Psalms 59 TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, AL TAS-CHITH, MICHTAM OF DAVID. WHEN  SAUL SENT, AND THEY WATCHED THE HOUSE TO KILL HIM. The Midrash points out that even though Saul tried to kill David the life of David was saved through Michal and Jonathan from the House of  Saul. Warriors from the Tribe of Benjamin some of whom were apparently also related to Saul are later to form a not insignificant proportion of the closest entourage of David. The Midrash is in effect Rabbinical Commentary from the Sages of the Talmud.  More often than not it gives an acceptable almost literal explanation of Biblical verses and shows how one part of Scripture throws light on another and how the Bible in general can guide us in everyday existence. The Midrash was authored by Rabbis whose opinions form the Talmud but it is less authoritative and does not deal with LAW but rather with Biblical Commentary, observation and sound advice. When I was young and in a period of spiritual searching I received (from others) the impression that the Rabbis had departed from the plain meaning of the Bible. It took me a long time but eventually I realized that without them the true simple meaning of the Biblical text cannot be reached.    [Psalms 59:1] DELIVER ME FROM MINE ENEMIES, O MY GOD: DEFEND ME FROM THEM THAT RISE  UP AGAINST ME. Whoever is against you is your enemy.  This seems obvious but it is an axiom we often tend to ignore.                       [Psalms 59:2] DELIVER ME FROM THE WORKERS OF INIQUITY, AND SAVE ME FROM BLOODY MEN. It was not Sault alone who was against David but a gaggle of jealous sycophants. These were evil beings and violent by nature.  They had somehow attached themselves to Saul  possibly through their willingness and ability to use violence.  They were the equivalent of "enforcers". They were against David partly because they had a naturally nasty streak in them and also because David represented religious devotion which they rejected.                     [Psalms 59:3] FOR, LO, THEY LIE IN WAIT FOR MY SOUL: THE MIGHTY ARE GATHERED AGAINST ME; NOT FOR MY TRANSGRESSION, NOR FOR MY SIN, O LORD.  They wanted to take David down not because of any fault in him but more due to his lack of fault.                      [Psalms 59:4] THEY RUN AND PREPARE THEMSELVES WITHOUT MY FAULT: AWAKE TO HELP ME, AND BEHOLD.  David relates to the Almighty as a Personal God of whom requests can be made and who can be appealed to.                       [Psalms 59:5] THOU THEREFORE, O LORD GOD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, AWAKE TO VISIT ALL THE HEATHEN: BE NOT MERCIFUL TO ANY WICKED TRANSGRESSORS. SELAH.  David extrapolates from his own situation to that of all Israel not only in his own time but also into the future. We can learn from David that on a higher plane we are always engaged in the same struggle. By resisting our enemies at home and persisting in the pathway of goodness we subdue evil in general  both here and beyond ourselves.                      [Psalms 59:6] THEY RETURN AT EVENING: THEY MAKE A NOISE LIKE A DOG, AND GO ROUND ABOUT THE CITY.    They keep coming back. They are like dogs driven by animal instincts they cannot control. They seek the blood of innocents.  So too, with anti-Semites. They come at you with what they present as rational arguments but the truth does not really concern them. You may attempt to reason with them and answer them on one point but they will keep coming back at you with another plucked out of the air and reeking of malice.                    [Psalms 59:7] BEHOLD, THEY BELCH OUT WITH THEIR MOUTH: SWORDS ARE IN THEIR LIPS: FOR WHO,  SAY THEY, DOTH HEAR?    They say things that are not rue and do not care.  A common phenomenon is to find no-goods who are say horrible things and then pretend to be surprised when offence is taken. Alternately when the lies they utter are answered and their insults partially turned back on them they play the injured party and even seem to genuinely believe in their own deceit.                    [Psalms 59:8] BUT THOU, O LORD, SHALT LAUGH AT THEM; THOU SHALT HAVE ALL THE HEATHEN IN  DERISION.  The Almight is the God of Israel and of Judah. God shall take vengeance.  Bad words against the Holy people of Israel, against Joseph and against the Jews are words against the Almighty who will take vengeance.                      [Psalms 59:9] BECAUSE OF HIS STRENGTH WILL I WAIT UPON THEE: FOR GOD IS MY DEFENCE.  We cannot fight against everybody and if we do we cannot expect to always win. God however is strong. We should trust in HIM. He will protect us.                      [Psalms 59:10] THE GOD OF MY MERCY SHALL PREVENT ME: GOD SHALL LET ME SEE MY DESIRE UPON MINE ENEMIES. <<THE GOD OF MY MERCY SHALL PREVENT ME>>: Also capable of being rendered from the Hebrew as, MY GOD IS THE SOURCE OF KINDNESS UNTO ME, HE SHALL ANTICIPATE ME, i.e. before I myself am aware of it the Almighty has already prepared a means to save me and the overcoming of my enemies.                       [Psalms 59:11] SLAY THEM NOT, LEST MY PEOPLE FORGET: SCATTER THEM BY THY POWER; AND BRING THEM DOWN, O LORD OUR SHIELD. David calls on the Almighty both to save himself from his personal enemies who were Israelites and by extrapolation he asks for the protection of all Israel and the defeat of the enemies of Israel. David asks that the defeat of the evil-doers be in a manner where Divine Providence is palpable. He asks that they who experience it remain alive to spread the knowledge  of Divine Protection over they who obey the Almighty.                      [Psalms 59:12] FOR THE SIN OF THEIR MOUTH AND THE WORDS OF THEIR LIPS LET THEM EVEN BE  TAKEN IN THEIR PRIDE: AND FOR CURSING AND LYING WHICH THEY SPEAK.                        [Psalms 59:13] CONSUME THEM IN WRATH, CONSUME THEM, THAT THEY MAY NOT BE: AND LET THEM KNOW THAT GOD RULETH IN JACOB UNTO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. SELAH.  "JACOB" is another name for Israel but often taken to imply a lesser degree. Jacob in some contexts means the Jews and in other places refers to Britain or the USA.                      [Psalms 59:14] AND AT EVENING LET THEM RETURN; AND LET THEM MAKE A NOISE LIKE A DOG, AND    GO ROUND ABOUT THE CITY.                        [Psalms 59:15] LET THEM WANDER UP AND DOWN FOR MEAT, AND GRUDGE IF THEY BE NOT   SATISFIED.                        [Psalms 59:16] BUT I WILL SING OF THY POWER; YEA, I WILL SING ALOUD OF THY MERCY IN THE MORNING: FOR THOU HAST BEEN MY DEFENCE AND REFUGE IN THE DAY OF MY TROUBLE.                     << IN THE MORNING>>: This is both literal and figurative.  In the morning when he arises before he begins his day yet refreshed from the rest of night David will announce with song the greatness of God. David will exult in the Almighty. It also means that at the very beginning of his being enabled to do something worthwhile David will announce the truth of Divine Providence. [Psalms 59:17] UNTO THEE, O MY STRENGTH, WILL I SING: FOR GOD IS MY DEFENCE, AND THE  GOD OF MY MERCY.