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Psalm Eighteen
Psalm 18
Chapter Contents
David rejoices in the deliverances God wrought for him.
(1-19) He takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had cleared up. (20-28)
He gives to God the glory of all his mighty deeds. (29-50)
Commentary on Psalm 18:1-19
(Read Psalm 18:1-19)
The first words, "I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength," are the scope and contents of the psalm. Those that truly love
God, may triumph in him as their Rock and Refuge, and may with confidence call
upon him. It is good for us to observe all the circumstances of a mercy which
magnify the power of God and his goodness to us in it. David was a praying man,
and God was found a prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as
he did. God's manifestation of his presence is very fully described, verses 7-15. Little appeared of man, but much of
God, in these deliverances. It is not possible to apply to the history of the
son of Jesse those awful, majestic, and stupendous words which are used through
this description of the Divine manifestation. Every part of so solemn a scene
of terrors tells us, a greater than David is here. God will not only deliver
his people out of their troubles in due time, but he will bear them up under
their troubles in the mean time. Can we meditate on ver. 18, without directing
one thought to Gethsemane and Calvary? Can we forget that it was in the hour of
Christ's deepest calamity, when Judas betrayed, when his friends forsook, when
the multitude derided him, and the smiles of his Father's love were withheld,
that the powers of darkness prevented him? The sorrows of death surrounded him,
in his distress he prayed, Hebrews 5:7. God made the earth to shake and
tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and brought him out, in his resurrection,
because he delighted in him and in his undertaking.
Commentary on Psalm 18:20-28
(Read Psalm 18:20-28)
Those that forsake the ways of the Lord, depart from
their God. But though conscious to ourselves of many a false step, let there
not be a wicked departure from our God. David kept his eye upon the rule of
God's commands. Constant care to keep from that sin, whatever it be, which most
easily besets us, proves that we are upright before God. Those who show mercy
to others, even they need mercy. Those who are faithful to God, shall find him
all that to them which he has promised to be. The words of the Lord are pure
words, very sure to be depended on, and very sweet to be delighted in. Those
who resist God, and walk contrary to him, shall find that he will walk contrary
to them, Leviticus 26:21-24. The gracious recompence of
which David spoke, may generally be expected by those who act from right
motives. Hence he speaks comfort to the humble, and terror to the proud;
"Thou wilt bring down high looks." And he speaks encouragement to
himself; "Thou wilt light my candle:" thou wilt revive and comfort my
sorrowful spirit; thou wilt guide my way, that I may avoid the snares laid for
me. Thou wilt light my candle to work by, and give me an opportunity of serving
thee. Let those that walk in darkness, and labour under discouragements, take
courage; God himself will be a Light to them.
Commentary on Psalm 18:29-50
(Read Psalm 18:29-50)
When we praise for one mercy, we must observe the many
more, with which we have been compassed all our days. Many things had
contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the hand of God in them all, to
teach us to do likewise. In verse 32, and the following verses, are the gifts of
God to the spiritual warrior, whereby he is prepared for the contest, after the
example of his victorious Leader. Learn that we must seek release being made
through Christ, shall be rejected. In David the type, we behold out of trouble
through Christ. The prayer put up, without reconciliation Jesus our Redeemer,
conflicting with enemies, compassed with sorrows and with floods of ungodly
men, enduring not only the pains of death, but the wrath of God for us; yet
calling upon the Father with strong cries and tears; rescued from the grave;
proceeding to reconcile, or to put under his feet all other enemies, till
death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. We should love the Lord, our
Strength, and our Salvation; we should call on him in every trouble, and praise
him for every deliverance; we should aim to walk with him in all righteousness
and true holiness, keeping from sin. If we belong to him, he conquers and
reigns for us, and we shall conquer and reign through him, and partake of the
mercy of our anointed King, which is promised to all his seed for evermore.
Amen.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 18
Verse 1
[1] I
will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
Love —
Most affectionately, and with my whole soul; as the Hebrew word signifies.
Verse 2
[2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my
strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and
my high tower.
Rock — To
which I flee for refuge, as the Israelites did to their rocks.
Horn — It
is a metaphor from those beasts whose strength lies in their horns.
Verse 4
[4] The
sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
Death —
Dangerous and deadly troubles.
Floods —
Their multitude, and strength, and violent assaults, breaking in upon me like a
flood.
Verse 5
[5] The
sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
Sorrows —
Which brought me to the brink of the grave.
Death —
Had almost taken hold of me, before I was aware.
Verse 6
[6] In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my
voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Temple —
Out of his heavenly habitation.
Verse 7
[7] Then
the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were
shaken, because he was wroth.
Then —
Then God appeared on my behalf in a glorious manner, to the terror and
confusion of all mine enemies, which is here compared to an earthquake.
Verse 8
[8]
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured:
coals were kindled by it.
There went, … —
All these seem to be figurative expressions, denoting the greatness of his
anger.
Verse 9
[9] He
bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
Bowed — By
producing thick and dark clouds, whereby the heavens seem to come down to the
earth.
Came —
Not by change of place, but by the manifestation of his presence and power on
my behalf.
Verse 10
[10] And
he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
Cherub —
Or, upon the cherubim, upon the angels, who are also called God's chariots, Psalms 68:17, upon which he is said to sit and
ride. All which is not to be understood grossly, but only to denote God's using
the ministry of angels, in raising such storms and tempests.
Fly — As
swiftly as the wind.
Verse 11
[11] He
made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters
and thick clouds of the skies.
Darkness — He
covered himself with dark clouds.
Waters —
Watery vapours.
Verse 12
[12] At
the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and
coals of fire.
At — His glorious and
powerful appearance.
Passed —
Or, passed away, vanished, being dissolved into showers.
Verse 14
[14] Yea,
he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and
discomfited them.
Arrows —
Lightnings.
Them —
Mine enemies.
Verse 15
[15] Then
the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were
discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
Discovered — By
mighty earthquakes, which overturned the earth, and made its lower parts
visible.
Verse 18
[18] They
prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
Prevented —
They had almost surprized me.
Verse 19
[19] He
brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted
in me.
Brought — Out
of my straits and difficulties, into a state of freedom and comfort. So he
ascribes all his mercies to God's good pleasure, as the first spring of them.
Verse 20
[20] The
LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of
my hands hath he recompensed me.
Righteousness —
Just cause. The innocency of my actions towards Saul, from whose blood I kept
my hands pure.
Verse 22
[22] For
all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
Judgments — I
diligently studied and considered them.
Verse 24
[24]
Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according
to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
Iniquity —
From that sin which I was most inclined or tempted to.
Verse 25
[25] With
the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt
shew thyself upright;
Upright —
Thou metest to every one the same measure, which he meteth out to others; and
therefore thou wilt perform mercy and truth, to those who are merciful and true
to others.
Verse 26
[26] With
the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew
thyself froward.
Pure —
Free from the least mixture or appearance of unrighteousness, or
unfaithfulness.
Froward —
Thou wilt cross him and walk contrary to him.
Verse 28
[28] For
thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
Lightest —
Given me safety, and comfort, and glory, and posterity also.
Verse 29
[29] For
by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
Troop —
Broken through the armed troops of mine enemies.
Wall — I
have scaled the walls of their strongest cites.
Verse 30
[30] As
for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to
all those that trust in him.
Perfect —
His providence, though it may sometimes be dark, yet is always wise and just,
and unblameable.
Tried —
The truth of God's promises is approved by innumerable experiences.
Verse 31
[31] For
who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
Who —
Our Lord is the only God, and therefore there is none, that can hinder him from
accomplishing his own work.
Verse 32
[32] It
is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
Perfect —
Perfectly plain and smooth, and clear from impediments.
Verse 33
[33] He
maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
High-places —
Confirms me in that high estate into which he hath advanced me.
Verse 35
[35] Thou
hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden
me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Salvation —
Thy protection, which hath been to me like a shield.
Held —
Kept me from, falling into those mischiefs, which mine enemies designed.
Gentleness —
Thy clemency, whereby thou hast pardoned my sins; thy grace and benignity.
Verse 36
[36] Thou
hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
Slipt — As
they are apt to do in narrow and uneven ways.
Verse 43
[43] Thou
hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the
head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
People —
From contentions, and seditions, under Saul, and Ishbosheth, and Absalom.
Heathens — Of
the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Syrians, and others.
Not known —
Even barbarous and remote nations.
Verse 44
[44] As
soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit
themselves unto me.
Hear — As
soon as they understand my will and pleasure, they shall instantly comply with
it.
Verse 45
[45] The
strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
Close places —
Out of their strong holds, where they shall lurk for fear of me.
Verse 46
[46] The
LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be
exalted.
The Lord — He
and he only is the true living God.
Verse 48
[48] He
delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise
up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
Violent man —
From Saul: whom for honour's sake he forbears to mention.
Verse 49
[49]
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing
praises unto thy name.
Heathen —
David is here transported beyond himself, and speaks this in special relation
to Christ who was to be his seed, and of whom he was an eminent type, and by
whom alone this was done. And therefore this is justly applied to him, and to
his calling of the Gentiles, Romans 15:9.
Verse 50
[50]
Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to
David, and to his seed for evermore.
His king — To
the king whom God himself chose and anointed, and to all his posterity; and
especially to the Messiah, who is called David's seed, Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Psalm 18
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. To the
Chief Musician a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spake unto
the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord delivered him
from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul." We have
another form of this Psalm, with significant variations (2 Samuel 22), and
this suggests the idea that it was sung by David at different times when he
reviewed his own remarkable history, and observed the gracious hand of God in
it all. Like Addison's hymn beginning, "When all thy mercies, O my
God," this Psalm is the song of a grateful heart overwhelmed with a
retrospect of the manifold and marvellous mercies of God. We will call it
THE GRATEFUL RETROSPECT. The title deserves attention. David, although at
this time a king, calls himself, "the servant of Jehovah," but
makes no mention of his royalty; hence we gather that he counted it a higher
honour to be the Lord's servant than to be Judah's king. Right wisely did he
judge. Being possessed of poetic genius, he served the Lord by composing this
Psalm for the use of the Lord's house; and it is no mean work to conduct or to
improve that delightful part of divine worship, the singing of the Lord's
praises. Would that more musical and poetical ability were consecrated, and
that our chief musicians were fit to be trusted with devout and
spiritual psalmody. It should be observed that the words of this song were not
composed with the view of gratifying the taste of men, but were spoken unto
Jehovah. It were well if we had a more single eye to the honour of the Lord
in our singing, and in all other hallowed exercises. That praise is little
worth which is not directed solely and heartily to the Lord. David might well
be thus direct in his gratitude, for he owed all to his God, and in the day of
his deliverance he had none to thank but the Lord, whose right hand had
preserved him. We too should feel that to God and God alone we owe the greatest
debt of honour and thanksgiving.
If
it be remembered that the second and the forty-ninth verses are both quoted in
the New Testament (Hebrews 2:13; Romans 15:9) as the words of the Lord
Jesus, it will be clear that a greater than David is here. Reader, you will not
need our aid in this respect; if you know Jesus you will readily find him in
his sorrows, deliverance, and triumphs all through this wonderful psalm.
DIVISION.
The first three verses are the proem or preface in which the resolve to
bless God is declared. Delivering mercy is most poetically extolled from verse
4 to verse 19; and then the happy songster from verse 20 to 28, protests that
God had acted righteously in thus favouring him. Filled with grateful joy he
again pictures his deliverance, and anticipates future victories from verse
29-45; and in closing speaks with evident prophetic foresight of the glorious
triumphs of the Messiah, David's seed and the Lord's anointed.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. "I will love thee, O Lord." With strong, hearty affection
will I cling to thee; as a child to its parent, or a spouse to her husband. The
word is intensely forcible, the love is of the deepest kind. "I will love
heartily, with my inmost bowels." Here is a fixed resolution to abide in
the nearest and most intimate union with the Most High. Our triune God deserves
the warmest love of all our hearts. Father, Son and Spirit have each a claim
upon our love. The solemn purpose never to cease loving naturally springs from
present fervour of affection. It is wrong to make rash resolutions, but this
when made in the strength of God is most wise and fitting. "My
strength." Our God is the strength of our life, our graces, our works,
our hopes, our conflicts, our victories. This verse is not found in 2 Samuel
22, and is a most precious addition, placed above all and after all to form the
pinnacle of the temple, the apex of the pyramid. Love is still the crowning
grace.
Verse
2. "The Lord is my rock and my fortress." Dwelling among the
crags and mountain fastnesses of Judea David had escaped the malice of Saul,
and here he compares his God to such a place of concealment and security.
Believers are often hidden in their God from the strife of tongues and the fury
of the storm of trouble. The clefts of the Rock of Ages are safe abodes. "My
deliverer," interposing in my hour of peril. When almost captured the
Lord's people are rescued from the hand of the mighty by him who is mightier
still. This title of "deliverer" has many sermons in it, and is
well worthy of the study of all experienced saints. "My God;"
this is all good things in one. There is a boundless wealth in this expression;
it means, my perpetual, unchanging, infinite, eternal good. He who can say
truly "my God," may well add, "my heaven, my all." "My
strength;" this word is really "my rock," in the
sense of strength and immobility. My sure, unchanging, eternal confidence and
support. Thus the word rock occurs twice, but it is no tautology, for the first
time it is a rock for concealment, but here a rock for firmness and
immutability. "In whom I will trust." Faith must be exercised,
or the preciousness of God is not truly known; and God must be the object of
faith, or faith is mere presumption. "My buckler," warding off
the blows of my enemy, shielding me from arrow or sword. The Lord furnishes his
warriors with weapons both offensive and defensive. Our armoury is completely
stored so that none need go to battle unarmed. "The horn of my
salvation," enabling me to push down my foes, and to triumph over them
with holy exultation. "My high tower," a citadel high planted
on a rocky eminence beyond the reach of my enemies, from the heights of which I
look down upon their fury without alarm, and survey a wide landscape of mercy
reaching even unto the goodly land beyond Jordan. Here are many words, but none
too many; we might profitably examine each one of them had we leisure, but
summing up the whole, we may conclude with Calvin, that David here equips the
faithful from head to foot.
Verse
3. In this verse the happy poet resolves to invoke the Lord in joyful song,
believing that in all future conflicts his God would deal as well with him as
in the past. It is well to pray to God as to one who deserves to be praised,
for then we plead in a happy and confident manner. If I feel that I can and do
bless the Lord for all his past goodness, I am bold to ask great things of him.
That word So has much in it. To be saved singing is to be saved indeed.
Many are saved mourning and doubting; but David had such faith that he could
fight singing, and win the battle with a song still upon his lips. How happy a
thing to receive fresh mercy with a heart already sensible of mercy enjoyed,
and to anticipate new trials with a confidence based upon past experiences of
divine love!
"No
fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting, 'The Lord will provide.'"
Verses
4-19. In most poetical language the Psalmist now describes his experience of
Jehovah's delivering power. Poesy has in all her treasures no gem more lustrous
than the sonnet of the following verses; the sorrow, the cry, the descent of
the Divine One, and the rescue of the afflicted, are here set to a music worthy
of the golden harps. The Messiah our Saviour is evidently, over and beyond David
or any other believer, the main and chief subject of this song; and while
studying it we have grown more and more sure that every line here has its
deepest and profoundest fulfilment in Him; but as we are desirous not to extend
our comment beyond moderate bounds, we must leave it with the devout reader to
make the very easy application of the passage to our once distressed but now
triumphant Lord.
