Outline of Chapter 59:

       Inscription       Psalm 59 Inscription

       vv.    1–5        David Asks God to Deliver Him from Vicious Men

       vv.    6–7        The Dogs Return at Night

       vv.    8–13      David Ask God, His Strength, to Destroy His Enemies

       vv.   14–15      The Dogs Return at Night: A Refrain

       vv.   16–17      David Praises God in Song for His Strength and Grace

Charts and Maps:

       v.     13           Does God Destroy or Does God Preserve His Enemies?

I ntroduction: Psalm 59 was written either during the time that David became a fugitive from Saul, or during a period of time when he reflectively looked back on that incident. This incident must be understood in order to have a full understanding of this psalm. David wrote eight psalms while a fugitive from Saul, in this order: Psalm 59 7 56 34 57 52 142 54 (we will summarize these at a later date). Ideally, you are reading this examination of Psalm 59 after studying I Sam. 19, but just in case you did not, here is the capsule version: David had another successful outing against the Philistines, and he returned to the palace of Saul victorious. He settles into his other vocation, which is playing music for Saul, and Saul suddenly tries to pin David to the wall with a javelin. David outmaneuvers Saul and escapes. He goes home, and Saul quickly gathers some of his officers and send them to fetch David, so that they could kill him the next morning. The soldiers come to David’s home and, as we will see, are apparently rather noisy, possibly arguing over whether Saul’s order to seize David is just. David’s wife, Michal, observes these men outside their home and tells David that he has to escape the city altogether. She places a teraphim on his bed, and when the soldiers, knock on the door, she tells them that David is in bed, sick. They return to the palace while David is let out the window which probably was in the outside city wall (he may have already escaped prior to their coming to his front door).

This psalm examines this particular incident in David’s life, which begins a whole new life for him. Throughout David’s early life, he was a shepherd boy, held in low esteem by his family, and living a life of isolation, where he apparently honed his skill on his ancient guitar. Then David spend several years close to Saul’s family, first as a court musician, then as a soldier, and finally as the son-in-law of King Saul. This incident begins a whole new phase in David’s life: David, the fugitive.

However, like many great works of literature, what we read on the surface is only part of what is here. This is a psalm which applies to Israel, who is surrounded by her enemies—enemies lying in wait and willing to attack Israel at a moment’s notice. These are bloodthirsty men whose souls are filled with hatred against Israel (does this sound familiar to today’s world?). These enemies of Israel are like dogs, who come in at night and attack and forage, and run like cowards. They howl and they speak ill of Israel. God laughs at these enemies and holds them in derision. If you understand this as your read, then you have a more complete understanding of this psalm and David’s purpose in writing it. McGee is even more exact in his application of this psalm—he says that it applies to Israel during the tribulation, when Israel will be surrounded by enemies.

This psalm begins as a plea to God for deliverance from the men who seek his life; however, in the midst of the psalm, David speaks rather disparagingly of those who seek his life. David asks for their destruction, so that all men will know that God rules in Jacob (Israel). This psalm ends with David praising God.

Many of the psalms have a very particular time period that they represent, which information is often found in the inscription for the psalm (for those which have inscriptions). However, the inscription of this psalm does not actually give us the complete application of this psalm, as it is also applicable to Israel during times of enemy aggression (and perhaps during the Tribulation). Furthermore, the Psalms and Proverbs (and even the book of Ecclesiastes) often give us a more intimate and detailed examination of events that the historical books touch on. They often give us a backstage pass, a view on the thinking of the men of that era. These books often give us insight and detail that we would have otherwise missed.

Some break this psalm up into two parts—vv. 1–9, and vv. 10–17. The reason for doing so is that vv. 9 and 17 are almost identical, so they make good stopping points for each portion of the psalm, each looking to God as David’s strength and refuge. Each of these verses is preceded by an identical phrase in vv. 6 and 14, phrases which characterize the enemies of David as dogs. The first half of this psalm is primarily a prayer for deliverance and the second half is thanksgiving for deliverance. The problem with such a division is that, (1) there does not seem to be a clear break between vv. 9 and 10; and (2) if anywhere, the psalm suggests breaking points after vv. 5 and 13, both of which end with the word Selah, which word probably calls for a musical interlude.

I must admit, even though I disagree with the NIV’s division of this chapter, I personally had trouble outlining it myself (and the paragraph breaks varied widely with each English translation). Barnes comments on this: The psalm has no very regular order. The mind passes from one thing to another, —now uttering fervent prayer; now describing the enemy—his character and plans; and now expressing the confident hope of deliverance, and the purpose to praise God. Indeed the very structure of the psalm seems to me to furnished evidence that it describes feelings which would pass through the mind on such an occasion. Thus we have in verses 1, 5, 11–15, prayer for deliverance; in verses 3, 4, 6, 12, intermingled with these prayers, a description of the character and designs of these enemies; and in verses 8, 9, 16, 17, an expression of confident hope, —a purpose to praise God for deliverance and mercy. All this is indicative of such feelings as might, and probably would, pass through the mind in such a time of peril as that referred to in the title. In other words, the very nature of the disorganization of this psalm points to a man running for his life, suggesting that the actual composition of this psalm occurred as David was escaping.

Like half of the psalms, the verse numbering is different from translation to translation. The Septuagint and the Masoretic text both generally list the inscription as v. 1 (verse numbering was added over a millennium after the original text was scripted). However, in the English, these inscriptions (or titles) are so listed, which is the way it should be (as long as you realize that they are a part of the psalms).

Psalm 59 Inscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      For the end. Destroy not; by David for a memorial, when Saul sent, and watched his house to kill him.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       [For the music leader. To the tune “Don’t Destroy.” A special psalm by David when Saul had David’s house watched so that he could kill him.]

NJB                                For the choirmaster Tune: ‘Do not destroy’ Of David In a quiet voice When Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to have him killed

NLT                                For the choir director: A Psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David’s house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune “Do Not Destroy!”

TEV                                [nothing]

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 For the choir director; al tashheth; a Mikhtam by David when Saul sent men to watch David’s home and kill him.

JPS (Tanakh)                        For the leader; al tashheth. Of David. A Mikhtam; when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to put him to death.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        To the Chief Musician; set to the tune, Do Not Destroy. Of David, record of memorable thoughts, when Saul sent men to watch his home in order to kill him.

NASB                                    For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.

Young's Updated LT              To the Overseer.— ‘Destroy not,’ by David. —A secret treasure, in Saul’s sending and they watch the house to put him to death.

What is the gist of this verse? This inscription gives us a lot of information. First of all, it appears to be addressed either to Saul or to God—or possibly to both. The first few lines of the Psalm make it clear that David is addressing God. David asks God not to destroy him, and then gives the time and place of this psalm: when Saul sent men to his house to kill him.

