DAVID'S UNDESERVED SUFFERING: Palms 59, 52, and 56

DAVID'S UNDESERVED SUFFERING

Psalms 59, 52, and 56

Copyright 11 April 2001 by Tom McMullen

David's responses to persecution are recorded in many of the Psalms. They are poetic songs accompanied by instruments. Hebrew poetry is based on rhythm and parallelism; this differs from Western poetry, which is based on rhyme or meter. David was a talented instrumentalist as well as guided by the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 22:43, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit inspired David concerning Psalm 110. The implication is that the Holy Spirit inspired all David's psalms. These psalms show David's frustration, concerns, and the like, so the Spirit still allowed David to express himself fully. Hebrew psalm writing reaches a high point with him.

Introduction to Psalm 59

After failing in several attempts to personally kill David, Saul hires assassins who plan to kill David during the night or as he leaves the house where he is living with Michal, his wife and Saul's daughter. She helps him escape (1Samuel 19:11-17). This experience inspiresPsalm 59, which trains us in how we should act under pressure.

PSALM 59

Saul's thugs surrounded David's house. The heading is part of the text. David may have written this while he was trapped that night. (The assassins would try to make the whole thing look like an accident because David was a national hero.) The overall organization of the psalm is: vss 1-5 the lament and appeal for help; vss 6-10 the description of his trust in God; vss 11-15 the petition for judgment on his enemy, vss 16, 17 the praise to God.

The Appeal for Help

vs 1a "Deliver" is an imperative. vs 1b "rise up" implies that the assassins were his own people, possibly one-time friends from the army. vs 2 "iniquity" - these men are spiritually out of it, as is Saul. This clique around Saul hates both God and David. They can't get God, but they can get God's choice, David (This applies to Christians too - see John 15:18-19.). "Men of bloodshed" means they were part of an assassination team (common in those days). vs 3a "ambush" or "lie in wait" is the first step in the staged "accident." "Fierce" is like the word "strength" as used in vss 16 & 17.

vs 3b - what bothers David is that he knows he is innocent. So why is he persecuted? The reasons for suffering: 1) The curse - we are in union with Adam and the Fall. 2) Rejection of grace. 3) Association with others who are suffering, this can be in marriage, for example. 4) Identification with Jesus Christ. 5) To learn truth (Deut. 8:2-5). 6) To produce a historic testimony of grace to believers, unbelievers, and angels. vs 4 David's suffering may be due to categories 1, 4, and 6 above. vs 5 in direct contrast to his threatening situation, David shifts to the essence of God. "God of Israel (Jacob)" emphasizes the God of the regenerate Jews. The music may have built to a crescendo here and then quiets down again while the singers stop and the instrumentalists continue.

David's Trust in God

vs 6: dogs were undesirable garbage collectors. "Who hears?" refers to God/conscience. vs 8 God has a sense of humor and David asks for a laugh in this situation. David prays coolly for humor, not for the death of his enemies since he realizes they'll get it anyway. David does escape to Samuel where God answers this prayer for humor by having the pursuing Saul prophecy naked. (See 1 Sam. 19:23-24.) vs 9 David uses "My Strength" as a title for God. Also, David is using God's strength. This makes David very collected here in spite of the fact that his emotion of fear is battling for dominance. vs 10 another name, Lovingkindness, for God, besides Strength and Defense (or Stronghold).

The Petition

vs 11 David's petition: Leave them around, weaken them, let them keep on the path of self-destruction. (See Prov. 25:3.) vs 12 let them be caught up in their own snare in such a way, vs 13, that all people know. David conceives of God as worldwide. This is amazing. In spite of the threats to his life, David moves from his local problem to a world-vision, the big picture. Also, he has gone from himself and his perspective, to God and His perspective, the really big picture. This is how all believers should strive to think. Again the music builds up to a crescendo and the singing pauses while the instruments play on.

David's Praise

vss 14, 15, David returns to the image of his would-be assassins as snarling dogs prowling the city' just as he did after the first pause in the singing - vs 14 is the same as vs 6, but vs 15 is different from vs 7. In summary: David asks God to just let him get out of here, but don't kill the would-be assassins, they are doing it to themselves. vs 16 In the morning he is going to escape. See 1 Sam 19:18+ for the answer to his prayer and how he escapes. (The house must have been on the wall.) vs 17 David praises God for the outcome, even though the prayer is yet to be answered.

