The Week of June 2, 2008

Psalm 57, 58, 59
Psalm 57
This individual prayer asks for God to deliver from enemies. Many of the features we have identified before appear again in this psalm. The enemies are compared to wild animals, and God is praised out of trust and hope that salvation comes swiftly; as surely as the dawn comes after a dark night. Notice the congregational refrain that divides this psalm; verse 5 and 11 sing with praise to the God of heaven. Notice as well the imagery of God's mercy in verse 1, where God's refuge and protection are likened to the shadow of a mother bird's wing.

Psalm 58
This psalm is vengeful, and asks for curse and judgment upon enemies in a very dramatic fashion. It is an unusually venomous and difficult to characterize as a lament or prayer of deliverance. The psalmist wants to categorize multiple ways for God to enact vengeance upon the unfaithful.

Psalm 59
Again, Psalm 59 lifts a prayer for deliverance from enemies. Interestingly two refrains are repeated. In vs. 6 and 14, the enemies of the psalmist (and of God) are presented "howling like dogs and prowling about the city." The repeat of this refrain adds drama and intensity to the "danger" faced by the psalmist and his community. In vs. 9 and 17, the psalmist expresses trust in God, his strength and his fortress, exclaiming "I will watch for you." The distress still exists, but the attitude of faith looks forward to God's sure salvation.


From My Reading:
In Psalm 59, an affirmation of trust brings the psalm to its climax in the final stanza. The mention of the morning may relate this poem to an element of worship. If so, it is a jubilant finale to the troubled events of the night before.
David G. Mobberley Psalms

My Thoughts

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 in the day of my distress. Psalm 59:16

There is nothing quite like it. The Apostle Paul left instructions for the faithful to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17) and to "pray always" (Ephesians 6:18); yet for me there is nothing quite like praying through a sunrise. As the dark shadows grow lighter and pink ribbons begin to appear in the big Texas sky, my soul quiets, and gratitude bubbles effortlessly into prayer. Like the psalmist, I understand the "terrors of the night." Like many others I have experienced my mind racing and my body tossing restlessly through the dark, still hours of night. But when the sun finally rises, and a new day dawns, I am reminded of God's steadfast love and mercy - new every morning - rising with the sun.

Awake my soul! Awake, O harp and Lyre!
I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to you, O Lord.
Psalm 57:8-9

Blessings,
Pastor Stacy

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