Translation: To the Preeminent One: do not destroy [me]! The first noun in this inscription is an interesting one, and given many different renderings: choir director, choirmaster, music leader, leader, chief musician. However, insofar as we know, there was no official choir or palace orchestra. In fact, to get any sort of music at all in the palace, David was sent for, a lone guitarist. Given the music-therapy which Saul’s staff recommended (I Sam. 16:14–19), and given that Saul pretty much acted like a madman for the next decade or so, we can reasonably assume that, when these events took place that are mentioned in the remainder of this inscription, that Saul never organized any sort of in-house music after David became a fugitive. Therefore, there is no reason to interpret the Piel participle of nâtsach as choirmaster, choir leader, or choir-anything. Given that this is followed by the 2^nd person masculine singular, Hiphil imperfect of to cause to ruin, to destroy combined with a negative, I would reasonably suspect that the pre-eminent one is Saul. This psalm is addressed to him. Saul, please, do not destroy me! You may ask, why didn’t David just put Saul’s name in here instead? He did, in the inscription, a couple of words down.

Another, and better, interpretation is that the Preeminent One could be a reference to God, and David prays to God that his enemies not be allowed to destroy him. Since God can overrule man’s volition, David can address God directly, and ask for Him not to destroy him. This is more reasonable that this psalm is addressed to God, as we have the vocative Elohim in v. 1 and the vocative Jehovah in v. 3.

Psalms 57–58 begin exactly in the same way, both being addressed to the Preeminent One and both carrying the plea Do not destroy! Both psalms are also attributed to David and Psalm 57 also speaks of a time when David fled from Saul. It would be reasonable to place the writing of all three of these psalms during the time that David was a fugitive in Israel. Psalm 75 begins identically, but is attributed to Asaph.

Translation: A writing of David’s... A precursory examination of the various translations yields a veritable plethora of meanings for mik^etâm. However, given the various similar nouns and verbs, we might assume that this is simply a cognate, and refers to some sort of writing, e.g., a poem or a song. More specific reasons are given in the exegesis above. Since this is found only in the inscriptions of the psalms, and since such a rendering would be both logical and consistent, there is little reason to assume that it means something different.

We do know that David has been writing songs or psalms for a long period of time. He spent many hours as a shepherd boy with his musical instrument alone. Therefore, given that David is a creative genius, that he composed several psalms would be in keeping with his character.

Like many portions of Scripture, there are those who wish to ascribe this psalm to an author other than the one named by the psalm itself. The NIV Study Bible suggest one of David’s sons either wrote or revised this when Jerusalem was under siege by a hostile force (e.g., when Hezekiah was under siege by a hostile Assyrian force). Others ascribe this psalm to Nehemiah, citing Neh. 4 to substantiate this. The problem here is, Scripture does not indicate that Hezekiah or Nehemiah are the authors for this psalm—Scripture tells us that David authored this psalm. Therefore, we have little reason to assume otherwise. Furthermore, although it is clear that this psalm has a wider application than to just David and his escape from Saul and his minions, there is nothing so graphic as to suggest that this was written by an eyewitness to the Rabshakeh’s address to the people of Israel (Isa. 36). Besides, prophecy is an integral part of Scripture and authorship should not be questioned simply because events of the future are revealed (Lev. 26, for example, tells about Israel being removed from the Land of Promise prior to them even entering into the Land of Promise).

Translation: ...when Saul sent [his officers] and they watched [David’s] house to kill him. It is this portion of the psalm which gives us the occasion for the psalm, the incident mentioned in I Sam. 19:11, which reads: Saul then sent assassins [lit., messengers] to David’s house to keep watch [on] him and to kill him in the morning. Michal, his wife, made [this] known to David, saying, “If you don’t deliver your soul [from danger] tonight, tomorrow, you will be killed.” David may write this as he escapes, writing the words and melody in his head; or, he may look back upon this escape and write this psalm. Obviously, David, on his trip down the wall to escape Saul, did not stop and scratch a few words out on a piece of paper, using the wall as backing. He took off quickly and we are not told when or if he stopped (prior to coming to Samuel). However, either along this trip, during a rest period, or in retrospection, David thought about and composed a psalm which dealt with Saul’s pursuance of him. As has already been discussed, the lack of organization found in this psalm points to a man who is trying to escape with his life from a desperate situation. For this reason, we may reasonably assume that David composed the bulk of this psalm in his head as he was escaping from Saul. I occasionally jog, and while jogging, I will occasionally carry a song in my head; it helps with the rhythm of the jogging. For David, this would not have necessarily been a need to continue a rhythm, but to allow his mind to go to a place where he was not focused only on running from Saul.

Saul, as we have studied, sent his officers two times during that afternoon and evening to bring David back to the palace to be executed. The first time, they returned giving Saul a lame reason for not completing their mission (David appears to be ill). Saul then carefully outlines their mission statement, which was to kill David. Therefore, David’s illness was a non-issue. By the time Saul sent these men back, mission statement in hand, David was long gone.

Barnes describes the occasion of this psalm: This prayer was offered when the spies sent by Saul surrounded the house of David. They had come to apprehend him, and it is to be presumed that they had come in sufficient numbers, and with sufficient power, to effect their object. Their purpose was not to break in upon him in the night, but to watch their opportunity, when he went forth in the morning, to slay him 1Sa_19:11, and there seemed no way for him to escape. Of their coming, and of their design, Michal, the daughter of Saul, and the wife of David, seems to have been apprised - perhaps by someone of her father’s family. She informed David of the arrangement, and assured him that unless he should escape in the night, he would be put to death in the morning. She, therefore, let him down through a window, and he escaped.

As with many of the psalms, there is some difficulty when it comes to simply numbering the verses. The inscription above is written with the psalm—it is not something which was tacked on later. Therefore, in the Masoretic text and in certain translations (e.g., the JPS and the NAB), the inscription is written as v. 1. In most English translations, this is presented as an inscription (although at least one, TEV, leaves it out altogether. In most English translations, the next verse will be v. 1; however, do not panic if your particular Bible says v. 2 instead.

David Asks God to Deliver Him from Vicious Men

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      Deliver me from my enemies, O God; and ransom me from those that rise up against me.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Save me, God! Protect me from enemy attacks

Keep me safe from brutal people who want to kill me.

NAB                               Rescue me from my enemies, my God;

lift me out of reach of my foes.

REB                               Rescue me, My God, from my enemies;

be my strong tower against those who assail me.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 Rescue me from my enemies, O my God.

Protect me from those who attack me.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Save me from my enemies, O my God;

secure me against my assailants. [This is v. 2 in JPS]

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; defend and protect me from those who rise up against me.

NASB                                    Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.

Young's Updated LT              Deliver me from my enemies, O my God,

From my withstanders set me on high.

