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Psalm Seven
Psalm 7
Chapter Contents
The psalmist prays to God to plead his cause, and judge
for him. (1-9) He expresses confidence in God, and will give him the glory of
his deliverance. (10-17)
Commentary on Psalm 7:1-9
(Read Psalm 7:1-9)
David flees to God for succour. But Christ alone could
call on Heaven to attest his uprightness in all things. All His works were
wrought in righteousness; and the prince of this world found nothing whereof
justly to accuse him. Yet for our sakes, submitting to be charged as guilty, he
suffered all evils, but, being innocent, he triumphed over them all. The plea
is, "For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins." He knows
the secret wickedness of the wicked, and how to bring it to an end; he is
witness to the secret sincerity of the just, and has ways of establishing it.
When a man has made peace with God about all his sins, upon the terms of grace
and mercy, through the sacrifice of the Mediator, he may, in comparison with
his enemies, appeal to God's justice to decide.
Commentary on Psalm 7:10-17
(Read Psalm 7:10-17)
David is confident that he shall find God his powerful
Saviour. The destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion; for
it is threatened, If he turn not from his evil way, let him expect it will be
his ruin. But amidst the threatenings of wrath, we have a gracious offer of
mercy. God gives sinners warning of their danger, and space to repent, and
prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing
that any should perish. The sinner is described, verses 14-16, as taking more pains to ruin his
soul than, if directed aright, would save it. This is true, in a sense, of all
sinners. Let us look to the Saviour under all our trials. Blessed Lord, give us
grace to look to thee in the path of tribulation, going before thy church and
people, and marking the way by thine own spotless example. Under all the
persecutions which in our lesser trials mark our way, let the looking to Jesus
animate our minds and comfort our hearts.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 7
Verse 2
[2] Lest
he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to
deliver.
Lest —
Mine enemy.
Tear —
Out of my body.
Verse 3
[3] O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
Hands —
Which Cush and others falsely lay to my charge.
Iniquity — In
my actions.
Verse 4
[4] If I
have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered
him that without cause is mine enemy:)
Deliver —
When it was in my power to destroy him, as 1 Samuel 24:2-6.
Verse 6
[6]
Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine
enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.
Lift up —
Glorify thyself, and shew thyself to be above them.
Commanded — To
execute that righteous sentence, which thou hast commanded, appointed, and
declared by thy prophet Samuel.
Verse 7
[7] So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their
sakes therefore return thou on high.
Compass —
They will come from all parts to worship thee, and offer to thee praises and
sacrifices.
High — To
thy tribunal, to sit there and judge my cause. An allusion to earthly
tribunals, which generally are set up on high above the people.
Verse 9
[9] Oh
let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for
the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
O — Put a stop to their
wicked practices.
Verse 11
[11] God
judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Every day —
Even then, when his providence seems to favour them, and they are most secure
and confident.
Verse 12
[12] If
he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
He will —
God will hasten, and speedily execute his judgments upon him.
Verse 13
[13] He
hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows
against the persecutors.
Him —
For the wicked.
Ordaineth —
Designs or fits for this very use. Of all sinners, persecutors are set up as
the fairest marks of Divine wrath. They set God at defiance but cannot set
themselves out of the reach of his judgments.
Verse 14
[14]
Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought
forth falsehood.
Travelleth —
This metaphor denotes his deep design, and vigorous endeavours for doing
mischief, and his restlessness and pain 'till he have accomplished it.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Psalm 7
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
TITLE.
"Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the word of
Cush the Benjamite."—"Shiggaion of David." As far as we can
gather from the observations of learned men, and from a comparison of this
Psalm with the only other Shiggaion in the Word of God, (Habakkuk 3:1), this
title seems to mean "variable songs," with which also the idea of
solace and pleasure is associated. Truly our life-psalm is composed of variable
verses; one stanza rolls along with the sublime metre of triumph, but another
limps with the broken rhythm of complaint. There is much bass in the saint's
music here below. Our experience is as variable as the weather in England.
From
the title we learn the occasion of the composition of this song. It appears
probable that Cush the Benjamite had accused David to Saul of treasonable
conspiracy against his royal authority. This the king would be ready enough to
credit, both from his jealousy of David, and from the relation which most
probably existed between himself, the son of Kish, and this Cush, or Kish, the
Benjamite. He who is near the throne can do more injury to a subject than an
ordinary slanderer.
This
may be called the SONG OF THE SLANDERED SAINT. Even this sorest of evils
may furnish occasion for a Psalm. What a blessing it would be if we could turn
even the most disastrous event into a theme for song, and so turn the tables
upon our great enemy. Let us learn a lesson from Luther, who once said,
"David made Psalms; we also will make Psalms, and sing them as well as we
can to the honour of our Lord, and to spite and mock the devil."
DIVISION.
In the first and second verses the danger is stated, and prayer offered.
Then the Psalmist most solemnly avows his innocence. (3, 4, 5). The Lord is
pleaded with to arise to judgment (6, 7). The Lord, sitting upon his throne,
hears the renewed appeal of the Slandered Supplicant (8, 9). The Lord clears
his servant, and threatens the wicked (10, 11, 12, 13). The slanderer is seen
in vision bringing a curse upon his own head, (14, 15, 16), while David retires
from trial singing a hymn of praise to his righteous God. We have here a noble
sermon upon that text: "No weapon that is formed against thee shall
prosper, and every tongue that riseth against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn."
