Psalm 59: Not for My Transgression Nor For My Sin

For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.  They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine. Awake to help me, and behold!  Psalm 59:3, 4

Yet, I Will Sing of Thy Power and They Mercy

Psalm 59, a psalm of lament, contains strong assurance of the final judgment of the wicked.  The superscription refers to the story found in 1 Sam 19:9-17:  David escaped Saul’s anger with help from his wife Michal.

In this psalm, David cries out as a persecuted innocent.  Yet he remains confident that his enemies will not harm him, for God will bring them down to demonstrate His royal sovereignty.  Though his enemies snarl at his heels, David will trust in God’s love and praise the Lord.

David’s vision of God.  David is confident because he has a clear vision of God.  How does he see the Lord?  David’s God is – able to deliver, the historic God of Israel, one who punishes the wicked, David’s strength and fortress, his shield, Earth’s ruler, and most of all, David’s loving God.

59:1, 2 The repetition of the phrase deliver me is for emphasis, meaning “to bring one out” of trouble and distress.  The verb translated defend means “to set on high” or “to place out of reach of trouble.”  Save me:  This is the most common of the Hebrew verbs for salvation.  It suggests “to give room to” or “to expand an area to breathe.”

1  To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘Do Not Destroy.’ A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.

59:3, 4 they lie in wait:  Enemies become like wild animals on the hunt or enemy soldiers lurking along one’s paths.  Not for my transgression:  There were times in David’s life when he knew that he was suffering because of sin in his life.  There were other times when he believed himself to be innocent of sin, but still he was hounded by wicked persons.  Here he shouts his protest aloud:  through no fault of mine.  He was guilty of no wickedness that would cause such merciless attacks on him.

3  For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord. 4  They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine. Awake to help me, and behold!

59:5 Do not be merciful:  The righteous constantly experience the mercy of the Lord, but His mercy is not extended to those who constantly oppose Him.  The wicked transgressors were those who engaged in constant acts of treachery.

5  You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah

59:6, 7 A dog in ancient Hebrew culture was considered a semi-wild scavenger, not the beloved pet of our own day.  Who hears: Like those described in Ps. 9:10, the wicked here believe that they will face no punishment for their evil.  They are profoundly mistaken.

6  At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. 7  Indeed, they belch with their mouth; Swords are in their lips; For they say, “Who hears?”

59:9 Wait can mean “watch.”  The enemies of David had come to watch for him; but David was determined to “watch” for God. The noun my defense means “a high place of refuge.”

9  I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense;

59:16, 17 But I: The words of these verses capture the positive thrust of this psalm.  David sings with joyful abandon of his relationship with God, despite the presence of wicked persons.  There are two verbs translated I will sing; together they capture the idea that singing in the name of the Lord is a wonderful act of faith.

16  But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. 17  To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.

** Enemies are the ones who attack without cause.  Without faith in God, it is easy to become bitter when facing such enemies.  “What have I done to deserve this?”  It is a good thing when my enemies are God’s enemies.

Weak ones are not my enemies.  So we should be patient with them.  Malicious ones are my enemies.  We should run from them.

 


A Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

59 1  To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘Do Not Destroy.’ A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me. 2  Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men. 3  For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord. 4  They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine. Awake to help me, and behold! 5  You therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah 6  At evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. 7  Indeed, they belch with their mouth; Swords are in their lips; For they say, “Who hears?”

8  But You, O Lord, shall laugh at them; You shall have all the nations in derision. 9  I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense; 10  My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies. 11  Do not slay them, lest my people forget; Scatter them by Your power, And bring them down, O Lord our shield. 12  For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying which they speak. 13  Consume them in wrath, consume them, That they may not be; And let them know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth. Selah 14  And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. 15  They wander up and down for food, And howl if they are not satisfied. 16  But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. 17  To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.