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Psalm One
Hundred Forty-one
Psalm 141
Chapter Contents
David prays for God's acceptance and assistance. (1-4)
That God would appear for his rescue. (5-10)
Commentary on Psalm 141:1-4
(Read Psalm 141:1-4)
Make haste unto me. Those that know how to value God's
gracious presence, will be the more fervent in their prayers. When presented
through the sacrifice and intercession of the Saviour, they will be as
acceptable to God as the daily sacrifices and burnings of incense were of old.
Prayer is a spiritual sacrifice, it is the offering up the soul and its best
affections. Good men know the evil of tongue sins. When enemies are provoking,
we are in danger of speaking unadvisedly. While we live in an evil world, and
have such evil hearts, we have need to pray that we may neither be drawn nor
driven to do any thing sinful. Sinners pretend to find dainties in sin; but
those that consider how soon sin will turn into bitterness, will dread such
dainties, and pray to God to take them out of their sight, and by his grace to
turn their hearts against them. Good men pray against the sweets of sin.
Commentary on Psalm 141:5-10
(Read Psalm 141:5-10)
We should be ready to welcome the rebuke of our heavenly
Father, and also the reproof of our brethren. It shall not break my head, if it
may but help to break my heart: we must show that we take it kindly. Those who
slighted the word of God before, will be glad of it when in affliction, for
that opens the ear to instruction. When the world is bitter, the word is sweet.
Let us lift our prayer unto God. Let us entreat him to rescue us from the
snares of Satan, and of all the workers of iniquity. In language like this
psalm, O Lord, would we entreat that our poor prayers should set forth our only
hope, our only dependence on thee. Grant us thy grace, that we may be prepared
for this employment, being clothed with thy righteousness, and having all the
gifts of thy Spirit planted in our hearts.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 141
Verse 4
[4] Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise
wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
Incline not — Suffer it not to be inclined.
Heart — Keep me not only from wicked speeches, but from all
evil motions of my heart.
Dainties — The pleasures or advantages which they gain by their
wickedness.
Verse 5
[5] Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and
let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my
head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
Smite — By reproofs.
Break — Not hurt, but heal and greatly refresh me.
Calamities — In the calamities of those
righteous persons who reproved him. When they came into such calamities as
those wherein he was involved he would pity them and pray for them.
Verse 6
[6] When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they
shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
Judges — The chief of mine enemies.
Overthrown — Or, cast down headlong by thine
exemplary vengeance.
Hear — Hearken unto my counsels and offers which now they
despise.
Verse 7
[7] Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when
one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
Our bones — Our case is almost as hopeless as
of those who are dead, and whose bones are scattered in several places.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
TITLE. A Psalm, Of
David. Yes, David under suspicion, half afraid to speak lest he should
speak unadvisedly while trying to clear himself; David slandered and beset by enemies;
David censured even by saints, and taking it kindly; David deploring the
condition of the godly party of whom he was the acknowledged heard: David
waiting upon God with confident expectation. The Psalm is one of a group of
four, and it bears a striking likeness to the other three. Its meaning lies so
deep as to be in places exceedingly obscure, yet even upon its surface it has
dust of gold. In its commencement the psalm is lighted up with the evening glow
as the incense rises to heaven; then comes a night of language whose meaning we
cannot see; and this gives place to morning light in which our eyes are unto
the Lord.
DIVISION. The Psalmist
cries for acceptance in prayer (Ps 141:1-2); Then he begs to be kept as to his
speech, preserved in heart and deed, and delivered from every sort of
fellowship with the ungodly. He prefers to be rebuked by the gracious rather
than to be flattered by the wicked, and consoles himself with the confident
assurance that be will one day be understood by the godly party, and made to be
a comfort to them (Ps 141:3-6). In the last verses the slandered saint
represents the condition of the persecuted church, looks away to God and pleads
for rescue from his cruel enemies, and for the punishment of his oppressors.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Lord, I cry unto thee. This is my last resort: prayer
never fails me. My prayer is painful and feeble, and worthy only to be called a
cry; but it is a cry unto Jehovah, and this ennobles it. I have cried unto
thee, I still cry to thee, and I always mean to cry to thee. To whom else could
I go? What else can I do? Others trust to themselves, but I cry unto thee. The
weapon of all prayer is one which the believer may always carry with him, and
use in every time of need. Make haste unto me. His case was urgent, and
he pleaded that urgency. God's time is the best time, but when we are sorely
pressed we may with holy importunity quicken the movements of mercy. In many
cases, if help should come late, it would come too late; and we are permitted
to pray against such a calamity. Give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto
thee. See how a second time he talks of crying: prayer had become his
frequent, yea, his constant exercise: twice in a few words he says, "I
cry; I cry." How he longs to be heard, and to be heard at once! There is a
voice to the great Father in every cry, and groan, and tear of his children: he
can understand what they mean when they are quite unable to express it. It
troubles the spirit of the saints when they fear that no favourable car is
turned to their doleful cries: they cannot rest unless their "unto
thee" is answered by an "unto me." When prayer is a man's only
refuge, he is deeply distressed at the bare idea of his failing therein.