Verse
4. "The sorrows of death compassed me." Death like a cruel
conqueror seemed to twist round about him the cords of pain. He was environed
and hemmed in with threatening deaths of the most appalling sort. He was like a
mariner broken by the storm and driven upon the rocks by dreadful breakers,
white as the teeth of death. Sad plight for the man after God's own heart, but
thus it is that Jehovah dealeth with his sons. "The floods of ungodly
men made me afraid." Torrents of ungodliness threatened to swamp all
religion, and to hurry away the godly man's hope as a thing to be scorned and
despised; so far was this threat fulfilled, that even the hero who slew Goliath
began to be afraid. The most seaworthy bark is sometimes hard put to it when
the storm fiend is abroad. The most courageous man, who as a rule hopes for the
best, may sometimes fear the worst. Beloved reader, he who pens these lines has
known better than most men what this verse means, and feels inclined to weep,
and yet to sing, while he writes upon a text so descriptive of his own
experience. On the night of the lamentable accident at the Surrey Music Hall,
the floods of Belial were let loose, and the subsequent remarks of a large
portion of the press were exceedingly malicious and wicked; our soul was afraid
as we stood encompassed with the sorrows of death and the blasphemies of the
cruel. But oh, what mercy was there in it all, and what honey of goodness was
extracted by our Lord out of this lion of affliction! Surely God hath heard me!
Art thou in an ill plight? Dear friend, learn thou from our experience to trust
in the Lord Jehovah, who forsaketh not his chosen.
Verse
5. "The sorrows of hell compassed me about." From all sides
the hell-hounds barked furiously. A cordon of devils hemmed in the hunted man
of God; every way of escape was closed up. Satan knows how to blockade our
coasts with the iron war-ships of sorrow, but, blessed be God, the port of all
prayer is still open, and grace can run the blockade bearing messages from
earth to heaven, and blessings in return from heaven to earth. "The
snares of death prevented me." The old enemy hunts for his prey, not
only with the dogs of the infernal kennel, but also with the snares of deadly
craft. The nets were drawn closer and closer until the contracted circle
completely prevented the escape of the captive:
"About me
the cords of hell were wound,
And snares of death my footsteps bound."
Thus
hopeless was the case of this good man, as hopeless as a case could be, so
utterly desperate that none but an almighty arm could be of any service.
According to the four metaphors which he employs, he was bound like a
malefactor for execution; overwhelmed like a shipwrecked mariner; surrounded
and standing at bay like a hunted stag; and captured in a net like a trembling
bird. What more of terror and distress could meet upon one poor defenseless
head?
Verse
6. "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God."
Prayer is that postern gate which is left open even when the city is straitly
besieged by the enemy; it is that way upward from the pit of despair to which
the spiritual miner flies at once when the floods from beneath break forth upon
him. Observe that he calls, and then cries; prayer grows in
vehemence as it proceeds. Note also that he first invokes his God under the
name of Jehovah, and then advances to a more familiar name, "my
God;" thus faith increases by exercise, and he whom we at first viewed
as Lord is soon seen to be our God in covenant. It is never an ill time to
pray; no distress should prevent us from using the divine remedy of
supplication. Above the noise of the raging billows of death, or the barking
dogs of hell, the feeblest cry of a true believer will be heard in heaven. "He
heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his
ears." Far up within the bejewelled walls, and through the gates of
pearl, the cry of the suffering suppliant was heard. Music of angels and
harmony of seraphs availed not to drown or even to impair the voice of that
humble call. The king heard it in his palace of light unsufferable, and lent a
willing ear to the cry of his own beloved child. O honoured prayer, to be able
thus through Jesus' blood to penetrate the very ears and heart of Deity. The
voice and the cry are themselves heard directly by the Lord, and not made to
pass through the medium of saints and intercessors; "My cry came before Him;"
the operation of prayer with God is immediate and personal. We may cry with
confident and familiar importunity, while our Father himself listens.
Verse
7. There was no great space between the cry and its answer. The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, but is swift to rescue his afflicted. David has
in his mind's eye the glorious manifestations of God in Egypt, at Sinai, and on
different occasions to Joshua and the judges; and he considers that his own
case exhibits the same glory of power and goodness, and that, therefore, he may
accommodate the descriptions of former displays of the divine majesty into his
hymn of praise. "Then the earth shook and trembled." Observe
how the most solid and immovable things feel the force of supplication. Prayer
has shaken houses, opened prison doors, and made stout hearts to quail. Prayer
rings the alarm bell, and the Master of the house arises to the rescue, shaking
all things beneath his tread. "The foundations also of the hills moved
and were shaken, because of his wrath." He who fixed the world's
pillars can make them rock in their sockets, and can upheave the corner-stones
of creation. The huge roots of the towering mountains are torn up when the Lord
bestirs himself in anger to smite the enemies of his people. How shall puny man
be able to face it out with God when the very mountains quake with fear? Let
not the boaster dream that his present false confidence will support him in the
dread day of wrath.
Verse
8. "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils." A violent
oriental method of expressing fierce wrath. Since the breath from the nostrils
is heated by strong emotion, the figure portrays the Almighty Deliverer as
pouring forth smoke in the heat of his wrath and the impetuousness of his zeal.
Nothing makes God so angry as an injury done to his children. He that toucheth
you toucheth the apple of mine eye. God is not subject to the passions which
govern his creatures, but acting as he does with all the energy and speed of
one who is angry, he is here aptly set forth in poetic imagery suitable to
human understandings. The opening of his lips is sufficient to destroy his
enemies; "and fire out of his mouth devoured." This fire was
no temporary one but steady and lasting; "Coals were kindled by
it." The whole passage is intended to depict God's descent to the help
of his child, attended by earthquake and tempest: at the majesty of his
appearing the earth rocks, the clouds gather like smoke, and the lightning as
flaming fire devours, setting the world on a blaze. What grandeur of
description is here! Bishop Mant very admirably rhymes the verse thus:—
"Smoke
from his heated nostrils came,
And from his mouth devouring flame;
Hot burning coals announced his ire,
And flashes of careering fire."
Verse
9. Amid the terror of the storm Jehovah the Avenger descended, bending beneath
his foot the arch of heaven. ""He bowed the heavens also, and came
down." He came in haste, and spurned everything which impeded his
rapidity. The thickest gloom concealed his splendour, "and darkness was
under his feet;" he fought within the dense vapours, as a warrior in
clouds of smoke and dust, and found out the hearts of his enemies with the
sharp falchion of his vengeance. Darkness is no impediment to God; its densest
gloom he makes his tent and secret pavilion. See how prayer moves earth and
heaven, and raises storms to overthrow in a moment the foes of God's Israel.
Things were bad for David before he prayed, but they were much worse for his
foes so soon as the petition had gone up to heaven. A trustful heart, by
enlisting the divine aid, turns the tables on its enemies. If I must have an
enemy let him not be a man of prayer, or he will soon get the better of me by
calling in his God into the quarrel.
Verse
10. There is inimitable grandeur in this verse. Under the Mosaic system the
cherubim are frequently represented as the chariot of God; hence Milton, in
"Paradise Lost," writes of the Great Father,—
"He on the
wings of cherubim
Uplifted, in paternal glory rode
Far into chaos."
Without
speculating upon the mysterious and much-disputed subject of the cherubim, it
may be enough to remark that angels are doubtless our guards and ministering
friends, and all their powers are enlisted to expedite the rescue of the
afflicted. "He rode upon a cherub, and did fly." Nature also
yields all her agents to be our helpers, and even the powers of the air are
subservient: "yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind." The
Lord comes flying when mercy is his errand, but he lingers long when sinners
are being wooed to repent. The flight here pictured is as majestic as it is
swift; "flying all abroad" is Sternhold's word, and he is not far
from correct. As the eagle soars in easy grandeur with wings outspread, without
violent flapping and exertion, so comes the Lord with majesty of omnipotence to
aid his own.
Verse
11. The storm thickened, and the clouds pouring forth torrents of rain combined
to form the secret chamber of the invisible but wonder-working God.
"Pavilioned in impervious shade" faith saw him, but no other eye
could gaze through the "thick clouds of the skies." Blessed is
the darkness which encurtains my God; if I may not see him, it is sweet to know
that he is working in secret for my eternal good. Even fools can believe that
God is abroad in the sunshine and the calm, but faith is wise, and discerns him
in the terrible darkness and threatening storm.
Verse
12. Suddenly the terrible artillery of heaven was discharged; the brightness
of lightning lit up the clouds as with a glory proceeding from him who was
concealed within the cloudy pavilion; and volleys of hailstones and coals of
fire were hurled forth upon the enemy. The lightnings seemed to cleave the
clouds and kindle them into a blaze, and then hailstones and flakes of fire
with flashes of terrific grandeur terrified the sons of men.
Verse
13. Over all this splendour of tempest pealed the dread thunder. "The
Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice."
Fit accompaniment for the flames of vengeance. How will men bear to hear it at
the last when addressed to them in proclamation of their doom, for even now
their hearts are in their mouths if they do but hear it muttering from afar? In
all this terror David found a theme for song, and thus every believer finds even
in the terrors of God a subject for holy praise. "Hailstones and coals
of fire" are twice mentioned to show how certainly they are in the
divine hand, and are the weapons of Heaven's vengeance. Horne remarks that
"every thunderstorm should remind us of that exhibition of power and
vengeance, which is hereafter to accompany the general resurrection;" may
it not also assure us of the real power of him who is our Father and our
friend, and tend to assure us of our safety while he fights our battles for us.
The prince of the power of the air is soon dislodged when the cherubic chariot
is driven through his dominions; therefore let not the legions of hell cause us
dismay. He who is with us is greater than all they that be against us.
Verse
14. The lightnings were darted forth as forked arrows upon the hosts of the
foe, and speedily "scattered them." Boastful sinners prove to
be great cowards when Jehovah enters the lists with them. They despise his
words, and are very tongue-valiant, but when it comes to blows they fly apace.
The glittering flames, and the fierce bolts of fire "discomfited
them." God is never at a loss for weapons. Woe be unto him that
contendeth with his Maker! God's arrows never miss their aim; they are
feathered with lightning, and barbed with everlasting death. Fly, O sinner, to
the rock of refuge before these arrows stick fast in thy soul.
Verse
15. So tremendous was the shock of God's assault in arms that the order of
nature was changed, and the bottoms of rivers and seas were laid bare. "The
channels of waters was seen;" and the deep cavernous bowels of the
earth were upheaved till "the foundations of the world were
discovered." What will not Jehovah's "rebuke" do? If "the
blast of the breath of thy nostrils," O Lord, be so terrible, what
must thine arm be? Vain are the attempts of men to conceal anything from him
whose word unbars the deep, and lifts the doors of earth from their hinges!
Vain are all hopes of resistance, for a whisper of his voice makes the whole
earth quail in abject terror.
Verse
16. Now comes the rescue. The Author is divine, "He sent;" the
work is heavenly, "from above;" the deliverance is marvellous,
"He drew me out of many waters." Here David was like another
Moses, drawn from the water; and thus are all believers like their Lord, whose
baptism in many waters of agony and in his own blood has redeemed us from the
wrath to come. Torrents of evil shall not drown the man whose God sitteth upon
the floods to restrain their fury.
Verse
17. When we have been rescued, we must take care to ascribe all the glory to
God by confessing our own weakness, and remembering the power of the conquered
enemy. God's power derives honour from all the incidents of the conflict. Our
great spiritual adversary is a "strong enemy" indeed, much too
strong for poor, weak creatures like ourselves, but we have been delivered
hitherto and shall be even to the end. Our weakness is a reason for divine
help; mark the force of the "for" in the text.
Verse
18. It was an ill day, a day of calamity, of which evil foes took cruel
advantage, while they used crafty means uterly to ruin him, yet David could
say, "but the Lord is my stay." What a blessed but
which cuts the Gordian knot, and slays the hundred-headed hydra! There is no
fear of deliverance when our stay is in Jehovah.
Verse
19. "He brought me forth also into a large place." After
pining awhile in the prison-house Joseph reached the palace, and from the cave
of Adullam David mounted to the throne. Sweet is pleasure after pain.
Enlargement is the more delightful after a season of pinching poverty and
sorrowful confinement. Besieged souls delight in the broad fields of the
promise when God drives off the enemy and sets open the gates of the environed
city. The Lord does not leave his work half done, for having routed the foe he
leads out the captive into liberty. Large indeed is the possession and place of
the believer in Jesus, there need be no limit to his peace, for there is no
bound to his privilege. "He delivered me, because he delighted in me."
Free grace lies at the foundation. Rest assured, if we go deep enough,
sovereign grace is the truth which lies at the bottom of every well of mercy.
Deep sea fisheries in the ocean of divine bounty always bring the pearls of
electing, discriminating love to light. Why Jehovah should delight in us is an
answerless question, and a mystery which angels cannot solve; but that he does
delight in his beloved is certain, and is the fruitful root of favours as
numerous as they are precious. Believer, sit down, and inwardly digest the
instructive sentence now before us, and learn to view the uncaused love of God
as the cause of all the lovingkindness of which we are the partakers.
Verse
20. "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness."
Viewing this psalm as prophetical of the Messiah, these strongly-expressed
claims to righteousness are readily understood, for his garments were as white
as snow; but considered as the language of David they have perplexed many. Yet
the case is clear, and if the words be not strained beyond their original
intention, no difficulty need occur. Albeit that the dispensations of divine
grace are to the fullest degree sovereign and irrespective of human merit, yet
in the dealings of Providence there is often discernible a rule of justice by
which the injured are at length avenged, and the righteous ultimately
delivered. David's early troubles arose from the wicked malice of envious Saul,
who no doubt prosecuted his persecutions under cover of charges brought against
the character of "the man after God's own heart." These charges David
declares to have been utterly false, and asserts that he possessed a
grace-given righteousness which the Lord had graciously rewarded in defiance of
all his calumniators. Before God the man after God's own heart was a humble
sinner, but before his slanderers he could with unblushing face speak of the "cleanness
of his hands" and the righteousness of his life. He knows little of
the sanctifying power of divine grace who is not at the bar of human equity able
to plead innocence. There is no self-righteousness in an honest man knowing
that he is honest, nor even in his believing that God rewards him in providence
because of his honesty, for such is often a most evident matter of fact; but it
would be self-righteousness indeed if we transferred such thoughts from the
region of providential government into the spiritual kingdom, for there grace
reigns not only supreme but sole in the distribution of divine favours. It is
not at all an opposition to the doctrine of salvation by grace, and no sort of
evidence of a Pharisaic spirit, when a gracious man, having been slandered,
stoutly maintains his integrity, and vigorously defends his character. A godly
man has a clear conscience, and knows himself to be upright; is he to deny his
own consciousness, and to despise the work of the Holy Ghost, by hypocritically
making himself out to be worse than he is? A godly man prizes his integrity
very highly, or else he would not be a godly man at all; is he to be called
proud because he will not readily lose the jewel of a reputable character? A
godly man can see that in divine providence uprightness and truth are in the
long run sure to bring their own reward; may he not, when he sees that reward
bestowed in his own case, praise the Lord for it? Yea rather, must he not show
forth the faithfulness and goodness of his God? Read the cluster of expressions
in this and the following verses as the song of a good conscience, after having
safely outridden a storm of obloquy, persecution, and abuse, and there will be
no fear of our upbraiding the writer as one who sets too high a price upon his
own moral character.
Verse
21. Here the assertion of purity is repeated, both in a positive and a negative
form. There is "I have" and "I have not,"
both of which must be blended in a truly sanctified life; constraining and
restraining grace must each take its share. The words of this verse refer to
the saint as a traveler carefully keeping to "the ways of the
Lord," and "not wickedly," that is, designedly,
wilfully, persistently, defiantly forsaking the ordained pathway in which God
favours the pilgrim with his presence. Observe how it is implied in the
expression, "and have not wickedly departed from my God," that
David lived habitually in communion with God, and knew him to be his own God,
whom he might speak of as "my God." God never departs from his
people, let them take heed of departing from him.
Verse
22. "For all his judgments were before me." The word, the
character, and the actions of God should be evermore before our eyes; we should
learn, consider, and reverence them. Men forget what they do not wish to
remember, but the excellent attributes of the Most High are objects of the
believer's affectionate and delighted admiration. We should keep the image of
God so constantly before us that we become in our measure conformed unto it.
This inner love to the right must be the main spring of Christian integrity in
our public walk. The fountain must be filled with love to holiness, and then
the streams which issue from it will be pure and gracious. "I did not
put away his statutes from me." To put away the Scriptures from the
mind's study is the certain way to prevent their influencing the outward
conversation. Backsliders begin with dusty Bibles, and go on to filthy
garments.
Verse
23. "I was also upright before him." Sincerity is here
claimed; sincerity, such as would be accounted genuine before the bar of God.
Whatever evil men might think of him, David felt that he had the good opinion
of his God. Moreover, freedom from his one great besetting sin he ventures also
to plead, "I kept myself from mine iniquity." It is a very
gracious sign when the most violent parts of our nature have been well guarded.
If the weakest link in the chain is not broken, the stronger links will be safe
enough. David's impetuous temper might have led him to slay Saul when he had
him within his power, but grace enabled him to keep his hands clean of the
blood of his enemy; but what a wonder it was, and how well worthy of such a
grateful record as these verses afford! It will be a sweet cordial to us one of
these days to remember our self-denials, and to bless God that we were able to
exhibit them.
Verse
24. God first gives us holiness, and then rewards us for it. We are his
workmanship; vessels made unto honour; and when made, the honour is not
withheld from the vessel; though, in fact, it all belongs to the Potter upon
whose wheel the vessel was fashioned. The prize is awarded to the flower at the
show, but the gardener reared it; the child wins the prize from the
schoolmaster, but the real honour of his schooling lies with the master,
although instead of receiving he gives the reward.
Verse
25. The dealings of the Lord in his own case, cause the grateful singer to
remember the usual rule of God's moral government; he is just in his dealings
with the sons of men, and metes out to each man according to his measure. "With
the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt
shew thyself upright." Every man shall have his meat weighed in his
own scales, his corn meted in his own bushel, and his land measured with his
own rod. No rule can be more fair, to ungodly men more terrible, or to the
generous man more honourable. How would men throw away their light weights, and
break their short yards, if they could but believe that they themselves are
sure to be in the end the losers by their knavish tricks! Note that even the
merciful need mercy; no amount of generosity to the poor, or forgiveness to
enemies, can set us beyond the need of mercy. Lord, have mercy upon me, a
sinner.
Verse
26. "With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward
thou wilt shew thyself froward." The sinner's frowardness is sinful
and rebellious, and the only sense in which the term can be applied to the Most
Holy God is that of judicial opposition and sternness, in which the Judge of
all the earth will act at cross-purposes with the offender, and let him see
that all things are not to be made subservient to wicked whims and wilful
fancies. Calvin very forcibly says, "This brutish and monstrous stupidity
in men compels God to invent new modes of expression, and as it were to clothe
himself with a different character." There is a similar sentence in
Leviticus 26:21-24, where God says, "and if ye walk contrary unto (or
perversely with) me, then I will also walk contrary unto (or perversely, or
roughly, or at random with) you." As if he had said that their obstinacy
and stubbornness would make him on his part forget his accustomed forbearance
and gentleness, and cast himself recklessly or at random against them. We see
then what the stubborn at length gain by their obduracy; it is this, that God
hardens himself still more to break them in pieces, and if they are of stone,
he causes them to feel that he has the hardness of iron." The Jewish
tradition was that the manna tasted according to each man's mouth; certainly
God shows himself to each individual according to his character.
Verse
27. "For thou wilt save the afflicted people." This is a
comforting assurance for the poor in spirit whose spiritual griefs admit of no
sufficient solace from any other than a divine hand. They cannot save
themselves nor can others do it, but God will save them. "But will
bring down high looks." Those who look down on others with scorn shall
be looked down upon with contempt ere long. The Lord abhors a proud look. What
a reason for repentance and humiliation! How much better to be humble than to
provoke God to humble us in his wrath! A considerable number of clauses occur
in this passage in the future tense; how forcibly are we thus brought to
remember that our present joy or sorrow is not to have so much weight with us
as the great and eternal future!
Verse
28. "For thou wilt light my candle." Even the children of the
day sometimes need candle-light. In the darkest hour light will arise; a candle
shall be lit, it will be comfort such as we may fittingly use without
dishonesty—it will be our own candle; yet God himself will find the holy fire
with which the candle shall burn; our evidences are our own, but their
comfortable light is from above. Candles which are lit by God the devil cannot
blow out. All candles are not shining, and so there are some graces which yield
no present comfort; but it is well to have candles which may by and by be lit,
and it is well to possess graces which may yet afford us cheering evidences.
The metaphor of the whole verse is founded upon the dolorous nature of darkness
and the delightfulness of light; "truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant
thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun;" and even so the presence of
the Lord removes all the gloom of sorrow, and enables the believer to rejoice
with exceeding great joy. The lighting of the lamp is a cheerful moment in the
winter's evening, but the lifting up of the light of God's countenance is
happier far. It is said that the poor in Egypt will stint themselves of bread
to buy oil for the lamp, so that they may not sit in darkness; we could well
afford to part with all earthly comforts if the light of God's love could but
constantly gladden our souls.
Verses
29-45. Some repetitions are not vain repetitions. Second thoughts upon God's
mercy should be and often are the best. Like wines on the lees our gratitude
grows stronger and sweeter as we meditate upon divine goodness. The verses
which we have now to consider are the ripe fruit of a thankful spirit; they are
apples of gold as to matter, and they are placed in baskets of silver as to
their language. They describe the believer's victorious career and his enemies'
confusion.
Verse
29. "For by thee have I run through a troop; and by my God have I
leaped over a wall." Whether we meet the foe in the open field or leap
upon them while they lurk behind the battlements of a city, we shall by God's
grace defeat them in either case; if they hem us in with living legions, or
environ us with stone walls, we shall with equal certainty obtain our liberty.
Such feats we have already performed, hewing our way at a run through hosts of
difficulties, and scaling impossibilities at a leap. God's warriors may expect
to have a taste of every form of fighting, and must by the power of faith
determine to quit themselves like men; but it behoves them to be very careful
to lay all their laurels at Jehovah's feet, each one of them saying, "by
my God" have I wrought this valiant deed. Our spolia optima,
the trophies of our conflicts, we hereby dedicate to the God of Battles, and
ascribe to him all glory and strength.
Verse
30. "As for God, his way is perfect." Far past all fault and
error are God's dealings with his people; all his actions are resplendent with
justice, truth, tenderness, mercy, and holiness. Every way of God is complete
in itself, and all his ways put together are matchless in harmony and goodness.
Is it not very consolatory to believe that he who has begun to bless us will
perfect his work, for all his ways are "perfect." Nor must the
divine "word" be without its song of praise. "The word
of the Lord is tried," like silver refined in the furnace. The
doctrines are glorious, the precepts are pure, the promises are faithful, and
the whole revelation is superlatively full of grace and truth. David had tried
it, thousands have tried it, we have tried it, and it has never failed. It was
meet that when way and word had been extolled, the Lord himself should be
magnified; hence it is added, "He is a buckler to all those that trust
in him." No armour of proof or shield of brass so well secures the
warrior as the covenant God of Israel protects his warring people. He himself
is the buckler of trustful ones; what a thought is this! What peace may every
trusting soul enjoy!
Verse
31. Having mentioned his God, the psalmist's heart burns, and his words
sparkle; he challenges heaven and earth to find another being worthy of
adoration or trust in comparison with Jehovah. His God, as Matthew Henry says,
is a None-such. The idols of the heathen he scorns to mention, snuffing them
all out as mere nothings when Deity is spoken of. "Who is God save the
Lord?" Who else creates, sustains, foresees, and overrules? Who but he
is perfect in every attribute, and glorious in every act? To whom but Jehovah
should creatures bow? Who else can claim their service and their love? "Who
is a rock save our God?" Where can lasting hopes be fixed? Where can
the soul find rest? Where is stability to be found? Where is strength to be
discovered? Surely in the Lord Jehovah alone can we find rest and refuge.
Verse
32. Surveying all the armour in which he fought and conquered, the joyful
victor praises the Lord for every part of the panoply. The girdle of his loins
earns the first stanza: "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and
maketh my way perfect." Girt about the loins with power from heaven,
the warrior was filled with vigour, far above all created might; and, whereas,
without this wondrous belt he would have been feeble and effeminate, with
relaxed energies and scattered forces, he felt himself, when braced with the
girdle of truth, to be compact in purpose, courageous in daring, and
concentrated in power; so that his course was a complete success, so
undisturbed by disastrous defeat as to be called "perfect." Have we
been made more than conquerors over sin, and has our life hitherto been such as
becometh the gospel? Then let us ascribe all the glory to him who girt us with
his own inexhaustible strength, that we might be unconquered in battle and
unwearied in pilgrimage.
Verse
33. The conqueror's feet had been shod by a divine hand, and the next note
must, therefore, refer to them. "He maketh my feet like hinds' feet,
and setteth me upon my high places." Pursuing his foes the warrior had
been swift of foot as a young roe, but, instead of taking pleasure in the legs
of a man, he ascribes the boon of swiftness to the Lord alone. When our
thoughts are nimble, and our spirits rapid, like the chariots of Amminadib, let
us not forget that our best Beloved's hand has given us the choice favour.
Climbing into impregnable fortresses, David had been preserved from slipping,
and made to stand where scarce the wild goat can find a footing; herein was
preserving mercy manifested. We, too, have had our high places of
honour, service, temptation, and danger, but hitherto we have been kept from
falling. Bring hither the harp, and let us emulate the psalmist's joyful
thanksgiving; had we fallen, our wailings must have been terrible; since we
have stood, let our gratitude be fervent.
Verse
34. "He teacheth my hands to war." Martial prowess and skill
in the use of weapons are gratefully acknowledged to be the result of divine
teaching; no sacrifice is offered at the shrine of self in praise of natural
dexterity, or acquired skilfulness; but, regarding all warlike prowess as a
gift of heavenly favour, thankfulness is presented to the Giver. The Holy Spirit
is the great Drillmaster of heavenly soldiers. "So that a bow of steel
is broken by mine arms." A bow of brass is probably meant, and these
bows could scarcely be bent by the arms alone, the archer had to gain the
assistance of his foot; it was, therefore, a great feat of strength to bend the
bow, so far as even to snap it in halves. This was meant of the enemies' bow,
which he not only snatched from his grasp, but rendered useless by breaking it
in pieces. Jesus not only destroyed the fiery suggestions of Satan, but he
broke his arguments with which he shot them, by using Holy Scripture against
him; by the same means we may win a like triumph, breaking the bow and cutting
the spear in sunder by the sharp edge of revealed truth. Probably David had by nature
a vigorous bodily frame; but it is even more likely that, like Samson, he was
at times clothed with more than common strength; at any rate, he ascribes the
honour of his feats entirely to his God. Let us never wickedly rob the Lord of
his due, but faithfully give unto him the glory which is due unto his name.
Verse
35. "Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation."
Above all we must take the shield of faith, for nothing else can quench Satan's
fiery darts; this shield is of celestial workmanship, and is in all cases a
direct gift from God himself; it is the channel, the sign, the guarantee, and
the earnest of perfect salvation. "Thy right hand hath holden me
up." Secret support is administered to us by the preserving grace of
God, and at the same time Providence kindly yields us manifest aid. We are such
babes that we cannot stand alone; but when the Lord's right hand upholds us, we
are like brazen pillars which cannot be moved. "Thy gentleness hath
made me great." There are several readings of this sentence. The word
is capable of being translated, "thy goodness hath made me
great." David saw much of benevolence in God's action towards him, and he
gratefully ascribed all his greatness not to his own goodness, but to the
goodness of God. "Thy providence" is another reading, which is
indeed nothing more than goodness in action. Goodness is the bud of which
providence is the flower; or goodness is the seed of which providence is the
harvest. Some render it, "thy help," which is but another word
for providence; providence being the firm ally of the saints, aiding them in
the service of their Lord. Certain learned annotators tell us that the text
means, "thy humility hath made me great." "Thy condescension"
may, perhaps, serve as a comprehensive reading, combining the ideas which we
have already mentioned, as well as that of humility. It is God's making himself
little which is the cause of our being made great. We are so little that If God
should manifest his greatness without condescension, we should be trampled
under his feet; but God, who must stoop to view the skies and bow to see what
angels do, looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great. While these
are the translations which have been given to the adopted text of the original,
we find that there are other readings altogether; as for instance, the
Septuagint, which reads, "thy discipline"—thy fatherly correction—
"hath made me great;" while the Chaldee paraphrase reads, "thy
word hath increased me." Still the idea is the same. David ascribes all
his own greatness to the condescending goodness and graciousness of his Father
in heaven. Let us all feel this sentiment in our own hearts, and confess that
whatever of goodness or greatness God may have put upon us, we must cast our
crowns at his feet and cry, "thy gentleness hath made me great."
Verse
36. "Thou hast enlarged my steps." A smooth pathway leading to
spacious possessions and camping-grounds had been opened up for him. Instead of
threading the narrow mountain paths, and hiding in the cracks and corners of
caverns, he was able to traverse the plains and dwell under his own vine and
fig tree. It is no small mercy to be brought into full Christian liberty and
enlargement, but it is a greater favour still to be enabled to walk worthily in
such liberty, not being permitted to slip with our feet. To stand upon the
rocks of affliction is the result of gracious upholding, but that aid is quite
as much needed in the luxurious plains of prosperity.
Verse
37. The preservation of the saints bodes ill for their adversaries. The
Amelekites thought themselves clear away with their booty, but when David's God
guided him in the pursuit, they were soon overtaken and cut in pieces. When God
is with us sins and sorrows flee, and all forms of evil are "consumed"
before the power of grace. What a noble picture this and the following verses
present to us of the victories of our glorious Lord Jesus!
Verse
38. The destruction of our spiritual enemies is complete. We may exult over
sin, death, and hell, as disarmed and disabled for us by our conquering
Lord; may he graciously give them a like defeat within us.
Verses
39 and 40. It is impossible to be too frequent in the duty of ascribing all our
victories to the God of our salvation. It is true that we have to wrestle with
our spiritual antagonists, but the triumph is far more the Lord's than ours. We
must not boast like the ambitious votaries of vainglory, but we may exult as
the willing and believing instruments in the Lord's hand of accomplishing his
great designs.
Verse
41. "They cried, but there was none to save them; even unto the Lord,
but he answered them not." Prayer is so notable a weapon that even the
wicked will take to it to in their fits of desperation. Bad men have appealed
to God against God's own servants, but all in vain; the kingdom of heaven is
not divided, and God never succours his foes at the expense of his friends.
There are prayers to God which are no better than blasphemy, which bring no
comfortable reply, but rather provoke the Lord to greater wrath. Shall I ask a
man to wound or slay his own child to gratify my malice? Would he not resent
the insult against his humanity? How much less will Jehovah regard the cruel
desires of the enemies of the church, who dare to offer their prayers for its
destruction, calling its existence schism, and its doctrine heresy!
Verse
42. The defeat of the nations who fought with King David was so utter and
complete that they were like powders pounded in a mortar; their power was
broken into fragments and they became as weak as dust before the wind, and as
mean as the mire of the roads. Thus powerless and base are the enemies of God
now become through the victory of the Son of David upon the cross. Arise, O my
soul, and meet thine enemies, for they have sustained a deadly blow, and will
fall before thy bold advance.
"Hell and
my sins resist my course,
But hell and sin are vanquish'd foes
My Jesus nail'd them to his cross,
And sung the triumph when he rose."
Verse
43. "Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people."
