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Psalm Fifty-nine
New King James Version (NKJV)
YLT
To
the Overseer. -- `Destroy not
' by David. -- A secret treasure
in Saul's
sending
and they watch the house to put him to death.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 59
To the chief Musician
Altaschith
Michtam of David; when Saul
sent
and they
watched the house to kill him. The history of Saul's sending
messengers to watch the house of David
and to kill him when he rose in the
morning
is in 1 Samuel 19:11;
which was the occasion of his writing this psalm; though the title of the
Syriac version of it is
"David
said or composed this
when he heard that the priests were slain by Saul:'
and
in the same is added
"but
unto us it declares the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith
and the
rejection of the Jews.'
And
which perhaps is designed in Psalm 59:5; and
some interpreters are of opinion that the whole psalm is to be understood of
Christ
of whom David was a type
especially in his sufferings; and there are
some things in it which better agree with him than with David
as particularly
his being without sin
Psalm 59:3.
Psalm 59:1 Deliver
me from my enemies
O my God; Defend me from those who rise up against me.
YLT
1Deliver me from mine
enemies
O my God
From my withstanders set me on high.
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 1 Samuel 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"F12תשגבני
"statue me in loco alto
i.e. tuto"
Vatablus; and to the same sense
Piscator
Cocceius
Michaelis
Gejerus. ; 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.
Psalm 59:2 2 Deliver me from the
workers of iniquity
And save me from bloodthirsty men.
YLT
2Deliver me from workers of
iniquity
And from men of blood save me.
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity
.... See Gill
on Psalm 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 Psalm 59:1
show
the distress the psalmist was in
and whom he represents; his importunity
earnestness
and fervency in prayer.
Psalm 59:3 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.
YLT
3For
lo
they laid wait for
my soul
Assembled against me are strong ones
Not my transgression nor my sin
O Jehovah.
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 Psalm 56:6; around
his house
the soldiers that Saul sent; and such were the enemies of Christ
Psalm 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
Acts 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
1 Samuel 24:11. One
of the words here used signifies "rebellion"F13פשעי "rebellionem meam"
Gejerus
Michaelis. ; 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
1 Peter 4:15.
Psalm 59:4 4 They run and prepare
themselves through no fault of mine. Awake to help me
and behold!
YLT
4Without punishment they run
and prepare themselves
Stir up to meet me
and see.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault
.... Or
"without sin in me"; or "without punishment in them";
so the same word is rendered
1 Samuel 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 Psalm 59:7. Or this
may denote their readiness and swiftness to shed blood
Proverbs 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"F14לקראתי "in occursum meum"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Gejerus
Michaelis. ; see Genesis 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.
Psalm 59:5 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
YLT
5And Thou
Jehovah
God of
Hosts
God of Israel
Awake to inspect all the nations. Favour not any
treacherous dealers of iniquity. Selah.
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
Acts 15:14;
foreseeing
by a spirit of prophecy
that the Jews would be rejected for their
ill usage of the Messiah; See Gill on Psalm 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
Psalm 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 wordF15בגדי
"perfide agentibus"
Junius & Tremellius. 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
1 John 4:16; or
otherwise this may seem to be contrary to the command and example of Christ
Matthew 5:44.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 59:6 6 At evening they return
They
growl like a dog
And go all around the city.
YLT
6They turn back at evening
They make a noise like a dog
And go round about the city.
Break their teeth
O God
in their mouth
.... From the
description of the wicked
the psalmist passes to imprecations on his enemies;
whom he represents as cruel and bloodthirsty
and as being stronger than he;
and therefore he applies to God
who could
as he sometimes did
smite his
enemies on the cheekbone
and break the teeth of the ungodly; which is done by
taking the power and instruments of hurting from them: and it may be by
"their teeth in their mouth" may be meant their malicious words
calumnies
and detractions; teeth being the instrument of speech; and by
"breaking" them
preventing the mischief designed by them;
break out the great teeth of the young lions
O Lord: Saul was the
old lion; his princes
nobles
and courtiers
the young ones; whose jaw teeth
were as knives to devour David and his men
unless plucked out; or God in his
providence should interpose
and hinder the performance of their mischievous
and cruel designs; and who could easily destroy them by his blast
and by the
breath of his nostrils
Job 4:9.
Psalm 59:7 7 Indeed
they belch with
their mouth; Swords are in their lips; For they say
“Who hears?”
YLT
7Lo
they belch out with
their mouths
Swords [are] in their lips
for `Who heareth?'
