A Righteous Howl
Introduction: The Necessity of Imprecation
We live in a soft and sentimental age. Modern evangelicalism, with its therapeutic sensibilities, has developed a severe allergy to what we find in psalms like this one. We are comfortable with psalms that feel like a warm blanket, but we grow skittish and embarrassed when the psalter sharpens its teeth. We are taught to love our enemies, which is true enough, but we have misinterpreted this to mean that we are to pretend that we do not have any. We are told to be nice, which has come to mean that we must never, under any circumstances, call down the judgment of God upon the wicked.
But the psalter, the prayer book of the church, is full of such prayers. These are not angry, personal rants. They are inspired, Spirit-breathed imprecations. To neglect them, or to allegorize them into meaninglessness, is to rip a whole category of righteous prayer out of the hands of God's people. It is to disarm the church in a time of war. The inscription for this psalm places it in a specific, historical moment: "When Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to put him to death." This is not an abstract meditation. David is in mortal danger. The duly constituted authority of the land, King Saul, has gone rogue and is trying to murder him. This is high treason, not from David, but from the king himself.
This psalm teaches us how a righteous man prays when he is surrounded by treachery. It is a prayer for deliverance, yes, but it is also a prayer for justice. David does not ask for personal vengeance. He is not asking for permission to form a posse and string up Saul's men. He is appealing to the high court of heaven. He is asking the ultimate Judge to intervene and to do what is right. This is a crucial distinction. We are forbidden from taking personal revenge, from returning evil for evil. But we are commanded to desire justice and to pray for the establishment of God's righteous kingdom. And when we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are necessarily praying for the subduing of all rival kingdoms. Every prayer for the kingdom is an imprecatory prayer.
In these first five verses, David lays out his case. He identifies his enemies, declares his own innocence, and calls upon the God of Armies to arise and act. This is not the prayer of a vindictive man, but of a man who understands the character of God and the nature of justice.
The Text
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from workers of iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed. For behold, they have lain in wait for my soul; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh, For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see! You, O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.
(Psalm 59:1-5 LSB)
A Cry for Divine Intervention (v. 1-2)
The psalm opens with a direct, urgent plea for help.
"Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from workers of iniquity And save me from men of bloodshed." (Psalm 59:1-2)
David is in a tight spot, and he knows it. Saul's men are outside his house, waiting to kill him. So his first words are a cry for deliverance. But notice the posture. He cries, "O my God." This is covenantal language. David is not appealing to a generic deity or some abstract force. He is calling upon the God who has made promises to him, the God who is his God. All righteous prayer stands on the ground of God's covenant faithfulness.
He asks to be "set securely on high." This is a request to be put in a high fortress, a place of safety, out of the reach of his enemies. It is a picture of God's divine protection. When the world is raging below, the righteous man wants to be lifted up into the security of God's presence. This is not escapism. It is recognizing that the only safe place in a hostile world is in the stronghold of God's sovereign care.
In verse 2, David defines his enemies more precisely. They are not just personal antagonists; they are "workers of iniquity" and "men of bloodshed." This is crucial. David is not in a petty squabble over property lines. He is being hunted by wicked men who deal in violence and injustice. By identifying them this way, he is framing his request not as a personal favor, but as a matter of cosmic justice. He is asking God to act consistently with His own character. God hates iniquity. God hates bloodshed. Therefore, David is asking God to defend His own honor by defending His servant from those who represent everything God opposes.
This is how we must learn to see our own conflicts. We must distinguish between personal enemies, whom we are called to forgive and love, and the enemies of God, whose agenda we are called to oppose. When we are attacked for righteousness' sake, we are not simply being attacked. The very work of iniquity is rising up against the work of God in us. Our prayer for deliverance, then, becomes a prayer for the vindication of God's name.
The Basis of the Appeal: Innocence (v. 3-4)
David now lays the groundwork for his appeal. He establishes his own innocence in this particular conflict.
"For behold, they have lain in wait for my soul; Fierce men launch an attack against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Yahweh, For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me. Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!" (Psalm 59:3-4)
The attack is premeditated and malicious. "They have lain in wait for my soul." This is not a crime of passion; it is a calculated ambush. The "fierce men" are not just misguided; they are savage and intent on murder. But the central point of David's argument is this: their hostility is entirely unprovoked. He declares before Yahweh, the covenant God, that this is "not for my transgression nor for my sin."