Internal strife is very hard to deal with. A civil war is war in its most
miserable form; it is a subject for warmest gratitude when concord rules
within. Our poet praises Jehovah for the union and peace which smiled in his
dominions, and if we have peace in the three kingdoms of our spirit, soul, and
body, we are in duty bound to give Jehovah a song. Unity in a church should
assuredly excite like gratitude. "Thou hast made me the head of the
heathen; a people whom I have not known shall serve me." The
neighbouring nations yielded to the sway of Judah's prince. Oh, when shall all
lands adore King Jesus, and serve him with holy joy? Surely there is far more
of Jesus than of David here. Missionaries may derive rich encouragement from
the positive declaration that heathen lands shall own the Headship of the
Crucified.
Verse
44. "As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me." Thus
readily did the once struggling captain become a far-renowned victor, and thus
easy shall be our triumphs. We prefer, however, to speak of Jesus. In many
cases the gospel is speedily received by hearts apparently unprepared for it.
Those who have never heard the gospel before, have been charmed by its first
message, and yielded obedience to it; while others, alas! who are accustomed to
its joyful sound, are rather hardened than softened by its teachings. The grace
of God sometimes runs like fire among the stubble, and a nation is born in a
day. "Love at first sight" is no uncommon thing when Jesus is the wooer.
He can write Caesar's message without boasting, Veni, vidi, vici; his
gospel is in some cases no sooner heard than believed. What inducements to
spread abroad the doctrine of the cross!
Verse
45. "The strangers shall fade away." Like sear leaves or
blasted trees our foes and Christ's foes shall find no sap and stamina
remaining in them. Those who are strangers to Jesus are strangers to all
lasting happiness; those must soon fade who refuse to be watered from the river
of life. "And be afraid out of their close places." Out of
their mountain fastnesses the heathen crept in fear to own allegiance to
Israel's king, and even so, from the castles of self-confidence and the dens of
carnal security, poor sinners come bending before the Saviour, Christ the Lord.
Our sins which have entrenched themselves in our flesh and blood as in
impregnable forts, shall yet be driven forth by the sanctifying energy of the
Holy Spirit, and we shall serve the Lord in singleness of heart.
Thus
with remembrance of conquests in the past, and with glad anticipations of
victories yet to come, the sweet singer closes the description, and returns to
exercise of more direct adoration of his gracious God.
Verse
46. "The Lord liveth." Possessing underived, essential,
independent and eternal life. We serve no inanimate, imaginary, or dying God.
He only hath immortality. Like loyal subjects let us cry, Live on, O God. Long
live the King of kings. By thine immortality do we dedicate ourselves afresh to
thee. As the Lord our God liveth so would we live to him. "And blessed
be my rock." He is the ground of our hope, and let him be the subject
of our praise. Our hearts bless the Lord, with holy love extolling him.
Jehovah lives,
my rock be blessed!
Praised be the God who gives me rest!
"Let
the God of my salvation be exalted." As our Saviour, the Lord
should more than ever be glorified. We should publish abroad the story of the
covenant and the cross, the Father's election, the Son's redemption, and the
Spirit's regeneration. He who rescues us from deserved ruin should be very dear
to us. In heaven they sing "Unto him that loved us and washed us in his
blood;" the like music should be common in the assemblies of the saints below.
Verse
47. "It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under
me." To rejoice in personal revenge is unhallowed and evil, but David
viewed himself as the instrument of vengeance upon the enemies of God and his
people, and had he not rejoiced in the success accorded to him he would have
been worthy of censure. That sinners perish is in itself a painful
consideration, but that the Lord's law is avenged upon those who break it is to
the devout mind a theme for thankfulness. We must, however, always remember
that vengeance is never ours, vengeance belongeth unto the Lord, and he is so
just and withal so longsuffering in the exercise of it, that we may safely
leave its administration in his hands.
Verse
48. From all enemies, and especially from one who was pre-eminent in violence,
the Lord's anointed was preserved, and at the last over the head of Saul and
all other adversaries he reigned in honour. The like end awaits every saint,
because Jesus who stooped to be lightly esteemed among men is now made to sit
far above all principalities and powers.
Verse
49. Paul cites this verse (Romans 15:9): "And that the Gentiles might
glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to
thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name." This is clear evidence
that David's Lord is here, but David is here too, and is to be viewed as an
example of a holy soul making its boast in God even in the presence of ungodly
men. Who are the despisers of God that we should stop our mouths for them? We will
sing to our God whether they like it or no, and force upon them the knowledge
of his goodness. Too much politeness to traitors may be treason to our King.
Verse
50. This is the winding up verse into which the writer throws a fulness of
expression, indicating the most rapturous delight of gratitude. "Great
deliverance." The word "deliverance" is plural, to
show the variety and completeness of the salvation; the adjective "great"
is well placed if we consider from what, to what, and how we are saved. All
this mercy is given to us in our King, the Lord's Anointed, and those are
blessed indeed who as his seed may expect mercy to be built up for evermore.
The Lord was faithful to the literal David, and he will not break his covenant
with the spiritual David, for that would far more involve the honour of his
crown and character.
The
Psalm concludes in the same loving spirit which shone upon its commencement;
happy are they who can sing on from love to love, even as the pilgrims marched
from strength to strength.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. The general argument of the Psalm may be thus stated: it is a
magnificent eucharistic ode. It begins with a celebration of the glorious
perfections of the Divinity, whose assistance the speaker has so often
experienced. He describes, or rather, he delineates, his perils, the power of
his enemies, his sudden deliverance from them, and the indignation and power of
his divine deliverer manifested in their overthrow. He paints these in so
lively colours, that while we read we seem to see the lightning, to hear the
thunders, to feel the earthquake. He afterwards describes his victories, so
that we seem to be eye-witnesses of them, and take part in them. He predicts a
wide-extended empire, and concludes with a lofty expression of grateful
adoration of Jehovah, the Author of all his deliverances and triumphs. The
style is highly oratorical and poetical, sublime, and full of uncommon figures
of speech. It is the natural language of a person of the highest mental
endowments, under a divine inspiration, deeply affected by remarkable divine
benefits, and filled with the most lofty conceptions of the divine character
and dispensations.—John Brown, D.D., 1853.
Whole
Psalm. Kitto, in "The Pictorial Bible," has the following note
upon 2 Samuel 22:—"This is the same as the eighteenth Psalm. . . . The
Rabbins reckon up seventy-four differences between the two copies, most of them
very minute. They probably arose from the fact that the poem was, as they
conjecture, composed by David in his youth, and revised in his later days, when
he sent it to the chief musician. The present is, of course, to be the earlier
copy."
Whole
Psalm. The eighteenth Psalm is called by Michaelis more artificial, and
less truly terrible, than the Mosaic odes. In structure it may be so, but
surely not in spirit. It appears to many besides us, one of the most
magnificent lyrical raptures in the Scriptures. As if the poet had dipped his
pen in "the brightness of that light which was before his eye," so he
describes the descending God. Perhaps it may be objected that the nodus
is hardly worthy of the vindex—to deliver David from his enemies, could
Deity ever be imagined to come down? But the objector knows not the character
of the ancient Hebrew mind. God in its view had not to descend from heaven; he
was nigh—a cloud like a man's hand might conceal—a cry, a look might bring him
down. And why should not David's fancy clothe him, as he came, in a panoply
befitting his dignity, in clouds spangled with coals of fire? If he was to
descend, why not in state? The proof of the grandeur of this Psalm is in the
fact that it has borne the test of almost every translation, and made doggerel
erect itself, and become divine. Even Sternhold and Hopkins its fiery whirlwind
lifts up, purifies, touches into true power, and then throws down, helpless and
panting, upon their ancient common. Perhaps the great charm of the eighteenth,
apart from the poetry of the descent, is the exquisite and subtle alternation
of the I and the Thou. We have spoken of parallelism, as the key
to the mechanism of Hebrew song. We find this as existing between David and
God—the delivered and the deliverer—beautifully pursued throughout the whole of
this Psalm. "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." "I will
call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised." "He sent from
above; he took me; he drew me out of many waters." "Thou wilt light
my candle." "Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation."
"Thou hast girded me with strength unto battle." "Thou hast
given me the necks of mine enemies." "Thou hast made me the head of
the heathen." It has been ingeniously argued, that the existence of the I
suggests, inevitably as a polar opposite, the thought of the Thou, that
the personality of man proves thus the personality of God; but, be this as it
may, David's perception of that personality is nowhere so intense as here. He
seems not only to see, but to feel and touch, the object of his gratitude and
worship.—George Gilfillan, in "The Bards of the Bible,"
1852.
Whole
Psalm. He that would be wise, let him read the Proverbs; he that would
by holy, let him read the Psalms. Every line in this book breathes peculiar
sanctity. This Psalm, though placed among the first, was penned among the last,
as the preface assures us, and is left as the epitome of the general history of
David's life. It is twice recorded in the Scripture (2 Samuel 22, and in this
book of Psalms), for the excellency and sweetness thereof; surely that we
should take double notice of it. Holy David, being near the shore, here looks
on his former dangers and deliverances with a thankful heart, and writes this
Psalm to bless the Lord: as if each of you that are grown into years should
review your lives and observe the wonderful goodness and providence of God
towards you; and then sit down and write a modest memorial of his most
remarkable mercies, for the comfort of yourselves and posterity; an excellent
practice. What a comfort would it be for you to read how good your God was to
you father or grandfather, that are dead and gone! So would your children
rejoice in the Lord upon the reading of his goodness to you; and you cannot
have a better pattern for this than holy David, who wrote this Psalm when he
was threescore and seven years old; when he had outlived most of his troubles,
and almost ready for his journey to his Father in heaven, he resolves to leave
this good report of him upon earth. And I pray mark how he begins: he sets not
up trophies to himself, but triumphs in his God—"I will love thee, O
Lord, my strength." As the love of God is the beginning of all
our mercies, so love to God should be the end and effect of them all. As
the stream leads us to the spring, so all the gifts of God must lead us to the
giver of them. Lord, thou hast saved me from sickness, "I will love
thee;" from death and hell, "I will love thee;" on me
thou hast bestowed grace and comfort, "I will love thee, O Lord, my
strength." And after he had heaped on God all the sweet names he could
devise (verse 2), as the true saint thinks he can never speak too well of God,
or too ill of himself, then he begins his narrative. 1. Of his dangers
(verse 4); "Snares of death," "Floods of ungodly men,"
"Sorrows of hell." Hell and earth are combined against each holy
man, and will trouble sufficiently in this world, if they cannot keep him out
of a better. 2. Of his retreat, and that was, earnest prayer to God
(verse 6), "I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God."
When our prayers are cries ardent and importunate, then they speed: "My
cry came before him, even into his ears." The mother trifles while the
child whimpers, but when he raises his note—strains every nerve and cries every
vein—then she throws all aside, and gives him his desire. While our prayers are
only whispers, our God can take his rest; but when we fall to crying, "Now
will I arise, saith the Lord." 3. Of his rescue (verses 7 to 20),
by the powerful and terrible arm of the Lord, who is in a lofty strain brought
in to his servant's help, as if he would mingle heaven and earth together,
rather than leave his child in the lion's paws. 4. Of the reason of this
gracious dealing of God with him (verse 20, etc.). He was a righteous person,
and he had a righteous cause. And thereupon he turns to God, saying, Thou hast
dealt with me just as thou art wont to do, "with the merciful thou wilt
show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself
upright."—Richard Steele's "Plain Discourse upon
Uprightness," 1670.
Whole
Psalm. Sometimes the Lord cheers and comforts the heart of his people
with smiling and reviving providences, both public and personal. There are
times of lifting up, as well as casting down by the hand of providence. The scene
changes, the aspects of providence are very cheerful and encouraging; their
winter seems to be over; they put off their garments of mourning; and then, ah,
what sweet returns are made to heavenly gracious souls! Doth God lift them up
by prosperity? they also will lift up their God by praises. See title, and
verses 1-3 of Psalm 18. So Moses, and the people with him (Exodus 15), when God
had delivered them from Pharaoh, how do they exalt him in a song of
thanksgiving, which for the elegancy and spirituality of it, is made an emblem
of the doxologies given to God in glory by the saints. Revelation 15:1.—John
Flavel.
Title.
"The servant of the Lord;" the name given to Moses
(Joshua 1:1, 13, 15, and in nine other places of that book) and to Joshua
(Joshua 24:29; Judges 2:8); but to none other except David (here, and in the
title to Psalm 36). Compare Acts 13:36, uphreteoas. This is significant;
reminding us of the place occupied by David in the history of Israel. He was
the appointed successor of Moses and Joshua, who extended the power of Israel
over the whole region allotted to them by Divine promise.—W. Kay, 1871.
Title. This Psalm,
which is entitled a shirah (or song), is David's hymn of praise to God
for his deliverance from all his enemies (see the title, and above, 2 Samuel
22), and has an appropriate place in the present group of Psalms, which speak
of resurrection after suffering. It is entitled a Psalm of David, "the
servant of the Lord," and thus is coupled with another psalm of
deliverance, Psalm 36.—Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse 1. "I
will love thee, O Lord." The word whereby the psalmist expresseth his
entire affection, in the noun signifieth a womb, and imparteth such an
affection as cometh from the innermost part of man (Heb. matrix), from his
bowels, from the bottom of his heart, as we speak. It is, therefore, oft put
for such pity and compassion as moveth the bowels. Some, therefore, thus
translate that phrase, "From my innermost bowels will I love thee, O
Lord." To give evidence of his entire and ardent love of God, he oft
professeth his wonderful great love to God's commandments, whereof he saith
with admiration, "Oh, how I love thy law! I love thy commandments above
gold; yea, above fine gold. I love them exceedingly" (Psalm 119:97, 127,
167); therefore, he saith to God, "Consider how I love thy precepts"
(verse 159).—William Gouge, 1575-1653.
Verse 1. "I
will love thee." Intimately as a mother loves the child that comes out
of her womb.—Westminster Assembly's Annotations, 1651.
Verses 1, 2. God
hath, as it were, made himself over to believers. David doth not say, God will
give me or bestow salvation upon me; but he saith, "He is the horn of my
salvation." It is God himself who is the salvation and the portion of his
people. They would not care much for salvation if God were not their salvation.
It more pleaseth the saints that they enjoy God, than that they enjoy
salvation. False and carnal spirits will express a great deal of desire after
salvation, for they like salvation, heaven, and glory well; but they never
express any longing desire after God and Jesus Christ. They love salvation, but
they care not for a Saviour. Now that which faith pitcheth most upon is God
himself; he shall be my salvation, let me have him, and that is salvation enough;
he is my life, he is my comfort, he is my riches, he is my honour, and he is my
all. Thus David's heart acted immediately upon God, "I will love thee,
O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my
God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my
salvation, and my high tower." It pleased holy David more that God was
his strength, than that God gave him strength; that God was his deliverer, than
that he was delivered; that God was his fortress, his buckler, his horn, his
high tower, than that he gave him the effect of all these. It pleased David,
and it pleases all the saints more that God is their salvation, whether
temporal or eternal, than that he saves them: the saints look more at God than
at all that is God's.—Joseph Caryl.
Verses 1, 2. David
speaks like one in love with God, for he doth adorn him with confession of
praise, and his mouth is filled with the praise of the Lord, which he
expresseth in this exuberancy and redundancy of holy oratory.—Edward
Marbury.
Verse 2. "The
Lord is my rock." As the rocks that are hard to be clambered unto are
good refuges to fly unto from the face of pursuers, so God is the safety of all
such as in distress do fly to him for succor.—Robert Cawdray.
Verse 2. "My
deliverer." He who betook himself to one of these inaccessible
retreats, was sometimes obliged by famine to surrender to his enemy, who lay in
wait for him beneath; but Jehovah gives him not only security but liberty; not
only preserves him, as it were, in an inaccessible retreat, but at the same
time enables him to go forth in safety.—Jarchi.
Verse 2. "The
horn of my salvation." The allusion here is doubtful. Some have
supposed the reference to be to the horns of animals, by which they defend
themselves and attack their enemies. "God is to me, does for me, what
their horns do for them." Others consider it as referring to the
well-established fact, that warriors were accustomed to place horns, or
ornaments like horns, on their helmets. The horn stands for the helmet; and
"the helmet of salvation" is an expression equivalent to "a
saving, a protecting helmet." Others consider the reference as to the
corners or handles of the altar in the court of the tabernacle or temple, which
are called its horns. Others suppose the reference to be to the highest point
of a lofty and precipitous mountain, which we are accustomed to call its peak.
No doubt, in the Hebrew language, horn is used for mountain as in Isaiah 5:1. A
very fertile mountain is called a horn of oil. The sense is substantially the
same, whichever of these views we take; though, from the connection with
"shield" or "buckler," I am induced to consider the second
of these views as the most probable. It seems the same idea as that expressed,
Psalm 140:7, "Thou hast covered," and thou wilt cover "my head
in the day of battle."—John Brown.
Verse 2. "The
horn of my salvation." Horns are the well-known emblems of strength
and power, both in the sacred and profane writers; by a metaphor taken from
horned animals, which are frequently made subjects of comparison by poetical
writers, and the strength of which, whether for offence or defence, consists
principally in their horns. Bruce speaks of a remarkable head-dress worn by the
governors of provinces in Abyssinia, consisting of a large broad fillet, bound
upon their foreheads and tied behind their heads, and having in the middle of
it a horn, or a conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches long, much in
the shape of our common candle extinguishers. It is called kirn or horn,
and is only worn on reviews or parades after victory. He supposes this, like
other Abyssinian usages, to be taken from the Hebrews, and is of opinion that
there are many allusions to the practice in Scripture, in the expression,
"lifting up the horn," "exalting the horn," and the like.—Richard
Mant.
Verse 2. "The
Lord is my high tower." If a man do run to a tower, yet if that be a
weak and an insufficient tower, without men and munition, and a ruinous shaken
tower; or if a man do make choice of a tower, a strong sufficient tower, yet if
in his danger he betakes not himself to that tower, but he sit still; or if he
sit not still, yet he but only go and walk on easily towards it, he may well be
met withal, and a danger may arrest him, surprise him, and cut him off before
he get the tower over his head. But the man that will be safe, as he must
choose a strong tower, so he must go to, nay, run into that tower.
Running will not secure a man unless the tower be strong. . . . David was got
unto his tower, and in that tower there was thundering ordnance,
and David put fire to them by prayer, verse 6, "In my distress I called
upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and
my cry came before him, even unto his ears." Here David prays and gives
fire to the cannon, and what followed? See verses 7, 8, 13, 14. "Then the
earth shook and trembled," etc. "There went up a smoke out of his
nostrils," etc. "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the
Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his
arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited
them." There were no guns nor ordnance invented and in use in David's
time, and yet David's prayers being in this tower, did him as good service
against his enemies as all the ordnance and cannons in the world have done.
David had thundering ordnance, and with them discomfited his enemies long
before powder and guns were invented. It is a memorable and well known story of
that Christian legion that was in Marcus Aurelius's army: the enemy being in
great straits, those Christian soldiers did by their prayers not only procure
rain, by which his languishing army was refreshed, but also obtained hail mixed
with thunderbolts against his enemies, upon which he honoured them with the
name Legio fulminatrix, the Thundering Legion. They used David's cannon
against the enemy, and discharged that thundering ordnance by their prayers,
and that to the confusion of their enemies.—Jeremiah Dyke's "Righteous
Man's Tower," 1639.
Verse 2. "My
high tower." Even as the fowls of the air, that they may escape the
nets and snares of the fowlers, are wont to fly up on high; so we, to avoid the
infinite snares of innumerable temptations, must fly to God; and lift up
ourselves from the corruptions, lying vanities, and deceitful sleights of the
world.—Robert Cawdray.
Verse 3. "I
will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised." Prayer and
invocation of God should always be joined with praises and thanksgivings, and
used as a means whereby faith shall extract the good which it knoweth is in
God, and of which he hath made promise.—David Dickson.
Verse 3. "So
shall I be saved from mine enemies." Whoso comes to God as he should
will not call in vain. The right kind of prayer is the most potent
instrumentality known on earth.—William S. Plumer.
Verse 4. "Sorrows
of death." It is heaven's peculiar to be the land of the living; all
this life is at most but the shadow of death, the gate of death,
the sorrows of death, the snares of death, the terrors of
death, the chambers of death, the sentence of death, the savour
of death, the ministration of death, the way of death.—Matthew
Griffith, 1634.
Verse 4. "The
bands or cords of death encompassed me." It is not very easy to fix
the precise meaning of the phrase, "bands" or "cords" of
death. It may either be considered as equivalent to "the bands by which
the dead are bound," in which case, to be encircled with the bands of
death is just a figurative expression for being dead; or it may be considered
as equivalent to the bands in which a person is bound in the prospect of a
violent death, and by which his violent death is secured, he being prevented
from escaping. It has been supposed by some, that the allusion is to the ancient
mode of hunting wild animals. A considerable tract of country was surrounded
with strong ropes. The circle was gradually contracted till the object of
pursuit was so confined as to become an easy prey to the hunter. These cords
were the cords of death, securing the death of the animal. The phrase is
applicable to our Lord in both senses; but as "the floods" of
wickedness, or the wicked, are represented as making him afraid subsequently to
his being encircled with the cords of death, I am disposed to understand it in
the latter of these two senses.—John Brown.
Verse 4. "The
floods." There is no metaphor of more frequent occurrence with the
sacred poets, than that which represents dreadful and unexpected calamities
under the image of overwhelming waters. This image seems to have been
especially familiar with the Hebrews, inasmuch as it was derived from the
peculiar habit and nature of their own country. They had continually before
their eyes the river Jordan, annually overflowing its banks, when at the approach
of summer the snows of Libanus and the neighbouring mountains melted, and,
suddenly pouring down in torrents, swelled the current of the river. Besides,
the whole country of Palestine, although it was not watered by many perennial
streams, was, from the mountainous character of the greater part of it, liable
to numerous torrents, which precipitated themselves through the narrow valleys
after the periodical rainy seasons. This image, therefore, however known and
adopted by other poets, may be considered as particularly familiar, and as it
were, domestic with the Hebrews; who accordingly introduced it with greater
frequency and freedom.—Robert Lowth (Bishop), 1710-1787.
Verse 5. "The
snares of death prevented me." The word "snares,"
signifies such traps or gins as are laid for birds and wild beasts. The English
word "prevent" has changed its meaning in some measure since our
authorised translation of the Bible was made. Its original meaning is to
"come before."—John Brown.
Verse 6. "In
my distress." If you listen even to David's harp, you shall hear as
many hearse-like airs as carols; and the pencil of the Holy Spirit hath
laboured more in describing the afflictions of Job than the felicities of
Solomon. Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is
not without comforts and hopes. We see, in needleworks and embroideries, it is
more pleasing to have a lively work upon a sad and solemn ground, than to have
a dark and melancholy work upon a lightsome ground; judge, therefore, of the pleasures
of the heart by the pleasures of the eye. Certainly virtue is like precious
odours—most fragrant when they are crushed; for prosperity doth best discover
vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.—Francis Bacon, Baron of
Verulam, etc., 1561-1626.
Verse 6. "I
called upon the Lord and cried." Prayer is not eloquence, but
earnestness; not in the definition of helplessness, but the feeling of it; it
is the cry of faith to the ear of mercy.—Hannah Moore, 1745-1833.
Verse 6. "He
heard my voice out of his temple," etc. The ædiles or chamberlains
among the Romans, had ever their doors standing open for all who had occasion
of request or complaint to have free access to them. "God's mercy-doors
are wide open to the prayers of his faithful people." The Persian kings
held it a piece of their silly glory to deny an easy access to their greatest
subjects. It was death to solicit them uncalled. Esther herself was afraid. But
the king of heaven manifesteth himself to his people, he calls to his spouse,
with, "Let me see thy face, let me hear thy voice," etc., and
assigneth her negligence herein as the cause of her soul-sickness. The door of
the tabernacle was not of any hard or debarring matter, but a veil, which is
easily penetrable. And whereas in the temple none came near to worship, but
only the high priest, others stood without in the outer court. God's people are
now a kingdom of priests, and are said to worship in the temple, and at the
altar. Revelation 11:1. "Let us therefore draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith:" "let us come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews
10:22; 4:16.—Charles Bradbury's "Cabinet of Jewels," 1785.
Verse 6. Oh! how
true is that saying, that "Faith is safe when in danger, and in danger
when secure; and prayer is fervent in straits, but in joyful and prosperous
circumstances, if not quite cold and dead, at least lukewarm." Oh, happy
straits, if they hinder the mind from flowing forth upon earthly objects, and
mingling itself with the mire; if they favour our correspondence with heaven,
and quicken our love to celestial objects, without which, what we call life,
may more properly deserve the name of death!—Robert Leighton, D.D.
Verses 6, 7. The prayer
of a single saint is sometimes followed with wonderful effects; "In my
distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out
of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth
shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken,
because he was wroth:" what then can a thundering legion of such
praying souls do? It was said of Luther, iste vir potuit cum Deo quicquid
voluit, That man could have of God what he would; his enemies felt the
weight of his prayers; and the church of God reaped the benefits thereof. The
Queen of Scots professed she was more afraid of the prayers of Mr. Knox, than
of an army of ten thousand men. These were mighty wrestlers with God, howsoever
contemned and vilified among their enemies. There will a time come when God
will hear the prayers of his people who are continually crying in his ears,
"How long, Lord, how long?"—John Flavel.
Verse 7. "Then
the earth shook and trembled." The word (Heb.) signifies, to move or
shake violently: it is employed, also, to denote the reeling and staggering of
a drunken man. Jeremiah 25:16.—John Morison, in loc.
Verse 7. Let no
appearing impossibilities make you question God's accomplishment of any of his
gracious words. Though you cannot see how the thing can be done, 'tis enough if
God hath said that he will do it. There can be no obstructions to promised
salvation which we need to fear. He who is the God of this salvation and the
Author of the promise will prepare his own way for the doing of his own work,
so that "every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall
be brought low." Luke 3:5. Though the valleys be so deep that we cannot
see the bottom, and the mountains so high that we cannot see the tops of them,
yet God knows how to raise the one and level the other. Isaiah 63:1. "I
that speak in righteousness (or faithfulness) am mighty to save." If
anything would keep back the kingdom of Christ, it would be our infidelity; but
he will come though he should find no faith on the earth. See Romans 3:3. Cast
not away your confidence because he defers his performances. Though providences
run cross, though they move backwards and forwards, you have a sure and
faithful word to rely upon. Promises, though they be for a time seemingly
delayed, cannot be finally frustrated. Dare not to harbour such a thought
within yourselves as Psalm 77:8; "Doth his promise fail for
evermore?" The being of God may as well fail as the promise of God. That
which does not come in your time, will be hastened in his time, which is always
the more convenient season. Accuse him not of slowness who hath said, "I
come quickly," that is, he comes as soon as all things are ready and ripe
for his appearance. 'Tis as true that "the Lord is not slack concerning
his promise" (2 Peter 3:9), as that he is never guilty of breaking his
promise. Wait, therefore, how long soever he tarry; do not give over expecting:
the heart of God is not turned though his face be hid; and prayers are not
flung back, though they be not instantly answered.—Timothy Cruso.
Verses 7, 8. The
volcanic phenomena of Palestine open a question of which the data are, in a
scientific point of view, too imperfect to be discussed; but there is enough in
the history and literature of the people to show that there was an agency of
this kind at work. The valley of the Jordan, both in its desolation and
vegetation, was one continued portent; and from its crevices ramified even into
the interior of Judea the startling appearances, if not of the volcano, at
least of the earthquake. Their historical effect in the special theatres of
their operation will appear as we proceed; but their traces on the permanent
feeling of the nation must be noticed here. The writings of the psalmists and
prophets abound with indications which escape the eye of a superficial reader.
Like the soil of their country, they actually heave and labour with the fiery
convulsions which glow beneath their surface.—Arthur Penrhyn Stanley.
Verses 7-9. While
Jesus hung on the cross, a preternatural "darkness covered all the
land;" and no sooner had he yielded up his spirit, than "the vail of
the temple was rent in twain from the top even to the bottom, and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints that slept arose, and came out of the graves, after his resurrection,
and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."—John Brown.
Verses 7-9. In the
night in which the Idumaeans lay before Jerusalem, there arose a prodigious tempest
and fierce winds, with most vehement rains, frequent lightnings, and terrible
thunderings, and great roarings of the shaken earth; and it was manifest that
the state of the universe was disordered at the slaughter of men; so one might
guess that these were signs of no small calamity. . . . At the day of
Pentecost, when the priests, by night, went into the inner temple, according to
their custom, to execute their office, they said they perceived, first of all,
a shake and a noise, and after that a sudden voice, "Let us go
hence." . . . A few days after the feast of unleavened bread, a strange
and almost incredible sight was seen which would, I suppose, be taken for a
mere fable, were it not related by such as saw it, and did not the miseries
which followed appear answerable to the signs; for, before the sun set, were
seen on high, in the air, all over the country, chariots and armed regiments
moving swiftly in the clouds, and encompassing the city.—Flavius Josephus,
37-103.
Verse 8. "There
went up a smoke out of his nostrils," (Heb. words). Or there ascended
into his nose, as the words literally rendered, signify. The ancients
placed the seat of anger in the nose, or nostrils; because when it grows warm
and violent, it discovers itself, as it were, by a heated vehement breath, that
proceeds from them.—Samuel Chandler, D.D., F.R. and A.S.S., 1766.
Verses 8-19. David
calls the full force of poetical imagery to aid, to describe in a becoming
manner the marvels of his deliverances. He means to say that they were as
manifest as the signs of heaven and earth, as sudden and powerful as the
phenomena in the kingdom of nature surprise terrified mortals. Deliverance
being his theme, he might have taken the figure from the peaceable
phenomena of the heavens. But since man heeds heaven more in anger than
in blessing, and regards God more when he descends on earth in the storm
than in the rainbow, David describes the blessed condescension of God by
the figure of a tempest. In order to thoroughly appreciate the beauty and
truthfulness of this figure, we should endeavour to realise the full power of
an Oriental storm, as it is described in Psalm 29. Solitary lightning precedes
the discharge—this is meant by the coals in verse 8: the clouds approach
the mountain summits—the heavens bow, as verse 9 has it; the storm
shakes its pinions; enwrapped in thick clouds as in a tent, God descends to the
earth; hail (not unfrequently attending Eastern storms) and lightning issue
from the black clouds, through the dissolving layers of which is seen the fiery
splendour which hides the Lord of nature. He speaks, and thunder is his voice;
he shoots, and flashes of lightning are his arrows. At his rebuke, and at the
blast of his breath the earth recedes—the sea foams up, and its beds are seen—the
land bursts, and the foundations of the world are discovered. And lo! an arm of
deliverance issues forth from the black clouds, and the destructive fire grasps
the wretched one who had cried out from the depths, pulls him forth, and
delivers him from all his enemies! Yes, the hand of the Lord has done
marvellous things in the life of David. But the eye of faith alone could
perceive in them all the hand of God. Thousands whose experiences of the
delivering hand of God are not less signal than those of David, stop short at
the powers of nature, and instead of bending the knee before the All-merciful
God, content themselves to express with cold hearts their admiration of the
changes of the destiny of man.—Augustus F. Tholuck, D.D., Ph.D.—1856.
Verse 9. "He
bowed the heavens also, and came down." As in a tempest the clouds
come nearer to the earth, and from the mountains to the valleys, so the
psalmist adopts this figure peculiar to such occasions as described God's near
approach to judgment (Psalm 144:5, etc.; Hebrews 3:6); "and darkness
was under his feet." We have here the increase of the horrors of the
tempest, and its still nearer approach, but God is not yet revealed, it is
darkness under his feet. Thick darkness was the accompaniment of God's descent
on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:21; Deuteronomy 4:11): and it invests his throne, to
veil from us the overwhelming majesty of deity. Psalm 97:2. But this darkness,
while it hides his coming judgment, bespeaks sorrow and anguish to the objects
of his wrath. Luke 21:25, 26.—W. Wilson, in loc.
