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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)