Psalm 59: A Golden Secret of David

1.  God’s Preservation of ‘His People’!                       Psalm 59:1-4

Text: “O love the Lord, all ye His saints: for the Lord preserveth (preserves, and continues to preserve) the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.”

Psalm 31:23.

Good morning, God-preserved Christian!  If left to ourselves and our own puny strengths, you and I, as born again, Bible-believing Christians – would not last a day.  However, we are not left to our own puny strength, will, or directions, we are completely preserved, guided, directed, and protected by a truly Sovereign and gracious Lord God Almighty.  Praise God it is so, beloved Christian friend, give God thanksgiving and praise.  Amen.

“...For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”    (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, ‘the prince of preachers’ said: “Whom God preserves, Satan cannot destroy.  The Lord even preserves the lives of His prophets by the very ravens that would naturally pick out their eyes.  David always found a friend to help him when his case was peculiarly dangerous, and that friend was in his enemy’s household; in this instance it was Michal, Saul’s daughter, as on former occasions it had been Jonathan, Saul’s son.  ‘Michtam of David’.  This is the fifth of the Golden Secrets of David: God’s chosen people have many such.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 262)

One thing the true people of God have today is a very real presence of anti-Christian opposition: opposition to the Gospel of Salvation in Christ Jesus alone; opposition to preaching God’s truths in public places; opposition to the King James Version of the Bible; oppositions to the very Name of Jesus Christ – which is being used throughout British society increasingly as a swear word, and intentionally written into television dramas and film scripts in the vilest manners.  All this is blatant and provocative opposition to our Holy Lord God, to His people’s Christian practice; and to obedience to God’s written Law.  

This 21^st Century is a time of vile and more and more blatant anti-Christian opposition.

You and I, as Bible-believing, Spiritually regenerate Christians, can well pray Psalm 59 to the Lord God as a constant and daily prayer for Divine preservation.

Verse 1. “Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God. He was to be taken dead or alive, well or ill, and carried to the slaughter.  Unbelief would have suggested that prayer was a waste of breath, but not so, thought the good man, for he makes it his sole resort.  Note how he sets the title, My God, over against the words mine enemies.  This is the right method of effectually catching and quenching the fiery darts of the enemy upon the shield of faith.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 262)

Verse 1: “Defend me from those that rise up against me."  I believe the Psalmist has left ‘those that rise up against me’ as an undefined group of oppositions for a very real reason.  So often we define ‘those that rise up against me’ as oppositions from agencies outside of our selves, while all too often ‘those that rise up against me’ are oppositions that can quickly arise and twist us from within our own hearts!  Unbelief, lack of faith, depressions of spirit; defeatist attitudes when oppositions from without arise.  All these can most definitely be defined as ‘...those that rise up against me.’  All must be defended against with help from a precious and caring Lord God Almighty.  Thus, we cry out to Him, ‘Defend me from those that rise up against me!’

Verse 2. “Deliver me, defend me, deliver me, save me. Saul had more cause to fear than David had, for the invincible weapon of prayer was being used against him, and Heaven was being aroused to give him battle.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 262)

The Psalmist, David, was praying hard for God’s deliverance, defence, and preservation for one reason: because he was being pursued relentlessly by God’s enemies, and the enemies of the Sovereign will of Almighty Lord God. 

God had ordained and anointed David to be king of Israel – mankind’s will had imposed Saul upon Israel’s throne.  Nothing has changed today, dear Reader!  You and I, as genuine Spirit-inspired and regenerated Christians, are seeking to do and fulfil the Sovereign will of Jehovah Lord God, as revealed in His written Word.  The majority of our fellow humans are Hell-bent on imposing their own humanistic and Satanically inspired will upon all of God’s Creation.  We do well to cry out to the Lord for His Divine help and perseverance!  Help us, dear Lord God!  Amen.

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (capital S!).  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”  (Romans 8:4-8)

Verse 3.  “For lo, they lie in wait for my soul.  Note, it is not merely our mortal bodies that the unbelieving world seek to harm, no, it is our very immortal souls they despise, because, by God’s Salvation grace, we are no longer of the world, merely living in it.

Verse 3. For lo, they lie in wait for my soul.  While the enemy lies waiting in the posture of a beast, we wait before God in the posture of prayer, for God waits to be gracious to us and terrible towards our foes.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 262)

Verse 3. “The mighty are gathered against me.  Take note that it is not the ordinary folk in the streets that are gathered against God’s servants, it is ‘the mighty’; those in power; those who are in temporal authority and who too often exercise such power and authority to ‘...frameth mischief by a law.’, in other words, they legislate laws that promote evil, in clear opposition to God’s Law and Word.  (Psalm 94:20-21) Sodomy is vile and unlawful!

Verse 4. “They run and prepare themselves without my fault. To a brave man, the danger causes little distress of mind compared with the injustice to which he is subjected.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 262)

“Note, 1.  The innocency of the godly will not secure them from the malignity of the wicked.  Those that are harmless like doves, yet for Christ’s sake are hated of all men, as if they were noxious like serpents, and obnoxious accordingly.

“Note 2. Though our innocency will not secure us from troubles, yet it will greatly support and comfort us under our troubles. The testimony of our conscience for us, that we have behaved ourselves well toward those that behaved themselves ill towards us, will be very much our rejoicing in the day of evil.  If we are conscious to ourselves of our innocency, we may with humble confidence appeal to God and beg of Him to plead our cause, which He will do in due time.”  (Matthew Henry 1662-1714)

Thought: ‘Michtam of David’. Golden Secret of David, number 5: God’s Preservation of us, ‘His people’.  The Lord God reveals His secrets to those who study His Word.