Psalm 59

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.

They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.

I think it is important to note that when we feel like we’re being oppressed that we analyze the situation. We’re not just talking about people who don’t like you in this psalm. We’re talking about people who are doing things against us. I often think, “I didn’t do anything to her. I don’t know why she doesn’t like me.” Well, first off, Allyson, get over yourself. Not everybody has to like you, and absence of like isn’t hate. Secondly, if she’s not actively doing things against you, what are you worried about? Do you realize how many people you don’t like? A lot. They don’t seem very broken up about it. No, a problem occurs when some general dislike turns into action or even words. Plus, we have to be careful to realize whether or not we have possibly done something to cause the whole situation. If I told Mandy that her hair was stupid and then Mandy told me I was stupid, that leads us into a completely different problem. No, we’re talking about honest-to-goodness people who have it out for us for no apparent reason. It’s those moments when you sit there and start to doubt because you can’t answer the question, “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?”

 For they say, “Who hears?”

It just reminds me of the typical bully situation. They can pick on you because you’re there, and they know not to do it when the teacher/boss/authority is around. Besides, in the right context, what are they going to do about it anyway? It’s not like bullying is illegal. Or, let’s move up a bit. Very few people commit crimes thinking that they are going to get caught. A burglar might break into your house for no reason besides the fact that it’s there and you’re not home. He sneaks around, thinking, “Who sees?” And, he’s right to an extent, unless you have security cameras around your house. If he’s quiet, the neighbors won’t look. There are no police there. No one is going to know, so he can do whatever he wants.

Do not slay them, lest my people forget

It would be rather unfitting for the psalmist to call God the God of mercy and then ask God to have no mercy on his enemies.

And let them know that God rules in Jacob

The psalmist wants these wicked people to know that God hears, God sees everything they do. He wants them to get caught in their evil deeds, for them to fall by the same snares that they put out for others. God must be just, and these people cannot get away scot-free, especially when they do not acknowledge God. Still, He is merciful, and we should want the wicked to recognize God and hopefully reform their evil ways.