What is the gist of this verse? David calls upon God to deliver him from his enemies and to place him above those who stand up against him.

Translation: Deliver me from my enemies, O Elohim;... The first word in this verse is an imperative addressed to God—deliver me! Even though it may seem strong, David is on good doctrinal ground. God has promised that he would be king; God anointed David king through Samuel. Therefore, God has to deliver David from his enemies. It is a matter of doctrine. It is a matter of stated truth.

Application: You can demand of God what He has promised you; the fact that David does it here I this psalm makes it not only allowed but encouraged.

Application: David prays on several occasions for deliverance from his enemies: Psalm 31:15 59:1 143:9. If a man of David’s spiritual caliber had enemies, despite the fact that he did nothing to stir them up, we may rest assured that we, as believers, will also have enemies who will do whatever they can to destroy us. Furthermore, do not be surprised if your enemies are fellow believers.

Translation: You set me above those rising [against] me. This is somewhat of a play on words. Saul has steadily increased his aggression towards David. He has become more and more overt to the point where he is using his own men to arrest and bring David back to him to be executed. So, Saul rises up with increased overt attacks against David. However, David says here that God lifts David up higher and higher above Saul. As Saul becomes more and more overt in his hostilities toward David, God grants David greater and greater protection.

Application: God tests us throughout our lives. He begins with small things and gradually raises the ante, providing greater and greater protection as He does. I know that you personally don’t want to be tested, but realize that some marriages, for instance, become stronger (or dissolve) under pressure and testing. I recall that my own family developed a greater bond when my kid brother was lain up in traction the hospital for several months. His suffering brought us closer together as a family. We gathered together as a family almost every night at his bed to play cards and visit. People in general become stronger, and more spiritually fit when tested (and of course, when they pass). We can hold to the promise that, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way out as well, that you may be able to endure it (I Cor. 10:13).

We have parallel verses in Psalm 20:1 69:29; however, in neither of these verses do we have the same sort of play on words as we find here, where, as David’s enemies rise up against him, God brings David to a higher place above them. There is another tongue-in-cheek reference here, which most exegetes miss. David wrote this as he was lowered down through a window, from a protected place. Physically, he was actually below his enemies as he was being delivered from them. However, metaphorically, he was lifted by God above them, outside of their grasp.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Keep me safe from brutal people who want to kill me.

NJB                                rescue me from evil-doers,

from men of violence save me.

NLT                                Rescue me from these criminals;

save me from these murderers.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 Rescue me from troublemakers.

Save me from bloodthirsty people.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Save me from evildoers;

deliver me from murderers.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        Deliver me from and lift me above those who work evil, and save me from the bloodthirsty men.

NASB                                    Deliver me from those who do iniquity,

And save me from men of bloodshed.

Young's Updated LT              Deliver me from workers of iniquity,

And from men of blood save me.

What is the gist of this verse? David asks God to deliver him from these men who work iniquity and from bloodthirsty men.

Translation: Deliver me from those who do iniquity... The men of Saul’s who act on his orders are now called by David men of iniquity. These are men who commit acts of iniquity. They habitually sin against God. Although this is not a call for us to revolt against our government, Saul’s request that David be arrested in order to be executed was so egregious and so without merit that all his men should have recognized it. This is one of the few times these men should have banded together as one and told Saul, no. Not only should they have refused to seize David for execution, but they should have promised Saul that they would oppose all attempts to do so.

The phrase men of iniquity is also found in Psalm 14:4 28:3 36:12 53:4 92:7 94:16.

Translation: ...and save me from men of bloodshed [or, bloody deeds]. These officers of Saul, the first time that they returned from David’s home, it was on a relatively lame excuse. “David was sick and you didn’t tell us what to do if David was sick.” Which statement prompted Saul to issue a mission statement. It was a half-assed act of rebellion. They should have unequivocally challenged Saul at this point. They have become men of bloodshed, because their trade is blood; these men work for Saul to kill, regardless of the injustice of the proposed killing. The phrase men of bloodshed is also found in Psalm 26:9 139:19. This term along with men of iniquity is applied to those who attack the psalmist out of malice.

The treasury of David tells us: Saul had more cause to fear than David had, for the invincible weapon of prayer was being used against him, and heaven was being aroused to give him battle. David’s first line of defense was not a counterattack which he personally mounted, but a counterattack which he asked God to mount. When we are faced with insurmountable odds, our first choice should be prayer. No matter what the odds are against us, God is far greater.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      For, behold, they have hunted after my soul; violent men have set upon me; neither is it my iniquity nor my sin, O Lord.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Merciless enemies, Lord, are hiding and plotting,

hoping to kill me.

I have not hurt them in any way at all.

NAB                                       They have set an ambush for my life;

the powerful conspire against me.

For no offense or misdeed of mine, Lord,...

NJB                                Look at them, lurking to ambush me,

Violent men are attacking me,

for not fault, no sin of mine, Yahweh,..

NLT                                They have set an ambush for me.

Fierce enemies are out there waiting,

though I have done them no wrong, O Lord.

REB                               Violent men lie in wait for me,

they lie in ambush ready to attack me;

for no fault of guilt of mine, Lord,...

TEV                                Look! They are waiting to kill me;

cruel men are gathering against me.

It is not because of any sin or wrong I have done,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 They lie in ambush for me right here!

Fierce men attack me, O Lord,

but not because of any disobedience,...

JPS (Tanakh)                        For see, they lie in wait for me;

fierce men plot against me

for no offense of mine,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                    For behold, they have set an ambush for my life;

Fierce men launch an attack against me.

Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.

Young's Literal Translation    For, lo, they laid wait for my soul,

Assembled against me are strong ones,

Not my transgression nor my sin, O Jehovah.

What is the gist of this verse? Men lay in wait for David—just outside his door, in fact. Fierce men had assembled themselves against him. Then David adds: and not because of a sin or transgression which he committed.

Translation: For, listen: they lay in wait for my soul;... The word used here [ârab] is often employed to denote the act of lying in ambush; of watching in secret places to spring upon a victim: Jdg 9:32; Jdg 21:20; Psa 10:9. The night that David wrote this psalm, just outside his door were Saul’s officers, lying in wait for him. David, as a fugitive, will end up in Gath at one point, and will face a very similar situation (see Psalm 56:inscription, 6).

Translation: ...fierce men gather together against me;... These men were soldiers, and they were fierce in battle. Although I believe that they entered into this mission half-heartedly, looking for any excuse to return to Saul empty-handed, when push came to shove, they would obey Saul rather than their conscience. Spurgeon: [These soldiers] were too fond of such sport to be away. The men at arms who ought to have been fighting their country's battles, are instead thereof hunting a quiet citizen; the gigantic monarch is spending all his strength to slay a faithful follower.