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. David
appears before God to plead with him against the Accuser, who had charged him
with treason and treachery. The case is here opened with an avowal of
confidence in God. Whatever may be the emergency of our condition we shall
never find it amiss to retain our reliance upon our God. "O Lord my
God," mine by a special covenant, sealed by Jesus' blood, and ratified
in my own soul by a sense of union to thee; "in thee," and in
thee only, "do I put my trust," even now in my sore distress.
I shake, but my rock moves not. It is never right to distrust God, and never
vain to trust him. And now, with both divine relationship and holy trust to
strengthen him, David utters the burden of his desire—"save me from all
them that persecute me." His pursuers were very many, and any one of
them cruel enough to devour him; he cries, therefore, for salvation from them all.
We should never think our prayers complete until we ask for preservation
from all sin, and all enemies. "And deliver me,"
extricate me from their snares, acquit me of their accusations, give a true and
just deliverance in this trial of my injured character. See how clearly his
case is stated; let us see to it, that we know what we would have when we are
come to the throne of mercy. Pause a little while before you pray, that you may
not offer the sacrifice of fools. Get a distinct idea of your need, and then
you can pray with the more fluency of fervency.
Verse
2. "Lest he tear my soul." Here is the plea of fear co-working
with the plea of faith. There was one among David's foes mightier that the
rest, who had both dignity, strength, and ferocity, and was, therefore, "like
a lion." From this foe he urgently seeks deliverance. Perhaps this was
Saul, his royal enemy; but in our own case there is one who goes about like a
lion, seeking whom he may devour, concerning whom we should ever cry,
"Deliver us from the Evil One." Notice the vigour of the description—"rending
it in pieces, while there is none to deliver." It is a picture from
the shepherd-life of David. When the fierce lion had pounced upon the defenceless
lamb, and had made it his prey, he would rend the victim in pieces, break all
the bones, and devour all, because no shepherd was near to protect the lamb or
rescue it from the ravenous beast. This is a soul-moving portrait of a saint
delivered over to the will of Satan. This will make the bowels of Jehovah
yearn. A father cannot be silent when a child is in such peril. No, he will not
endure the thought of his darling in the jaws of a lion, he will arise and
deliver his persecuted one. Our God is very pitiful, and he will surely rescue
his people from so desperate a destruction. It will be well for us here to
remember that this is a description of the danger to which the Psalmist was
exposed from slanderous tongues. Verily this is not an overdrawn picture, for
the wounds of a sword will heal, but the wounds of the tongue cut deeper than
the flesh, and are not soon cured. Slander leaves a slur, even if it be wholly
disproved. Common fame, although notoriously a common liar, has very many
believers. Once let an ill word get into men's mouths, and it is not easy to
get it fully out again. The Italians say that good repute is like the cypress,
once cut it never puts forth leaf again; this is not true if our character be
cut by a stranger's hand, but even then it will not soon regain its former
verdure. Oh, 'tis a meanness most detestable to stab a good man in his
reputation, but diabolical hatred observes no nobility in its mode of warfare.
We must be ready for this trial, for it will surely come upon us. If God was
slandered in Eden, we shall surely be maligned in this land of sinners. Gird up
your loins, ye children of the resurrection, for this fiery trial awaits you
all.
Verses
3-5. The second part of this wandering hymn contains a protestation of innocence,
and an invocation of wrath upon his own head, if he were not clear from the
evil imputed to him. So far from hiding treasonable intentions in his hands, or
ungratefully requiting the peaceful deeds of a friend, he had even suffered his
enemy to escape when he had him completely in his power. Twice had he spared
Saul's life; once in the cave of Adullam, and again when he found him sleeping
in the midst of his slumbering camp: he could, therefore, with a clear
conscience, make his appeal to heaven. He needs not fear the curse whose soul
is clear of guilt. Yet is the imprecation a most solemn one, and only
justifiable through the extremity of the occasion, and the nature of the
dispensation under which the Psalmist lived. We are commanded by our
Lord Jesus to let our yea be yea, and our nay, nay: "for whatsoever is
more than this cometh of evil." If we cannot be believed on our word, we
are surely not to be trusted on our oath; for to a true Christian his simple
word is as binding as another man's oath. Especially beware, O unconverted men!
of trifling with solemn imprecations. Remember the woman at Devizes, who wished
she might die if she had not paid her share in a joint purchase, and who fell
dead there and then with the money in her hand.
Selah.
David enhances the solemnity of this appeal to the dread tribunal of God by the
use of the usual pause.
From
these verses we may learn that no innocence can shield a man from the calumnies
of the wicked. David had been scrupulously careful to avoid any appearance of
rebellion against Saul, whom he constantly styled "the Lord's
anointed;" but all this could not protect him from lying tongues. As the
shadow follows the substance, so envy pursues goodness. It is only at the tree
laden with fruit that men throw stones. If we would live without being
slandered we must wait till we get to heaven. Let us be very heedful not to
believe the flying rumors which are always harassing gracious men. If there are
no believers in lies there will be but a dull market in falsehood, and good
men's characters will be safe. Ill-will never spoke well. Sinners have an
ill-will to saints, and therefore, be sure they will not speak well of them.
Verse
6. We now listen to a fresh prayer, based upon the avowal which he has just
made. We cannot pray too often, and when our heart is true, we shall turn to
God in prayer as naturally as the needle to its pole.