This is not a claim of sinless perfection. David was acutely aware of his own sin, as other psalms make abundantly clear. This is a legal plea. In the specific matter at hand, the conflict with Saul, David is innocent. He has done nothing to deserve this. Saul's animosity is fueled by jealousy and a wicked spirit, not by any fault in David. This is why David can pray with such confidence. He is not asking God to take his side in a quarrel where both parties are in the wrong. He is asking the righteous Judge to vindicate the innocent party against a guilty one.
Because he is innocent, the actions of his enemies are doubly perverse. "For no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me." They are energetic in their evil. They are hustling to commit murder against an innocent man. This injustice demands a response. And so David cries out, "Arouse Yourself to meet me, and see!" This is bold language. It is the cry of a man who is confident that if God would only look at the facts of the case, He would have to rule in his favor. It is a plea for God to stop appearing indifferent and to step into the courtroom, to see the evidence, and to render a verdict.
This is a pattern for us. When we suffer for doing good, we can appeal to God with a clean conscience (1 Peter 3:17). We can ask Him to "see" the injustice and to act. We are not demanding anything of God, but we are pleading with Him on the basis of His own revealed justice.
The Character of the Judge (v. 5)
Having stated his case, David now appeals to the character and authority of the One he is addressing. This is where the prayer takes on an awesome and terrible weight.
"You, O Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah." (Psalm 59:5)
David piles up the titles of God to remind himself, and to ground his prayer in, who exactly he is talking to. He is "Yahweh," the covenant-keeping God. He is the "God of hosts," or Yahweh Sabaoth. This means He is the commander of the armies of heaven. He is the Lord of innumerable, mighty angels. He is a warrior God. David is surrounded by a few of Saul's thugs, but he is appealing to the one who commands legions. He is also "the God of Israel," the one who has chosen and promised to defend His people.
Based on this identity, David makes his request. "Awake to punish all the nations." This might seem like an escalation. He started with Saul's men and now he is talking about all the nations. But this is the logic of covenant. The enemies of God's anointed king are representative of all the nations that rage against the Lord and His Christ (Psalm 2:1-3). Saul, in his rebellion, is acting like a pagan king. Therefore, the justice that applies to the rebellious nations must apply to him and his treacherous agents.
The prayer becomes intensely specific: "Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity." This is the heart of the imprecation, and it is what makes modern Christians nervous. But look closely at what is being said. David is not asking God to be ungracious to repentant sinners. He is asking God not to show grace, or favor, to those who are actively, unrepentantly, and treacherously engaged in wickedness. To show grace to a man in the very act of treachery is to be complicit in the treachery. It would be a perversion of justice. David is asking God to be God. He is asking for justice, not for a suspension of it.
And then we have that word, "Selah." While its exact meaning is debated, it most likely functions as a musical or liturgical instruction, something like "pause and reflect on this." It is a moment to stop and let the weight of what has just been said sink in. Think about it. The Lord of Armies is being called upon to arise and execute justice against treacherous evil. This is not a small thing. This is a prayer for the collision of heaven and earth. Selah. Let that sink in.
Conclusion: The Greater David
This psalm is about more than David's predicament with Saul. As with all the psalms, it finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ, the greater David. Jesus was the truly innocent one, who had no transgression or sin. And yet, fierce men lay in wait for His soul. The rulers of the earth ran and set themselves against Him for no guilt of His own.
He was surrounded, not just in a house, but on a cross. And on that cross, He did not pray this psalm for Himself. Instead, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Why? Because He was taking the curse upon Himself. He was absorbing the wrath that prayers like this call down. He was becoming the target of all righteous imprecation so that grace could be shown to treacherous sinners like us.
But that is not the end of the story. Having satisfied justice, He was raised from the dead and set securely on high, far above all rule and authority. And now, as the ascended King, He rules as Yahweh God of hosts. The Father has given all judgment to the Son. The day is coming when He will awake to punish all the nations. On that day, He will not be gracious to any who are still in their treachery and iniquity. The final, ultimate imprecation will be executed.
Therefore, our position is this. We stand with the greater David, our King. We pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done. We pray for the conversion of His enemies. But we also pray, with the saints under the altar, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10). We pray for justice, knowing that true justice and true mercy met at the cross. And we take refuge in Him, so that on the great day of His wrath, we will be found safely in the high fortress of His grace, and not among the workers of iniquity who must face the God of Armies. Selah.