Translation: ...[and] not [for] my transgression and not for my sin, O Y^ehowah,... David add that these men have not gathered together for a reason. David had not violated the law. He was not a criminal. He had not risen in insurrection against Saul. These men pursued him without a reason. Saul has already acknowledged this to Jonathan in I Sam. 19:4–6 and he will acknowledge this to David in I Sam. 24:11. [David’s] only fault was, that he was too valiant and too gracious, and was, besides, the chosen of the Lord, therefore the envious king could not rest till he had washed his hands in the blood of his too popular rival.

Application: There will be people in your life who persecute you without a reason. Their hatred for you will exist apart from anything which you have done against them.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      Without iniquity I ran and directed [my course]. Awake to help me, and behold.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       But they are read to attack. Do something Help me!

Look at what’s happening.

NAB                                      for no fault they hurry to take up arms.

Come near and see my plight!

NJB                                ...for no guilt,

They come running to take up position.

Wake up, stand by me and keep watch,... [the first part of v. 4 is treated as a continuation of v. 3]

NLT                                Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.

Rise up and help me! Look at my plight!

TEV                                nor because of any fault of mine, O Lord,

that they hurry to their places.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                                Or any sin, or any guilt on my part.

They hurry to take positions against me.

Wake up, and help me; see └for yourself┘. [They combine the end of v. 3 with the beginning of v. 4, which makes a great deal of sense]

JPS (Tanakh)                               For no guilt of mine

do they array themselves against me.

Look, rouse Yourself on my behalf!

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                    For no guilt [lit., without guilt] of mine, they run and set themselves against me.

Arouse Thyself to help [lit., meet] me, and see!

Young's Updated LT              Without punishment they run and prepare themselves,

Stir up to me meet and see.

What is the gist of this verse? Even though David is guilty of no crime against the state, Saul’s soldiers come to his house to arrest him. David calls to God to see what is going on.

Translation: ...without [committing] a crime. This first portion of v. 4 really belongs with the previous verse. David tells God that he has not sinned, he has not done iniquity, he has not committed a crime. He is being persecuted by Saul without a legitimate reason. Saul’s only reasons for persecuting David are jealously and hatred.

I think at this time, David is also a bit naive. He has remained in the palace after Saul made previous attempts on his life. He is aware of injustices that Saul has committed against him, although he may not realize that some of his military missions were expressly given to him by Saul so that he would die in battle. David recognizes that Saul’s pursuit of him is absolutely wrong; however, he may not realize that this is part of life. To have people hate you without a reason is a part of life. To have people persecute you without reason is a part of life.

Application: Most believers are aware that there are people who are persecuted for their beliefs and persecuted for spreading the gospel or the Word of Truth. However, this is not the case here. Saul is persecuting David out of hatred and jealousy. Do not be surprised when you suddenly face injustice; furthermore, don’t be surprised when it turns out that this injustice is put upon you by fellow believers.

As an adult and as a former teacher, I must admit that there have been many times when I have told a young person, “Life isn’t fair.” And, I should acknowledge that I probably made this statement too flippantly at times. It is true that life isn’t fair; this is becoming clear to David. However, recognize the cost here to David—he is losing his home, his wife, his position in the palace—David doesn’t know that he will suffer no harm at the hand of Saul; he doesn’t know unequivocally that, in the future, he will be placed in Saul’s stead (David has been anointed by Samuel, but really, how much comfort is that to him now?). David is finding out first-hand that life isn’t fair, and it is sometimes a difficult lesson.

Translation: They run and they prepare themselves. The idea here is that these men, prior to coming to David’s home, prepared themselves to fight against David. They were heavily armed. He was given no warning—obviously because there was no reason to arrest David in the first place—and these men were completely ready.

Spurgeon comments: They are all alive and active, they are swift to shed blood. They prepare and use their best tactics; they besiege me in my house, and lay their ambuscades as for some notable enemy. They come up fully armed to the attack and assail me with all the rigour and skill of a host about to storm a castle; and all for no cause, but out of gratuitous malice. So quick are they to obey their cruel master, that they never stay to consider whether their errand is a good one or not; they run at once, and buckle on their harness as they run. To be thus gratuitously attacked is a great grief. To a brave man the danger causes little distress of mind compared with the injustice to which he is subjected. It was a cruel...shame that such a hero as David should be hounded down as if he were a monster, and beset in his house like a wild beast in its den.

Translation: Rouse [Yourself] and come [to] me and look. David calls upon God to awaken and to look at what is going on. Quite obviously, God does not sleep, and He was not caught up in some other activity. God monitors David’s activity every moment of David’s life. This is an anthropopathism. It appears as though God is asleep; it appears as though God does not know what is going on. However, God was simply moving forward with his plan for David’s life.

Application: David is in an unjust situation. He is being persecuted without a cause. And, it appears as though God is asleep. When we run into some problems, there will be times that we pray to God, and many of these times, God will not solve the problem for us immediately. David will spend the next several years being pursued by Saul and the power of the state. God is not going to make everything nice right now for David. Therefore, we must recognize that we will go through periods of time—sometimes seemingly long periods of time—when we remain in testing; when we remain under pressure. On the other hand, this does not eliminate the need for prayer. Just because God will act according to His own timetable, this does not mean that we should not petition Him.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      And You, Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, draw near to visit all the heathen; pity not any that work iniquity. Pause.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Lord God All-Powerful, you are the God of Israel.

Punish the other nations

and don’t pity those terrible and rebellious people.

NJB                                Yahweh, God of Sabaoth, God of Israel,

rise up, to punish all the nations,

show no mercy to all these malicious traitors.

Pause

NLT                                O Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel,

rise up to punish hostile nations.

Show no mercy to wicked traitors.

Interlude

TEV                                Rise, Lord God Almighty, and come to my aid;

see for yourself, God of Israel!

Wake up and punish the heathen;

show no mercy to evil traitors!

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 O Lord God of Armies, God of Israel,

arise to punish all the nations.

Have no pity on any traitors.

JPS (Tanakh)                        You, O Lord God of hosts,

God of Israel,

bestir Yourself to bring all nations to account;

have no mercy on any treacherous villain.Selah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, arise to visit all the nations; spare none and be not merciful to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

NASB                                    And Thou, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,

Awake to punish [lit. visit] all the nations;

Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.

Young's Updated LT              And You, Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel,

Awake to inspect all the nations.

Favor not any treacherous dealings of iniquity. Selah.

What is the gist of this verse? David calls to God to visit the heathen nations with His wrath. He is asked not to show graciousness to those who habitually practice acts of evil.

You will note most obviously in this verse that this is a major change. We suddenly go from David and his being pursued by Saul, to the God of the armies of Israel and Gentile nations seem to be brought into this. Recall that it has already been pointed out that, structurally speaking, this psalm is somewhat messy. This observation is even more clear in this verse.

