Inscription: "To the head of the choir. The sons of Korah. Psalm." In the Greek Bible, the inscription indicates the authorship of David. It is assumed that the psalm was written on the occasion of the rebellion of Absalom.

In verses 2-5, all nations are invited to listen to the sayings of wisdom. "Hear me, all nations; "Hearken unto all ye that dwell in the universe, both the simple and the noble, the rich as the poor." My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditations of my heart shall speak knowledge..."

Verses 6-11 tell us not to be persecuted by the wicked, because all people will die, and there is no one who can escape death. The wicked man calls the earth by his name (v. 12). However, he will not escape death and imprisonment in hell. (Perhaps this is an allusion to Absalom, who erected a monument to himself). But the soul of the righteous will be delivered from this. The author urges not to be afraid at the sight of the increase in the power and glory of the wicked. "He will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light" (v. 20).

There are messianic passages in the psalm. "A man will not redeem his brother in any way, nor give God a ransom for him: the price of the redemption of their souls is precious" (vv. 8-9). St. Basil the Great, interpreting this passage, says: "Therefore, do not seek a brother for deliverance, but Him Who is above Your nature, and not a mere man, but the God-Man – Jesus Christ, Who can give God a propitiatory substitute for all of us, for God offered Him as a propitiatory sacrifice through faith in His blood" (V.V. – 386).

Art. 16: "But God will deliver my soul from the power of hell when he receives me." "Here is a prophecy about the incarnation of God and about the liberation of the souls of the righteous, who were imprisoned in hell at that time. God, he says, will deliver my soul from hell when through the incarnation He makes a human being His dwelling."

Psalm 59.

The inscription of the psalm: "In the end, O those who desire to be changed, into a pillar of David, for teaching: Burn the center of Syria and Syria of Sobal, and Joab returned, and smite Edom in the thicket of salts twenty thousand." It follows from the inscription that David fought in Syria, in the area of Soval. Sowal is a Syrian region located between two rivers. This war is not told in history books. Then, as interpreters suggest, the Edomites invaded David's kingdom from the south. David's commander Joab returned from Syria with part of the army and defeated their 12,000-strong army in the battle in the Salt Valley.

The most famous commentary on this psalm belongs to St. Maximus the Confessor. He interprets the psalm strictly allegorically. His exegesis of Psalm 59 can serve as a model of allegorical interpretation. As an example, let us consider the interpretation of the inscription.

"In the end, O those who desire to change." "At the end of time, as a result of the coming of Christ, there takes place, by the voluntary will and choice of everyone, a change and transition of people from unbelief to faith, from depravity to virtue, and from ignorance to the knowledge of God; and also because then, in the completion of the ages, thanks to the same Saviour and our God, there will take place, through the longed-for Resurrection, a universal and natural in grace renewal and change of the entire human race from death and corruption to eternal life and incorruption."

"Into the pillar of David" – that is, to Christ Himself, because thanks to His Divine incarnation, like a pillar, the destruction of depravity had already taken place in Him, as in the Founder and Saviour, and after Him in those who live piously according to Christ; and also because through Him there will still be a complete destruction of death and corruption."

"For instruction, when thou hast burned the center of Syria, and Syria of Sobal" – the psalm is inscribed as a teaching to us, who are changing and will be changed (it is clear that we are talking about a praiseworthy and divine change) by the spiritual David, that is, Christ God (our). For He alone is the true King of Israel, who sees God, for He is the Destroyer of all wickedness and ignorance, and the Conqueror of all time and nature, through which wickedness arises in us. He burned the Center of Speech, communicating with us through the flesh, that is, He burned (our) state of depravity, which is flooded with unnatural carnal passions. And Syria of Sobal, that is, our sinful spiritual disposition, enslaved by time or seduced by this age. For Soval is interpreted as "seven," and this clearly indicates the peculiarity of time, which is sevenfold. After all, the devil is in the habit, contrary to virtue and knowledge, to bring nature and time into consonance with himself, starting an invisible battle..."

"And Joab returned, and smote Edom in the wilds of Soleus, 12 thousand." For every commander of the spiritual king David, that is, our Lord Jesus, wages war against the opposing forces, and smites 12,000 men in the valley of Soleus. The valley of Soleil is flesh, which, through disobedience, has become a contemptible land of passions. In it, as in a valley, every pious and God-loving person strikes down nature and time by means of reason and contemplation. Or (in other words): in such people, due to the loftiness of their virtues and knowledge, the irrational anticipation of the soul is in no way in the power of the laws of nature and time. And the number twelve signifies these nature and time, since nature is fivefold because of the senses (St. Maximus here has in mind the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch), and time is seven-fold (St. Maximus means the six days of creation and the day of rest), as is obvious to everyone. And five combined with seven makes twelve."