Behold
they belch out with their mouth
.... Bark like
dogs
so Aben Ezra; or "bubble out"F21יביעון
"scaturient"
Montanus; "copiose eructant"
Gejerus.
as a
fountain bubbles out with water; so they cast out their wickedness in great
abundance; see Jeremiah 6:7; the
phrase denotes the abundance of evil things and wicked speeches that came out
of their mouths
which showed the naughtiness of their hearts; so David's
enemies blustered and threatened what they would do to him could they find him;
and Christ's enemies poured out their wicked charges of blasphemy and sedition
against him
in great plenty
and without proof;
swords are in their lips; the words of their lips
were like sharp swords; see Psalm 55:21;
threatening the most severe and cruel things: or
besides their lips
and what
they belched out with their mouths
they took swords in their hands in a
literal sense; as Saul's messengers did to kill David
and as Judas and his
band of men
who came to take Christ as a thief
with swords and staves
Matthew 26:55;
for who
say they
doth hear? what they uttered with
their mouths and lips
in a blustering and threatening manner; though they were
overheard by men
who carried what they said and designed to do to Michal
David's wife. The meaning may be
they would say what they pleased
and did not
care who heard them
having nothing to fear from any
they having their orders
from the king; see Psalm 12:4; and so
the Targum
"behold
they belch out with their mouths words which are sharp as swords
and with
their lips saying
we shall prevail; for who is he that hears
and can punish?'
Aben
Ezra's note is
"they
thought that God did not hear their counsels;'
and
therefore the next words are in direct opposition to them; but so to think is
monstrous stupidity and brutishness
Psalm 94:4; some
take the words to be the words of David
complaining that the civil magistrate
none of the judges
took notice of or punished such who belched out their lies
and calumnies against him
saying
"for who doth hear?" no man.
Psalm 59:8 8 But You
O Lord
shall laugh
at them; You shall have all the nations in derision.
YLT
8And Thou
O Jehovah dost
laugh at them
Thou dost mock at all the nations.
But thou
O Lord
shall laugh at them
....
Disappoint their counsels
hinder them from performing their enterprise; send
them back with shame and confusion
and expose them to the laughter and
derision of others; as Saul's messengers were
when instead of David they found
an image in the bed
with a pillow of goats' hair for its bolster
1 Samuel 19:16; the
same is said as here with respect to the enemies of Christ
Psalm 2:4;
thou shall have all the Heathen in derision: either
David's enemies
who
though Israelites
yet acted like Heathens to him
as in Psalm 59:5; or the
Gentiles that were gathered together against Christ
Psalm 2:1; or the
antichristian states and powers
who will be triumphed over at the time of
their ruin
Revelation 18:20;
and even all the wicked at the last day
Proverbs 1:26.
Psalm 59:9 9 I will wait for You
O You
his Strength;[b] For God is
my defense.
YLT
9O my Strength
unto Thee I
take heed
For God [is] my tower -- the God of my kindness.
Because of his strength
will I wait upon thee
.... Either because of the strength of Saul
who was stronger
than David
he determined to wait upon the Lord for salvation and deliverance
from him; or because of the strength of the Lord
which he expected from him
and therefore would wait upon him for it. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin
versions
and also the Chaldee paraphrase
render the words
"my strength
will I keep for thee"; or "with thee". I ascribe all my strength
unto thee; I expect every supply of it from thee
and put my trust and
confidence in thee for it: so did Christ as man
and had strength from the
Lord
according to his promise
Isaiah 50:7; and so
every believer
Isaiah 14:24;
for God is my defence; or "my high
refuge"; or "high tower"F23משגבי
"vice arcis sublimis"
Tigurine version; Vatablus
Piscator
Gejerus
Michaelis
all to the same purport. ; see Psalm 9:9; where he
was defended and exalted
as is petitioned Psalm 59:1; and was
safe and secure from every enemy.
Psalm 59:10 10 My God of mercy[c] shall come
to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.
YLT
10God doth go before me
He
causeth me to look on mine enemies.