"That
were a grief I could not bear,
Didst thou not hear and answer prayer;
But a prayer hearing, answering God
Supports me under every load."
Verse
2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense. As
incense is carefully prepared, kindled with holy fire, and devoutly presented
unto God, so let my prayer be. We are not to look upon prayer as easy work
requiring no thought. It needs to be "set forth"; what is more, it
must be set forth "before the Lord, "by a sense of his presence and a
holy reverence for his name: neither may we regard all supplication as certain
of divine acceptance, it needs to be set forth before the Lord "as
incense, "concerning the offering of which there were rules to be
observed, otherwise it would be rejected of God. And the lifting up of my
hands as the evening sacrifice. Whatever form his prayer might take his one
desire was that it might be accepted of God. Prayer is sometimes presented
without words by the very motions of our bodies: bent knees and lifted hands
are the tokens of earnest, expectant prayer. Certainly work, or the lifting up
of the hands in labour, is prayer if it be done in dependence upon God and for
his glory: there is a hand prayer as well as a heart prayer, and our desire is
that tiffs may be sweet unto the Lord as the sacrifice of eventide. Holy hope,
the lifting up of hands that hang down, is also a kind of worship: may it ever
be acceptable with God. The Psalmist makes a bold request: he would have his
humble cries and prayers to be as much regarded of the Lord as the appointed
morning and evening sacrifices of the holy place. Yet the prayer is by no means
too bold, for, after all, the spiritual is in the Lord's esteem higher than the
ceremonial, and the calves of the lips are a truer sacrifice than the calves of
the stall. So far we have a prayer about prayer: we have a distinct
supplication in the two following verses.
Verse
3. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth. That mouth had been
used in prayer, it would be a pity it should ever be defiled with untruth, or
pride, or wrath; yet so it will become unless carefully watched, for these
intruders are ever lurking about the door. David feels that with all his own
watchfulness he may be surprised into sin, and so he begs the Lord himself to
keep him. When Jehovah sets the watch the city is well guarded: when the Lord
becomes the guard of our mouth the whole man is well garrisoned. Keep the
door of my lips. God has made our lips the door of the mouth, but we cannot
keep that door of ourselves, therefore do we entreat the Lord to take the rule
of it. O that the Lord would both open and shut our lips, for we can do neither
the one nor the other aright if left to ourselves. In times of persecution by
ungodly men we are peculiarly liable to speak hastily, or evasively, and
therefore we should be specially anxious to be preserved in that direction from
every form of sin. How condescending is the Lord! We are ennobled by being door
keepers for him, and yet he deigns to be a door keeper for us. Incline not my
heart to any evil thing. It is equivalent to the petition, "Lead us not
into temptation." O that nothing may arise in providence which would
excite our desires in a wrong direction. The Psalmist is here careful of his
heart. He who holds the heart is lord of the man: but if the tongue and the
heart are under God's care all is safe. Let us pray that he may never leave us
to our own inclinations, or we shall soon decline from the right.
To
practise wicked works with men that work iniquity. The way the heart
inclines the life soon tends: evil things desired bring forth wicked things
practised. Unless the fountain of life is kept pure the streams of life will
soon be polluted. Alas, there is great power in company: even good men are apt
to be swayed by association; hence the fear that we may practise wicked works
when we are with wicked workers. We must endeavour not to be with them lest we
sin with them. It is bad when the heart goes the wrong way alone, worse when
the life runs in the evil road alone; but it is apt to increase unto a high
degree of ungodliness when the backslider runs the downward path with a whole
horde of sinners around him. Our practice will be our perdition if it be evil:
it is an aggravation of sin rather than an excuse for it to say that it is our
custom and our habit. It is God's practice to punish all who make a practice of
iniquity. Good men are horrified at the thought of sinning as others do; the
fear of it drives them to their knees. Iniquity, which, being interpreted, is a
want of equity, is a thing to be shunned as we would avoid an infectious
disease. And let me not eat of their dainties. If we work with them we
shall soon eat with them. They will bring out their sweet morsels, and delicate
dishes, in the hope of binding us to their service by the means of our palates.
