A common theme in action movies is when the protagonist is surrounded by his enemies, and there isn’t any safe way to escape. The suspense grows as we wonder how he will get out of this tense situation. Sometimes in life we might find ourselves in a similar predicament. It might not be literal enemies who surround us, though that can happen. It can be all sorts of immense and serious problems that surround us, with no visible way of escape. What do we do when this happens? In our psalm for this week we take a look at one event in the life of David, when he had enemies surrounding him, just waiting for a chance to catch and probably kill him. Let’s see what his plan was to get out of a desperate situation.
Psalm 59 begins with an introductory heading which mentions the occasion that this psalm was written about. After his great victory over the Philistine Goliath, King Saul took David into his royal court, both as a musician and also as an important soldier. There he became best friends with Saul’s son Jonathan, and also married one of the king’s daughters, Michal. Following several more victories over the Philistines, David became very popular among the people. Saul had seriously drifted quite far away from the Lord since becoming king, and one sign from this was his jealousy of David, resulting in his multiple attempts upon David’s life. One such time was when King Saul sent some of his men to surround the house where David and his wife, Michal, lived (I Samuel 19:11-17). She had to help him escape out of a window in the dark of night, and he would spend the next several years living on the run from attacks and attempts on his life from Saul.
As we see when we read through this psalm is that Yahweh is the Defender of His people against wicked men, and like David knew, we see how to respond when we are surrounded by enemies, are falsely accused, and under attack. When his wife Michal told David that Saul’s men had surrounded the house, what was the first thing he did? Did he panic and fill with despair, or did he strap on his sword and go out to fight them on his own, since he was a skilled warrior? No, he did none of those. David immediately turned to God in prayer (vs. 1-2). He did not first seek revenge. He turned to God for His deliverance. Our first response when we are surrounded with opposition should be prayer, not retaliation.
David knew that he hadn’t done anything to deserve this from King Saul, that he was innocent regarding the accusations (vs. 3-4). This does not mean that David was sinless. However, he was innocent of the specific charges being used against him. Saul unjustly hated David, so he prayed to God for help. David saw these enemies like vicious predators, like ferocious wild dogs circling their prey (vs. 5-7). The world often mocks, opposes, and attacks God’s people. He never tells us to pretend that evil does not exist. Instead, we are to see it clearly, and trust God completely for deliverance.
What is God’s response to these enemies of David? He tells us that God laughs at the wicked (vs. 8). This is not an amused laugh, but instead is showing divine contempt. God is never threatened by the schemes of wicked men. They think that they have control, but God remains on the throne. David later repeats this thought in another of his psalms, of God laughing in contempt of the wicked (Psalm 2:4).
Following turning to the Lord in prayer, David then shifted from fear to faith (vs. 9-10). Instead of focusing on the enemy’s strength, he focused on God’s strength. Faith grows when we focus on God’s character rather than on our circumstances. Sometimes we spend more time dwelling on the problem rather than the One who can bring us out of that problem. David shows us here what we ought to be doing.
David then prayed for God’s righteous judgment on those who were wrongly attacking him (vs. 11-13). He didn’t ask for their immediate destruction, but for God to make them examples, which would serve as a warning to others. These weren’t just his enemies, they were rebellious enemies of God. He didn’t seek his own vengeance, but left the judgment in God’s hands. Then again David depicts them as restless dogs (vs. 14-15). Without God there is continual dissatisfaction, and no peace.
Our psalm began with danger, but ends with worship (vs. 16-17). David had confidence. His circumstances have not necessarily changed, but his perspective has. He knew that God was his answer. David didn’t hide his fear, but instead prayed to God. He knew that He was strong, faithful, and would protect him, and he did not wait for the answer to begin his praise. David praised God while the danger still existed.
In closing, as followers of the Lord Jesus, we must trust in His protection and justice even in times when opposition seems strong and the answers seem delayed. David’s enemies watched his house to destroy him, however David watched his God to deliver him. The enemy may surround our house, but remember, God surrounds His child!
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