A Road Map for Life | Remembering Our Redeemer Sample

WILD DOGS (Psalm 59)

If there is any place where a man should feel safe, it is in the privacy of his own home. Yet, in Psalm 59, David is in his home with his family but his enemies seek to catch him and kill him there.

Home is meant to be a place of peace, quiet and stillness — a bit of heaven on earth. Yet, Satan often brings his greatest attacks right where you live, in familiar surroundings with people you love. Perhaps you are experiencing such an attack today. I want to remind you that God will give you the victory there just as He will anywhere else.

Be on guard; the enemy can show up any day, anywhere.

Psalm 59 was written when Saul sent people to watch David’s house to catch him and kill him (read about it in 1 Samuel 19). It was written by a man who discovered that the oftentimes the battle comes home.

It is interesting to me that the past few psalms have used animals as pictures of the enemy. There were lions in Psalm 57, followed by snakes, lions and snails in Psalm 58. He used a similar analogy in Psalm 59 but with dogs.

Listen to verses 6-7: “They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. ehold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?”

By the way, the answer to that question is God. He hears and He knows.

The same image is seen in verses 14-15. “And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied.”

This is a picture of sinners who are never satisfied, always wanting more, striking out and trying to consume others. It is evidence that we are in a spiritual warfare.

Here are some simple thoughts about what we see in Psalm 59.

The Dogs

These are not like your pets or anything resembling man’s best friend. These are wild dogs, roaming and scavenging. In Eastern culture dogs were considered filthy and defiled animals, and they ran wild. People stayed away from them. This makes an excellent picture of those who are defiled by sin and only want to consume you.

Of course, our ultimate enemy is Satan. But he has many minions — the “hounds of hell,” if you will.

The Bible says in Psalm 22:16, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.” This is a portion of one of the messianic psalms, and it is a picture of those who railed against Christ at Calvary and sought to consume our Savior.

The dogs came after David, they came after Jesus, and they will come after you. According to Philippians 3:2, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” Sometimes the greatest enemies are the religious enemies, who dot all of their "Is" and cross all of their "Ts" but are void of the love of God.

The Defense

Imagine in your mind that a dog is coming at you but there is a fence in between the two of you. That is what the Lord has done.

Verse 1: “Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.”

Verse 9: “Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence.”

Verses 16-17: “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. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.”

Four times David referred to God being his defense. In the midst of the attack, when the wild dogs come against you, the Lord will be your shield and your song. The shield is for your protection, and the song is to give you joy in the midst of it.

One of our dangers in life, especially when we get engaged in spiritual warfare, is to begin talking so much about the enemy and thinking so little about the Lord.

Consider what David did. He saw the enemy and then looked at himself to see what he was dealing with. But beyond himself, he looked to the Lord who was his defense.

The Deliverance

The defense helps during the attack, but deliverance is about getting completely away from it. The attack does not last forever.

Each of the first two verses of Psalm 59 include a plea for deliverance. God will defend you, but at some point He will also say, “Enough.” Only He knows when that is, and maybe you are waiting for that moment today. God will ultimately deliver you.

You can not only survive the attack, you can also sing through it, as David suggested in verses 16 and 17. You can sing above the barking of the dogs. There may be a lot of noise in your life right now, but let me encourage you to just sing.

Here is one closing thought. Did you notice when the dogs came? In verses 6 and 14 it is revealed that it was “at evening,” in the shadows. Satan loves the night time, both physically and figuratively. He loves the darkness.

But in verse 16 we see David’s pledge to sing “in the morning.” My friend, morning is coming. We are promised in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

The night will pass, the dogs will be gone, and the attack will be over. You are going to make it. You will come out on the other side stronger in the Lord.

Remember that I Samuel 19 was not the end of David’s story. He did not die in that attack; he was not even caught. He became king, and he ruled and reigned just as God intended.

The Lord’s plan and purpose will be fulfilled in your life just as it was in David’s. Just keep trusting Him and singing through the attacks. Let God take care of the dogs.