The trap is baited with delicious meats that we may be captured and become meat
for their malice. If we would not sin with men we had better not sit with them,
and if we would not share their wickedness we must not share their wantonness.
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness. He
prefers the bitters of gracious company to the dainties of the ungodly. He
would rather be smitten by the righteous than feasted by the wicked. He gives a
permit to faithful admonition, he even invites it—"let the righteous smite
me." When the ungodly smile upon us their flattery is cruel; when the
righteous smite us their faithfulness is kind. Sometimes godly men rap hard;
they do not merely hint at evil, but hammer at it; and even then we are to
receive the blows in love, and be thankful to the hand which smites so heavily.
Fools resent reproof; wise men endeavour to profit by it. And let him
reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break ray head.
Oil breaks no heads, and rebuke does no man any harm; rather, as oil refreshes
and perfumes, so does reproof when fitly taken sweeten and renew the heart. My
friend must love me well if he will tell me of my faults: there is an unction
about him if he is honest enough to point out my errors. Many a man has had his
head broken at the feasts of the wicked, but none at the table of a true
hearted reprover. The oil of flattery is not excellent; the oil so lavishly
used at the banquet of the reveller is not excellent; head breaking and heart
breaking attend the anointings of the riotous; but it is otherwise with the
severest censures of the godly: they are not always sweet, but they are always
excellent; they may for the moment bruise the heart, but they never break
either it or the head. For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.
Gracious men never grow wrathful with candid friends so as to harbour an ill
feeling against them; if so, when they saw them in affliction, they would turn
round upon them and taunt them with their rebukes. Far from it; these wisely
grateful souls are greatly concerned to see their instructors in trouble, and
they bring forth their best prayers for their assistance. They do not merely
pray for them, but they so closely and heartily sympathize that their prayers
are "in their calamities, "down in the dungeon with them. So true is
Christian brotherhood that we are with our friends in sickness or persecution,
suffering their griefs; so that our heart's prayer is in their sorrows. When we
can give good men nothing more, let us give them our prayers, and let us do
this doubly to those who have given us their rebukes.
Verse
6. This is a verse of which the meaning seems far to seek. Does it
refer to the righteous among the Israelites? We think so. David surely means
that when their leaders fell never to rise again, they would then turn to him
and take delight in listening to his voice. When their judges are overthrown
in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. And so they
did: the death of Saul made all the best of the nation look to the son of Jesse
as the Lord's anointed; his words became sweet to them. Many of those good men
who had spoken severely of David's quitting his country, and going over to the
Philistines, were nevertheless dear to his heart for their fidelity, and to them
he returned nothing but good will, loving prayers, and sweet speeches, knowing
that by and by they would overlook his faults, and select him to be their
leader. They smote him when he erred, but they recognized his excellences. He,
on his part, bore no resentment, but loved them for their honesty. He would
pray for them when their land lay bleeding at the feet of their foreign
enemies; he would come to their rescue when their former leaders were slain;
and his words of courageous hopefulness would be sweet in their ears. This
seems to me to be a good sense, consistent with the context. At the same time,
other and more laboured interpretations have their learned admirers, and to
these we will refer in our notes from other authors.
Verse
7. David's case seemed hopeless: the cause of God in Israel was as a
dead thing, even as a skeleton broken, and rotten, and shovelled out of the
grave, to return as dust to its dust. Our bones are scattered at the grave's
mouth. There seemed to be no life, no cohesion, no form, order, or headship
among the godly party in Israel: Saul had demolished it, and scattered all its
parts, so that it did not exist as an organized whole. David himself was like
one of these dried bones, and the rest of the godly were in much the same condition.
There seemed to be no vitality or union among the holy seed; but their cause
lay at death's door. As when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
They were like wood divided and thrown apart: not as one piece of timber, nor
even as a bundle, but all cut to pieces, and thoroughly divided. Leaving out
the word "wood", which is supplied by the translators, the figure
relates to cleaving upon the earth, which probably means ploughing, but may
signify any other form of chopping and splitting, such as felling a forest,
tearing up bushes, or otherwise causing confusion and division. How often have
good men thought thus of the cause of God! Wherever they have looked, death,
division, and destruction have stared them in the face. Cut and cloven, hopelessly
sundered! Scattered, yea, scattered at the grave's mouth! Split up and split
for the fire! Such the cause of God and truth has seemed to be. "Upon the
earth" the prospect was wretched; the field of the church was ploughed,
burrowed, and scarified: it had become like a wood chopper's yard, where
everything was doomed to be broken up. We have seen churches in such a state,
and have been heart broken. What a mercy that there is always a place above the
earth to which we can look! There lives One who will give a resurrection to his
cause, and a reunion to his divided people. He will bring up the dead bones
from the grave's mouth, and make the dried faggots live again. Let us imitate
the Psalmist in the next verse, and look up to the living God.