Introduction to Psalm 52

As David flees Saul, he stops by the Tabernacle, which is at Nob. Thinking David is on a mission for Saul, the priests there inquire of God for him and give him bread and Goliath's sword. Doeg, an Edomite on Saul's staff, sees this and tells Saul. Saul orders the death of the priests, but his court officials won't kill them. He then orders Doeg to do it. Doeg kills the priests, all their families, and all the livestock at Nob. Only one priest escapes (1Samuel 22:9-20). David writes Psalm 52 in response.

PSALM 52

In Psalm 59, David likens his would-be assassins to snarling dogs prowling the city. It is different in this psalm. Unlike David's assassins, Doeg actually did kill on Saul's orders. He slaughtered the Jewish priests and their families. But David attacks Doeg, not so much for being a cold-blooded killer of women and children, but more for the sins of the tongue (slandering, lying, and boasting of evil), and for his general attitude against God and His law! vss 1-3 build up to a point where the singing stops, but the music continues. These verses describe a treacherous, deceitful man. vss 4-5 build to another pause in the singing; they describe the fall of a treacherous, deceitful man. vss 6-9 - the delight of the righteous.

A Deceitful Man

"Maskil" has an uncertain meaning. This could mean an "advice" psalm, or a "protection" psalm, or that it has to do with the music. vs 1 - David addresses Doeg directly - does this mean he expects that Doeg will hear this song some time in the future? David tells him that even though he has the favor of his boss, he is a disgrace to God. David sarcastically calls Doeg a "hero," a "mighty man. "Doeg's boasting fits the standards of the Ancient Near East, where assassination was the norm. But it doesn't fit God's standard. An application for us today is that, even though things may be going well for us in our jobs, our behavior may not be right by God's standards. We are to obey God, not man. vss 2-3 - Besides boasting of evil (killing the priests and families), Doeg is a slanderer and a liar. Apparently, with assassination so common in ancient times, many viewed lying more of a sin that killing. In spite of Doeg's high position in Israel, he is a "want-to-be." He wants to be a great person, but he, himself, is not. Therefore he tears others down, so he will look better. This is how he moved up the ladder of "success." In the 1990's in America, we called this practice the politics of personal destruction and the art of character assassination. Also, like many today, Doeg had to have had a powerful drive to make it to the top. The music emphasizes this evil practice of Doeg's, as there is a pause here.

Fall of a Deceitful Man

vs 4 - After the pause in the singing, David continues his direct accusation to Doeg concerning the sins of the tongue. Doeg devours the truth as he attacks others. vs 5 - But now the music emphasizes that God will not let this go on. He will remove Doeg from his political office and kill him. I would have thought that David would call for God to kill Doeg for murdering God's priests and their families, but no, Doeg's death will be for the more general attitude involving harmful words from a deceitful tongue, and the disregard of God and His truth. Again a pause at this point.

The Delight of the Righteous

vs 6 - The singing starts again after the pause, but now it is the righteous who are the focus of the song. These are those who fear and stand in awe of God. They are the Jonathans of Israel. They will rejoice at Doeg's fall. vs 7 - The righteous see and understand what happens to a man who trusts in wealth and not God, a man who rises up by destroying others. David doesn't want personal vengeance; he wants believers to know it was from God. vs 8 - David continues to rejoice, but now it is his situation compared to Doeg's. David is blessed. He is like an olive tree growing in the house of God. The olive tree is a figure of prosperity/production in God's presence (Hosea 14:6). David's productive tree is in contrast to Doeg who will be uprooted. David flourishes because he trusts in God; Doeg trusts in his wealth. vs 9 - David will go on praising God for what He has done. David's hope is in God's name, which signifies God's attributes. David has learned and has grown from his sufferings. He will praise God in the presence of the other saints.

Introduction to Psalm 56

In fleeing Saul, David starts to get spiritually out of it. He had handled well the situation at his house in which the assassins were waiting in a night ambush. But as he flees, his thinking starts to get confused. This develops as he goes to Samuel (1 Sam 12), Jonathan (1 Sam20), and finally Ahimelech (1 Sam 21). He gives this priest the impression that he is on an errand for Saul, which is a lie. Then he takes food and a weapon from the priest in front of Doeg, which is a mistake. Finally, he inquires of God.

