Bible Commentaries

Psalms 59:9, Psalms 59:17

These two parallel verses are a kind of refrain coming in at the close of each division of the Psalm. The first stands at the end of a picture of the Psalmist's trouble and danger, and makes the transition to the second part, which is mainly a prayer for deliverance, and finishes with the refrain altered and enlarged.

I. Notice, first, the waiting on God. (1) The expression "I will wait" means accurately, "I will watch Thee;" and it is the word that is generally employed, not about our looking up to Him, but about His looking down to us. These two things, vigilance and patience, are the main elements in the scriptural idea of waiting on God. (2) We have here set forth, not only the nature, but also the object, of this waiting. "Upon Thee, O my strength, will I wait, for God is my defence." The name of the Lord is strength; therefore I wait on Him in the confident expectation of receiving His power. The Lord is "my defence;" therefore I wait on Him in the confident expectation of safety. The first name speaks of God dwelling in us, and His strength made perfect in our weakness; the second speaks of our 'dwelling in God, and our defencelessness sheltered in Him.

II. Notice, next, the change of waiting into praise. In the second verse we catch waiting expectation and watchfulness in the very act of passing over into possession and praise. As resolve or as prophecy, this verse is equally a witness of the large reward of quiet waiting for the salvation of the Lord. The cry of the suppliant was to God, his strength and defence; the song of the saved is to the God who is also the God of his mercy. The experiences of life have brought out more fully the love and tender pity of God.. When our troubles are past, and their meaning is plainer, we shall be able to look back on them all as the mercies of the God of our mercy.

A. Maclaren, Weekday Evening Addresses, p. 112.

References: Psalm 59—J. Hammond, Expositor, 1st series, vol. iv., p. 219. Psalms 60:4.—J. P. Chown, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 363, Psalms 60:8.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 983. Psalm 60—A. Maclaren, Life of David, p. 201.