Ps. 59.15-16 (morning song)

They howl / like dogs / which return at evening
and prowl / around a town.
They roam about / for prey
unless they are satisfied / they may stay all night!
But I / will sing of your strength
I will sing / in the morning / of your loyal-love
for you / are my bulwark
and a refuge / in a time of trouble. 

These verses closely mimic verses 6-9 (and following). There are a few things, in this regard, that we need to note. The first is that the first half of the opening verse is parallel, while the second half is new (“they roam about for prey…”). It is not clear what this additional description means. It has replaced, “see how they slaver…swords come from their lips…for they think, “Who will hear?”. Clearly, they are hunting, hungry for a kill and utterly secure in their darkness. Here, something similar is at work: “they roam about for prey, unless they are satisfied they may stay all night”. In this verse, what is emphasized is the fact that they are persistent I in their hunt. Like their confidence in verse 7, they do not fear remaining in the city all night long looking for food. In the day, the city is the habitation of men, at night, the dogs feel no anxiety about their residence and hunting-ground. There is, however, a deeper reason for this addition, and that exists in how it is contrasted in the following verse. Whereas the dogs “howl” “all night”, “I will sing in the morning”. The dogs ‘liturgy of darkness’ is followed by the king’s ‘liturgy of light’. Importantly, this transition is to recall to mind the transition in verse 8-9, where God is heard to, not ‘sing’, but ‘laugh’ at the dogs. What this accomplishes is it melds together God’s utterly dismissive laughter, with the morning and with the king’s triumphant singing of praises to God. This is liturgy as triumphant praise to the delivering and conquering power of God’s covenant (his “loyal-love”, his being a “bulwark” and a “refuge”). The king, in praise, is entering in the dawn (the ‘morning’) of God’s deliverance. Notice how these verses mimic verses 9-10. Here: “I will sing of your strength, I will sing in the morning, of your loyal-love, for you are my bulwark and a refuge in time of trouble.” There: “O my Strength, I will watch for you; for you, O God, are my bulwark. My God will come to meet me with his loyal-love …”. What the king was ‘watching for’ was the morning. What he sought was for God to “meet him”. Here, in verse 16, God will come to meet him and the morning will break. We see here, again, that (astonishing) confidence that stands at the center of so many psalms.