Verse
8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord. He looked
upward and kept his eyes fixed there. He regarded duty more than circumstances;
he considered the promise rather than the external providence; and he expected
from God rather than from men. He did not shut his eyes in indifference or
despair, neither did he turn them to the creature in vain confidence, but he
gave his eyes to his God, and saw nothing to fear. Jehovah his Lord is also his
hope. Thomas called Jesus Lord and God, and David here speaks of his God and
Lord. Saints delight to dwell upon the divine names when they are adoring or
appealing. In thee is my trust. Not alone in thine attributes or in thy
promises, but in thyself. Others might confide where they chose, but David kept
to his God: in him he trusted always, only, confidently, and unreservedly. Leave
not my soul destitute; as it would be if the Lord did not remember and
fulfil his promise. To be destitute in circumstances is bad, but to be
destitute in soul is far worse; to be left of friends is a calamity, but to be
left of God would be destruction. Destitute of God is destitution with a
vengeance. The comfort is that God hath said, "I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee."
Verse
9. Keep me from, the snares which they have laid for me. He
had before asked, in Ps 141:3, that the door of his mouth might be kept; but
his prayer now grows into "Keep me." He seems more in trouble
about covert temptation than concerning open attacks. Brave men do not dread
battle, but they hate secret plots. We cannot endure to be entrapped like
unsuspecting animals; therefore we cry to the God of wisdom for protection. And
the gins of the workers of iniquity. These evil workers sought to catch
David in his speech or acts. This was in itself a piece of in equity, and so of
a piece with the rest of their conduct. They were bad themselves, and they
wished either to make him like themselves, or to cause him to seem so. If they
could not catch the good man in one way, they would try another; snares and
gins should be multiplied, for anyhow they were determined to work his ruin.
Nobody could preserve David but the Omniscient and Omnipotent One: he also will
preserve us. It is hard to keep out of snares which you cannot see, and to
escape gins which you cannot discover. Well might the much hunted Psalmist cry,
"Keep me."
Verse
10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal
escape. It may not be a Christian prayer, but it is a very just one, and it
takes a great deal of grace to refrain from crying Amen to it; in fact,
grace does not work towards making us wish otherwise concerning the enemies of
holy men. Do we not all wish the innocent to be delivered, and the guilty to
reap the result of their own malice? Of course we do, if we are just men. There
can be no wrong in desiring that to happen in our own case which we wish for
all good men. Yet is there a more excellent way.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. This psalm, like the one before it, is distinguished by a
pregnant brevity and the use of rare expressions, while at the same time it is
full of verbal and real coincidences with the other psalms of David. These
indications are so clear and undeniable, that a sceptical critic of great
eminence (De Wette) pronounces it one of the oldest psalms in the collection.—Joseph
Addison Alexander.
Whole
Psalm. Few psalms in so small a compass crowd together so many gems of
precious and holy truth.—Barton Bouchier.
Whole
Psalm. Many commentators are strongly of opinion that this psalm was
written as a memorial of that very interesting scene in the life of David
recorded in 1Sa 24:1-22, relating to his generous treatment of Saul. Though he
had an opportunity of putting his cruel persecutor to death in the cave of
Engedi, yet he spared his life, only cutting off his skirt, and not suffering
his followers to touch him; and when Saul had gone out of the cave, David,
going out after him, remonstrated with him from some distance in the gentlest
and most respectful language in regard to the injustice of his conduct towards
him. It is thought that the sixth verse contains so express a reference to this
very remarkable occurrence in David's history, as to leave little doubt that it
was the occasion on which the psalm was composed.—James Anderson's Note to Calvin,
in loc.
Whole
Psalm. The imagery and allusions of the psalm are in keeping; viz., the
oil which had lately anointed him; and the watch before his mouth, etc.,
suggested by the watching at the mouth of the cave, though ultimately referring
to the tabernacle service.—John Jebb.
Verse
1. LORD, I cry unto thee. Misbelief doth seek many ways for
delivery from trouble; but faith hath but one way,—to go to God, to wit, by
prayer, for whatsoever is needful.—David Dickson.
Verse
1. LORD, I cry unto thee. No distress or danger, how great
soever, shall stifle my faith or stop my mouth, but it shall make me more
earnest, and my prayers, like strong streams in narrow straits, shall bear down
all before them.—John Trapp.
Verse
1. Unto thee...unto me. Our prayer and God's mercy are like
two buckets in a well; while the one ascends, the other descends.—Ezekiel
Hopkins.
Verse
1. Note that the difference of tense, "I have cried"
(Heb., 70., and Vulgate) followed by "when I cry", signifies
the earnest perseverance of the saint in prayer, never ceasing, so long as
trouble lasts. And trouble does last so long as we are in the world; wherefore
the apostle teaches us to "Pray without ceasing."—Augustine and
Bruno, in Neale and Littledale.
Verses
1-5. That the Psalmist was now in some distress, whereof he was deeply
sensible, is evident from the vehemency of his spirit, which he expresses in
the reiteration of his request or supplication (Ps 141:1); and by his desire
that his "prayer might come before the Lord like incense, and the lifting
up of his hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2). The Jewish
expositors guess, not improbably, that in that allusion he had regard unto his
present exclusion from the holy services of the tabernacle, which in other
places he deeply complains of. For the matter of his prayer in the beginning of
the psalm, it respecteth himself, and his deportment under his present
condition, which he desireth may be harmless and holy, becoming himself, and
useful to others. And whereas he was two ways liable to miscarry; first, by too
high an exasperation of spirit against his oppressors and persecutors; and,
secondly, by a fraudulent and pusillanimous compliance with them in their
wicked courses;—which are the two extremes which men are apt sinfully to run
into in such conditions: he prays earnestly to be delivered from them both. The
first he hath respect unto in Ps 141:3, "Set a watch, O, LORD, before
my mouth; keep the door of my lips": namely, that he might not, under
those great provocations which were given him, break forth into an unseemly
intemperance of speech against his unjust oppressors, which sometimes fierce
and unreasonable cruelties will wrest from the most sedate and moderate
spirits. But it was the desire of this holy Psalmist, as in like cases it
should be ours, that his heart might be always preserved in such a frame, under
the conduct of the Spirit of God, as not to be surprised into an expression of
distempered passion in any of his words or sayings. The other he regards in his
earnest supplication to be delivered from it, Ps 141:4: "Incline not my
heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity:
and let me not eat of their dainties." There are two parts of his
request unto the purpose intended. 1. That by the power of God's grace
influencing his mind and soul, his heart might not be inclined unto any
communion or society with his wicked adversaries in their wickedness. 2. That
he might be preserved from a liking of, or a longing after those things, which
are the baits and allurements whereby men are apt to be drawn into societies
and conspiracies with the workers of iniquity; "And let me not eat of
their dainties." See Pr 1:10-14. For he here describeth the condition
of men prospering for a season in a course of wickedness; they first jointly
give up themselves unto the practice of iniquity, and then together solace
themselves in those satisfactions of their lusts, with which their power and
interest in the world do furnish them.
These
are the "dainties", for which an impotent longing and desire
do betray the minds of unstable persons unto a compliance with ways of sin and
folly: for I look on these "dainties" as comprising whatever
the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life can afford.
All these David prays to be delivered from any inclination unto; especially
when they are made the allurements of a course of sin. In the enjoyment of
these "dainties", it is the common practice of wicked men to
soothe up, and mutually encourage one another in the way and course wherein
they are engaged. And this completes that poor felicity which in this world so
many aspire unto, and whereof alone they are capable. The whole of it is but a
society in perishing sensual enjoyments, without control, and with mutual
applause from one another. This the Psalmist had a special regard unto when
casting his eye towards another communion and society which he longed after (Ps
141:5). He saw there not dainties but rebukes: he discerned that which is most
opposite unto those mutual applause and rejoicing in one another, which is the
salt and cement of all evil societies, for he noticed rebukes and reproofs for
the least miscarriages that shall be observed. Now whereas the dainties which
some enjoy in a course of prosperous wickedness, are that alone which seems to
have anything in it amongst them that is desirable, and on the other side
rebukes and reproofs are those alone which seem to have any sharpness, or
matter of uneasiness and dislike in the society of the godly, David balances
that which seemeth to be sharpest in the one society, against that which seems
to be sweetest in the other, and, without respect unto other advantages,
prefers the one above the other. Hence, some read the beginning of the words, "Let
the righteous rather smite me", meaning, "rather than that I
should eat of the dainties of the ungodly."—John Owen.
Verse
2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee. Margin, directed.
The Hebrew word means to fit; to establish; to make firm. The Psalmist desires
that his prayer should not be like that which is feeble, languishing, easily
dissipated; but that it should be like that which is firm and secure.—Albert
Barnes.
Verse
2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense.
Literally, Let my prayer, incense, be set in order before Thee,—implying that
prayer was in the reality what incense was in the symbol ...Passing to New
Testament Scripture, though still only to that portion which refers to Old
Testament times, we are told of the people without being engaged in player,
while Zacharias was offering incense within the Sanctuary (Lu 1:10); they were
in spirit going along with the priestly service. And in the book of Revelation
the prayers of saints are once and again identified with the offering of incense
on the golden altar before the throne. Re 5:8 8:3-4.—Patrick Fairbairn, in
"The Typology of Scripture."
Verse
2. Set forth. Prayer is knowing work, believing work,
thinking work, searching work, humbling work, and nothing worth if heart and
hand do not join in it.—Thomas Adam, 1701-1784.
Verse
2. Set forth before thee as incense, whose fragrant smoke
still ascends upwards. But many times in the very ascent, whilst it strives up
higher and higher, infimo phantasmate verberatur, saith Gregory,
"it is beaten back again by earthly imaginations which intervene",
and then is extenuated by degrees, and vanisheth to nothing. Therefore the
prophet prays ut diriyatur oratio, "that his prayer may be set
before God", ut stubiliatur;so some render it out of the Hebrew,
"that it may be established", that it may neither evaporate itself
nor be whiffed about with the wind of vain and contrary imaginations, which
come ab extrinseco from without], and may corrupt it.—Anthony Farindon.
Verse
2. As incense. That in general by incense prayer is
signified, the Scripture expressly testifieth. And there is a fourfold
resemblance between them:
1.
In that it was beaten and pounded before it was used. So doth acceptable
prayer proceed from a broken and contrite heart: Ps 51:17.
2. It
was of no use until fire was put under it, and that taken from the altar.
Nor is that prayer of any virtue or efficacy which is no kindled by the fire
from above, the Holy Spirit of God, which we have from our altar, Christ Jesus.
3. It
naturally ascended upwards towards heaven, as all offerings in the Hebrew
are called twle, "ascensions", uprisings. And this is the design of
prayer, to ascend unto the throne of God: "I will direct unto thee, and
will look up"; that is, pray: Ps 5:3.
4.
It yielded a sweet savour; which was one end of it in temple services, wherein
there was so much burning of flesh and blood. So doth prayer yield a sweet
savour unto God; a savour of rest, wherein he is well pleased.—John Owen.
Verse
2. As incense...as the evening sacrifice. Though this address
of mine must necessarily want all that solemnity of preparation required in the
service of thy holy Tabernacle, the cloud of incense and perfume, etc., the
"mincha" or oblation of fine flour, etc., yet let the purity and fervour
of my heart, and the innocency of my hands, now lifted up to thee in tiffs sad
hour of my distress, be accepted instead of all these, and prevail for
deliverance and a safe retreat to me and my companions.—Charles Peters
(—1777), in "A Critical Dissertation on the Book of Job,"
1751.
Verse
2. As the evening sacrifice. This should be our daily
service, as a lamb was offered up morning and evening for a sacrifice. But,
alas! how dull and dead are our devotions! Like Pharaoh's chariots, they drive
on heavily. Some, like Balaam's ass, scarce ever open their mouths twice.—Thomas
Adams.
Verse
2. My hands. Spreading forth our hands in believing and
fervent prayer is the only way of grasping mercy.—F. E., in "The Saints
of Ebenezer," 1667.
Verse
2. In the gorgeous ceremonial worship of the Hebrews, none of the
senses were excluded from taking part in the service...The sense of smell
occupied, perhaps, the most prominent place; for the acceptance of the worship
was always indicated by a symbol borrowed from this sense: "The Lord
smelled a sweet savour." The prayer of the people ascended as incense, and
the lifting up of their hands as the evening sacrifice. The offering of incense
formed the essential part of the religious service. The altar of incense
occupied one of the most conspicuous and honoured positions in the tabernacle
and temple... On this altar a censer full of incense poured forth its fragrant
clouds every morning and evening; and yearly, as the day of atonement came
round, when the high priest entered the holy of holies, he filled a censer with
live coals from the sacred fire on the altar of burnt offerings, and bore it
into the sanctuary, where lie threw upon the burning coals the "sweet
incense beaten small", which he had brought in his hand. Without this
smoking censer lie was forbidden, on pain of death, to enter into the awful
shrine of Jehovah. Notwithstanding the washing of his flesh, and the linen
garments with which he was clothed, tie dare not enter the holiest of all with
the blood of atonement, unless he could personally shelter himself under a
cloud of incense.
