TRV
Translation
King James Version
But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Complete Jewish Bible
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.
Berean Standard Bible
But I will sing of Your strength and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning. For You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
American Standard Version
But I will sing of thy strength; Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning: For thou hast been my high tower, And a refuge in the day of my distress.
World English Bible Messianic
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.
Geneva Bible (1599)
But I wil sing of thy power, and will prayse thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast bene my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Young's Literal Translation
And I--I sing of Thy strength, And I sing at morn of Thy kindness, For thou hast been a tower to me, And a refuge for me in a day of adversity.
In the KJVVerse 14,807 of 31,102
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Commentary on Psalms 59 verses 8–17
8 ¶ But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.
10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
David here encourages himself, in reference to the threatening power of his enemies, with a pious resolution to wait upon God and a believing expectation that he should yet praise him.
I. He resolves to wait upon God (Psa 59:9): "Because of his strength" (either the strength of his enemies, the fear of which drove him to God, or because of God's strength, the hope of which drew him to God) "Will I wait upon thee, with a believing dependence upon thee and confidence in thee." It is our wisdom and duty, in times of danger and difficulty, to wait upon God; for he is our defence, our high place, in whom we shall be safe. He hopes, 1. That God will be to him a God of mercy (Psa 59:10): "The God of my mercy shall prevent me with the blessings of his goodness and the gifts of his mercy, prevent my fears, prevent my prayers, and be better to me than my own expectations." It is very comfortable to us, in prayer, to eye God, not only as the God of mercy, but as the God of our mercy, the author of all good in us and the giver of all good to us. Whatever mercy there is in God, it is laid up for us, and is ready to be laid out upon us. Justly does the psalmist call God's mercy his mercy, for all the blessings of the new covenant are called the sure mercies of David (Isa 55:3); and they are sure to all the seed. 2. That he will be to his persecutors a God of vengeance. His expectation of this he expresses partly by way of prediction and partly by way of petition, which come all to one; for his prayer that it might be so amounts to a prophecy that it shall be so. Here are several things which he foretels concerning his enemies, or observers, that sought occasions against him and opportunity to do him a mischief, in all which he should see his desire, not a passionate or revengeful desire, but a believing desire upon them, Psa 59:10. (1.) He foresees that God would expose them to scorn, as they had indeed made themselves ridiculous, Psa 59:8. "They think God does not hear them, does not heed them; but thou, O Lord! shalt laugh at them for their folly, to think that he who planted the ear shall not hear, and thou shalt have not them only, but all such other heathenish people that live without God in the world, in derision." Note, Atheists and persecutors are worthy to be laughed at and had in derision. See Psa 2:4; Pro 1:26; Isa 37:22. (2.) That God would make them standing monuments of his justice (Psa 59:11): Slay them not; let them not be killed outright, lest my people forget. If the execution be soon done, the impressions of it will not be keep, and therefore will not be durable, but will quickly wear off. Swift destructions startle men for the present, but they are soon forgotten, for which reason he prays that this might be gradual: "Scatter them by thy power, and let them carry about with them, in their wanderings, such tokens of God's displeasure as may spread the notice of their punishment to all parts of the country." Thus Cain himself, though a murderer, was not slain, lest the vengeance should be forgotten, but was sentenced to be a fugitive and a vagabond. Note, When we think God's judgments come slowly upon sinners we must conclude that God has wise and holy ends in the gradual proceedings of his wrath. "So scatter them as that they may never again unite to do mischief, bring them down, O Lord, our shield!" If God has undertaken the protection of his people as their shield, he will doubtless humble and abase all those that fight against them. (3.) That they might be dealt with according to their deserts (Psa 59:12): For the sin of their mouth, even for the words of their lips (for every word they speak has sin in it), let them for this be taken in their pride, even for their cursing others and themselves (a sin Saul was subject to, Sa1 14:28, Sa1 14:44), and lying. Note, There is a great deal of malignity in tongue-sins, more than is commonly thought of. Note, further, Cursing, and lying, and speaking proudly, are some of the worst of the sins of the tongue; and that man is truly miserable whom God deals with according to the deserts of these, making his own tongue to fall on him. (4.) That God would glorify himself, as Israel's God and King, in their destruction (Psa 59:13): "Consume them in wrath, consume them; that is, follow them with one judgment after another, till they be utterly ruined; let them be sensibly, but gradually wasted, that they themselves, while they are in the consuming, may know, and that the standers-by may likewise draw this inference form it, That God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth." Saul and his party think to rule and carry all before them, but they shall be made to know that there is a higher than they, that there is one who does and will overrule them. The design of God's judgments is to convince men that the Lord reigns, that he fulfils his own counsels, gives law to all the creatures, and disposes all things to his own glory, so that the greatest of men are under his check, and he makes what use he pleases of them. He rules in Jacob; for there he keeps