Psalms 59:5

Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts,.... Of the armies in heaven, the angels, and of all the inhabitants of the earth; who are all under him, and at his dispose, and can do among them and with them

Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel.

The God of Israel; a God in covenant with all true Israelites, whom thou hast promised to protect and bless. The heathen; or, these heathens, or Gentiles; who though they are called and accounted Israelites by their birth, yet in truth, and in their dispositions and manners, are mere heathens and barbarians; in which respect such men are elsewhere called strangers, , men of Sodom and Gomorrah, , and as Ethiopians, ; as among us ungodly Christians are oft called Jews, or Turks or heathens. Be not merciful; for indeed thou canst not with thine honour, nor according to thy word, be merciful to any such incorrigible offenders. Wicked transgressors; or, perfidious transgressors; such as persecute me, and other good men, out of malice, and against their own consciences, which tell them that I am innocent, and with pretences of friendship. He might well pray so vehemently against such, not only for his own preservation, but for the just and necessary vindication of God’ s honour, and for the public good of mankind, whose common interest it was that such vile miscreants should be taken out of the way.

Psalms 59:5 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.Ver. 5. Awake to visit all the heathen] These pagan Israelites, who might have some heathens also among them, Saul’ s slaughtermen, men fleshed in blood. Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors] Heb. that treacherously work iniquity, that do it consulto et data opera, desperadoes, reprobates, destined to eternal destruction.

(5) Therefore . . .—Better, Yea, even Thou . . . Not only is there an emphatic “thou,” but the passion of prayer cannot exhaust itself without piling up all the customary names of the Divine Being. God of Israel.—This is added so emphatically because of the “heathen,” against whom aid is invoked. All the heathen . . . wicked transgressors.—These two terms are not synonymous, but contrasted. There were not only foreign, but domestic foes, viz., the party who, pretending to be loyal Israelites, were yet intriguing with the foreigners. The literal “coverers of wickedness” implies concealment and treachery.

Verse 5. O Lord God of hosts] This was a proper view to take of God. when Israel, a handful of poor distressed captives were surrounded and oppressed by the heathen chiefs above mentioned, and their several tribes. But Jehovah, God of hosts, was the God of Israel; and hence Israel had little to fear. Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors.] Do not favour the cause of these wicked men. They are בגדי און bogedey aven, "changers of iniquity:" they go through the whole round of evil; find out and exercise themselves in all the varieties of transgression. How exactly does this apply to Nehemiah's foes! They sought, by open attack, wiles, flattery, foul speeches, fair speeches, threats, and ambuscades, to take away his life. Do not show them favour, that they may not succeed in their wicked designs. The prayer here is exactly the same in sentiment with that of Nehemiah, Ne 4:4-5. Hear, our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach upon their own heads;-cover not their iniquity, "and let not their sin be blotted out."

5. Yea, do Thou, Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to visit all the nations: Be not gracious to any treacherous workers of iniquity. Thou is emphatic, and the address virtually means, ‘since Thou art God of hosts, and God of Israel.’ The first title implies that He has the power (Psalms 46:7, note), the second that He is under the obligation, to interpose and ‘visit,’ hold inquisition concerning, the nations, to punish them for their offences. But who are meant by the ‘nations’ or ‘heathen’? Are they the enemies against whom the Psalmist is praying, and identical with the ‘treacherous workers of iniquity,’ mentioned in the next line? If so, the Psalmist’s enemies are foreigners, for usage does not justify the interpretation of gτyξm as ‘heathenishly minded men’; and if the Psalm is in its original form, it cannot have been written by David with reference to Saul and his myrmidons. But it is possible that, as in Psalms 7, the prayer for a judgement upon personal enemies is expanded into a prayer for a judgement upon all the enemies of Israel: and in that general judgement the treacherous Israelites who are iniquitously plotting against the Psalmist’s life will meet their due reward. Similarly in Psalms 59:8, ‘them’ will refer to the Psalmist’s personal enemies, ‘the heathen’ or ‘nations’ to the enemies of Israel. It is also possible, as has been suggested above, that the Psalm has been altered for liturgical use. The anomalous form of the combination Jehovah the God of hosts here and in Psalms 80:4; Psalms 80:19; Psalms 84:8 (Jehovah Elτhξm Tsebβτth not Jehovah Elτhη Tsebβτth) makes it probable that the original reading was simply Jehovah of hosts, and that God is the substitution of the Elohistic editor for Jehovah, which however, has survived or has been restored along with it. Be not gracious is the opposite to the Psalmist’s prayer for himself, Psalms 56:1, Psalms 57:1.

Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts - God of armies: commanding all the armies of heaven - the angels, and the stars and constellations drawn out in the form of armies; thou, thus endowed with all

5. O Lord God of hosts—Jehovah God of armies. A term denoting his boundless power.