When one inquired of the Lord, the priest used the urim and thummin located in a pouch behind the breastplate; the answers were either yes or no. This meant the questions had to be good. In his confused and spiritually out of it state, David may have asked something such as "Will Saul continue to seek my life?" When the answer was "yes," David decided to get out of Saul's jurisdiction, as if changing location were going to solve his problem, which he thinks is him versus Saul.

David went to Achish, the King of Gath, which was a total miscalculation. The courtiers of Achish recognize David as the killer of many Philistines (1 Sam 21:10-11). To show how confused David's thinking is, Gath is Goliath's hometown and David has his sword. They arrest him and plot to kill him. I think David prays Psalm 56 after a lengthy and scary interrogation, which makes him realize that human reasoning is not going to save him and that he desperately needs Divine help.

PSALM 56

The title includes the instruction that the Psalm is to be sung to an existing song, "A Dove on Distant Oaks." He probably selected this particular tune to refer to himself as a "Dove in a Foreign Land," or "God's Guy in Godless Gath." This song of lamentation can be broken out as vss 1-6, his plea for help; vss 7-11, his petition for vengeance; and vss 12-13, his promise to pay vows. There are no musical notations because the tune is already known.

David's Plea for Help

vs 1 - David may have thought that he could solve his problems by a geographical shift. However, he finds the men in King Achish's court just as fallen as those in King Saul's - there are Doeg types here too. He realizes that running from his problems is not going to solve them - an application for us. vs 2 - He uses "all day" again; he is under continuous pressure. Probably members of the court are interrogating, accusing him of being a spy. David is no doubt telling them he is on the outs with Saul and wants to offer his services to Achish. But even if they believed him, David would just be one more person to compete with for the king's favor, so why even give him a chance? This is where their pride may come into play, which David mentions. vs 4a - Here is his equivalent to Rom. 8:28-30. vs 4b - This may refer to torture during the interrogation - apparently a common practice in the past. (The Romans did it to non-citizens, and the British and other Europeans did it up to the 18th - 19th centuries.) vs 5 - The end result of their plotting is not to be rid of David, but to hurt and then kill him. This is what Doeg types would do, and brag about it afterwards. vs 6 - When they weren't interrogating him, they watched him.

The Petition for Vengeance

vs 7 - In his trial, David realizes he has leverage against them and calls on God. vs 8 - He is confident because God knows every detail of his life. He has not plotted against Saul and he is not spying for Israel. He is innocent, but it looks as if he is going to be killed. They couldn't kill him in battle, but here David voluntarily put himself in their hands. Another lesson for Christians: don't put yourself in the enemy's camp. The tears fit in the funeral customs of the day. vs 9 - It comes to David that God is for him in the midst of his undeserved sufferings - another application for us. vss 10-11 - are a repeat, with slight rewording, of vs 4. Is this how the "Dove" music went? Here is the United States' national motto, adopted by Congress, 30 July 1956.

David's Promise to Pay Vows

vss 12-13 - It may be that God's answer (perhaps a vision of David pretending to be insane) came to him just before this point in his prayer and David switches to praise. He owes it to God to give a verbal testimony, and that is why his desperate prayer turns into a lovely song. (See Psalm 26:7.) vs 13a - David remembers that God has saved him seven times from Saul. vs 13b - He realizes God's plan and he doesn't have to worry about the Philistines. David understands it is not him vs. Saul, or the Philistines, or some jerks at Gath on Achish's staff. It is the kingdom of man vs. the Kingdom of God, as Saint Augustine points out in his City of God.

THE APPLICATION FOR CHRISTIANS

A key differnence for Christians is that David's enemies were physical. A Christian's enemies are spiritual (John 15:18-19, John 17:14 and 1Peter 5:8 ). Christians are to love their physical enemies and bless them (Romans 12:14, and others).

Some parallels are that Saul was rejected as king (1Samuel 15) and David anointed as his successor (1Samuel 16). Satan was the anointed cherub, but was rejected (Isaiah 14:12-18 and Ezekiel 28:12-19) and instead Christ will rule (1John 3:8). Saul was left on the throne and Satan still has power on earth (Luke 4:5-7). Saul persecuted David and his followers: Satan is against Christ and His followers. Therefore, Christians can expect undeserved suffering.