WHAT WE REALLY NEED
Opening Prayer
I lift my voice to You today, Jesus. Hear my prayers and be honored in my worship.
Read Psalm 59
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm 59[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.[b] When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him.
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers
and save me from those who are after my blood.
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
5 You, Lord God Almighty,
you who are the God of Israel,
rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
show no mercy to wicked traitors.[c]
6 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
7 See what they spew from their mouths—
the words from their lips are sharp as swords,
and they think, “Who can hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, Lord;
you scoff at all those nations.
9 You are my strength, I watch for you;
you, God, are my fortress,
10 my God on whom I can rely.
God will go before me
and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
11 But do not kill them, Lord our shield,[d]
or my people will forget.
In your might uproot them
and bring them down.
12 For the sins of their mouths,
for the words of their lips,
let them be caught in their pride.
For the curses and lies they utter,
13 consume them in your wrath,
consume them till they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
14 They return at evening,
snarling like dogs,
and prowl about the city.
15 They wander about for food
and howl if not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of your strength,
in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
my refuge in times of trouble.
17 You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
you, God, are my fortress,
my God on whom I can rely.
Footnotes:
a Psalm 59:1 In Hebrew texts 59:1-17 is numbered 59:2-18.
b Psalm 59:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
c Psalm 59:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 13.
d Psalm 59:11 Or sovereign
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
We naturally ask God to take away our problems. But is that what we really need?David was in a tight spot! Saul had sent men to besiege David’s house and to kill him (1 Sam. 19:8–11). This psalm is David’s cry for God’s deliverance. Notice that he doesn’t just ask for God to fix the situation, he also asks for God to be his fortress (1,9,16,17). A fortress is a high and secure place to hide from a storm. Like David, we don’t just need solutions, we need God. And what a God we have!
In the first ten verses David describes his predicament, and then he looks to God. He does this twice, returning to his need for the God who is so strong that he can laugh at his enemies and be a fortress for those who trust in him. Then David calls on God to demonstrate his strength against these enemies (11–13). His desire is not for the people to know who David is, but to know who this God is who is in charge.
The psalm concludes in verses 14 to 17 with another description of David’s enemies returning like dogs in the evening. They howl for food, but David will sing of God’s strength, then again in the morning he will sing of God’s love. God is strong, God is loving, God is our fortress, and so we too can sing in the face of adversity.
Apply
When you find yourself in a difficult situation, do you find yourself asking God to make it all better? Or do you ask God to show himself to you through your situation?
Closing prayer
God, stir up a song of praise in my heart no matter what I face today. I choose to praise Your name.
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