Deliver me from my Enemies
Walk through the Word 2023 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Biblical Timeline
1 Samuel 1-7 are key text in seeing the transition of Israel to a united Kingdom with a King leading them instead of Judges.
1 Samuel 8 The Israelites ask for a King.
1 Samuel 9-11 Saul is made King over Israel.
1 Samuel 15 Saul is rejected as King by the Lord because of disobedience
1 Samuel 16 David is anointed King by Samuel
1 Samuel 17-18 David’s Success and Saul’s Jealousy
David in Danger
King Saul tries to kill David (1 Samuel 19)
Saul’s jealousy and fear of David (18:6–30)
Jonathan and Michal save David’s life (19:1–17)
Jonathan is Saul's Son and Friend of David
Michal is Saul’s Daughter given to David as his wife.
David takes refuge with Samuel (19:18–24)
David spent many years running from King Saul.
David was a poetic writer and penned many of the Palms in the Bible.
Psalms 59 “TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO DO NOT DESTROY. A MIKTAM OF DAVID, WHEN SAUL SENT MEN TO WATCH HIS HOUSE IN ORDER TO KILL HIM.” (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. Print.)
“The title positions the psalm in the time of Saul’s pursuit of David’s life. But even when David’s opposition is clearly Saul (or Absalom, etc.), his psalms tend to enlarge the sphere to include two further categories of adversaries: David’s personal enemies in general—and he had many of them (59:1–4)—and his international foes (59:5, 13). Once he moves to the nations in verse 5, his enemies seem to be international (59:13).” (Bullock, C. Hassell. Psalms 1–72. Ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015. Print. Teach the Text Commentary Series.)
David killed Goliath and his family. He has won many battles with foreign nations. He is dealing with the jealousy of Saul and his attempts to kill him with a spear.
Because David expanded to addressing a broader view of the enemies, It made his Psalm applicable to others reading it.
Psalm 59 - Deliver Me from My Enemies
“chiasm (also chiasmus, inverted parallelism, etc.): A pattern of words or concepts in which the first and last are similar, the second and next to last are similar, and so forth, making memorization easy (e.g., Isa. 6:10; Zech. 14; Matt. 7:6a). The middle of a chiasm is not necessarily more important than any other part. Most short chiasms are just stylistic variations within synonymous parallelisms.” (Stuart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. Fourth Edition. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. Print.)
Begins and ends focusing on God (1-2; 16-17)
Then focuses on his Enemies (3-8; 11-15)
Pivotal point focuses on His actions (9-10)
Prayer for Deliverance (1-2)
Prayer for Deliverance (1-2)
David is being pursued by King Saul to kill him. David is crying out to the Lord in his distress and writes this poem of Lament. Readers of this psalm is meant to connect with the psalmist in his grief and cry out to the Lord as well.
Psalm 59:1–2 (ESV)
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me;
deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
Protection from His Enemies
Deliver Me - to rescue v. — to free from harm or evil, and in some cases from imprisonment. (Bible Sense)
Protect Me - to protect v. — to shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage. (Bible Sense)
David is generalizing his situation with Saul to praying for protection from all his enemies.
Enemies
Enemies - enemy (military) n. — an armed adversary; especially a member of an opposing military force. (Bible Sense)
“...rise up against me”
“...who work evil”
“...bloodthirsty men” - bloodshed (murder) n. — the shedding of blood resulting in murder. (Bible Sense)
David is dealing with Saul using his military strength to kill him. Paul starts with prayer to God to rescue him from Saul.
We may have experience people attacking, discrediting, or slandering us that causes us to be in distress. We are to look to the Lord to protect us from those desiring to hurt us. David starts with a prayer to the Lord and the readers of this psalm is to do the same.
Complaint against the Wicked (3-8)
Complaint against the Wicked (3-8)
They act with no cause (3-5)
Psalm 59:3–5 (ESV)
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!
You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
Synthetic parallelism— development of meaning from one line to the next.
Enemies are pursuing Him (3a)
“Lie in wait ... stir up Strife” - to attack (start war) v. — to launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with. (Bible Sense)
David is confessing that He is innocent (3b-4a)
“no transgression or sin of mine... no fault of mine”
transgression - evildoing n. — the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle. (Bible Sense)
Sin - sin (act) n. — an act or feeling that transgresses something forbidden or ignores something required by God’s law or character; whether in thought, feeling, speech, or action. (Bible Sense)
Fault - guilt n. — the state of having committed an offense. (Bible Sense)
Lord come and see (4b-5)
“Awake, come to meet me, and see!”
“punish all the nations...who treacherously plot evil.” to punish v. — to impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on. (Bible Sense)
David is crying out to the Lord saying that his enemies are pursuing and trying to harm him for no reason. He did not sin against them that would cause them to pursue Him. He is asking the Lord to come and see that he did not do anything wrong.
They act with no fear (6-8)
Psalm 59:6–8 (ESV)
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths
with swords in their lips—
for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”
But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
They are prowling around the town looking for who to devour and fear not who will hear them. (6-7)
“The Hebrew word used here, nava'—which may be literally rendered “to pour out”—is used to describe people who speak with arrogance (Ps 94:4), folly (Prov 15:2), or evil (Prov 15:28). The enemies of the psalmist speak like this, believing that their evil will go unnoticed.” (Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.)
David is saying that his enemies are arrogant in their unlawful pursue of him believing that they will get away with it.
