“For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Mikhtam of David, when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him…. But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations. Because of his strength I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold. My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes…. But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness” (Psa 59:0, 8–10, 16–17).
Psalm 59 recalls the time Saul sent messengers to watch David’s house at night so they could kill him when he awoke in the morning (compare 1 Sam 19:11 with Psa 59:0). It is surely not coincidental, therefore, that David refers to enemies surrounding him in the evening (Psa 59:6, 14). Yet while David’s enemies lurked outside his house in the darkness, David greeted the morning by singing of God’s lovingkindness (chesed) and celebrating divine protection (compare 1 Sam 19:11; Psa 59:16).
God often makes his invisible love visible through the kindness of others.
Even though the story of Michal’s rescue of David does not explicitly mention God (1 Sam 19:12–18), Psalm 59 highlights the spiritual and theological dimensions behind David’s deliverance. Five times David credits God, not Michal, for setting him securely on high and being his stronghold (vv. 1, 9, 16, 17). Repeatedly, David celebrates God as his strength and praises his “chesed/covenant loyalty/lovingkindness” as the true source of his deliverance (vv. 9, 10, 16, 17).
When we compare the seemingly mundane details of David’s life in 1 Samuel 19 with David’s theological interpretation of those events, we learn an invaluable lesson. Though God often uses people to aid us in the difficult journey of life, we must learn to recognize the loving embrace of the invisible God through the human hands that help, hug, and protect us. God often makes his invisible love visible through the kindness of others.
