Psalm 59:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 59:1-7

The title of this psalm acquaints us particularly with the occasion on which it was penned; it was when Saul sent a party of his guards to beset David's house in the night, that they might seize him and kill him; we have the story 1 Sam. 19:11. It was when his hostilities against David were newly begun, and he had but just before narrowly escaped Saul's javelin. These first eruptions of Saul's malice could not but put David into disorder and be both grievous and terrifying, and yet he kept up... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 59:1

Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God ,.... David had his enemies in his youth, notwithstanding the amiableness of his person, the endowments of his mind, his martial achievements, his wise behaviour and conduct, and the presence of God with him; yea, it were some of these things that made Saul his enemy, who, by his power and authority, made others; see 1 Samuel 18:5 . Christ had his enemies, though he went about doing good, both to the bodies and souls of men, continually; the chief... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 59:1

Deliver me from mine enernies, O my God - A very proper prayer in the mouth of Nehemiah, when resisted in his attempts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, who opposed the work, and endeavored to take away the life of the person whom God had raised up to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. I conceive the Psalm to have been made on this occasion; and on this hypothesis alone I think it capable of consistent explanation. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 59:1

Verse 1 1Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God! He insists upon the strength and violence of his enemies, with the view of exciting his mind to greater fervor in the duty of prayer. These he describes as rising up against him, in which expression he alludes not simply to the audacity or fierceness of their assaults, but to the eminent superiority of power which they possessed; and yet he asks that he may be lifted up on high, as it were, above the reach of this over-swelling inundation. His... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 59:1

Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God. This is David's almost constant cry (see Psalms 7:1 ; Psalms 17:13 ; Psalms 22:20 ; Psalms 25:20 ; Psalms 31:1 , Psalms 31:2 , Psalms 31:15 ; Psalms 35:17 ; Psalms 40:13 ; Psalms 43:1 ; Psalms 69:18 ; Psalms 70:1 , Psalms 70:4 ; Psalms 109:21 , etc.). He has enemies, both domestic and foreign. In his early youth Saul becomes his enemy out of jealousy; then most of Saul's courtiers espouse their master's quarrel, he has... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 59:1-17

It is generally agreed that the composition divides into four portions, two of them closed by the pause mark, "Selah," and the other two by a refrain. It thus consists of four strophes, the first of five verses ( 1 Samuel 19:1-5 ), and the other three of four verses each ( 1 Samuel 19:6-9 , 1 Samuel 19:10-13 , and 1 Samuel 19:14-17 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 59:1-17

Waiting upon God. There are expressions in this psalm which sound harsh and cruel, and which Christians would shrink from using. But, on the other hand, there is much here that comes home to our experience, and that is helpful and comforting in the great trials of life. It is something to know that good men have suffered affliction before us—that they have been falsely accused and foully wronged, that they have felt the pangs of grief and the bitterness of disappointment, and that they... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 59:1

Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God - See the notes at Psalms 18:48. 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 1 Samuel 19:11, and there seemed no way for him to escape.... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 59:1

Psalms 59:1. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God Thou art God, and canst deliver me; my God, under whose protection I have put myself; and thou hast promised me to be a God all-sufficient, and therefore in honour and faithfulness thou wilt deliver me. He chiefly means Saul by his enemies; but speaks in the plural number, out of reverence to his king, and that he might, as far as he could with truth, lay the blame of these odious practices on those that were about him. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 59:1-17

Psalms 59:0 Wild dogsAt the time of writing this psalm, David had not yet fled to Gath and Adullam. He was still at Saul’s court, but his repeated military successes stirred up Saul’s jealousy, resulting in another attempt by Saul to spear him (1 Samuel 19:1-10). David escaped to the safety of his own house. Saul then laid a plot to murder him at his home, and David escaped only narrowly (1 Samuel 19:11-17). This psalm concerns the attempt on David’s life at his house.The psalm opens with a... read more

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