"Arise,
O Lord, in thine anger." His sorrow makes him view the Lord as a judge
who had left the judgment-seat and retired into his rest. Faith would move the
Lord to avenge the quarrel of his saints. "Lift up thyself because of
the rage of mine enemies"—a still stronger figure to express his
anxiety that the Lord would assume his authority and mount the throne. Stand
up, O God, rise thou above them all, and let thy justice tower above their
villainies. "Awake for me to the judgment that thou hast
commanded." This is a bolder utterance still, for it implies sleep as
well as inactivity, and can only be applied to God in a very limited sense. He
never slumbers, yet doth he often seem to do so; for the wicked prevail, and
the saints are trodden in the dust. God's silence is the patience of
longsuffering, and if wearisome to the saints, they should bear it cheerfully
in the hope that sinners may thereby be led to repentance.
Verse
7. "So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about."
Thy saints shall crowd to thy tribunal with their complaints, or shall surround
it with their solemn homage: "for their sakes therefore return thou on
high." As when a judge travels at the assizes, all men take their
cases to his court that they may be heard, so will the righteous gather to
their Lord. Here he fortifies himself in prayer by pleading that if the Lord
will mount the throne of judgment, multitudes of the saints would be blessed as
well as himself. If I be too base to be remembered, yet, "for their
sakes," for the love thou bearest to thy chosen people, come forth
from thy secret pavilion, and sit in the gate dispensing justice among the
people. When my suit includes the desires of all the righteous it shall surely
speed, for, "shall not God avenge his own elect?"
Verse
8. If I am not mistaken, David has now seen in the eye of his mind the Lord
ascending to his judgment-seat, and beholding him seated there in royal state,
he draws near to him to urge his suit anew. In the last two verses he besought
Jehovah to arise, and now that he is arisen, he prepares to mingle with
"the congregation of the people" who compass the Lord about. The
royal heralds proclaim the opening of the court with the solemn words, "The
Lord shall judge the people." Our petitioner rises at once, and cries
with earnestness and humility, "Judge me, O Lord, according to my
righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me." His
hand is on an honest heart, and his cry is to a righteous Judge.
Verse
9. He sees a smile of complacency upon the face of the King, and in the name of
all the assembled congregation he cries aloud, "Oh let the wickedness
of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just." Is not this the
universal longing of the whole company of the elect? When shall we be delivered
from the filthy conversation of these men of Sodom? When shall we escape from
the filthiness of Mesech and the blackness of the tents of Kedar?
What
a solemn and weighty truth is contained in the last sentence of the ninth
verse! How deep is the divine knowledge!—"He trieth." How
strict, how accurate, how intimate his search!—"he trieth the
hearts," the secret thoughts, "and reins," the inward
affections. "All things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom
we have to do."
Verse
10. The judge has heard the cause, has cleared the guiltless, and uttered his
voice against the persecutors. Let us draw near, and learn the results of the
great assize. Yonder is the slandered one with his harp in hand, hymning the
justice of his Lord, and rejoicing aloud in his own deliverance. "My
defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart." Oh, how good to
have a true and upright heart. Crooked sinners, with all their
craftiness, are foiled by the upright in heart. God defends the right. Filth
will not long abide on the pure white garments of the saints, but shall be
brushed off by divine providence, to the vexation of the men by whose base
hands it was thrown upon the godly. When God shall try our cause, our sun has
risen, and the sun of the wicked is set for ever. Truth, like oil, is ever
above, no power of our enemies can drown it; we shall refute their slanders in
the day when the trumpet wakes the dead, and we shall shine in honour when
lying lips are put to silence. O believer, fear not all that thy foes can do or
say against thee, for the tree which God plants no winds can hurt.
Verse
11. "God judgeth the righteous," he hath not given thee up to
be condemned by the lips of persecutors. Thine enemies cannot sit on God's
throne, nor blot thy name out of his book. Let them alone, then, for God will
find time for his revenge.
"God
is angry with the wicked every day." He not only detests sin, but is
angry with those who continue to indulge in it. We have no insensible and
stolid God to deal with; he can be angry, nay, he is angry to-day and every day
with you, ye ungodly and impenitent sinners. The best day that ever dawns on a
sinner brings a curse with it. Sinners may have many feast days, but no safe
days. From the beginning of the year even to its ending, there is not an hour
in which God's oven is not hot, and burning in readiness for the wicked, who
shall be as stubble.
Verse
12. "If he turn not, he will whet his sword." What blows are
those which will be dealt by that long uplifted arm! God's sword has been
sharpening upon the revolving stone of our daily wickedness, and if we will not
repent, it will speedily cut us in pieces. Turn or burn is the sinner's only
alternative. "He hath bent his bow and made it ready."
Verse
13. Even now the thirsty arrow longs to wet itself with the blood of the persecutor.
The bow is bent, the aim is taken, the arrow is fitted to the string, and what,
O sinner, if the arrow should be let fly at thee even now! Remember, God's
arrows never miss the mark, and are, every one of them, "instruments of
death." Judgment may tarry, but it will not come too late. The Greek
proverb saith, "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder."
Verse
14. In three graphic pictures we see the slanderer's history. A woman in
travail furnishes the first metaphor. "He travaileth with
iniquity." He is full of it, pained until he can carry it out, he
longs to work his will, he is full of pangs until his evil intent is executed. "He
hath conceived mischief." This is the original of his base design. The
devil has had doings with him, and the virus of evil is in him. And now behold
the progeny of this unhallowed conception. The child is worthy of its father,
his name of old was,"the father of lies," and the birth doth not belie
the parent, for he brought forth falsehood. Thus, one figure is carried
out to perfection; the Psalmist now illustrates his meaning by another, taken
from the stratagems of the hunter.
Verse 15. "He
made a pit, and digged it." He was cunning in his plans, and
industrious in his labours. He stooped to the dirty work of digging. He did not
fear to soil his own hands, he was willing to work in a ditch if others
might fall therein. What mean things men will do to wreak revenge on the godly.
