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Psalm 59 Bible study: God is my high tower
Psalm 59's title says "they watched the house to kill him" (59:1), and in the middle the psalmist says to God, "I watch for you" (59:9): the same Hebrew verb. Its refrains come back changed: the dogs return at evening (59:6, 59:14), and at the end the watching has become singing, in the morning, to God, "my high tower" (59:16-17).
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“But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“In Psalm 59, "God is my high tower" comes after "I watch for you" in 59:9, and after "I will sing praises" in 59:17.”
Is that in Psalm 59, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
They watched the house. "I watch for you."
The title says this is "A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him" (59:1), and it says no more than that; these notes don't explain "Do Not Destroy" or poem. 1 Samuel tells of that night: "Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning" (1 Samuel 19:11). In Hebrew the title's "when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him" and that verse's first sentence have five words in common, some in different forms: sent (shalach), Saul, house (bayit), watch (shamar) and to kill him (lahamito). Here is what almost everyone misses: the verb of watched comes back in the middle of the psalm, spoken to God: "Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower" (59:9) (tap watch). In the title, they watched the house; in 59:9, the psalmist watches for God. The chapter on 1 Samuel 19 tells the rest of that night, and these notes don't retell it.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 59
- "Not for my disobedience, nor for my sin" (59:3). Is the psalmist saying he has never sinned?
- The title is about a house being watched. Why does the psalm speak of "the nations" (59:5, 59:8)?
- "Don’t kill them" (59:11), and two verses later, "Consume them" (59:13). Which is it? And how can a prayer ask for that?
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 59 is waiting in Favor
- Two refrains, and each comes back changed
- "Set me on high", and a high tower three times
- Evening, and then the morning
- High tower and refuge, in David's song
- Strength, refuge and the nations, in Jeremiah
- Loving kindness in the morning, in other psalms
- 7 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 59 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
מִשְׂגָּבmisgavsay mis-GAV
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "secure height, retreat". Strong's: "from 7682; properly, a cliff (or other lofty or inaccessible place); abstractly, altitude; figuratively, a refuge". Psalm 59 has it three times, more than any other psalm: "for God is my high tower" (59:9), "For you have been my high tower" (59:16), and "For God is my high tower" (59:17). The number Strong's gives, 7682, is sagav, the verb of 59:1's "Set me on high" (tap high). The Psalms have misgav 13 times in Hebrew; one verse has it twice: "The LORD will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble" (Psalm 9:9).
For your group
Psalm 59 Bible study questions
- 1The title says "they watched the house" (59:1), and the psalmist says to God, "I watch for you" (59:9). When trouble seems to be watching you, what are you watching?
- 2"I watch for you" (59:9) becomes "I will sing praises" (59:17). What helps you move from waiting on God to thanking him?
- 3"I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning" (59:16). What would it look like to begin tomorrow morning that way?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 59 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home