Verses 9-11:—
"He also
bowed the heavens,
And thence he did descend;
And thickest clouds of darkness did
Under his feet attend.
And
he upon a cherub rode,
And thereon he did fly;
Yea, on the swift wings of the wind,
His flight was from on high.
He
darkness made his secret place;
About him for his tent
Dark waters were, and thickest clouds
Of the airy firmament."
Scotch Version, 1649.
Verses 9-12:—
"In his
descent, bow'd heaven with earth did meet,
And gloomy darkness roll'd beneath his feet;
A golden winged cherub he bestrid,
And on the swiftly flying tempest rid.
He
darkness made his secret cabinet;
Thick fogs and dropping clouds about him set;
The beams of his bright presence these expel,
Whence showers of burning coals and hailstones fell."
George Sandys, 1577-1643.
Verse 10. "Cherub."
The Hebrew name hath affinity with Rechub, a chariot, used in Psalm
104:3, almost in like sense as "cherub" is here; and the cherubims
are called a chariot, 1 Chronicles 28:18; and God's angels are his chariots,
Psalm 68:18, and they seem to be meant in this place; for as angels are said to
fly, Daniel 9:21; so the cherubims had wings, Exodus 25:20, and are by
the apostle called "cherubims of glory," Hebrews 9:5. In Psalm 80:2,
God is said "to sit on the cherubims," as here, to ride; and "a
cherub" may be put for many, or all the cherubims, as chariot
for chariots, Psalm 68:18.—Henry Ainsworth.
Verse 10. "Cherubs."
The "cherub" with the countenances of man, the lion, the bull,
and the eagle (combining in itself, as it were, the intelligence, majesty,
strength, and life of nature), was a symbol of the powers of nature. When
powerful elements, as in a storm, are serving God, he is said to "ride
on a cherub."—Augustus F. Tholuck.
Verse 10. "Cherub."—
"He on the
wings of cherub rode sublime
On the crystalline sky."
John Milton.
Verse 10. When God
comes to punish his foes and rescue his people, nothing has ever surprised his
friends or foes more than the admirable swiftness with which he moves and acts:
He flies "upon the wings of the wind."—William S. Plumer.
Verse 10. Every
circumstance that can add to the splendour of Jehovah's descent upon his
enemies is thrown into the narrative by the inspired poet. It is not enough
that the heavens should bend beneath him, and that clouds of darkness should be
seen rolling, in terrible majesty, under his feet; cherubic legions also are
the willing supporters of his throne, and swift as air, he flies "upon
the wings of the wind." Into this amazing scene the awful appendages
of the mercy-seat are introduced; on the bending heavens, the cloudy chariot
rides sublime, and the winds of heaven bear it majestically along.—J.
Morison.
Verse 12. "Coals
of fire." The word signifies, living burning coals. Where the
lightning fell, it devoured all before it, and burned whatever it touched into
burning embers.—Samuel Chandler.
Verse 14. "Yea,
he sent out his arrows, and scattered them," etc. O that you who are
now strangers to God would but consider these things! O that you would but
think what this battle may be, where the combatants are so unequal! Stand
still, O sun, in the valley of Ajalon, till the Lord have avenged him of his
enemies! Muster yourselves, O ye stars, and fight in your courses against those
miserable sinners that have waged war against their Maker; plant your mighty
cannons, shoot down huge hailstones, arrows of fire, and hot thunderbolts! Oh,
how do the wounded fall! How many are the slain of the Lord, multitudes in the
Valley of Decision, for the day of the Lord is terrible. Behold God's enemies
falling by thousands, behold the garments rolling in blood, hear the prancing
of his terrible ones, the mountains are covered with horses and chariots of
fire. God's soldiers run from one place to another with their flaming swords in
their hands, armed with the justice of God, jealousy, power, and indignation!
Oh, the dreadful slaughter that is made! Millions, millions fall; they are not
able to stand; not one of them can lift up his hand; their hearts fail them;
paleness and trembling hath seized upon the stoutest of them all. The bow of
the Lord is strong; from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of the Lord turneth not back, the sword of the Almighty returns not
empty. How do the mighty ones fall in this battle! A hot battle indeed, in
which none escape! Who is he that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from
Bozrah? He that is glorious in his apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth the wine fat? I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the people
there was none with me. For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them
in my fury; and I will bring down their strength to the earth: the hand of the
Lord shall be known, the power of the mighty Jehovah shall be felt, and his
indignation toward his enemies. For behold he will come with fire and with
chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with
flames of fire; for by fire and by his sword will he plead with all flesh; and
the slain of the Lord shall be many, and the saints shall go forth and look
upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me. For their worm
shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an
abhorring unto all flesh. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and
brimstone, and a horrible tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup! This
it is to fight against God! This it is to defy the Lord of Hosts!—James
Janeway.
Verse 14. "He
shot out his lightnings." (Heb.) LXX astrapus eplhyune. Falgura
multiplicavit: Vulgate, and so all the versions. He multiplied his
thunderbolts; or, shot them out thick one after another; as the word properly
signifies.
(Heb.)
And discomfited them, as we render the word; or rather, as I think it
should be translated, and melted them; namely, the heavens.—Samuel
Chandler.
Verse 14 (last
clause). It is written, "destroyed them," because the Holy
Ghost would not so much as name, by the mouth of his prophet, the evil spirits
to whom he refers.—Euthymius Zigabenus (1125) quoted by J. M. Neale.
Verse 15. "The
foundations of the world were discovered;" i.e., such large and deep
chasms, or apertures, were made by the violence of the earthquake, as one might
almost see the very foundations, or as Jonah calls them, the bottoms, or
rather, the extremities of the mountains, in the bottom of the sea.
Jonah 2:6.—Samuel Chandler.
Verse 15. The Lord
interposed with the same notoriety of his presence, as when the waters of the
sea were driven back by a strong east wind, and the deep turned into dry ground
(Exodus 14:21, 22), to give the Israelites a safe passage out of their
thraldom, and to drown the Egyptians.—Henry Hammond.
Verse 16. "He
sent from above," etc. He "sent" angels, or
assistance otherwise.—Matthew Poole.
Verse 16. He
took." God's grasp cannot be broken. None can pluck his chosen out of
his hand.—William S. Plumer.
Verse 16. "Drew
me out of many waters." This hath reference to Moses' case, who was
"drawn out of the water," and thereupon called Mosheh (Exodus
2:10); that word Mashah is used here by David, and nowhere else in
Scripture. "Waters," signify troubles, and sometimes
multitudes of people.—H. Ainsworth.
Verse 18. "They
prevented me in the day of my calamity;" i.e., came on me suddenly,
unawares, when I was unprovided and helpless, and must have destroyed me had
not God upheld and supported me when I was in danger of perishing. God was to
the psalmist (Heb.), for a staff to support him. What the staff is to
one that is ready to fall, the means of recovering and preserving him; that was
God to David in the time of his extremity. For he several times preserved him
from Saul, when he, David, thought his destruction by him almost unavoidable.
See 1 Samuel 23:26, 27.—Samuel Chandler.
Verse 18. "They
prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay."
When Henry the Eighth had spoken and written bitterly against Luther; said
Luther, Tell the Henries, the bishops, the Turks, and the devil himself, do
what they can, we are the children of the kingdom, worshipping of the true God,
whom they, and such as they, spit upon and crucified. And of the same spirit
were many martyrs. Basil affirms of the primitive saints, that they had so much
courage and confidence in their sufferings, that many of the heathen seeing
their heroic zeal and constancy, turned Christians.—Charles Bradbury.
Verse 20 "The
Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the clearness of
my hands hath he recompensed me." We must stand our ground, and be
stiff for ourselves against all misjudgings. It is good to be zealously
affected always in a good matter, whether it respects the glory of God
immediately and alone, or whether it respects the credit of our brethren or our
own. To desire to be famous in the world, and as those giants in the old world
(Genesis 6:4), men of renown, or, as the original text hath it, men of name, is
a very great vanity; but to protect and preserve our good name is a great and
necessary duty.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse 21 "I
have not wickedly departed from my God;" that is, with a purpose and
resolution of heart to continue in a way of sinning; and that is the property
of sincerity. A man may indeed be overtaken and surprised by a temptation, but
it is not with a resolution to forsake God and to cleave unto the sin, or rest
in it. He will not sleep in it, spare it, or favour it; that is, to do wickedly
against God, to have a double heart and a double eye; to look upon two objects,
partly at God and partly at sin; so to keep God, as to keep some sin also, as
it is with all false-hearted men in the world. They look not upon God alone,
let them pretend to religion never so much, yet they look not unto God alone,
but upon something else together with God; as Herod regarded John, but regarded
his Herodias more; and the young man in the gospel, comes to Christ, yet he
looks after his estate; and Judas followed Christ, yet looks after the bag;
this is to depart wickedly from God.—William Strong, 1650.
Verse 21 (last
clause). Although a godly man may break a particular commandment again and
again against knowledge, yet his knowledge never suffers him to go so far as to
venture knowingly to break the covenant of grace with God, and to depart from
him; when he hath gone on so far in a sin as he comes to apprehend he must
break with God, and lose him if he goes any further, this apprehension stays
him, stops and brings him back again; he may presumptuously venture (though
seldom; and always to his cost) to commit an act of sin against knowledge,
because he may withal think, that by one act the covenant is not broken, nor
all friendship and love hazarded between God and him, nor his interest in the
state of grace, nor God, quite lost by it, though he may well think he would be
displeased with him; but if he should begin to allow himself in it, and to
continue to go on again and again in it, then he knows the covenant would be
broken, it cannot stand with grace; and when this apprehension comes, and comes
in strongly, he cannot sin against it, for this were to cast away the Lord, and
to depart wickedly from him, now so he doth not. So David, though he sinned
highly and presumptuously, yet says he, "I have not departed wickedly
from my God;" that is, I have not so far departed from him as though I
apprehended I should utterly lose my interest in him, yet I would go on. No;
for he is my God, there lies the consideration that kept him from departing
from him. So Psalm 44:17, "We have not dealt falsely in thy
covenant," says the church there. Many acts of displeasing him may pass
and be ventured, but if the holy soul thinks that the covenant lay at stake,
that he and God must utterly part and break off, thus far he will never go.—Thomas
Goodwin.
Verses 22, 23. An
unsound soul will not take notice of such a precept as opposeth his special
sin; such a precept must go for a blank, which the soul throws by, and will not
think of, but as conscience now and then puts him in mind of it, whether he will
or no. But it is not so with a man in whom sincerity is; that precept which
doth most oppose that sin to which he is most inclined, he labours to obey as
well as any other. An unsound soul sets so many of God's statutes before him,
as rules to walk by, as suits with himself and the times, and no more. Such
precepts as oppose his special corruptions, or displease the times, and so
expose him to suffering, these he baulks and puts away, as David here saith,
and calls them as the rotten Scribes and Pharisees were wont to do, "least
commandments," small things not to be regarded; which rottenness Christ
took up roundly in those ironical words, "Whosoever shall break one of
these least commandments, shall be called the least in the kingdom of God."
Godly sincerity makes no difference of greatest and least between the precepts
of God, but sets all before a man as a rule to walk by, and makes the soul
laborious to observe all. "Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect
unto all thy commandments." Psalm 119:6.—Nicholas Lockyer, 1649.
Verse 23. "I
was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity." He
who says, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I
delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart;" and who
by the apostle in the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, is
identified with Jesus Christ, says also (verse 12), "innumerable evils
have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am
not able to look up: they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore mine
heart faileth me;" and in the forty-first psalm, "He whose familiar
friend, to whom he had committed a trust, who ate of his bread, lifted up his
heel against him," whom our Lord in the thirteenth chapter of the gospel
of John identifies with himself, says (verse 4), "Lord, be merciful to me:
heal my soul, for I have sinned;" I am guilty "before thee." The
difficulty is removed by the undoubtedly true principle—the principle which,
above all others, gives Christianity its peculiar character—"He who knew
no sin, was made sin;" "On his righteous servant, Jehovah made to
fall the iniquities of us all." In this sense, "innumerable
iniquities compassed him," the iniquities made to fall on him—made
"his" as to their liabilities—by divine appointment laid hold of him.
In the sense of culpa—blame-worthiness—he had no sin. In the sense of reatus—liability
to the penal effects of sin—never had any one so much sin to bear as
he—"He bore the sins of many."—John Brown.
Verse 23. "I
was upright before him." Hence observe:—first, that a godly man may
have his heart upright and perfect even in the imperfection of his ways.
Secondly, a man that is sincere is in God's account a perfect man: sincerity is
the truth of all grace, the highest pitch that is to be attained here. Thirdly,
sincerity of heart gives a man boldness even in the presence of God,
notwithstanding many failings. The Lord doth "charge his angels with
folly," how much more man that "dwells in a house of clay"? Job
4. David, whose faith failed, and who had said, "I shall one day perish by
the hand of Saul," and whose tongue had faltered also to Abimelech, the
priest; three or four several lies he had told; yet David can say to God, that
he was perfect with him for all that. It is a strange boldness that the
saints have in the presence of God by virtue of the new covenant. All their
sins shall be laid open at the last day as a cancelled bond, that they wonder
how they shall look upon them and not blush; but the same spirit of sonship
that shall give them perfect boldness then, doth give them boldness in a great
measure even now in this life; that they shall be able to say, "Neither
height not depth," etc., nothing "shall separate us from the love of
Christ."—William Strong.
Verse 23. "I
was upright." etc. An upright Christian will not allow himself in any
known sin; he dares not touch the forbidden fruit. Genesis 39:9. "How then
can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Though it be a
complexion-sin, he disinherits it. There is no man but doth propend and incline
more to one sin than another; as in the body there is one humour predominant,
or as in the hive there is one master-bee; so in the heart there is one
master-sin; there is one sin which is not only near to a man as the garment,
but dear to him as the right eye. This sin is Satan's fort-royal, all his
strength lies here; and though we beat down his out-works, gross sin, yet if we
let him hold this fort of complexion-sin, it is as much as he desires. The devil
can hold a man as fast by this one link, as by a whole chain of vices. The
fowler hath the bird fast enough by one wing. Now, an upright Christian will
not indulge himself in this complexion-sin: "I was upright before him,
and kept myself from mine iniquity." An upright Christian takes the
sacrificing knife of mortification, and runs it through his dearest sin. Herod
did many things, but there was one sin so dear to him, that he would sooner
behead the prophet, than behead that sin. Herod would have a gap for his
incest. An upright heart is not only angry with sin (which may admit of
reconciliation), but hates sin; and if he sees this serpent creeping into his
bosom, the nearer it is the more he hates it.—Thomas Watson.
Verse 23. "I
kept myself." Keep himself! Who made man his own keeper! It's the Lord
that is his keeper: he is the keeper of Israel, and the preserver of man. If a
man cannot keep himself from sorrow, how is he able to keep himself from sin?
God indeed in our first conversion works upon us as he did upon the earth, or
Adam's body in paradise, before he breathed a soul into it, and made it a
living creature; such a power as Christ put forth on Lazarus in his grave, for
we are "dead in trespasses and sins;" but yet being living he must
walk and act of himself, the Lord will have us to co-operate together with him,
for we are built upon Christ, not as dead, but as "living stones." 1
Peter 2:5. The grace whereby we are made alive is his, and the power is his;
and yet by his grace we do it also; ille facit ut nos faciamus, quae
praecepit (Augustine).—William Strong.