his court; there it is known, and his name is great. But he rules to the end of the earth; for all nations are within the territories of his kingdom. He rules to the ends of the earth, even over those that know him not, but he rules for Jacob (so it may be read); he has an eye to the good of his church in the government of the world; the administrations of that government, even to the ends of the earth, are for Jacob his servant's sake and for Israel's his elect, Isa 45:4. (5.) That he would make their sin their punishment, Psa 59:14, compare Psa 59:6. Their sin was their hunting for David to make a prey of him; their punishment should be that they should be reduced to such extreme poverty that they should hunt about for meat to satisfy their hunger, and should miss of it as they missed of David. Thus they should be, not cut off at once, but scattered (Psa 59:11), and gradually consumed (Psa 59:13); those that die by famine die by inches, and feel themselves die, Lam 4:9. He foretels that they should be forced to beg their bread from door to door. [1.] That they should do it with the greatest regret and reluctancy imaginable. To beg they are ashamed (which makes it the greater punishment to them), and therefore they do it at evening, when it begins to be dark, that they may not be seen, at the time when other beasts of prey creep forth, Psa 104:20. [2.] That yet they should be very clamorous and loud in their complaints, which would proceed from a great indignation at their condition, which they cannot in the least degree reconcile themselves to: They shall make a noise like a dog. When they were in quest of David they made a noise like an angry dog snarling and barking; now, when they are in quest of meat, they shall make a noise like a hungry dog howling and wailing. Those that repent of their sins mourn, when in trouble, like doves; those whose hearts are hardened make a noise, when in trouble, like dogs, like a wild bull in a net, full of the fury of the Lord. See Hos 7:14, They have not cried unto me with their heart when they howled on their beds for corn and wine. [3.] That they should meet with little relief, but the hearts of people should be very much hardened towards them, so that they should go round about the city, and wander up and down for meat (Psa 59:15), and should get nothing but by dint of importunity (according to our marginal reading, If they be not satisfied, they will tarry all night), so that what people do give them is not with good-will, but only to get rid of them, lest by their continual coming they weary them. [4.] That they should be insatiable, which is the greatest misery of all in a poor condition. They are greedy dogs which can never have enough (Isa 56:11), and they grudge if they be not satisfied. A contented man, if he has not what he would have, yet does not grudge, does not quarrel with Providence, nor fret within himself; but those whose God is their belly, if that be not filled and its appetites gratified, fall out both with God and themselves. It is not poverty, but discontent, that makes a man unhappy.
II. He expects to praise God, that God's providence would find him matter for praise and that God's grace would work in him a heart for praise, Psa 59:16, Psa 59:17. Observe,
1.What he would praise God for. (1.) He would praise his power and his mercy; both should be the subject-matter of his song. Power, without mercy, is to be dreaded; mercy, without power, is not what a man can expect much benefit from; but God's power by which he is able to help us, and his mercy by which he is inclined to help us, will justly be the everlasting praise of all the saints. (2.) He would praise him because he had, many a time, and all along, found him his defence and his refuge in the day of trouble. God brings his people into trouble, that they may experience his power and mercy in protecting and sheltering them, and may have occasion to praise him. (3.) He would praise him because he had still a dependence upon him and a confidence in him, as his strength to support him and carry him on in his duty, his defence to keep him safe from evil, and the God of his mercy to make him happy and easy. He that is all this to us is certainly worthy of our best affections, praises, and services.
2.How he would praise God. (1.) He would sing. As that is a natural expression of joy, so it is an instituted ordinance for the exerting and exciting of holy joy and thankfulness. (2.) He would sing aloud, as one much affected with the glory of God, that was not ashamed to own it, and that desired to affect others with it. He will sing of God's power, but he will sing aloud of his mercy; the consideration of that raises his affections more than any thing else. (3.) He would sing aloud in the morning, when his spirits were most fresh and lively. God's compassions are new every morning, and therefore it is fit to begin the day with his praises. (4.) He would sing unto God (Psa 59:17), to his honour and glory, and with him in his eye. As we must direct our prayers to God, so to him we must direct our praises, and must look up, making melody to the Lord.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 8–17. Public domain.
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Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 59
"But I will sing of Your power, and I will exult in the morning of Your mercy" [Psalm 59:16]. In the morning when temptations have been overcome, in the morning when the night of this world shall have passed away; in the morning when no longer the lyings in wait of robbers and of the devil and of his angels we dread, in the morning when no longer by the lamp of prophecy we walk, but Himself the Word of God as it were a Sun we contemplate. "And I will exult in the morning of Your mercy." With reason in another Psalm is said, "In the morning I will stand by You, and I will meditate." With reason also of the Lord Himself the Resurrection was at dawn, that there should be fulfilled that which has been said in another Psalm, "In the evening shall tarry weeping and in the morning exultation." For at even the disciples mourned our Lord Jesus Christ as dead, at dawn at Him rising again they exulted. "For You have become my taker up, and my refuge in the day of my tribulation."