They hunt for good men, as if they were brute beasts; nay, they will not give
them the fair chase afforded to the hare or the fox, but must secretly entrap
them, because they can neither run them down nor shoot them down. Our enemies
will not meet us to the face, for they fear us as much as they pretend to
despise us. But let us look on to the end of the scene. The verse says, he "is
fallen into the ditch which he made." Ah! there he is, let us laugh at
his disappointment. Lo! he is himself the beast, he has hunted his own soul,
and the chase has brought him a goodly victim. Aha, aha, so should it ever be.
Come hither and make merry with this entrapped hunter, this biter who has
bitten himself. Give him no pity, for it will be wasted on such a wretch. He is
but rightly and richly rewarded by being paid in his own coin. He cast forth
evil from his mouth, and it has fallen into his bosom. He has set his own house
on fire with the torch which he lit to burn a neighbour. He sent forth a foul
bird, and it has come back to its nest.
Verse
16. The rod which he lifted on high, has smitten his own back. He shot an arrow
upward, and it has "returned upon his own head." He hurled a
stone at another and it has "come down upon his own pate."
Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost. Ashes always
fly back in the face of him that throws them. "As he loved cursing, so let
it come unto him." (Psalm 109:17.) How often has this been the case in the
histories of both ancient and modern times. Men have burned their own fingers
when they were hoping to brand their neighbour. And if this does not happen
now, it will hereafter. The Lord has caused dogs to lick the blood of Ahab in
the midst of the vineyard of Naboth. Sooner or later the evil deeds of
persecutors have always leaped back into their arms. So it will be in the last
great day, when Satan's fiery darts shall all be quivered in his own heart, and
all his followers shall reap the harvest which they themselves have sown.
Verse
17. We conclude with the joyful contrast. In this all these Psalms are agreed;
they all exhibit the blessedness of the righteous, and make its colours the
more glowing by contrast with the miseries of the wicked. The bright jewel
sparkles in a black foil. Praise is the occupation of the godly, their
eternal work, and their present pleasure. Singing is the fitting
embodiment for praise, and therefore do the saints make melody before the Lord
Most High. The slandered one is now a singer: his harp was unstrung for a very
little season, and now we leave him sweeping its harmonious chords, and flying
on their music to the third heaven of adoring praise.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Title.
"Shiggaion," though some have attempted to fix on it a reference to
the moral aspect of the world as depicted in this Psalm, is in all probability
to be taken as expressing the nature of the composition. It conveys the
idea of something erratic ((Heb.), to wander) in the style; something
not so calm as other Psalms; and hence Ewald suggests, that it might be
rendered, "a confused ode," a Dithyramb. This characteristic of
excitement in the style, and a kind of disorder in the sense, suits Habakkuk
3:1, the only other place where the word occurs. Andrew A. Bonar.
Whole
Psalm. Whatever might be the occasion of the Psalm, the real subject
seems to be the Messiah's appeal to God against the false accusations of his
enemies; and the predictions which it contains of the final conversion of the
whole world, and of the future judgment, are clear and explicit. Samuel Horsley,
LL.D., 1733-1806.
Verse 1. "O
Lord, my God, in thee do I put my trust." This is the first instance
in the Psalms where David addresses the Almighty by the united names Jehovah
and my God. No more suitable words can be placed at the beginning of any act of
prayer or praise. These names show the ground of the confidence afterward
expressed. They "denote at once supreme reverence and the most endearing
confidence. They convey a recognition of God's infinite perfections, and of his
covenanted and gracious relations." William S. Plumer.
Verse 2. "Lest
he tear my soul like a lion," etc. It is reported of tigers, that they
enter into a rage upon the scent of fragrant spices; so do ungodly men at the
blessed savour of godliness. I have read of some barbarous nations, who, when
the sun shines hot upon them, they shoot up their arrows against it; so do
wicked men at the light and heat of godliness. There is a natural antipathy
between the spirits of godly men and the wicked. Genesis 3:15. "I will put
enmity between thy seed and her seed." Jeremiah Burroughs, 1660.
Verse 3. "O
Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands."
In the primitive times the people of God were then a people under great
reproach. What strange things does Tertullian tell us they reproached them
withal; as that in their meetings they made Thyestes suppers, who invited his
brother to a supper, and presented him with a dish of his own flesh. They
charged them with uncleanness because they met in the night (for they durst not
meet in the day,) and said, they blew out the candles when they were together,
and committed filthiness. They reproached them for ignorance, saying, they were
all unlearned; and therefore the heathens in Tertullian's time used to paint
the God of the Christians with an ass's head, and a book in his hand to signify
that though they pretended learning, yet they were an unlearned, silly people,
rude and ignorant. Bishop Jewel in his sermon upon Luke 11:5, cites this out of
Tertullian, and applies it to his time:—"Do not our adversaries do the
like," saith he, "at this day, against all those that profess the
gospel of Christ? Oh, say they, who are they that favour this way? they are
none but shoemakers, tailors, weavers, and such as were never at the university;"
they are the bishop's own words. He cites likewise Tertullian a little after,
saying, that the Christians were accounted the public enemies of the State. And
Josephus tells us of Apollinaris, speaking concerning the Jews and Christians,
that they were more foolish than any barbarian. And Paulus Fagius reports a
story of an Egyptian, concerning the Christians, who said, "They were a
gathering together of a most filthy, lecherous people;" and for the
keeping of the Sabbath, he says, "they had a disease that was upon them,
and they were fain to rest the seventh day because of that disease." And
so in Augustine's time, he hath this expression, "Any one that begins to
be godly, presently he must prepare to suffer reproach from the tongues of adversaries;"
and this was their usual manner of reproach, "What shall we have of you,
an Elias? a Jeremy?" And Nazianzen, in one of his orations says, "It
is ordinary to reproach, that I cannot think to go free myself." And so
Athanasius, they called him Sathanasius, because he was a special instrument
against the Arians. And Cyprian, they called him Coprian, one that gathers up
dung, as if all the excellent things that he had gathered in his works was but
dung. Jeremiah Burroughs.
