Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies. To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.
Even now they lie in wait for my life;
the mighty stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready....
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words on their lips—
for ‘Who’, they think, ‘will hear us?’
But you laugh at them, O Lord;
you hold all the nations in derision.
O my strength, I will watch for you;
for you, O God, are my fortress.
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies....
Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
They roam about for food,
and growl if they do not get their fill.
But I will sing of your might;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been a fortress for me
and a refuge on the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)
Psalm 59 takes us back to the time when King Saul is seeking to take David's life because in his madness he is jealous that his daughter Michal and son Jonathan love David more than him, as well as at David's success in defeating his enemies. We see the story in the first book of Samuel (19.11-17). It's the moment he first flees, to become a fugitive on the run. The descriptions of the terrors of the night surely also conjure up today what it must be like to live in the towns and cities of the Middle East at night, waiting for the bombs to drop, whether this is in Gaza, Beirut, or Israel.
↠ Consider the innocent in the Middle East, and perhaps send God an "arrow prayer" concerning them.
David cries for deliverance from this howling pack of 'dogs' who seek his life. He appeals to God using three different titles, first, 'Yahweh' the personal name God gave to Moses; second, 'the God of hosts' (ie God of the heavenly armies); and third, the 'God of Israel' (ie of God of the chosen people). David's confidence in God's ability to rescue him is undiminished. God is his "refuge" and his "fortress" (mentioned three times in the excerpt above).
God answers David's prayer in this instance in the form of Michal, his wife, who lets him out of a window so that he can escape those who seek to kill him. Over the next ten years or so as a fugitive, God in His steadfast love for David, will keep him safe in different ways including using the help of Jonathan, King Saul's son.
Lord Jesus Christ,
even when life is difficult for ourselves
or our world
may we continue to praise You.
You always answer our prayers
even when we don't understand this.
May we learn also to help ourselves,
taking small steps to right the wrongs,
and may we learn to help others,
so becoming an answer to their prayer.
Amen.
You might like to hear Psalms 51-100, read by David Suchet. You can stop and start it at the psalm you want:
Or use these simple prayers produced by the Tearfund charity: