BIBLE CHAPTER STUDY
Psalms 59 — A Plea for Deliverance from Watching Enemies
Psalms 59 is David's prayer for rescue from enemies sent to kill him, declaring God's mercy and resolve to scatter the wicked.
Scripture
1For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
3For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul; The mighty gather themselves together against me: Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
4They run and prepare themselves without my fault: Awake thou to help me, and behold.
5Even thou, O Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel, Arise to visit all the nations: Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. [[Selah
6They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And go round about the city.
7Behold, they belch out with their mouth; Swords are in their lips: For who, say they, doth hear?
8But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them; Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
9Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee; For God is my high tower.
10My God with his lovingkindness will meet me: God will let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
11Slay them not, lest my people forget: Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for cursing and lying which they speak.
13Consume them in wrath, consume them, so that they shall be no more: And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob, Unto the ends of the earth. [[Selah
14And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog, And go round about the city.
15They shall wander up and down for food, And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
16But I will sing of thy strength; Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning: For thou hast been my high tower, And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises: For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.
What this passage means
Psalms 59 opens with a repeated plea for deliverance: David asks God to rescue him from enemies and to set him on high above those rising against him. The repeated request — to be snatched from the wicked and saved from bloodthirsty men — establishes the psalm's central crisis of being hunted, not for any sin of his own, but for unjust hostility (vv. 1-3).
The middle section describes the enemies' behavior — lying in wait, gathering against the innocent, lying with their mouths, asking who can know — and contrasts it with God's response: the Lord will laugh at them and hold the nations in derision (vv. 6-8). David then declares that God is his high tower, and asks not for the enemies' destruction but that they be scattered so God's people will continually see God's power as a shield (vv. 9-11).
The closing movement expresses trust: David vows to sing of God's strength in the morning and to praise his lovingkindness, calling God his refuge in the day of distress and the God of his mercy (vv. 16-17). The psalm moves from urgent cry to confident worship, framing God's 'lovingkindness' (Hebrew: חֶסֶד) and 'strength' as the secure foundation for the persecuted.
Context
The chapter is identified by a heading that places it in the historical setting of Saul sending men to watch David's house in order to kill him, a period of David's life when he was a fugitive hunted by the king. The note 'Al-tashheth' and the term 'Michtam' appear in the heading, marking the psalm as a particular kind of composition to be performed under the director's oversight.
Within the psalm itself the enemies are described as prowling the city at evening like dogs, returning nightly, and wandering for food without satisfaction (vv. 6, 14-15). David frames his complaint with repeated cries to the God of hosts and God of Israel, and the repeated 'Selah' markings divide the psalm into sections that move from lament to imprecation to praise, all grounded in God's covenant identity.
Key words in the original
- H0408 The heading includes 'Al-tashheth', from the negative particle 'Al' and a verb meaning 'to destroy'. The phrase signals a liturgical title used in a few psalms (compare Psalms 57, 58, 75), instructing the performer or director not to let the work perish.
- H1732 'David' (דָּוִד) appears in the superscription. The heading ties the psalm directly to David's experience when Saul sent messengers to watch his house, identifying the speaker as the hunted king-in-waiting rather than an anonymous voice.
- H4387 'Michtam' (מִכְתָּם) is a rare psalm-title, generally understood to mark a particular type of poem or inscription. Its precise nuance is debated among scholars; the chapter itself simply presents it as a designation within the heading.
Related verses
- 1 Samuel 19:11 This verse records the very incident the psalm's heading refers to: Saul sending messengers to David's house to watch and kill him. It anchors Psalms 59 in the narrative of David's flight and Michal's warning.
- Psalms 18:48 Echoes the language of Psalms 59:1 — 'thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me; thou deliverest me from the violent man' — pairing the plea for being set on high with the later testimony of having been lifted up.
- Psalms 30:5 Pairs with the closing promise of Psalms 59 that David will sing aloud of God's lovingkindness 'in the morning'. Where Psalms 30:5 says weeping may tarry for the night but joy comes in the morning, Psalms 59 builds the same movement from night-prowling enemies to morning praise.
Common questions
Why does David repeat the request to be 'delivered' at the start of the psalm?
The opening verses repeat the plea (vv. 1-2) to underscore the urgency of his situation: enemies lie in wait for his life without cause (v. 3). The repetition functions as a sustained cry to God before the psalm turns to describe the enemies and to pray for their scattering.
Does David actually ask for his enemies to be killed?
David explicitly asks the opposite in verse 11: 'Slay them not, lest my people forget.' He requests that they be scattered and brought down so that God's power as a shield remains visible to his people, rather than that they be quickly destroyed and forgotten.
How does the psalm move from lament to praise?
The psalm follows a clear arc: repeated plea for deliverance (vv. 1-2), description of the enemies' violence and God's mockery of them (vv. 3-8), prayer that they be scattered yet kept alive as a testimony (vv. 9-13), a renewed image of them prowling like dogs unsatisfied (vv. 14-15), and finally David's vow to sing of God's strength and lovingkindness in the morning (vv. 16-17). The movement from night-wandering enemies to morning praise is the structural heart of the psalm.