Verse 3. "If
I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands." I deny not but
you may, and ought to be sensible of the wrong done to your name, for as
"a good name is a precious ointment" (Canticles 1:3), so to have an
evil name is a great judgment; and therefore you ought not to be insensible of
the wrong done to your name by slanders and reproaches, saying, "Let men
speak of me what they please, I care not, so long as I know mine own
innocency," for though the testimony of your own innocency be a ground of
comfort unto you, yet your care must be not only to approve yourselves unto
God, but also unto men, to be as careful of your good names as possibly ye can;
but yet you are not to manifest any distemper or passion upon the reproachful
speeches of others against you. Thomas Gouge, 1660.
Verse 3. It is a
sign that there is some good in thee if a wicked world abuse thee. "Quid
mali feci?" said Socrates, what evil have I done that this bad man
commends me? The applause of the wicked usually denotes some evil, and their
censure imports some good. Thomas Watson.
Verse 3. "If
there be iniquity in my hands." Injustice is ascribed to the hand,
not because injustice as always, though usually it be, done by the hand. With
the hand men take away, and with that men detain the right of others. David speaks
thus (1 Chronicles 12:17), "Seeing there is no wrong in mine hands;"
that is, I have done no wrong. Joseph Caryl.
Verses 3, 4. A good
conscience is a flowing spring of assurance. "For our rejoicing is this,
the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not
with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in
the world, and more abundantly to you-ward." 2 Corinthians 1:12.
"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards
God." 1 John 3:21. A good conscience has sure confidence. He who has it
sits in the midst of all combustions and distractions, Noah-like, all sincerity
and serenity, uprightness and boldness. What the probationer disciple said to
our Saviour, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest,"
that a good conscience says to the believing soul; I will stand by thee; I will
strengthen thee; I will uphold thee; I will be a comfort to thee in life, and a
friend to thee in death. "Though all should leave thee, yet will I never
forsake thee," Thomas Brooks.
Verse 4. "Yea,
I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy." Meaning Saul,
whose life he twice preserved, once in Engedi, and again when he slept on the
plain. John Gill.
Verse 4. "If
I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me." To do evil
for good, is human corruption; to do good for good, is civil retribution; but
to good for evil, is Christian perfection. Though this be not the grace of
nature, yet it is the nature of grace. William Secker.
Verse 4. Then is
grace victorious, and then hath a man a noble and brave spirit, not when he is
overcome by evil (for that argueth weakness), but when he can overcome evil.
And it is God's way to shame the party that did the wrong, and to overcome him
too; it is the best way to get the victory over him. When David had Saul at an
advantage in the cave, and cut off the lap of his garment, and did forbear any
act of revenge against him, Saul was melted, and said to David, "Thou art
more righteous than I." 1 Samuel 24:17. Though he had such a hostile mind
against him, and chased and pursued him up and down, yet when David forbear
revenge when it was in his power, it overcame him, and he falls a-weeping. Thomas
Manton.
Verse 5. "Let
him tread down my life upon the earth." The allusion here is to the
manner in which the vanquished were often treated in battle, when they were
rode over by horses, or trampled by men in the dust. The idea of David is, that
if he was guilty he would be willing that his enemy should triumph over him,
should subdue him, should treat him with the utmost indignity and scorn. Albert
Barnes, in loc.
Verse 5. "Mine
honour in the dust." When Achilles dragged the body of Hector in the
dust around the walls of Troy, he did but carry out the usual manners of those
barbarous ages. David dares in his conscious innocence to imprecate such an
ignominious fate upon himself if indeed the accusation of the black Benjamite
be true. He had need have a golden character who dares to challenge such an ordeal.
C. H. S.
Verse 6. "The
judgment which thou hast ordained." In the end of the verse he shows
that he asks nothing but what is according to the appointment of God. And this
is the rule which ought to be observed by us in our prayers; we should in
everything conform our requests to the divine will, as John also instructs us.
1 John 4:14. And, indeed, we can never pray in faith unless we attend, in the
first place, to what God commands, that our minds may not rashly and at random
start aside in desiring more than we are permitted to desire and pray for.
David, therefore, in order to pray aright, reposes himself on the word and
promise of God; and the import of his exercise is this: Lord, I am not led by
ambition, or foolish headstrong passion, or depraved desire, inconsiderately to
ask from thee whatever is pleasing to my flesh; but it is the clear light of
thy word which directs me, and upon it I securely depend. John Calvin.
Verse 7. "The
congregation of the people:" either, 1. A great number of all sorts of
people, who shall observe thy justice, and holiness, and goodness in pleading
my righteous cause against my cruel and implacable oppressor. Or rather, 2. The
whole body of thy people Israel, by whom both these Hebrew words are commonly
ascribed in Holy Scripture. "Compass thee about;" they will,
and I, as their king and ruler in thy stead, will take care that they shall
come from all parts and meet together to worship thee, which in Saul's time
they have grossly neglected, and been permitted to neglect, and to offer to
thee praises and sacrifices for thy favour to me, and for the manifold benefits
which they shall enjoy by my means, and under my government. "For their
sakes;" or, for its sake, i.e., for the sake of thy
congregation, which now is woefully dissipated and oppressed, and has in a
great measure lost all administration of justice, and exercise of religion. "Return
thou on high," or, return to thy high place,i.e. to thy
tribunal, to sit there and judge my cause. An allusion to earthly tribunals,
which generally are set up on high above the people. 1 Kings 10:19. Matthew
Poole, 1624-1679.
Verse 8. Believers!
let not the terror of that day dispirit you when you meditate upon it; let
those who have slighted the Judge, and continue enemies to him and the way of
holiness, droop and hang down their heads when they think of his coming; but
lift ye up your heads with joy, for the last day will be your best day. The
Judge is your Head and Husband, your Redeemer, and your Advocate. Ye must
appear before the judgment-seat; but ye shall not come into condemnation. His
coming will not be against you, but for you. It is otherwise with unbelievers,
a neglected Saviour will be a severe Judge. Thomas Boston,
1676-1732.
Verse 9. "The
righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." As common experience shows
that the workings of the mind, particularly the passions of joy, grief, and
fear, have a very remarkable effect on the reins or kidneys. (See
Proverbs 23:16; Psalm 73:21), so from their retired situation in the body, and
their being hid in fat, they are often used to denote the most secret workings
and affections of the soul. And to "see or examine the reins,"
is to see or examine those most secret thoughts or desires of the soul. John
Parkhurst, 1762.
Verse 9 (last
clause). "The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins."
"I that
alone am infinite, can try
How deep within itself thine heart doth lie.
Thy seamen's plummet can but reach the ground,
I find that which thine heart itself ne'er found.
Francis Quarles, 1592-1644.
Verse 9. "The
heart," may signify the cogitations, and the "reins"
the affections. Henry Ainsworth.
Verse 10. "My
defense is of God." Literally, "My shield is upon God,"
like Psalm 62:8, "My salvation is upon God." The idea may be taken
from the armour-bearer, ever ready at hand to give the needed weapon to the
warrior. Andrew A. Bonar.
Verse 11. "God
judgeth the righteous," etc. Many learned disputes have arisen as to
the meaning of this verse; and it must be confessed that its real import is by
no means easily determined: without the words written in italics, which are not
in the original, it will read thus, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is
angry every day." The question still will be, is this a good rendering? To
this question it may be replied, that there is strong evidence for a contrary
one. AINSWORTH translates it, "God is a just judge; and God angrily
threateneth every day." With this corresponds the reading of COVERDALE'S
Bible, "God is a righteous judge, and God is ever threatening." In
King Edward's Bible, of 1549, the reading is the same. But there is another
class of critics who adopt quite a different view of the text, and apparently
with much colour of argument. BISHOP HORSLEY read the verse, "God is a
righteous judge, although he is not angry every day." In this rendering he
seems to have followed most of the ancient versions. The VULGATE read it,
"God is a judge, righteous, strong, and patient; will he be angry every
day?" The SEPTUAGINT reads it, "God is a righteous judge, strong, and
longsuffering; not bringing forth his anger every day." The SYRIAC has it,
"God is the judge of righteousness; he is not angry every day." In
this view of the text Dr. A. Clarke agrees, and expresses it as his opinion
that the text was first corrupted by the CHALDEE. This learned divine proposes
to restore the text thus, "(Heb.), el, with the vowel point tseri,
signifies God; (Heb.), al, the same letters, with the point pathach,
signifies not." There is by this view of the original no repetition
of the divine name in the verse, so that it will simply read, as thus restored,
"God is a righteous judge, and is NOT angry every day." The text at
large, as is intimated in the VULGATE, SEPTUAGINT, and some other ancient
versions, conveys a strong intimation of the longsuffering of God, whose hatred
of sin is unchangeable, but whose anger against transgressors is marked by
infinite patience, and does not burst forth in vengeance every day. John
Morrison, in "An Exposition of the Book of Psalms," 1829.
Verse 11. "God
is angry." The original expression here is very forcible. The true
idea of it appears to be, to froth or foam at the mouth with
indignation. Richard Mant, D.D., 1824.
Verses 11, 12. God
hath set up his royal standard in defiance of all the sons and daughters of
apostate Adam, who from his own mouth are proclaimed rebels and traitors to his
crown and dignity; and as against such he hath taken the field, as with fire
and sword, to be avenged on them. Yea, he gives the world sufficient testimony
of his incensed wrath, by that of it which is revealed from heaven daily in the
judgments executed upon sinners, and those many but of a span long, before they
can show what nature they have by actual sin, yet crushed to death by God's
righteous foot, only for the viperous kind of which they come. At every door
where sin sets its foot, there the wrath of God meets us. Every faculty of
soul, and member of body, are used as a weapon of unrighteousness against God;
so every one hath its portion of wrath, even to the tip of the tongue. As man
is sinful all over, so is he cursed all over. Inside and outside, soul and
body, is written all with woes and curses, so close and full, that there is not
room for another to interline, or add to what God hath written. William
Gurnall.