It
has been supposed by some writers that incense was invented for the purpose of
concealing or neutralizing the noxious effluvia caused by the number of beasts
slaughtered every day in the sanctuary. Other writers have attached a mystical
import to it, and believed that it was a symbol of the breath of the world
arising in praise to the Creator, the four ingredients of which it was composed
representing the four elements. While a third class, looking upon the
tabernacle as the palace of God, the theocratic King of Israel, and the ark of
the covenant as his throne, regarded the incense as merely corresponding to the
perfume so lavishly employed about the person and appointments of an Oriental
monarch. It may doubtless have been intended primarily to serve these purposes
and convey these meanings, but it derived its chief importance in connection
with the ceremonial observances of the Mosaic ritual from the fact of its being
the great symbol of prayer. It was offered at the time when the people were in
the posture and act of devotion; and their prayers were supposed to be
presented to God by the priest, and to ascend to him in the smoke and odour of
that fragrant offering. Scripture is full of allusions to it, understood in
this beautiful symbolical sense. Acceptable, prevailing prayer was a sweet
smelling savour to the Lord; and prayer that was unlawful, or hypocritical, or
unprofitable, was rejected with disgust by the organ of smell.
Doubtless
the Jews felt, when they saw the soft white clouds of fragrant smoke rising
slowly from the altar of incense, as if the voice of the priest were silently
but eloquently pleading in that expressive emblem in their behalf. The
association of sound was lost in that of smell, and the two senses were blended
in one. And this symbolical mode of supplication, as Dr. George Wilson has
remarked, has this one advantage over spoken or written prayer, that it
appealed to those who were both blind and deaf, a class that are usually shut
out from social worship by their affliction. Those who could not hear the
prayers of the priest could join in devotional exercises symbolized by incense,
through the medium of their sense of smell; and the hallowed impressions shut
out by one avenue were admitted to the mind and heart by another. The altar of
incense stood in the closest connection with the altar of burnt offerings. The
blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the horns of both on the great day
of annual atonement. Morning and evening, as soon as the sacrifice was offered,
the censer poured forth its fragrant contents, so that the perpetual incense
within ascended simultaneously with the perpetual burnt offering outside.
Without the live coals from off the sacrificial altar, the sacred incense could
not be kindled; and without the incense previously filling the holy place, the
blood of atonement from the altar of burnt offering could not be sprinkled on
the mercy seat. Beautiful and expressive type of the perfect sacrifice and the
all prevailing intercession of Jesus—of intercession founded upon atonement, of
atonement preceded and followed by intercession! Beautiful and expressive type,
too, of the prayers of believers kindled by the altar fire of Christ's sacrifice,
and perfumed by his merits!—Hugh Macmillan, in "The Ministry of
Nature," 1871.
Verse
3. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth, etc.
1.
A man would never use this language without a conviction of the importance
of the subject ...Everything is transacted by speech, in natural, civil,
and religious concerns: how much, therefore, depends on the good or evil
management of the tongue! What an ardour of holy love and friendship, or of
anger and malice, may a few words fan into a flame! The tongue is the principal
instrument in the cause of God; and it is the chief engine of the devil; give
him this, and lie asks no more—there is no mischief or misery he will not
accomplish by it. The use, the influence of it, therefore, is inexpressible;
and words are never to be considered only as effects, but as causes,
the operation of which can never be fully imagined. Let us suppose a case, a
case, I fear, but too common. You drop, in the thoughtlessness of conversation,
or for the sake of argument or wit, some irreligious, sceptical, expression—it
lodges in the memory of a child, or a servant—it takes root in a soil
favourable to such seed—it gradually springs up, and brings forth fruit, in the
profanation of the Sabbath; the neglect of the means of grace; in the reading of
improper books; in the choice of dangerous companions;—who can tell where it
will end? But there is a Being who knows where it began. It will be
acknowledged that some have it in their power, by reason of their office,
talents, and influence, to do much more injury than others; but none are so
insignificant as to be harmless.
2.