The God of my mercy shall prevent me
.... Or
"of my grace"
or "goodness"
as the Targum; see 1 Peter 5:10. God
is gracious in himself
and he has treasured up a fulness of grace in Christ:
he is the donor of all the blessings of grace in the covenant; and the author
of all internal grace in the hearts of his people; and who supplies them with
more grace as they want it; and he is the Father of all temporal and spiritual
mercies. The "Cetib"
or writing
is חסדו
"his mercy"; the "Keri"
or reading
is חסדי
"my mercy"; grace or mercy is the Lord's; it is his own
which he
disposes of as he pleases; being given and applied
it is the believer's; all
the grace and mercy in the heart of God
in his Son
and in his covenant
is
the saints'
which he keeps for them with Christ for evermore; "the God of
my mercy"
or "grace"
is the same with "my merciful"
or "my gracious God"; who goes before his people
as he does the Messiah
with the blessings of his goodness
Psalm 21:3. It may
be rendered
"hath came before me"; and denote the antiquity of his
love
being before his people's to him
and the early provisions of his grace
and mercy for them: or "doth prevent me": expressing the freeness of
it; he not waiting for any duties
services
or conditions to be performed
but
bestows his grace and mercy
notwithstanding much unworthiness: or "shall
come before me"; designing the seasonable and timely application of mercy
come before his fears
as it sometimes does the prayers of his people
Isaiah 65:24;
God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies; expressed in
the following verses
Psalm 59:11; or
"vengeance upon them"; as the Targum paraphrases it; see Psalm 58:10.
Psalm 59:11 11 Do not slay them
lest my
people forget; Scatter them by Your power
And bring them down
O Lord our
shield.
YLT
11Slay them not
lest my
people forget
Shake them by Thy strength
And bring them down
O Lord our
shield.
Slay thou not
.... Though they deserved to be slain
and
the Lord seemed as if he was about to slay them
who was able to do it; he
seemed to be whetting his glittering sword
and his hand to take hold of
vengeance ready to execute it; wherefore intercession is made to spare them
which agrees with Christ's petition on the cross
Luke 23:34. The
Targum adds
"immediately": slay them not directly
and at once; give
them space for repentance; and so the Jews had: for it was forty years after
the death of Christ before their destruction was: or the meaning may be
slay
them not utterly; destroy them not totally: and so it was; for though
multitudes were slain during the siege of Jerusalem
and at the taking of it
yet they were not all slain: there were many carried captive
and sent into
different parts of the world
whose posterity continue to this day. The reason
of this petition is
lest my people forget: the Syriac version
renders it
"lest they should forget my people"; or my people should
be forgotten. David's people
the Jews by birth and religion
though not as yet
his subjects
unless in designation and appointment
and Christ's people
according to the flesh: now if these had all been slain at once
they had been
forgotten
like dead men out of mind: or Christ's special and peculiar people;
his chosen
redeemed
and called ones
who truly believe in him
and are real
Christians; and then the sense is
if full vengeance had been taken of the Jews
at once
and they had been cut off root and branch
so that none of them
remained
Christ's people would have forgot them
and the vengeance inflicted
on them for their rejection of the Messiah; but now they are a continued and
lasting instance of God's wrath and displeasure on that account
and they and
their case cannot be forgotten. The Arabic version renders it
"lest my
people forget the law"; its precepts and sanction
its rewards and
punishments;
scatter them by thy power; or let them wander up
and down like fugitives and vagabonds in the earth
as Cain did
and as the
Jews now do
being dispersed in the several parts of the world; and which was
done by the power of God
or through the kingdom of God coming with power upon
that people
Mark 9:1; or
"by thine army"F24בחילך
"exercitu tuo"
Michaelis
Vatablus. ; the Roman army
which was the
Lord's
being permitted by him to come against them
and being made use of as
an instrument to destroy and scatter them
Matthew 22:7;
and bring them down; from their excellency
greatness
riches
and honour
into a low
base
mean
and poor estate and
condition
in which the Jews now are;
O Lord
our shield; the protector and defender of his people
while he is the destroyer and scatterer of their enemies.
Psalm 59:12 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.
YLT
12The sin of their mouth [is]
a word of their lips
And they are captured in their pride
And from the curse
and lying they recount.
For the sin of their mouth
and
the words of their lips
.... The words may be read as one proposition
"the words of
their lips are the sin of their mouth"F25So Gejerus
Schmidt. ; they speak nothing but evil; whatever they say is sin; out of the
abundance of their evil hearts their mouths speak: or "for the sin of
their mouth" and lips; because of the calumnies cast by them on the
Messiah
traducing him as a sinful man
a blasphemer
a seditious person
and
even as one that had familiarity with the devil;
let them even be taken in their pride; in their city
and temple
of which they boasted
and prided themselves in; and so they were:
or for their pride in rejecting the Messiah
because of his mean descent and
parentage
and because his kingdom was not with outward pomp and observation;
and being vain boasters of their carnal privileges
and works of righteousness
they refused to submit to the righteousness of God
and were neither subject to
the law of God
nor to the Gospel of Christ;
and for cursing and lying which they speak; for cursing
the Messiah
pronouncing him accursed
and treating him as such
by hanging him
on a tree; and for lying against him
saying that he was a Samaritan
and had a
devil
and cast out devils by Beelzebub; and that he was a deceiver of the
people
and a wicked man: for these things they were taken in their besieged
city
as is here imprecated.
