The Certain Sovereign Judgment

Psalms 59:1-17
To the Chief Musician. Set to "Do Not Destroy." A Michtam of David when Saul sent men, and they watched the house in order to kill him.

1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Defend me from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from bloodthirsty men.

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.
4 They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.
Awake to help me, and behold!

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

6 At evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
7 Indeed, they belch with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips;
For they say, "Who hears?"

8 But You, O LORD, shall laugh at them;
You shall have all the nations in derision.

9 I will wait for You, O You his Strength;
For God is my defense.
10 My God of mercy shall come to meet me;
God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

11 Do not slay them, lest my people forget;
Scatter them by Your power,
And bring them down,
O Lord our shield.

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.

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

14 And at evening they return,
They growl like a dog,
And go all around the city.
15 They wander up and down for food,
And howl if they are not satisfied.

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.

17 To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

There is a certain judgment due to all those continuing in rebellion against God and refusing to repent and turn from sin to Him.  This wisdom psalm of king David was written as evil men sent to kill him were lying in wait around his house.  He knew firsthand what persecution of men set on evil was like, and so sang to God and for others to hear or read later of God’s glory in judgment and deliverance of His people.  He prayed first of all for deliverance and defense against his aggressors, those powerful enemies who were opposed to him through no sin or other fault of his own.  They were sent as assassins by king Saul and did not care that they had nothing personal against him.  They could not even justify their actions by accusing David of being worthy of death, but quite the opposite actually.  The psalmist then calls to God to execute swift judgment on all such wicked sinners, punishing them as well as all the nations who oppose God and His people.  Stop and think about that desire to see justice executed on those continuing in sin against the Lord God.  He compares the evil as growling dogs who will be put down as they speak evil to kill and destroy, yet think that God does not hear them, as if He did not even exist!  God laughs at them.  These deserve judgment.  David provided us the right response, to trust God’s strength for defense as a shield and His mercy as He visits judgment on his enemies.  He asked them to be broken down and scattered about, not destroyed, so that others of God’s people can witness His judgment on them.  He knew that God will judge their sinful words and pride of actions, stopping their lies in wrath and bearing witness of His righteousness to the end of the earth.  We also bear witness through the gospel carried to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8), the good news of merciful grace as an answer to the bad news of impending deserved punishment for sin which we all face for our sin.  Dwell on these things for a while.  Selah.  When the enemy returns with aggressive words against the Lord and His people, we should praise and exalt our Lord for His power in mercy, for His defense of us and refuge in the storm.  We then join the psalmist in praising God who is our strength, defense, and source of all mercy to forgive and accept us to Himself.  Amen.