Translation: And You, Y^ehowah, God of the Armies, God of Israel; awaken to visit all the [heathen] nations [with Your wrath]. This is kind of interesting. Suddenly David has seemingly forgotten all about Saul, as he implores God to visit the surrounding heathen nations with His wrath. The verb used here is very similar to the British slang term to sort out. The idea of this verb is that there is to be direct contact to occur between the sorter and the sortee. This verb can ask God to visit with blessing and it can ask Him to visit with wrath. The context determines how we are to understand the usage of the verb. In the next part of this verse, it will be clear how this is to be understood.

This verse also clues us in that this particular psalm has more than the simple application of David’s problems and David’s immediate enemies. This psalm applies similarly to Israel and Israel’s enemies (whom David had fought on many occasions). Israel was surrounded by enemies. These were men of bloodshed who sought to ambush Israel at every turn. They were fierce men who were ready to launch an attack against Israel whenever they were strong enough. And, as David has pointed out in the previous verse, this is apart from Israel deserving their wrath.

De Wette suggests that this use of Goiim refers not necessarily to enemy gentiles, but any person or persons who by their general character and spirit indicated that they were without knowledge of the true God. Although this may be true, referring to Jehovah as God of the Armies is more consistent with giving a wider application of this psalm. I am not in disagreement with De Wette here—this term is surely applied to the enemies of David—however, one should not miss the point that this psalm applies to both David and to Israel as persecuted without a cause.

Along these same lines, let me insert what Barnes has to say: DeWette infers that the psalm could not have been composed on the occasion referred to in the title, and argues, that this term could not be applied by David to Saul and his followers. This objection, however, will lose its force if the word is understood as denoting people who had the usual character of pagans, who were fierce, bloody, savage, cruel. In this sense the word might be employed with reference to those who were engaged in seeking the life of David. David, using the common word “heathen” or “nations,” as denoting those who are wicked, cruel, harsh, prays that God would awake to visit them; that is, to visit them for purposes of punishment, or so to visit them as to prevent their carrying out their designs.

There is actually no problem here at all. David is simply making a wider application, and making one where we may be surprised to see it. David has fought against the Gentile nations for several years now. Every implication and direct statement of Scripture indicates that the surrounding nations led unprovoked attacks upon Israel on several occasions (see, for instance, I Sam. 11:1 13:5). David has had to respond to these attacks many times, and he sees, in this verse, the parallel between Saul’s unjust persecution of him and the Gentiles unjust attacks against Israel. In both cases, it is the same God who is over all. In the wider application, David has observed (or was aware of) many occasions when God had delivered Israel (see I Sam. 7:1–14 14:1–15 17:41–52).

Translation: You will show no grace to those practicing treacherous actions of iniquity. We have an unusual combination of words. The final verb is a description of those to whom God should show no grace, and these are those who act covertly, fraudulently, faithlessly; who oppress and afflict others. Plus, this verb is affixed to the word for iniquity, misfortune. So, not only do they act covertly and fraudulently, but with malice and hatred—their desire is to cause those with whom they come in contact to suffer misfortune. Therefore, David calls upon God to come into contact with these types, and to show them no mercy or grace.

Application: It is okay in Scripture to pray for the destruction and/or discipline of your enemies. There might be times when you pray for them and that God touches them; however, when they are too far gone, then you may pray for God to take them out (an act which you cannot do yourself).

Spurgeon comments: Shall Jehovah endure to see his people oppressed? Shall the God of hosts permit his enemies to exult over his servant? Shall the faithful God of a chosen people leave his chosen to perish? The name of God is, even in a literal sense, a fortress and high tower for all his people. What a forceful petition is contained in the words, “awake to visit!” Actively punish, in wisdom judge, with force chastise. “Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors.” Be merciful to them as men, but not as transgressors; if they continue hardened in their sin, do not wink at their oppression. To wink at sin in transgressors will be to leave the righteous under their power, therefore do not pass by their offences but deal out the due reward. The Psalmist feels that the overthrow of oppression which was so needful for himself must be equally desirable for multitudes of the godly placed in like positions, and therefore he prays for the whole company of the faithful, and against the entire confraternity of traitors.

Translation: [Musical] Pause [or, Musical Interlude] As described in the exegesis, this word çelâh comes from a verb which means to lift up. It is reasonable to assume that those who are playing musical instruments are to lift up these instruments and play during a pause in the singing. I believe that this is called the bridge in modern music? Keil and Delitzsch suggest: The music, as Sela directs, here becomes more boisterous; it gives intensity to the strong cry for the judgment of God; and the first unfolding of thought of this Michtam is here brought to a close. Let me suggest that this also is a time where David takes a break from writing, and concentrates on his run. Obviously, he is formulating this as he runs; he does not stop to scratch out a few verses on a rock or a tree; but this represents a break in his thinking, and the music intensifies as he simply runs.

The Dogs Return at Night

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      They shall return at evening, and hunger like a dog, and go round about the city.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       My enemies return at evening,

Growling like dogs roaming the city.

NJB                                Back they come at nightfall,

snarling like curs,

prowling through the town.

NLT                                They come at night,

snarling like vicious dogs

as they prowl the streets.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        They come each evening growling like dogs,

roaming the city.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Keil and Delitzsch                  They come again at evening, they howl like dogs,

And go the rounds in the city.

NASB                                    They return at evening, they howl like a dog,

And go around the city.

NRSV                                    Each evening they come back,

howling like dogs,

and prowling about the city.

Young's Updated LT              They turn back at evening,

They make a noise like a dog,

And go round about the city.

What is the gist of this verse? The soldiers left David’s, but they returned, behaving like dogs (which is a strong insult in the ancient world).

Translation: They return with the evening;... Apparently, the men from Saul came to David’s home while it was still light the first time. David had gone home after Saul tried to kill him and it was still daytime. Saul then sends his men to David’s home, which was during the day. It appears as though they simply hung out in front of David’s home for awhile, causing Michal, his wife, concern (particularly given that her father attempted to kill David within the past hour or so). This is when she tells David that he needs to escape their city.

Translation: ...they growl like dogs... Dogs in the ancient world were held in very low esteem. Whenever anyone was compared to a dog, it was an insult. This tells us that these men were not particularly quiet in their approach to David’s home. We discussed this in I Sam. 19; it is possible that one or two of the officers were purposely noisy outside David’s home to give him time and reason to escape. It could have been an argument over their mission. The majority of the men, as they are characterized like dogs here, were no doubt willing and able to carry out Saul’s demented commands. In fact, it may be a good idea to examine the Doctrine of Dogs at this point. The NIV Study Bible gives us the succinct comment: The enemies besiege the city like dogs at night on the prowl for food. The same can be applied to David’s enemies who prowl about the outside of his home as well.

