Let’s take a look again at the Psalm David composed when he was on the run from Saul’s men:
“My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
For there they are, lying in wait to kill me.
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
For no fault of mine, they run and prepare.
Awaken to help me, and see!
You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)
They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.
My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.
Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)
They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.”
-Psalm 59
In the opening five verses of this Psalm, David is pouring out his fears and asking to be delivered from the men Saul sent to kill him.
But then things take a turn for the mysterious once we come to the sixth verse where we’re told…
“You, ADONAI Elohei-Tzva’ot, God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)”
What?
What in the world does God arising to punish the nations have to do with the men Saul sent to kill David?
In verse 7, David goes back to talking about the assassins who are after his blood and portrays them as evil snarling dogs.
Then in verse 9, we get this declaration:
“But you, ADONAI,
laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.”
Huh?
The Hebrew word for nations here is GOYIM.
So again, what in the heck do the gentile nations have to do with King Saul sending his men out to kill David?
In verse 10, David appears to calm down, but then his fears suddenly turn into righteous anger.
He starts feeling hopeful because he knows that God is in control of everything and everyone.
So, he decides that if God desires to save him (which he’s praying for), then God will take care of his enemies too.
Finally, David adds in verse 14:
“Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off,
put an end to them,
and let them know to
the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya’akov.“
Hmm…what could be the meaning of this?
Saying that “God is Ruler in Yaakov” is NOT referring to an event occurring among the gentile nations.
It is referring to something happening INSIDE of Israel.
My point is these three verses 6, 9, and 14 stick out like sore thumbs.
They don’t seem to fit David’s current circumstances.
But, these verses DO fit into future prophecies that predict Yeshua and his followers will suffer at the hands of not only the gentile nations but also be persecuted by fellow Israelites for their faith.
Remember it is the Anti-King or Anti-Messiah who orders his minions to go out and kill those who are loyal to God and His son.
So what’s the takeaway here?
It’s that some parts of the Psalms are a foreshadowing of what’s to come, with their true meaning to be fully revealed in the future.
Of course, David’s petitions were about what was happening to him in the here and now, but they also held a deeper connection to future events the writer may not have consciously intended.
So yes, some of these Psalms possess a dual quality, addressing both the present and the future simultaneously.
They also convey both the physical and spiritual realms, existing alongside each other yet unnoticed by the human author.
This reflects the nature of God’s patterns, which often unfold in ways beyond human comprehension.
This is why I love Scripture and why the Bible is marvelously different than any other religious book in existence.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Children, this is the Last Hour.
You have heard that an
Anti-Messiah is coming;
and in fact, many anti-Messiahs
have arisen now– which is how we
know that this is the Last Hour.”
-1 John 2:18
“I have told you these things so that
you won’t be caught by surprise.
They will ban you from the synagogue;
in fact, the time will come when anyone
who kills you will think he is serving God!
They will do these things because they
have understood neither the Father nor me.
But I have told you this, so that when
the time comes for it to happen,
you will remember that I told you.”
-John 16:1-4
Leave a Reply