Sermon Tone Analysis
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Psalm 59:1-17 English Standard Version
Psalm 59:superscription
1.
To the choirmaster:
2. according to Do Not Destroy.
3. A Miktam of David,
a.
It is the fourth of five consecutive psalms (Pss.
56–60) categorized as miktam,4 and it shares with Psalms 57–58 the identical tune title ʾal tašḥet (“Do Not Destroy”).[1]
b.
Judging from the titles of Psalms 56–60, we see literary threads that connect these psalms as a group (see table 1 in the unit on Ps. 56).
Psalms 58 (58:3–5) and 59 (59:3–4, 6–7, 14–15) deal with the wicked who use the power of speech to destroy the objects of their malicious motivations.[2]
4. when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
a.
Like Psalms 56–57 and 60, Psalm 59 also includes a historical note linking the psalm to an event in David’s life (this one recorded in 1 Sam.
19:11).[3]
i. 1 Samuel 19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning.
But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
1.
The story is told in 1 Samuel 19, and is the earliest of all the incidents referred to by such psalm headings (except possibly that which lies behind Psalm 7).
[4]
b.
The word parallels between the psalm and 1 Sam 19:11 and 24 are of some interest (see Stuhlmueller, I, 275):
Watch:
in the title in a hostile sense; in a positive sense in v 10 of the psalm.
Morning:
in Ps 59:17 and in 1 Sam 19:11–12; Saul sent messengers to kill David in the morning.
Innocence:
in Ps 59:4–5 and 1 Sam 19:4; 24:10–12.
Seeing:
in sense of “seeing” in order to act in victory: Ps 59:5, 11 and 1 Sam 19:15; Saul sent messengers “to see David,” saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed”; also 1 Sam 24:11.
Dogs:
Ps 59:7–8, 15–16 and 1 Sam 24:14; also see 2 Sam 9:8 and 16:9, related to enemies of David.
Ambush:
Ps 59:4 and 1 Sam 24:11 (though a different verb is used).
Blood:
Ps 59:3 and 1 Sam 19:5; note 2 Sam 16:7–8.[5]
STANZA ONE (Psalm 59:1-5)
Psalm 59:1-2
1. (v.1) Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me;
2. (v.2) deliver me from those who work evil, and save me from bloodthirsty men.
a.
The second colon suggests that as the attackers are lifting themselves on high, the suppliant asks to be lifted up higher; the root śāgabwill be taken up in the noun miśgābin vv. 9 and 17.[6]
b.
Protect - More literally “Set me up high (from those rising against me).”
The imperfect form following an imperative is a stylistic variation; see Dahood, I, 65–66.
The word appears in noun form in vv 10, 17, 18.[7]
c.
The word protect (1), like the kindred word ‘fortress’ (9, 16, 17), contains the thought of what is set high up, out of reach: hence neb’s phrase ‘be my tower of strength’.
By contrast, David’s house was no protection, but a death-trap, as he realized (1 Sam.
19:12).
Cf., as an extension of this comparison of refuges, Proverbs 18:10, 11 (mg.).[8]
d.
The verb “protect” is from the same root as “fortress” in verses 9, 16, and 17, and implies elevation beyond reach, so that “rise up” belongs to the same picture language.[9]
Psalm 59:3a
1.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
2. fierce men stir up strife against me.
Psalm 59:3b-4
1. (v.3)
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
2. (v.4) for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
a.
One possible link between Psalm 59 and the tales of the Saul-David conflict might be the desperate protest of innocence (vv.
4c–5a), which echoes Jonathan’s plea on behalf of his dearest friend after he learned of his father’s intention to kill David: “He has not sinned against thee” (1 Sam 19:4).[10]
i. 1 Samuel 19:4 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.
3. Awake, come to meet me, and see!
a.
The imperative translated “rouse yourself” literally means “wake up.”
It is parallel to the verb “arise” in 59:4b.[11]
Psalm 59:5
1. You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
a.
He calls God by his battle name (Lord God Almighty) and asks God to punish the nations and traitors.[12]
2. Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
a.
The verbs “rouse” and “get up/awake” express the idea of coming from sleep or other forms of inactivity into action.[13]
3. spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
4. Selah
REFRAIN ONE (Psalm 59:6-10)
Psalm 59:6
1.
Each evening they come back,
2. howling like dogs and prowling about the city.
Psalm 59:7
1.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths with swords in their lips—
a.
As in 55:21 and 57:4, the enemy’s verbal attacks are likened to vicious thrusts with a sword.
[14]
2. for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
a. Their practical atheism (cf.
Pss 14 and 53) makes them imagine they have no listener.[15]
Psalm 59:8
1.
But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
2. you hold all the nations in derision.
a. Derision - to mock v. — to treat with contempt, for example, verbally.
b.
Psalm 2:4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.
Psalm 59:9
1. O my Strength, I will watch for you,
a. Psalm 59:title when Saul sent men to watchhis house in order to kill him.
2. for you, O God, are my fortress.
Psalm 59:10
1.
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
2. God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
a. Psalm 54:7 For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
STANZA TWO (Psalm 59:11-13)
Psalm 59:11
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