Translation: ...and go about the city. The analogy to dogs is continued. In the ancient world, the dogs would prowl the city generally speaking, they are going to be outside the city walls) looking for food, whether it be trash or whatever they could capture. These dogs were vicious with bad attitudes, so those who came across these dogs would be like someone today walking into a fenced yard with a rottweiler in there. Even dog lovers are not overly enthusiastic about spending time with a large, strange, vicious dog. In the ancient world, this pretty much described all the dogs (although we do not know their actual size; however, most of my sources maintained that the dogs were descendants of wolves).

We have a parallel to this verse in v. 14 (it is exactly the same except for the wâw conjunction at the beginning of v. 14). We have another parallel pair of verses within this psalm—vv. 9 and 17, which verses are remarkably similar, designed to be parallel, but they do not contain precisely the same verbiage.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      Behold, they will utter a voice with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips; for who, they say, has heard?

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       They curse and their words cut like swords,

as they say to themselves, “No one can hear us!”

NLT                                Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,

the piercing swords that fly from their lips.

“Who can hurt us?” they sneer.

REB                               From their mouths comes stream of abuse,

and words that wound are on their lips;

for they say, ‘Who will hear us?’

TEV                                Listen to their insults and threats.

Their tongues are like swords in their mouths,

yet they think that no one hears them.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 See what pours out of their mouths—

swords from their lips!

└They think,┘ “Who will hear us?”

JPS (Tanakh)                        They rave with their mouths,

sharp words are on their lips;

[they think,] “Who hears?”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        Behold, they belch out [insults with their mouth; swords [of sarcasm, ridicule, slander and lies] are in their lips; for who, they think, hears us?

NASB                                    Behold, they belch forth with their mouth;

Swords are in their lips,

For, they say, “Who hears?”

NRSV                                    There they are, bellowing with their mouths,

with sharp words [Heb. with swords] on their lips—

for “Who,” they think, [Heb. lacks they think] “will hear us?”

Young's Updated LT              Lo, they belch out with their mouths,

Swords are in their lips, for “Who hears?”

What is the gist of this verse? The soldiers outside David’s home had, apparently, some very hurtful things to say. My guess is that one or two of them balked at this assignment of Saul’s, and they argued about it outside of David’s home, thinking that no one could hear them. Apparently, things that were said about David were very negative.

Translation: Listen, they gush out [or, belch] with their mouths,... These few verses tell us a lot about what happened outside of David’s home. These soldiers, sent by Saul, begin to speak quite vociferously right outside David’s door. Probably, there was an argument about this assignment, and from the mouths of some of them came a litany of jealousy and hatred. What Saul thought and said had an effect upon his own men.

Application: All it takes is one person to begin a chorus of jealousy and hatred against another. I was in a department where, for several years, there were three in that department who spoke ill of me on a regular basis. For that reason, many in that department assumed that I was a substandard teacher. A new department head took over, stopped the gossiping, and the next year, several math teachers came to me for advice, suggestions and help, something that they would not have done in previous years. Several years later, a new department head, one of the three, and again, I became a pariah in the math department. I had changed very little during those periods of time; however, the opinions of the one in power affected how the many of the others in my department perceived me.

This should explain clearly how David could have received such popular acclaim (I Sam. 17–18), and still, Saul was able to round up enough men to go to his house to seize him. Furthermore, not only were they willing to go there, but apparently an argument broke out, and those of the anti-David faction were the loudest and in the majority. Furthermore, we may assume that they eventually swayed the pro-Davidic faction.

The NKJV reads Indeed, they belch with their mouths... and the NASB reads Behold, they belch forth with their mouths... It is almost as though this is an involuntary action. All of this gas is stored up and it suddenly is set free. What Saul said certainly had an affect on these men; they very likely suffered from their own petty jealousies; and suddenly, outside David’s home, all this hatred and jealousy just poured out. From the mouth of the fool spouts folly...the mouth of the wicked pours our evil things (Prov. 15:2b, 28b).

From Spurgeon’s Treasury of David: Their malicious speech gushes from them as from a bubbling fountain. The wicked are voluble in slander; their vocabulary of abuse is copious, and as detestable as it is abundant. What torrents of wrathful imprecation will they pour on the godly! They need no prompters, their feelings force for themselves their own vent, and fashion their own expressions.

Translation: ...swords in their lips,... Although the previous verse is unclear as to what was gushing from the mouths of the officers of Saul, it is clear in this short phrase that what spewed from their lips was like swords, cutting David to pieces with what they said. We find a similar passage in Prov. 12:18: There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Also, Psalm 57:4: My soul is among lions; I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword. Barnes comments: The mention of the tongue here has reference, probably, to the abuse and slander to which he was exposed, and which was like a sharp sword that pierced even to the seat of life. Spurgeon: They speak daggers. Their words pierce like rapiers, and cleave like cutlasses. As the cushion of a lion's paw conceals his claw, so their soft ruby lips contain bloody words.

Translation: ...for [they say], “Who hears [us]?” The most clear understanding of this, is that David’s enemies did not realize that anyone could hear them. A possible interpretation is, they did not care who heard them. However, the general understanding should be that these men felt no responsibility for their actions or intent. They believe that they can commit a sin without any repercussions. They do not recognize that God is over all and observes their every move. They were servants of the king; the king determined what was right and wrong. Barnes wrote: That is, no one hears who will be able to punish us. They dread no man; and they have no fear of God. Also see parallel passages Psalm 10:11 64:5 73:11.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon: They are free from all restraint, they fear no God in heaven, and the government on earth is with them. When men have none to call them to account, there is no accounting for what they will do. He who neither fears God nor regards man sets out upon errands of oppression with gusto, and uses language concerning it of the most atrociously cruel sort. David must have been in a singular plight when he could hear the foul talk and hideous braggings of Saul's black guards around the house...David called them dogs, and no doubt a pretty pack they were, a cursed cursing company of curs. When they said, “Who doth hear?” God was listening, and this David knew, and therefore took courage.

I want you to recognize what actually resonated with David: the leaders in this group of soldiers essentially tells the rest of them, “We are the king’s servants. We can do whatever he tells us to do. There are no repercussions. We are the law.”

David Ask God, His Strength, to Destroy His Enemies

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      You, Lord, will laugh them to scorn; You will utterly set at nought all the heathen.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       You, Lord, laugh at them and sneer at the nations.

NJB                                For your part, Yahweh, you laugh at them,

you make mockery of all nations.

NLT                                But Lord, you laugh at them.

You scoff at all the hostile nations.

TEV                                But you laugh at them, Lord;

you mock all the heathen.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        But You, O Lord, laugh at them;

You mock all the nations.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        But You, O Lord, will laugh at them [in scorn]; You will hold all the nations in derision.