Verses 11-13. The
idea of God's righteousness must have possessed great vigour to render such a
representation possible. There are some excellent remarks upon the ground of it
in Luther, who, however, too much overlooks the fact, that the psalmist
presents before his eyes this form of an angry and avenging God, primarily with
the view of strengthening by its consideration his own hope, and pays too
little regard to the distinction between the psalmist, who only indirectly
teaches what he described as part of his own inward experience, and the
prophet: "The prophet takes a lesson from a coarse human similitude, in
order that he might inspire terror unto the ungodly. For he speaks against
stupid and hardened people, who would not apprehend the reality of a divine
judgment, of which he had just spoken; but they might possibly be brought to
consider this by greater earnestness on the part of man. Now, the prophet is
not satisfied with thinking of the sword, but adds thereto the bow; even this
does not satisfy him, but he describes how it is already stretched, and aim is
taken, and the arrows are applied to it as here follows. So hard, stiff-necked
and unabashed are the ungodly, that however many threatenings may be urged
against them, they will still remain unmoved. But in these words he forcibly
describes how God's anger presses hard upon the ungodly, though they will never
understand this until they actually experience it. It is also to be remarked
here, that we have had so frightful a threatening and indignation against the
ungodly in no Psalm before this; neither has the Spirit of God attacked them
with so many words. Then in the following verses, he also recounts their plans
and purposes, shows how these shall not be in vain, but shall return again upon
their own head. So that it clearly and manifestly appears that to all those who
suffer wrong and reproach, as a matter of consolation, that God hates such
revilers and slanderers above all other characters. E. W. Hengstenberg, in
loc., 1845.
Verse 12. "If
he turn not," etc. How few do believe what a quarrel God hath with
wicked men? And that not only with the loose, but the formal and hypocritical
also? If we did we would tremble as much to be among them as to be in a house
that is falling; we would endeavour to "save" ourselves "from
this untoward generation." The apostle would not so have adjured them, so
charged, so entreated them, had he not known the danger of wicked company. "God
is angry with the wicked every day;" his bow is bent, the arrows are on
the string; the instruments for their ruin are all prepared. And is it safe
to be there where the arrows of God are ready to fly about our ears? How was
the apostle afraid to be in the bath with Cerinthus! "Depart," saith
God by Moses, "from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, lest ye be
consumed in all their sins." How have the baskets of good figs suffered
with the bad! Is it not prejudicial to the gold to be with the dross? Lot had
been ruined by his neighbourhood to the Sodomites if God had not wrought
wonderfully for his deliverance. Will you put God to work miracles to save you
from your ungodly company? It is dangerous being in the road with thieves
whilst God's hue and cry of vengeance is at their backs. "A companion of
fools shall be destroyed." The very beasts may instruct you to consult
better for your security: the very deer are afraid of a wounded chased deer,
and therefore for their preservation thrust him out of their company. Lewis
Stuckley.
Verse 12. "If
he turn not, he will whet his sword," etc. The whetting of the sword
is but to give a keener edge that it may cut the deeper. God is silent as long
as the sinner will let him; but when the sword is whet, it is to cut; and when
the bow is bent, it is to kill; and woe be to that man who is the butt. William
Secker.
Verse 13. "He
hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows
against the persecutors." It is said that God hath ordained his arrows
against the persecutors; the word signifies such as burn in anger and malice
against the godly; and the word translated ordained, signifies God hath
wrought his arrows; he doth not shoot them at random, but he works them against
the wicked. Illiricus hath a story which may well be a commentary upon this
text in both the parts of it. One Felix, Earl of Wartenberg, one of the
captains of the Emperor Charles V., swore in the presence of divers at supper,
that before he died he would ride up to the spurs in the blood of the
Lutherans. Here was one that burned in malice, but behold how God works his
arrows against him; that very night the hand of God so struck him, that he was
strangled and choked in his own blood; so he rode not, but bathed himself, not
up to the spurs, but up to the throat, not in the blood of the Lutherans, but
in his own blood before he died. Jeremiah Burroughs.
Verse 13. "He
ordaineth his arrows," This might more exactly be rendered, "He
maketh his arrows burning." This image would seem to be deduced from the
use of fiery arrows. John Kitto, 1804-1854.
Verse 14. "Behold
he travaileth with iniquity," etc. The words express the conception,
birth, carriage and miscarriage, of a plot against David. In
which you may consider:—(1.) What his enemies did. (2.) What God
did. (3.) What we all should do: his enemies' intention, God's prevention,
and our duty; his enemies' intention, he travaileth with iniquity,
and conceiveth mischief; God's prevention, he brought forth a lie;
our duty, Behold. . . . . Observe the aggravation of the sin, he
conceiveth. He was not put upon it, or forced into it: it was voluntary.
The more liberty we have not to sin, makes our sin the greater. He did not this
in passion, but in cold blood. The less will, less sin. Richard Sibbs.
Verse 14. "He
travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief." All note that
conceiving is before travailing, but here travailing, as a woman in labour,
goeth first; the reason whereof is, that the wicked are so hotly set upon the
evil which they maliciously intend, that they would be immediately acting of it
if they could tell how, even before they have conceived by what means; but in
fine they bring forth but a lie, that is, they find that their own hearts lied
to them, when they promised good success, but they had evil. For their haste to
perpetrate mischief is intimated in the word rendered "persecutors"
(verse 13), which properly signifieth ardentes, burning; that is, with a
desire to do mischief—and this admits of no delay. A notable common-place, both
setting forth the evil case of the wicked, especially attempting anything
against the righteous, to move them to repentance—for thou hast God for thine
enemy warring against thee, whose force thou canst not resist—and the greedy
desire of the wicked to be evil, but their conception shall all prove abortive.
J. Mayer, in loc.
Verse 14. "And
hath brought forth falsehood." Every sin is a lie. Augustine.
Verse 14.
"Earth's
entertainments are like those of Jael.
Her left hand brings me milk, her right, a nail."
Thomas Fuller.
Verses 14, 15. "They
have digged a pit for us"—and that low, unto hell—"and are
fallen into it themselves."
