sing and to praise God.
He was NOT ashamed to sing before others and when he arose in the
morning.
b.
Do we
praise Him in song? James
5:13, Romans 15:9.
Consider Paul and Silas in prison – Acts 16:25
When and where do I find ourselves singing? As I go through the day is
there a song in my heart?