Psalm 59:13 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
YLT
13Consume in fury
consume
and they are not
And they know that God is ruling in Jacob
To the ends of the
earth. Selah.
Consume them in wrath
consume them
.... The
repetition of the request shows the ardour and vehemency of the mind of the
petitioner
and the importunity in which he put up the petition; and suggests
that the persons designed were guilty of very great sins
deserving of the
wrath of God
and which came upon them to the uttermost
1 Thessalonians 2:16;
that they may not be; either any more in the
land of the living; be utterly extinct
having no being in this world
Jeremiah 31:15; or
that they might not be in the glory and grandeur
in the honour
dignity
and
felicity
they once were in; which best suits the present state of the Jews;
and this sense better agrees with what follows;
and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob
unto the ends of the
earth; this is to be understood of the Messiah
who is God over all
blessed for ever
and is the ruler in Israel
King of saints; reigns over the
house of Jacob
in his church
and among his people
wherever they are; even to
the ends of the earth
where he has had
or will have
some that are subject to
him: for his dominion will be from sea to sea
and from the river to the ends
of the earth
Psalm 72:8; and
this his government is known to men good and bad
by the judgments which he
executeth; and particularly it is apparent that he is made Lord and Christ
and
that he is come in his kingdom
and with power
by the vengeance taken on the
Jewish nation.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psalm 3:2.
Psalm 59:14 14 And at evening they
return
They growl like a dog
And go all around the city.
YLT
14And they turn back at
evening
They make a noise like a dog
And they go round about the city.
And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise
like a dog
and go round about the city. What in Psalm 59:6 is
related as matter of fact
is here expressed by way of imprecation; and what is
there taken notice of as their sin
is here wished for at their punishment;
unless it can be thought that this should refer to the conversion and return of
the Jews in the evening of the world
and to their humiliation and mourning for
piercing Christ
and to their very distressed and uncomfortable condition they
will be in
until they have satisfaction that their sins are forgiven them; See
Gill on Psalm 59:6.
Psalm 59:15 15 They wander up and down
for food
And howl[d] if they
are not satisfied.
YLT
15They -- they wander for
food
If they are not satisfied -- then they murmur.
Let them wander up and down for meat
.... Like
hungry dogs;
and grudge if they be not satisfied; or murmur and howl as
dogs when hungry
and can find nothing to eat; or "when they shall not be
satisfied
and shall lodge"F26וילינו
"nec satiati cubabunt"
Tigurine version; "famelici
pernoctabunt"
Michaelis. ; when they shall get nothing to satisfy their
hungry appetite
and shall go to bed without a supper
and lie all night
without food. The Targum is
"they
shall wander about to seize the prey to eat
and will not rest till the are
satisfied
and will lie all night;'
that
is
in quest of prey.
Psalm 59:16 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.
YLT
16And I -- I sing [of] Thy
strength
And I sing at morn [of] Thy kindness
For thou hast been a tower to
me
And a refuge for me in a day of adversity.
But I will sing of thy power
.... In creating all
things out of nothing; in upholding all things in being; in the redemption of
his people; in their conversion and calling; in the preservation of them to
eternal happiness; in the performance of his promises to them; in the
destruction of their enemies; and in their protection:
yea
I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning; of
providential mercies
which are new every morning; and of special mercy in the
heart of God
in the covenant of his grace
in redemption
in regeneration
in
the pardon of sin
and in eternal life and salvation;
for thou hast been my defence; See Gill on Psalm 59:9;
and refuge in the day of my trouble; whither he fled
and
found protection and safety; See Gill on Psalm 9:9.
Psalm 59:17 17 To You
O my Strength
I
will sing praises; For God is my defense
My God of mercy.
YLT
17O my Strength
unto Thee I
sing praise
For God [is] my tower
the God of my kindness!
Unto thee
O my strength
will I sing
.... That is
to God
whom he made his strength
and put his trust in for strength
and from
whom he received it; and he therefore determined to sing praise to him for it
and give him the glory of it;
for God is my defence: as before in Psalm 59:9;
and the God of my mercy; See Gill on Psalm 59:10.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)