Verse 23. "I
kept myself from mine iniquity." It is possible to keep ourselves from
such sins as David did; who professes here of himself great sincerity, that he
had kept himself from that iniquity to which he was strongly
tempted, and which he was prone to fall into. The method which holy David made
use of gives us the first and the best direction; and that is, by constant and
fervent prayer to implore the divine aid and the continual assistance of his
Holy Spirit, that God would not only keep us from falling into them, but even
turn our hearts from inclining to them, and help us to see our folly and our
danger. For alas! we are not able of ourselves to help ourselves, not so much as
to think a good thought, much less to resist an evil inclination, or a strong
temptation; but "our sufficiency is of God:" "It is God (says
the psalmist here), that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way
perfect:" verse 32. . . . Next, that we take care to avoid such things and
decline such occasions as are most likely to snare us and gain upon us, lest
one thing hook in another, and we be caught in the gin before we suspect the
danger.—Henry Dove, 1690.
Verse 23. "Mine
iniquity." A man's darling sin may change with the change of a man's
condition, and some occasion that may present itself. What was Saul's and
Jehu's sin before they came into the crown we know not; but surely it was
wherein their lust did afterwards run out—the establishing a kingdom upon their
posterity. Wantonness may be the darling of a man's youth, and worldliness the
darling of his age; and a man's being raised unto honour, and having the
opportunities that he had not in times past, the lust may run in another
channel, he having now such an opportunity as before he never expected.—William
Strong.
Verse 23. "Mine
iniquity." There is some particular sin to which one is more prone
than to another, of which he may say by way of emphasis, 'tis "mine
iniquity," at which he may point with his finger, and say,
"That's it." . . . . There are more temptations to some sins than
others, from the different professions or courses of life men take upon
themselves. If they follow the court I need not tell you what temptations and
snares there are to divers sins, and what danger there is of falling into them,
unless your vows for virtue, and a tender regard to the honour which cometh of
God only, keep you upright. If they be listed in the camp, that tempts them to
rapine and violence, neglect of God's worship, and profaneness. If they
exercise trading and merchandise, they meet with greater enticements to lying
and cozening, over-reaching, and unjust dealing; and the mystery of some
trades, as bad men manage them, is a downright "mystery of iniquity."
If husbandry, to anxiety about the things of the world, a distrust of God's
providence, or murmuring against it. Nay, I could wish in the most sacred
profession of all there might be an exception made in this particular; but Paul
tells us that even in his days "some preached Christ even of envy and
strife," some for filthy lucre only, as well as "some of good
will." Philippians 1:15.—Henry Dove.
Verse 23. "Mine
iniquity." The actual reign of sin is commonly of some particular
master-lust, which is as the viceroy over all the rest of the sins in the soul,
and commands them all as lord paramount, and makes them all subservient and
subordinate unto it; and this is according to custom, calling, constitution,
abilities, relations, and according to the different administrations of the
Spirit of God; for though God be not the author of sin, yet he is the orderer
of sin. So that it is that way of sin and death that a man chooseth to himself,
he having looked abroad upon all the contentments of the world, his own corrupt
inclination doth choose unto himself to follow with greatest sweetness and
contentment and delight, as that wherein the happiness of his life consists;
that as in the body there is in every one some predominant humour, so there is
in the body of sin also; that as the natural man, though there be all the
faculties, yet some faculties are in some more lively and vigorous than in
others, some are more witty, some are more strong, some quick of sight, some
have a ready ear, and others a nimble tongue, etc. So it is in the old man
also; there is all the power of sin in an unregenerate man, but in some more
dexterous one way than another; as men in the choice of calling, some have a
greater inclination to one thing than to another, so it is in the choice of
contentments also: as in the appetite for food, so it is in lust, being nothing
else but the appetite of the creature corrupted to some sinful object.—William
Strong.
Verse 23. Growth
in mortification. . . . Men may deceive themselves when they estimate their
progress herein by having overcome such lusts as their natures are not so prone
unto. The surest way is to take a judgment of it from the decay of a man's
bosom-sin, even as David did estimate his uprightness by his "keeping
himself from his iniquity;" so a man of his growth in uprightness.
When physicians would judge of a consumption of the whole, they do it not by
the falling away of any part whatever, as of the flesh in the face alone, or
any the like; such a particular abatement of flesh in some one part may come
from some other cause; but they use to judge by the falling away of the brawn
of the hands, or arms and thighs, etc., for these are the more solid parts. The
like judgments do physicians make upon other diseases, and of the abatement of
them from the decrease in such symptoms as are pathognomical, and proper, and
peculiar to them. In like manner also the estimate of the progress of the
victories of a conqueror in an enemy's kingdom is not taken from the taking or
burning of a few villages or dorps, but by taking the forts and strongest
holds, and by what ground he hath won upon the chief strength, and by what
forces he hath cut off of the main army. Do the like in the decrease of, and
victory over, your lusts.—Thomas Goodwin.
Verse 23. We must
remember always that though the grace of God prevents us, that we may have a
good will, and works in us when we have it, that so we may find success; yet in
vain do we expect the continuance of his help without diligent endeavours.
Whilst he assists our weakness, he does not intend to encourage our laziness,
and therefore we are also "to labour, and strive according to his working,
which worketh in us mightily," as the apostle expresses it, Colossians
1:29.—Henry Dove.
Verses 24-26. As you
may see a proportion between sins and punishments which are the rewards of
them, that you can say, Such a sin brought forth this affliction, it is so like
the father; so you might see the like proportion between your prayers and your
walking with God, and God's answers to you, and his dealings with you. So did
David; "According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed
me," etc. His speech notes some similitude or likeness; as, for
example, the more by-ends or carnal desires you had in praying, and the more
you mingled of these with your holy desires, and the more want of zeal,
fervency, etc., were found in your prayers, the more you shall, it may be, find
of bitterness mingled with the mercy, when it is granted, and so much
imperfection, and want of comfort in it. So says David in this same Psalm
(verses 25, 26), "With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure."
Pure prayers have pure "blessings; et à contra, "With the froward
thou wilt show thyself froward." And again, as you in praying
sometimes slackened and grew cold, so you might see the business in like manner
to cool, and cast backward; as, When Moses's hands were down, Amalek prevailed;
but when they were lifted up, Israel had the better. Exodus 17:12. God let him
see a proportion, which argued his prayer was the means of prevailing. A man
finds in praying that his suit sometimes sticks, and goes not on as he
expected; this is because he gives not so good a fee as he was wont, and doth
not ply God and solicit him; but on the contrary, when he was stirred up to pray,
then still he found things to go well. By this a man may clearly see that it
was the prayer which God did hear and regarded. Thus, likewise, when a man sees
hills and dales in a business, fair hopes often, and then all dashed again, and
the thing in the end brought to pass, let him look back upon his prayers. Didst
not thou in like manner just thus deal with God? when thou hadst prayed
earnestly, and thought thou hadst even carried it, then dash all again by
interposing some sin, and thus again and again? Herein God would have you
observe a proportion, and it may help you to discern how and when they are
answered and obtained by prayer, because God deals thus with you therein in
such proportion to your prayers.—Thomas Goodwin.
Verses 24-27. Even as
the sun, which, unto eyes being sound and without disease, is very pleasant and
wholesome, but unto the same eyes, when they are feeble, sore, and weak, is
very troublesome and hurtful, yet the sun is ever all one and the selfsame that
was before; so God, who hath ever shown himself benign and bountiful to those
who are kind and tender-hearted towards his saints, and are merciful to those
who show mercy. But unto the same men, when they fall into wickedness and grow
to be full of beastly cruelty, the Lord showeth himself to be very wrathful and
angry, and yet is one and the same immutable God from everlasting to
everlasting.—Robert Cawdray.
Verse 25. "With
the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt
shew thyself upright." "An upright"—the same word is
oft translated "perfect," he is good throughout, though not
thoroughly; not one that personates religion, but that is a religious person.
He is perfect, because he would be so. So Noah is termed (Genesis 6:9);
"Noah was a just man and perfect (i.e., upright) in his
generation:" he was a good man in a bad age. He was like a glowing spark
of fire in a sea of water, which is perfect goodness; and therefore the Holy
Ghost doth so hang upon his name, as if he could not give over—it is an
excellent preacher's observation—verse 8, "But Noah was a just man and
perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah begat three
sons." Noah, Noah, Noah, I love the sound of thy name; and so are all your
names precious to God, though hated by men, if the name of God be dear and
sweet to you. 'Tis also sometimes translated "plain." Genesis 25:27.
Jacob was (Hebrew), "a plain," that is, an upright man,
"dwelling in tents." Esau was "a cunning hunter,"
but Jacob was a plain man without welt or gard; you might well know his heart
by his tongue, save once when Rebekah put a cunning trick into his head,
otherwise he was a most "upright," downright man. And the
plain meaning of it is, a simple, cordial, unfeigned, and exact man: this is
the man we are looking for.
"Man."
This substansive the Hebrews use to drown in the adjective, but here the Holy
Ghost exhibits a word, and a choice one too, signifying a strong, valiant
man; the same word (Psalm 45:3), "O mighty man!" that's meant of
our Lord Christ, who was a most strong and valiant man, that could meet the
wrath of God, the malice of the devil, and the sin of man, in the face, and
come off with triumph. And so the Dutch translate this clause in 2 Samuel 22.:
"With the right valiant person, thou behavest thyself upright." In
short, if the words were literally translated, they run thus:—a man of
uprightness: that is, every way you behold him, an upright man: like an
even die, cast him which way you will he will be found square and right; a
stiff and strong man to tread down both lusts within and temptations without;
an Athanasius contra mundum, a Luther contra Roman; this is a man of an
excellent spirit, and such is our upright man. "Thou wilt shew thyself
upright," or, "wilt be upright with him;" for one word in
the Hebrew makes all these six, "Thou wilt upright it with
him." If men will deal plainly with God, he will deal plainly with them.
He that is upright in performing his duty shall find God upright in performing
his promises. It is God's way to carry to men as they carry to him. If thou
hast a design to please him, he will have a design to please thee; if thou wilt
echo to him when he calls, he'll echo to thee when thou callest. On the other
side; if a man will wrestle with God, he will wrestle with him; if thou wilt be
fast and loose with him, and walk frowardly towards him, thou shalt have
as good as thou bringest; if thou wilt provoke him with never-ending sins, he
will pursue thee with never-ending torments; if thou wilt sin in tuo eterno,
thou must suffer in suo eterno, and every man shall find like for like.
. . . An upright heart is single without division. Unto an
hypocrite there be "gods many and lords many," and he must have an
heart for each; but to the upright there is but one God the Father, and
one Lord Jesus Christ, and one heart will serve them both. He that fixes his
heart upon the creatures, for every creature he must have an heart, and the
dividing of his heart destroys him. Hosea 10:2. Worldly profits knock at the
door, he must have an heart for them; carnal pleasures present themselves, he
must have an heart for them also; sinful preferments appear, they must have an
heart too—Necessariorum numerus parvus, opinionum nullus; of necessary
objects the number is few, of needless vanities the number is endless. The upright
man hath made choice of God and hath enough.—Richard Steele.
Verse 25. "With
the merciful," etc. In Jupiter's hall-floor there are set two barrels
of gifts, the one of good gifts or blessings, the other of evil gifts or
plagues. Thus spake Homer falsely of Jupiter; it may truly be spoken of the
true God, Jehovah; that he hath in his hand two cups, the one of comforts, the
other of crosses, which he poureth out indifferently for the good and for the
bad; "with the kind (or merciful) he will shew himself kind, and with
the froward, froward." Now this is not to make God the author of evil,
but of justice, which is good; qrorum deus non est author eorum est justus
ultor, saith Augustine; "God is not the author of sin, but he
punisheth the sinner justly."—Miles Smith (Bishop), 1632.
Verse 26. "With
the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure," etc. But doth the Lord take
colour from every one he meets, or change his temper as the company changes?
That's the weakness of sinful man: he cannot do so with whom there is no
variableness nor shadow of changing. God is pure and upright with the unclean
and hypocritical, as well as with the pure and upright, and his actions show
him to be so. God shows himself froward with the froward when he deals with him
as he hath said he will deal with the froward—deny them and reject them. God
shows himself pure with the pure, when he deals with them as he hath said he
will—hear them and accept them. Though there be nothing in purity and sincerity
which deserveth mercy, yet we cannot expect mercy without them. Our comforts
are not grounded upon our graces, but our comforts are the fruits or
consequences of our graces.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse 26. "The
froward one." Here, as in the first promise, the two combatants stand
contrasted—the seed of the woman and the serpent— the benignantly bountiful,
perfect, pure One, and the froward one, whose works he came to destroy, and who
made it his great business to circumvent him whom he feared. The literal
meaning of the word is "tortuous," or "crooked," and both
the ideas of perversity and cunning which the figure naturally suggests, are
very applicable to "that old serpent the devil." From the concluding
part of the sentence, I think there is no doubt that it is the latter idea that
is intended to be conveyed. God cannot deal perversely with any one; but he outwits
the wise, and takes the cunning in their own craftiness.—John Brown.
Verse 26. "With
the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward." The Hebrew word in the
root signifieth to wrest or writhe a thing, or to wrest or turn a thing, as
wrestlers do their bodies. Hence by a trope, it is translated often to wrestle,
because a cunning man in wrestling, turneth and windeth his body, and works
himself in and out every way, to get an advantage of his adversary any way;
therefore your cunning-headed men, your crafty men, are fitly presented under
this word; they are like wrestlers who turn and wind themselves in and out, and
lie for all advantages; or as we speak, they "lie at catch." A man
knows not where to have them, or what they mean when they speak plainest, or
swear solemnest; when we think we see their faces, we see but their vizards;
all their promises and performances too are under a disguise. . . . And this
word is applied to the Lord himself, "With the froward thou wilt shew
thyself froward;" that is, if men will be winding and turning, and
thinking to catch others, or over-reach the Lord himself with tricks and
turnings of wit, the Lord will meet and answer them in their own kind; he can
turn as fast as they, he can put himself into such intricate labyrinths of
infinite wisdom and sacred craft, as shall entangle and ensnare the most
cunning wrestler or tumbler of them all. He will Cretize the Cretians, supplant
the supplanters of his people.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse 26. "Wilt
shew thyself froward." It is a similitude taken from wrestlers, and
noteth a writhing of one's self against an adversary. Compare herewith
Deuteronomy 32:5. "They are a perverse and a crooked generation," the
same two words that are here in this text; the latter importeth that they
wriggled and writhed after the manner of wrestlers that wave up and down, and
wind the other way, when one thinks to have him here or there. But all will not
serve their turn to save them from punishment. God will be sure to meet with
them, his Word will lay hold on them, and their sins shall find them out.—John
Trapp.
Verse 27. "The
afflicted people." The word rendered "afflicted,"
properly signifies "poor," or "needy." The persons spoken
of are obviously afflicted ones, for they need to be saved or delivered; but it
is not their affliction, so much as their poverty, that is indicated by the
epithet here given them; and, from the poor being contrasted, not with the
wealthy, but with the proud—for that is the meaning of the figurative
expression, "the man of high looks"—it seems plain that, though the
great body of the class referred to have always been found among the
comparatively "poor in this world," the reference is to those poor
ones whom our Lord represents as "poor in spirit."—John Brown.
Verse 27. "High
looks:" namely, the proud; the raising up of the eyebrows being
a natural sign of that vice. Psalm 101:5; Proverbs 6:17.—John Diodati.
Verse 28. "For
thou wilt light my candle," etc. The psalmist speaks in this place of
artificial light; "a candle," or "lamp;" which has
been supposed to be illustrated by the custom prevailing in Egypt of never
suffering their houses to be without lights, but burning lamps even throughout
the night, so that the poorest people would rather retrench part of their food
than neglect it. Supposing this to have been the ancient custom, not only in
Egypt, but in the neighbouring countries of Arabia and Judaea, "the
lighting of the lamp" in this passage may have had a special allusion. In
the parallel passage, 2 Samuel 22:29, Jehovah is figuratively styled the
"lamp" of the psalmist, as above.—Richard Mant.