The Lord is aware of the actions of the wicked (8)
“laugh at them...all the nations in derision.” to mock v. — to treat with contempt, for example, verbally. (Bible Sense)
“Yahweh responds to the arrogance and violence of the enemies of the psalmist with laughter and derision, because their efforts in comparison to God’s will are futile.” (Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.)
Testimony of Trust in God (9-10)
Testimony of Trust in God (9-10)
Psalm 59:9–10 (ESV)
O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are my fortress.
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
David is trusting in the Lord to answer his prayer. (9a)
“I will watch for you...” to watch v. — to look attentively. (Bible Sense)
David is watching for the actions of the Lord to deliver Him. We need to seek for the Lord when we are dealing with difficult situations or people.
Who is the Lord to David (9b)
“My Strength...” - strength n. — the property of being physically or mentally strong. (Bible Sense)
“My Fortress...” - stronghold (structure) n. — a strongly fortified defensive or military structure. (Bible Sense)
David sees the Lord as the strength of his life and a strong fortress protecting him from his enemies. The Lord is also our strength and fortress.
What David is trusting in God to do (10)
“God will meet him...” - to meet (get together) v. — to get together for a specific purpose. (Bible Sense) He is trusting that God will meet with him because of the Lord’s steadfast love of him.
“triumph on my enemies...” - “God will go before me and will let me gloat. God will go before the psalmist in the sense of the vanguard who leads the way and protects the front flank. The Hebrew equivalent of “will let me gloat” is literally “he will show me my enemies,” while a similar expression in Psalms 92:11 and 118:7 implies the “downfall” of the psalmist’s enemies.” (Bullock, C. Hassell. Psalms 1–72. Ed. Mark L. Strauss and John H. Walton. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015. Print. Teach the Text Commentary Series.)
The Main point of the Psalm is that in distress the psalmist is feeling because of his enemies, He is crying out to the Lord and trusting in Him to rescue him.
Curse on the Wicked (11-15)
Curse on the Wicked (11-15)
Punish the Wicked (11)
Psalm 59:11 (ESV)
Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter by your power and bring them down,
O Lord, our shield!
“Do not kill them Though the psalmist wants God to punish his enemies, he doesn’t want Him to kill them. It seems that he wants his enemies to live in a humbled state to remind people of the consequences of opposing God.” (Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.)
Totter - to cause to wander v. — to cause to move about aimlessly or without any destination. (Bible Sense)
Psalm 59:11 (NET 2nd ed.)
Do not strike them dead suddenly,
because then my people might forget the lesson.
Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down,
O Lord who shields us.
Lord will punish the wicked (12-13)
Psalm 59:12–13 (ESV)
For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
to the ends of the earth. Selah
Their Sin (12)
Pride - “gā’ôn means “excellency,” “majesty,” “pride,” as well as several related senses, in its nearly fifty occurrences. The meaning “pride” is found in about half of these. When it means “pride,” gā’ôn primarily refers to an arrogant conceit that will incur the wrath of God.” (Renn, Stephen D., ed. “Pride, Proud.” Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew and Greek Texts 2005: 757. Print.)
Cursing - curse (appeal) n. — an appeal to some supernatural power to inflict injury or destruction on someone or some group. (Bible Sense)
Lies - lie n. — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth. (Bible Sense)
Lords judgment (13)
Consume - to destroy (do away with) v. — to do away with, cause the destruction or undoing of. (Bible Sense)
Wrath - wrath (punishment) n. — the punitive outworking of God’s righteous indignation at sin; perhaps describing an anger long-building. (Bible Sense)
I don’t think David is talking about killing them because of what he wrote earlier. However he wants God to punish them in their sin because of His wrath towards sin and love of His people.
Praise to God (16-17)
Praise to God (16-17)
Psalm 59:16–17 (ESV)
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
Praise of God
I will sing your praise because of your strength and your steadfast love.
Praise - Praise and thankfulness to God for who He is and what He has or will do through song.
Chesed (206x (126 in Psalms))- “loyal love n. — an unfailing kind of love, kindness, or goodness; often used of God’s love that is related to faithfulness to his covenant.” (Bible Sense)
“to you I will give praise Earlier, the psalmist stated his intent to watch for God (Ps 59:9). Now he sings praise to God, confident that He will punish his enemies.” (Barry, John D. et al. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016. Print.)
He sings praises because of who God is (strong and safety) and His loyal love for him.
Lessons from David
Lessons from David
Pray to God in times of distress.
David was in a situation that threatened his life. He was pursued by King Saul and the Philistines. In the midst of this, David cries out to the Lord to rescue him from his enemies. He prays that he was innocent before them and was pursued for no reason.
When we find ourselves in distressing situations or people against us, we need to cry out to the Lord to deliver us. We need to check our actions to see if we are innocent or sinful.
1 Peter 2:19–25 (ESV)
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Put your trust in the Lord.
David, as he was praying to the Lord, put his trust in God to deliver him because of who He is and what He did and could do. He Put his trust in the Lord because he was God as his refuge because of God’s strength and steadfast Love.
Just like David was in covenant relationship with God and knew God was faithful, We have the same confidence in God’s love and protection in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We need to trust in God in our times of struggles.
Praise God for His Faithfulness.
David ended the Psalm with a praise of God for his love and protection.
This is a clear process of dealing with difficulties or difficult people. We Pray, Trust, and Praise.
Benediction
Proverbs 3:3–8 (ESV)
3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.