"No juster
law can be devised or made,
Than that sin's agents fall by their own trade."
The
order of hell proceeds with the same degrees; though it give a greater portion,
yet still a just proportion, of torment. These wretched guests were too busy
with the waters of sin; behold, now they are in the depth of a pit, "where
no water is." Dives, that wasted so many tuns of wine, cannot now procure
water, not a pot of water, not a handful of water, not a drop of water, to cool
his tongue. Desideravit guttam, qui non dedit micam. (Augustine Hom. 7)
A just recompense! He would not give a crumb; he shall not have a drop. Bread
hath no smaller fragment than a crumb, water no less fraction than a drop. As
he denied the least comfort to Lazarus living, so Lazarus shall not bring him
the least comfort dead. Thus the pain for sin answers the pleasure of sin. . .
. Thus damnable sins shall have semblable punishments; and as Augustine of the tongue,
so we may say of any member. . . . If it will not serve God in action, it shall
serve him in passion. Thomas Adams.
Verse 15. "He
made a pit, and digged it." The practice of making pitfalls was
anciently not only employed for ensnaring wild beasts, but was also a stratagem
used against men by the enemy, in time of war. The idea, therefore, refers to a
man who, having made such a pit, whether for man or beast, and covered it over
so as completely to disguise the danger, did himself inadvertently tread on his
own trap, and fall into the pit he had prepared for another. Pictorial
Bible.
Verse 16. That most
witty of commentators, Old Master Trapp, tells the following notable anecdote,
in illustration of this verse:—That was a very remarkable instance of Dr.
Story, who, escaping out of prison in Queen Elizabeth's days, got to Antwerp,
and there thinking himself out of the reach of God's rod, he got commission
under the Duke of Alva to search all ships coming thither for English books.
But one Parker, an English merchant, trading for Antwerp, laid his snare fair
(saith our chronicler), to catch this foul bird, causing secret notice to be
given to Story, that in his ship were stores of heretical books, with other
intelligence that might stand him in stead. The Canonist conceiving that all
was quite sure, hasted to the ship, where, with looks very big upon the poor
mariners, each cabin, chest, and corner above-board were searched, and some
things found to draw him further on: so that the hatches must be opened, which
seemed to be unwillingly done, and great signs of fear were showed by their
faces. This drew on the Doctor to descend into the hold, where now in the trap
the mouse might well gnaw, but could not get out, for the hatches were down,
and the sails hoisted up, which, with a merry gale, were blown into England,
where ere long he was arraigned, and condemned of high treason, and accordingly
executed at Tyburn, as he had well deserven.
Verse 16. The story
of Phalaris's bull, invented for the torment of others, and serving afterwards
for himself, is notorious in heathen story. . . . . It was a voluntary judgment
which Archbishop Cranmer inflicted on himself when he thrust that very hand
into the fire, and burnt it, with which he had signed to the popish articles,
crying out, "Oh, my unworthy right hand!" but who will deny
that the hand of the Almighty was also concerned in it? William Turner in
"Divine Judgments by way of Retaliation", 1697.
Verse 17. To bless
God for mercies is the way to increase them; to bless him for miseries is the
way to remove them: no good lives so long as that which is thankfully improved;
no evil dies so soon as that which is patiently endured. William Dyer.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. The
necessity of faith when we address ourselves to God. Show the worthlessness of
prayer without trust in the Lord.
Verses 1, 2. Viewed
as a prayer for deliverance from all enemies, especially Satan the lion.
Verse 3.
Self-vindication before men. When possible, judicious, or serviceable. With
remarks upon the spirit in which it should be attempted.
Verse 4. "The
best revenge." Evil for good is devil-like, evil for evil is
beast-like, good for good is man-like, good for evil is God-like.
Verse 6. How and in
what sense divine anger may become the hope of the righteous.
Fire
fought by fire, or man's anger overcome by God's anger.
Verse 7. The
congregation of the people."
1.
Who they are.
2.
Why they congregate together with one another.
3.
Where they congregate.
4.
Why they choose such a person to be the centre of their congregation.
Verse 7. The
gathering of the saints around the Lord Jesus.
Verse 7 (last
clause). The coming of Christ to judgment for the good of his saints.
Verse 8. The
character of the Judge before whom we all must stand.
Verse 9 (first
clause).
(1)
By changing their hearts; or
(2)
by restraining their wills,
(3)
or depriving them of power,
(4)
or removing them.
Show
the times when, the reasons why, such a prayer should be offered, and how, in
the first sense, we may labour for its accomplishment.
Verse 9. This verse
contains two grand prayers, and a noble proof that the Lord can grant them.
Verse 9. The period
of sin, and the perpetuity of the righteous. Matthew Henry.
Verse 9. "Establish
the just." By what means and in what sense the just are established,
or, the true established church.
Verse 9 (last
clause). God's trial of men's hearts.
Verse 10. "Upright
in heart." Explain the character.
Verse 10. The
believer's trust in God, and God's care over him. Show the action of faith in
procuring defence and protection, and of that defence upon our faith by
strengthening it, etc.
Verse 11. The Judge,
and the two persons upon their trial.
Verse 11 (second
clause). God's present, daily, constant, and vehement anger, against the
wicked.
Verse 12. See
"Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 106. "Turn or Burn."
None.
Verses 14, 15, 16.
Illustrate by three figures the devices and defeat of persecutors.
Verse 17. The
excellent duty of praise.
Verse 17. View the
verse in connection with the subject of the Psalm, and show how the deliverance
of the righteous, and the destruction of the wicked are themes for song.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》