Verse 28 (first
clause). "Thou also shalt"—when none else can. And notice,
too, how here, and often elsewhere, the psalmist begins with speaking of
God, and ends with speaking to him. So the bride in the Canticles,
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love
is better than wine."—Dionysius the Carthusian (1471), quoted by
J. M. Neale.
Verse 29. "By
thee have I run through a troop," etc. David ascribes his victories to
God, declaring that, under his conduct, he had broken through the wedges or
phalanxes of his enemies, and had taken by storm their fortified cities.
Thus we see that, although he was a valiant warrior, and skilled in arms, he
arrogates nothing to himself.—John Calvin.
Verse 29. "By
my God have I leaped over a wall;" or, "taken a fort."—Henry
Hammond.
Verse 29. "Leaped
over a wall." This probably refers to his having taken some remarkable
town by scaling the ramparts.—John Kitto, in "The Pictorial Bible."
Verse 31. "For
who is God save the Lord?" Here first in the Psalms, occurs the name Eloah,
rendered God. It occurs more than fifty times in the Scriptures,
but only four times in the Psalms. It is the singular of Elohim. Many
have supposed that this name specially refers to God as an object of religious
worship. That idea may well be prominent in this place.—William S. Plumer
Verse 32. "It
is God that girdeth me with strength." One of the few articles of
Eastern dress which I wore in the East, was the girdle, which was of
great use as a support to the body in the long and weary camel-rides through
the Desert. The support and strengthening I received in this way, gave
me a clearer idea than I had before of the meaning of the psalmist.—John
Anderson, in "Bible Light from Bible Lands," 1856.
Verse 33. "He
maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places:"
that is, he doth give swiftness and speed to his church; as Augustine
interpreteth it, transcendendo spinosa, et umbrosa implacamenta hujus
saeculi, passing lightly through the thorny and shady incumbrances of this
world. "He will make me walk upon my high places." David saith,
"He setteth me upon high places." For, consider David, as he then
was, when he composed this Psalm, it was at the time when God had delivered him
from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. For then God set
his feet on high places, setting his kingdom, and establishing him in the place
of Saul.—Edward Marbury.
Verse 33. "He
maketh my feet like hinds' feet:" (Heb. words). Celerity of motion was
considered as one of the qualities of an ancient hero. Achilles is celebrated
for being podas wkus. Virgil's Nisus is hyperbolically described, "Et
ventis et fulminis ocior alis;" and the men of God, who came to David,
"Men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield
and buckler," are said to have had "faces like the faces of
lions," and to have been "as swift as the roes upon the
mountains." 1 Chronicles 12:8. Asahel is described as "light of foot
as a wild roe" (2 Samuel 2:18); and Saul seems called the roe (in
the English translation, "the beauty) of Israel." 2 Samuel 1:19. It
has been said that the legs of the hind are straighter than those of the buck,
and that she is swifter than he is; but there is no sufficient
proof of this. Gataker gives the true account of it when he says, "The
female formula is often used for the species." This is not uncommon in
Hebrew. The female ass obviously stands for the ass species. Genesis 12:16; Job
1:3; 42:12. Some (at the head of whom is Bochart, Hierozoicon, P. i. L.
ii. c. 17), have supposed the reference to be to the peculiar hardness of the
hoof of the roe, which enables it to walk firmly, without danger of falling, on
the roughest and rockiest places. Virgil calls the hind "aeri-pedem,"
brass-footed. Others suppose the reference to be to its agility and celerity.
There is nothing to prevent our supposing that there is reference to both these
distinguishing qualities of the hind's feet.—John Brown.
Verse 33. He
maketh my feet like hinds' feet," etc. He maketh me able to stand
on the sides of mountains and rocks, which were anciently used as
fastnesses in time of war. The feet of the sheep, the goat, and the hart are
particularly adapted to standing in such places. Mr. Merrick has here very
appositely cited the following passage from Xenophon; Lib. de Venatione:
Epiokupein dei econta tus kunas tas men en oredi edtwdas 'lafouz) See also
Psalm 104:18, where the same property of standing on the rocks and steep
cliffs, is attributed to the wild goat.—Stephen Street, M.A., in loc.,
1790.
Verse 34. "He
teacheth my hands to war," etc. To him I owe all that military skill,
or strength, or courage, which I have. My strength is sufficient, not only to
bend "a bow of steel," but to break it.—Matthew
Poole.
Verse 34. "Steel."
The word so rendered in the authorised version, properly means
"copper" (Heb.) It is doubtful if the Hebrews were acquainted with
the process of hardening iron into steel, for though the "northern
iron" of Jeremiah 15:12, has been supposed by some to be steel, this is by
no means certain; it may have only been a superior sort of iron.—William
Lindsay Alexander, in "Kitto's Cyclopaedia."
Verse 34. The
drawing of a mighty bow was a mark of great slaughter and skill.
"So the
great master drew the mighty bow,
And drew with ease. One hand aloft display'd
The bending horns, and one the string essay'd."
Alexander Pope, 1688-1744 Translation of Homer.
Verses 37, 38:—
Oh, I have seen
the day,
When with a single word,
God helping me to say,
"My trust is in the Lord;"
My soul has quelled a thousand foes,
Fearless of all that could oppose.
William Cowper, 1731-1800.
Verse 38. "I
have wounded them," etc. Greater is he that is in us than he that is against
us, and God shall bruise Satan under our feet shortly. Romans 15:20.—W.
Wilson
Verses 38-40. Though
passion possess our bodies, let "patience possess our souls." The law
of our profession binds us to a warfare; patiendo vincimus, our troubles
shall end, our victory is eternal. Hear David's triumph, "I have
wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Thou hast given me
the necks of mine enemies," etc. They have wounds for their wounds;
and the treaders down of the poor are trodden down by the poor. The Lord will
subdue those to us that would have subdued us to themselves; and though for a
short time they rode over our heads, yet now at last we shall everlastingly
tread upon their necks. Lo, then, the reward of humble patience and confident
hope!—Thomas Adams.
Verse 39. To be well
girt was to be well armed in the Greek and Latin idioms, as well as in the
Hebrew.—Alexander Geddes, LL.D., 1737-1802.
Verse 41. "They
shall cry, but there shall be none to help them," etc. Sad examples
enough there are of the truth of this prophecy. Of Esau it is written that he
"found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with
tears." Hebrews 12:17. Of Antiochus, though he vowed in his last illness,
"that also he would become a Jew himself, and go through all the world
that was inhabited, and declare the power of God, yet," continues the
historian, "for all this his pains would not cease, for the just judgment
of God was come upon him." 2 Maccabees 9:17, 18. But most appropriately to
this passage, it is written of Saul, "When he enquired of the Lord, the
Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets." 1
Samuel 28:6. And therefore, the prophet warns us: "Give glory to the Lord
your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark
mountains (Jeremiah 13:16): as Saul's feet, indeed stumbled on the dark
mountains of Gilboa. "Even unto the Lord shall they cry:" but
not, as it has been well remarked, by a Mediator: and so, crying to him in
their own name, and by their own merits, they cry in vain.—John Lorinus
(1569-1634), and Remigus (900), quoted by J. M. Neale.
Verse 41. "Even
unto the Lord." As nature prompteth men in an extremity to look up for
help; but because it is but the prayer of the flesh for ease, and not of the
Spirit for grace, and a good use of calamities, and not but in extreme despair
of help elsewhere, therefore God hears them not. In Samuel it is, "They
looked, but there was none to save them," q.d., If they could have
made any other shift, God should never have heard of them.—John Trapp.
Verse 42. "I
did cast them out as the dirt in the streets," or rather "of the
streets." In the East, all household refuse and filth is cast forth into
the streets, where all of it that is at all edible is soon cleared away by
birds and dogs, and all that is not is speedily dried up by the sun. To cast
forth any one, therefore, as the dirt of the streets, is a strong image of contempt
and rejection.—John Kitto.
Verses 43, 44. If
these words can be explained literally of David, they apply much more naturally
to Jesus Christ, who has been delivered from the strivings of the Jewish
people; when, after the terrible opposition he met with on their part, to the
establishment of the gospel, he was made the head of the Gentiles who were a
strange people, and whom he had not formerly acknowledged as his, but who
nevertheless obeyed him with astonishing readiness as soon as they heard his
voice.—Louis Isaac le Maistre de Sacy, 1613-1684.
Verse 45. The first
clause is comparatively easy. "The strangers shall fade away"—"shall
gradually wither and disappear;" but the second clause is very difficult, "They
shall be afraid out of their close places." One Jewish scholar
interprets it, "They shall fear for the prisons in which I will throw them
and keep them confined." (Jarchi). Another, "They shall tremble in
their castles to which they have betaken themselves for fear of me." Another
(Abenezra), "They shall surrender themselves from their fortresses."
The general meaning is plain enough. The class referred to are represented as
reduced to a state of complete helpless subjugation. As to the event referred
to, if we keep to the rendering of our translators the meaning may be,
"The Pagans, retired now generally to villages and remote places, shall
gradually dwindle away, and fearfully anticipate the complete extinction of
their religion." This exactly accords with history. If with some interpreters
we read, "The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid because of their
prisons," then the meaning may be, "that they who only feigned
submission, when persecution for the word should arise should openly
apostatise." This, too, would be found consonant with fact. The first of
these interpretations seems the more probable.—John Brown.
Verse 46. "The
Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be
exalted." Let us unite our hearts in this song for a close of our
praises. Honours die,pleasures die, the world dies; but "The
Lord liveth." My flesh is as sand; my fleshly life, strength,
glory, is as a word written on sand; but "blessed be my
ROCK." Those are for a moment; this stands for ever. The curse shall
devour those; everlasting blessings on the head of this. Let outward salvations
vanish; let the saved be crucified; let the "God" of our
salvations "be exalted." This Lord is my rock; this God
is my salvation.—Peter Sterry, 1649.
Verse 46. "The
Lord liveth." Why do you not oppose one God to all the armies of evils
that beset you round? why do you not take the more content in God when you have
the less of the creature to take content in? why do you not boast in your God?
and bear up yourselves big with your hopes in God and expectations from him? Do
you not see young heirs to great estates act and spend accordingly? And, why
shall you, being the King of heaven's son, be lean and ragged from day to day,
as though you were not worth a groat? O sirs, live upon your portion, chide
yourselves for living besides what you have. There are great and precious
promises, rich, enriching mercies; you may make use of God's all-sufficiency;
you can blame none but yourselves if you be defective or discouraged. A woman,
truly godly for the main, having buried a child, and sitting alone in sadness,
did yet bear up her heart with the expression, "God lives;" and
having parted with another, still she redoubled, "Comforts die, but God
lives." At last her dear husband dies, and she sat oppressed and most
overwhelmed with sorrow. A little child she had yet surviving, having observed
what before she spoke to comfort herself, comes to her and saith, "Is God
dead, mother? is God dead?" This reached her heart, and by God's blessing
recovered her former confidence in her God, who is a living God. Thus do
you chide yourselves; ask your fainting spirits under pressing outward sorrows,
is not God alive? and why then doth not thy soul revive? why doth thy heart die
within thee when comforts die! Cannot a living God support thy dying hopes?
Thus, Christians, argue down your discouraged and disquieted spirits as David
did.—Oliver Heywood's "Sure Mercies of David," 1672.
Verse 47. "It
is God." Sir, this is none other than the hand of God; and to him
alone belongs the glory, wherein none are to share with him. The General served
you with all faithfulness and honour; and the best commendation I can give him
is that I dare say he attributes all to God, and would rather perish than
assume to himself.—Written to the Speaker of the House of Commons, after the
battle of Naseby, June 14, 1645, by OLIVER CROMWELL.
Verse 49. I admire
King David a great deal more when I see him in the quire than when I see him in
the camp; when I see him singing as the sweet singer of Israel, than when I see
him fighting as the worthy warrior of Israel. For fighting with others he did
overcome all others; but singing, and delighting himself, he did overcome
himself.—Thomas Playfere.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1. Love's
resolve, love's logic, love's trials, love's victories.
James
Hervey has two sermons upon "Love to God" from this text.
Verse 2.The many
excellences of Jehovah to his people.
Verse 2. God the
all-sufficient portion of his people.—C. Simeon's Works, Vol. 5, Page
85.
Verse 3. Prayer
resolved upon; praise rendered; result anticipated.
Verses 4-6. Graphic
picture of a distressed soul, and its resorts in the hour of extremity.
Verse 5 (first
clause). The condition of a soul convinced of sin.
Verse 5 (second
clause). The way in which snares and temptations are, by Satanic craft,
arranged so as to forestall or prevent us.
Verse 6. The time,
the manner, the hearing, and the answering of prayer.
Verse 7. The quaking
of all things in the presence of an angry God.
Verse 10. Celestial
and terrestrial agencies subservient to the divine purposes.
Verse 11. The
darkness in which Jehovah hides, Why? When? What then? etc.
Verse 13. "Hailstones
and coals of fire." The terrific in its relation to Jehovah.
Verse 16. The
Christian, like Moses, "one taken out of the water." The whole verse
a noble subject; may be illustrated by life of Moses.
Verse 17. The
saint's paean of victory over Satan, and all other foes.
Verse 17 (last
clause). Singular but sound reason for expecting divine help.
Verse 18. The
enemy's "craft," "They prevented me in the day of my
calamity." The enemy chained. "But the Lord was my stay."
Verse 19. The reason
of grace, and the position in which it places its chosen ones.
Verse 21. Integrity
of life, its measure, source, benefit, and dangers.
Verse 22. The need
of considering sacred things, and the wickedness of carelessly neglecting them.
Verse 23. The
upright heart and its darling sin. W. Strong's Sermons.
Verse 23. Peccata
in deliciis; a discourse of bosom sins. P. Newcome.
Verse 23.The sure
trial of uprightness. Dr. Bates.
Verse 25. Equity of
the divine procedure.—C. Simeon.
Verse 26. Echoes, in
providence, grace, and judgment.
Verse 27.
Consolation for the humble, and desolation for the proud.
Verse 27 (second
clause). The bringing down of high looks. In a way of grace and justice.
Among saints and sinner, etc. A wide theme.
Verse 28. A
comfortable hope for an uncomfortable state.
Verse 29. Believing
exploits recounted. Variety, difficulty in themselves, ease in performance,
completeness, impunity, and dependance upon divine working.
Verse 30. God's way,
word, and warfare.
Verse 31. A
challenge.
I.
To the gods. World, pleasure, etc. Which among these deserve the name?
II.
To the rocks, self-confidence, superstition, etc. On which can we trust?
Verses 32-34. Trying
positions, gracious adaptations, graceful accomplishments, secure abidings,
grateful acknowledgment.
Verse 35. "The
shield of thy salvation." What is it? Faith. Whence it comes?
"Thou hast given." What it secures? "Salvation." Who have
received it?
Verse 35. See
Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 683. "Divine Gentleness Acknowledged."
Verse 36. Divine
benevolence in the arranging of our lot.
Verse 39. The Red
Cross Knight armed for the fray.
Verse 41. Unavailing
prayers—on earth and in hell.
Verse 42. The sure
overthrow, final shame, and ruin of evil.
Verse 43 (last
clause). Our natural and sinful distance from Christ, no bar to grace.
Verse 44. Rapid
advances of the gospel in some places, slow progress in others. Solemn
considerations.
Verse 46. The living
God, and how to bless and exalt him.
Verse 50. The
greatness of salvation, "great deliverances;" its channel, "the
King;" and its perpetuity, "for evermore."
WORKS UPON THE
EIGHTEENTH PSALM
There
is "An Exposition" of this Psalm in "A Critical History of
the Life of David. By SAMUEL CHANDLER, D.D., F.R., and A.S.S.," 1766.
2 vol., 8vo.
The
Sufferings and Glories of the Messiah: an Exposition of Psalm XVIII., and Isaiah
52:13; 53:12. By JOHN BROWN, D.D., 1853.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》