NASB                                    But Thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them;

Thou dost scoff at all the nations.

Young's Updated LT              And You, O Jehovah, laugh at them,

You mock all the nations.

What is the gist of this verse? Again, it becomes clear that this psalm has wider application than David’s immediate problems. These men in our context believe themselves to be the law (v. 7). God laughs at and scorns these heathen (as well as all heathen).

Translation: But you, O Y^ehowah, You mock them;... Given the previous context, David tells us that God laughs at—He mocks—David’s enemies. These soldiers are smug in their position as Saul’s elite force. They did not fear what anyone heard; they are the law. However, in the eyes of God, they are nothing.

This passage has wider application, as we will see in the next portion of this verse. God does not merely mock these soldiers, but He mocks all heathen nations who treat Israel with disdain.

We have a parallel passage in Psalm 37:12–13: The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes at him with his teeth. Jehovah laughs at him, for He sees his day is coming. Evil men have a very limited view of this world. They are unable to see God in most cases, and therefore, there is a dimension and a reality in this world that they are complete unaware of. They may blame fate, destiny, or chance; but their real problems are with the laws of God and the person of God. Obviously, God mocking the heathen and laughing at the wicked are anthropopathisms. The idea is, no matter how cleaver the heathen (and, in this case, Saul’s servants) believe themselves to be, no matter how far removed they are from all that is godly, these men are subject to God’s laws and the consequences of their actions—and, more importantly, the consequences of their unbelief. Prov. 1:26–32: I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes. When your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you, then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and they did not choose the fear of Jehovah. They would not accept My counsel and they spurned all My reproof. Therefore, they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and they will be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

Barnes: This verse expresses the strong conviction of David, that all the efforts of his enemies would be vain; that God “would be” his Protector; and that he would save him from their evil designs.

Translation: ...You scorn all [heathen] nations. Here we are again clued in that this psalm has a wider application than simply David’s personal enemies. The enemies of Israel behave the same way. They gather around Israel and lie in wait; they speak derisively of Israel and of Israel’s God. David informs them that God thinks of them in the same way.

This is also a great insult. David lumps his enemies, which are Saul and his lackeys, in with the Goy, the Gentiles. So, not only does David call them dogs (v. 6), but he calls them Goy as well. He is not insulting Saul and company simply to vent his own frustration—Saul knows God plans to remove him as king, and Saul knows David is his replacement (David may not know that Saul knows, but the Holy Spirit knows that Saul knows). So, in attacking God’s anointed, Saul is behaving like a dog, like a Gentile, like a Goy. Saul (and his servants reveal no understanding of God’s grace and God’s plan.

Now, here is David’s reasoning: he has been with Israel’s army for sometime now, and the enemies of God have been unable to stand against the Jews—this is because God scorns the heathen nations. David can now reason from this wide application which he has observed with his own eyes that God will also deliver him, mocking those who stand against him.

Spurgeon has a slightly different take: As if David had said - What are these fellows who lie in ambush? And what is the king their master, if God be on my side? If not only these but all the heathen nations were besetting the house, yet Jehovah would readily enough disappoint them and deliver me. In the end of all things it will be seen how utterly contemptible and despicable are all the enemies of the cause and kingdom of God. He is a brave man who sees this to-day when the enemy is in great power, and while the church is often as one shut up and besieged in his house.

We do have a parallel verse to this in Psalm 2:4, which is a psalm about the heathen nations.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      I will keep my strength, to You, for You, O God, are my helper.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       You are my mighty fortress, and I depend on you.

NAB                               My strength, for you I watch;

you, God, are my fortress, my loving God. [the NAB tacks the first part of v. 11 onto the last line of v. 10, as Young seems to do].

NJB                                My strength, I keep my eyes fixed on you.

For my stronghold is God,...

NLT                                You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,

for you, O God, are my place of safety.

REB                               My strength, I look to you;

for God is my strong tower.

TEV                                I have confidence in your strength;

you are my refuge, O God.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Emphasized Bible (updated) ║O my Strength║ <to you> will I make melody [So it should be. Compare v. 17],

For ║God║ is my high tower.

God’s Word™                 O my strength, I watch for you!

God is my stronghold, my merciful God!

JPS (Tanakh)                        O my strength, I wait for You,

for God is my haven.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        O my Strength, I will watch and give heed to You and sing praises; for God is my defense—my protector and high tower.

NASB                                    Because of his strength [many manuscripts read My strength] I will watch for Thee,

For God is my stronghold.

NKJV                                     I will wait for You, O You his Strength [So with MT, Syriac; some Hebrew manuscripts, LXX, Aramaic Targum, Vulgate, my Strength];

For God is my defense [lit., fortress].

Young's Updated LT              O my Strength, unto You I take heed,

For God is my tower—the God of my kindness. [Unlike the NAB above, the last portion of this verse is placed as an actual part of v. 9].

Obviously, I have listed more translations here than for any previous verse in this psalm. That means that there could be a great deal of controversy as to how this verse is translated.

What is the gist of this verse? David looks to God as God should be his strength and fortress.

Translation: O my Strength, I should be preserved in You [or, let me sing to You],... When I first looked at this verse and Owen’s morphology, I thought, this is a pisser! I could see why there were so many different renderings of this verse. However, in all actuality, it does not appear to be that difficult. Owen lists this verb as a Qal, which is the normal stem. However, this word begins with an aleph, which is the mark of the Niphal stem in the 1^st person. The Niphal is the passive stem, which means that David received the action of the verb. Affixed to shâmar is the voluntative hê; that is, it ends with âh, which indicates that with the verb in the 1^st person, we should have the additional words let me, allow me to. However, since this is a Niphal verb, we might insert the helping verbs may, might, ought, should. David is saying that he should be preserved in God. He should receive protection and guarding by God. David understands his place in this world, and therefore recognizes that God should preserve him. Given the context, given David’s escape to save his own life, given Saul’s doggedness with regard to killing David, this translation makes a world of sense. David looks to God, who laughs at Israel’s enemies, and says to God, “I should be preserved in You, [O God] My strength!”

To recall the exegesis on this portion of the verse: simply because vv. 9 and 17 are very similar, does not require tem to read precisely the same. The similarities could very well be intentional on the part of David, indicating a shift in mental attitude from petition (please preserve me) to thanksgiving (allow me to sing Your praises). Textual criticism general supports the most difficult reading, which is the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix. This is a much easier passage to exegete and understand when taken as a 1^st person masculine singular suffix, which is the rendering that I am going to stick with.

