My Stronghold

From the title of Psalm 59, we learn that the context in which David penned the Psalm was the events of 1 Samuel 19:11-12: Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.

Imagine for a moment … Your father-in-law, who is the king, hates you. Though you have done nothing but good for him, he seeks to repay your good with evil; he has already attempted to take your life three times, and he is now sending spies to your home by night, again seeking to kill you … and what do you do? You sit down and write a song about it! What might be considered unusual for most was quite common for David. He found his inspiration amid personal trials and national warfare. Read Psalm 59 with these events in mind. See how the dreadful pursuit of David's life lends the Psalm its urgency (vss. 1-2). Get the guiltlessness expressed in verses 3-4, as you consider David being chased out of the safety of his own home. Observe the scorn toward the stalkers who watch him by night (vss. 6,14). Perceive the passion in his imprecatory prayers to be vindicated (vss. 4-5, 11-13). Encounter the confidence of a man enduring a torrential attack, knowing that he is safely protected by a supernatural power (vss. 9 -10, 16-17). Hear the song's triumphant crescendo, as it extends to, "all the nations" and "the ends of the earth" (vss. 5,8,13).