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 59:16 is a powerful declaration of unwavering faith and anticipatory praise from David, even while facing mortal danger. Despite being actively hunted by his enemies, David resolutely commits to singing of God's immense power and steadfast mercy, affirming the Lord as his unyielding "defence and refuge" in times of profound trouble. This verse marks a profound and transformative shift from the psalm's initial lament to a confident expression of worship, showcasing David's deep trust that God's faithfulness will inevitably bring deliverance and light, symbolized by the "morning" praise.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 59:16 skillfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound message of faith and trust. Anticipatory Worship is a prominent feature, where David declares his firm intention to praise God for deliverance before it has fully occurred, demonstrating a profound and active faith that transcends immediate circumstances. The phrase "in the morning" serves as powerful Symbolism, representing not only the literal dawn but also the spiritual dawn of hope, new beginnings, and the consistent arrival of God's mercies after a period of darkness, distress, and danger. The deliberate use of "power" and "mercy" creates a compelling Juxtaposition of God's formidable strength and omnipotence with His compassionate and loving nature, highlighting the comprehensive and multifaceted character of the Divine Protector. Furthermore, the terms "defence" and "refuge" function as vivid Metaphors for God, portraying Him as an impregnable fortress and a secure sanctuary, providing concrete and comforting imagery of His protective presence. The entire verse is a powerful Affirmation, a resolute declaration of trust and praise that stands in stark contrast to the surrounding laments, showcasing a profound and transformative shift in perspective from despair to confident worship.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 59:16 offers a profound theological statement on the immutable nature of God and the appropriate response of humanity in times of profound crisis. It underscores God's unchanging character as both omnipotently powerful and infinitely merciful, serving as an utterly secure haven for all who place their trust in Him. David's resolute commitment to praise God before full deliverance highlights the biblical concept of faith as a confident assurance in things hoped for, a conviction of things not yet seen, as articulated in Hebrews 11:1. This anticipatory worship is not born of naive optimism but from a deep theological understanding that God's past faithfulness serves as an absolute guarantee of His future intervention. The "morning" praise connects seamlessly to the theme of God's daily mercies and renewed hope, powerfully reminding believers that God's faithfulness is indeed "new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22). This verse profoundly invites believers to shift their focus from the overwhelming magnitude of their problems to the immeasurable immensity of God's attributes, thereby finding profound strength, solace, and unwavering hope in His constant and unwavering presence.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 59:16 offers timeless encouragement and presents a powerful model for believers navigating their own "days of trouble" in a fallen world. It challenges us to cultivate a faith that does not merely react to external circumstances but proactively declares God's sovereignty, goodness, and ultimate control. When faced with overwhelming challenges, the natural human inclination is often to lament, despair, or succumb to anxiety. However, David's profound example calls us to intentionally shift our focus from the problem's magnitude to the infinite character of God—His omnipotent power to deliver and His boundless mercy to sustain. This verse profoundly encourages a practice of anticipatory praise, where we thank God for what He will do, based on the unshakeable foundation of what He has already done. Beginning our days with such intentional worship, like David singing "in the morning," sets a vital spiritual tone, powerfully reminding us that God's faithfulness is renewed daily and that He remains our constant, unwavering "defence and refuge." It means intentionally choosing gratitude, trust, and worship over anxiety, fear, and complaint, allowing God's proven track record of deliverance to fuel our hope for the present and for all future challenges.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What is the significance of David singing "in the morning"?
Answer: The phrase "in the morning" carries deep spiritual and symbolic significance within this psalm and throughout biblical literature. It represents the breaking of light after a night of darkness, distress, and peril, symbolizing renewed hope, fresh beginnings, and the consistent, unwavering arrival of God's faithfulness. Spiritually, it suggests a daily, intentional commitment to worship and gratitude, acknowledging God's mercies that are profoundly "new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). For David, it was a profound act of faith, anticipating God's deliverance and the dawn of a new day free from his enemies' immediate threat, even while still surrounded by danger. This powerful imagery encourages believers to start each day with an intentional focus on God's unchanging character and His unfailing, steadfast love, knowing that His mercies greet us with every new sunrise.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 59:16 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. David's harrowing experience of being hunted, betrayed, and threatened with death, yet finding God as his "defence and refuge," powerfully foreshadows Christ's journey through immense suffering, betrayal, and His ultimate triumph over sin and death. Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, faced the ultimate "day of trouble" on the cross, enduring the full, righteous wrath of God for humanity's sin (Isaiah 53:5). Yet, through His glorious resurrection, He became the definitive and eternal "defence and refuge" for all who believe, decisively conquering sin, death, and the spiritual forces of evil (Colossians 2:15). Just as David sang of God's power and mercy in anticipation of deliverance, the New Testament proclaims the unparalleled power of God manifested in Christ's resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4) and His boundless mercy extended to all humanity through His atoning sacrifice (Ephesians 2:4-5). Believers now sing of God's power and mercy not merely in hopeful anticipation, but in the glorious reality of Christ's accomplished salvation, knowing that in Him, we possess an eternal stronghold and an unshakeable sanctuary, securing us from all spiritual enemies, the sting of death, and the final judgment (Hebrews 6:18-19).