A reasonable question would be, how would one understand the interpretation of this as a 3^rd person masculine singular suffix? Barnes interprets it in this way: the passage reads literally, “His strength - I will wait upon thee.” The reference here is not to the strength or power of God, as if the fact that “He” was powerful was a reason why the psalmist should look to him - but it is to the strength or power of the enemy - of Saul and his followers. There is much abruptness in the expression. The psalmist looks at the power of his enemy. “‘His strength,’ he cries. It is great. It is beyond my power to resist it. It is so great that I have no other refuge but God; and because it is so great, I will fix my eyes on him alone.

Translation: ...for God [is] my refuge. Then David explains why he should expect to be preserved in God—for God is my refuge; God is my secure place; God is my secure height. It is a matter of doctrine that David should expect God’s protection and preservation. Barnes: God was to him “as” a high place, or a place of refuge; a place where he would be safe. The idea here is that David is now on the run, and, unbeknownst to him, he will be a fugitive for another half-decade or so. His security is God; his refuge is God; his safety is God. From a human standpoint, David has had all means of security removed from him. However, from the divine viewpoint, David is just as secure as he has ever been. His security depends upon an unchanging God, and that he has. His security depends upon the promises of an unchanging God, and these are in David’s possession.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      My God—His mercy will go before me; my God will show me my enemies.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       You love me and will let me see my enemies defeated.

NAB                               May God go before me,

and show me my fallen foes.

NLT                                In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.

He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Emphasized Bible (updated) ║My God of lovingkindness║ will come to meet me,

║God║ will let me look on my adversaries.

God’s Word™                 God will come to meet me.

He will let me gloat over those who spy on me.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible        My God in His mercy and steadfast love will meet me; God will let me look [triumphantly] on my enemies—those who lie in wait for me.

NASB                                    My God in His lovingkindness will meet me;

God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes,...

Young's Updated LT              God does go before me,

He causes me to look on my enemies.

What is the gist of this verse? David’s protection is guaranteed by God, Who goes before David and allows David to see those who believe themselves to be observing David unawares.

Translation: My God of grace [or, The God of my grace] goes before me;... This verse is clearly a continuation of the one which comes before (O my Strength, I should be preserved in You, for God [is] my refuge). David answers his own concerns here. He recognizes that God is a God of grace and that God, since He is omniscient, goes before David. Wherever David goes, God has been before (this is, of course, an anthropopathism—God really doesn’t take a trip out before David to check everything out; God is omniscient, not only with regards to place but with regards to time, so He knows all that David will face). But, the idea is that David has had every vestige of human security removed from him, but God is his refuge and God goes before him wherever David goes.

I believe that the most logical reading is My God of grace or The God of my grace. The insertion of the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix in this and the previous verse would allow for there to be some differentiation between God the Son and God the Father; however, there is little else in this psalm which suggests this (as compared, to say, Isa. 43–48, where the trinity is taught in shadow form).

The comments of Spurgeon: God who is the giver and fountain of all the undeserved goodness I have received, will go before me and lead my way as I march onward. He will meet me in my time of need. Not alone shall I have to confront my foes, but he whose goodness I have long tried and proved will gently clear my way, and be my faithful protector.

Translation: ...God causes me to see my [insidious] watchers. Specifically, Saul sent men to watch over David’s home and to then seize David. They are the insidious watchers, those who observe David with evil intent.

Application: There are people all around us who observe us for the purpose of bringing us down; or who watch in hopes that we will fall. It is important to mention, by the way, that Saul is a believer. He is a believer and he is out to kill David. Bear in mind that those who try to bring you down are going to very likely be fellow believers, not just Christians, but often Christians who faith is not unlike yours.

Barnes comments: That is, He will let me see them discomfited, and disappointed in their plans. This is equivalent to saying that God would give him the victory, or would not suffer them to triumph over him.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Early translations:

The Septuagint                      Slay them not, lest they forget Your Law; scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, my defender.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                              Don’t kill them, or everyone may forget!

Just use your mighty power

to make them tremble and fall.

NLT                                Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;

stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,

O Lord our shield.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                 Do not kill them.

Otherwise, my people may forget.

Make them wander aimlessly by your power.

Bring them down, O Lord, our shield,...

JPS (Tanakh)                        Do not kill them lest my people be unmindful;

with Your power make wanderers of them;

bring them low, O our shield, the Lord,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                    Do not slay them, lest my people forget;

Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down,

O Lord, our shield.

Young's Updated LT              Do not slay them, lest my people forget,

Shake them by Your strength,

And bring them down, O Lord our shield.

What is the gist of this verse? .

Translation: Do not kill them so that my people do not forget;... Since this psalm has two applications, one personal and one for Israel, this verse also has two interpretations. First the more universal interpretation: David was a student of the Word of God; he knew Israel’s history. Israel had a history of forgetting what God had done on their behalf. David asked that their enemies remain so that Israel would always recall how God had delivered them; and, if they forgot, the enemies were right there to attack again, and to be rebuffed against by God (see Deut. 4:9 6:10–12 Judges 2:2–3, 16–23). We know that God answered this prayer as David asked, as there are enemies surrounding Israel to this day. If you examine a map of the Middle East, Israel is a small postage stamp on a very large envelope of enemies.

On a personal level, David is not asking for his enemies—Saul and his officers—to be killed. They will become an object lesson for Israel; how God preserves David yet allows his enemies to live. God will allow for Saul to live for several years, and the contrast between his life and David’s will make up the rest of the book of I Samuel.

Barnes comments: The meaning of this seems to be, Do not destroy them at once, lest, being removed out of the way, the people should forget what was done, or should lose the impression which it is desirable should be produced by their punishment. Let them live, and let them wander about, as exiles under the divine displeasure, that they may be permanent and enduring proofs of the justice of God; of the evil of sin; of the danger of violating the divine law. So Cain wandered on the earth Gen 4:12-14, a living proof of that justice which avenges murder; and so the Jews still wander, a lasting illustration of the justice which followed their rejection of the Messiah. The prayer of the psalmist, therefore, is that the fullest expression might be given to the divine sense of the wrong which his enemies had done, that the salutary lesson might not be soon forgotten, but might be permanent and enduring.

Translation: ...shake them [instead] with Your power... David wants a clear demonstration of God’s power and authority. He wants it to be known that God is in control and that God acts when petitioned. He asks for God to shake Saul and his lackeys.

On the more universal interpretation, David asks for God to shake up Israel’s enemies. We have seen this again and again in both ancient and modern history. Today, any believer should be able to recognize that you don’t mess with Israel. Israel may have fallen out of favor with God; however, Israel still remains in God’s plan and God will not allow his people to be destroyed. Therefore, despite the fact that Israel is tremendously outnumbered in the middle east, and despite the fact that there are a huge number of Arabs who absolutely hate Israel; and despite the fact that even after two wars, Israel is still there—this demonstrates to us God’s faithfulness. God has allowed Israel’s enemies to remain to demonstrate His power and faithfulness.