A man would never use this language without a conviction that he is in
danger of transgression. And if David was conscious of a liableness to err,
shall we ever presume on our safety? Our danger arises from the depravity of
our nature. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked"; and "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"
Our danger arises from the contagion of example. There is nothing in which mankind
are more universally culpable than in the disorders of speech. Yet with these
we are constantly surrounded; and to these we have been accustomed from our
impressible infancy. We are in danger from the frequency of speech. "In
the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." We must of necessity speak
often; but we often speak without necessity. Duty calls us to intermingle much
with our fellow creatures; but we are too little in the closet, and too much in
the crowd—and when we are in company we forget the admonition, "Let every
man be swift to hear, and slow to speak."
3.
A man would never use this language without a conviction of inability to
preserve himself. The Bible teaches us this truth, not only doctrinally,
but historically. The examples of good men, and men eminent in godliness,
confirm it in the very article before us. Moses, the meekest man in the earth,
"spake unadvisedly with his lips." You have heard of the patience of
Job, but he "cursed the day of his birth"; and Jeremiah, the prophet
of the Lord, did the same. Peter said, "Though all men should be offended
because of thee, I will never be offended; though I should die with thee, yet
will I not deny thee." But how did he use his tongue a few hours after?
Then "began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man!"
4.
A man would never use this language without a conviction of the wisdom of
applying to God for the assistance he needs. Prayer is the effect of our
weakness, and the expression of our dependence. It confesses the agency of God.
(a)
In the first place—God is equal to our preservation.
(b) His succours are not to be obtained without prayer.
(c) Prayer always brings the assistance it implores.
—Condensed from W. Jay's Sermon on "The Regulation of the Tongue."
Verse
3. Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth, etc. Watching and
prayer are often joined together. We are best kept when recommended into God's
hand. I do observe here, First, That unadvised and passionate speeches do
easily drop from us in our troubles, especially in our persecution. Secondly,
That a godly, conscientious man is very tender of these, as of all evil. He
that would live in communion with God for the present, and hope to appear with
comfort before him hereafter, is sensible of the least thing that tends to God's
displeasure, and God's dishonour: this is the true spirit of one that will be
owned by Christ at the last day. Thirdly, There is no way to prevent being
provoked to impatience and rashness of speech, or any evil, but by keeping a
watch, and renewing our obligations to God. Fourthly, Whoever would keep a
watch must call in the aid and assistance of God's grace; "Lord, set a
watch before my mouth."—Thomas Manton.
Verse
3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, etc. Thus holy men
have kept the sessions at home, and made their hearts the foremen of the jury,
and examined themselves as we examine others. The fear of the Lord stood at the
door of their souls, to examine every thought before it went in, and at the
door of their lips, to examine every word before it went out, whereby they
escaped a thousand sins which we commit, as though we had no other work.—Henry
Smith.
Verse
3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Nature having made
my lips to be a door to my words, let grace keep that door, that no word may be
suffered to go out which may any way tend to the dishonour of God, or the hurt
of others.—Matthew Henry.
Verse
3. Set a watch, etc. Let a seal for words not to be spoken
lie on the tongue. A watch over words is better than over wealth.—Lucian.
Verse
3. Keep the door of my lips. That it move not creaking and
complaining, as on rusty hinges, for want of the oil of joy and gladness. David
had somewhat to do with his tongue, as we see (Ps 39:1,3); and when he had
carted the ark, how untowardly he spake, as if the fault were more in God than
himself, that there was such a breach made in Uzzah (1Ch 13:12). It was but
need thus to pray.—John Trapp.
Verse
4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, etc. The present
pleasure and commodity of sin is in high estimation with the sinner, and much
sweeter to him than what he may lawfully enjoy; the pleasures of sin are his
delicates. No man can keep himself from being taken with the allurements of a
sinful course, except the Lord preserve him: Let me not eat of their
dainties. The holiest men in Scripture have been most sensible of the
impotency of their own free will, and of their inability to resist temptations,
or to bring the principles of grace into action; most diffident of themselves,
most dependent upon God, most careful to make use of means, and conscientious
in following of ordinances, as their prayers do testify: "Incline not
my heart to any evil thing", etc.—David Dickson.
Verse
4. Incline not my heart. Heb. Let not be inclined my heart.—John
Jebb.
Verse
4. My heart. That man is like Esau which had an inheritance,
which had a heart but now he hath not possession of his own; therefore, give
God thy heart, that he may keep it; and not a piece of thy heart, not a room in
thy heart, but thy heart. The heart divided, dieth. God is not like the mother
which would have the child divided, but like the natural mother, which said,
rather than it should be divided, let her take all. Let the devil have all, if
he which gave it be not worthy of it. God hath no cope-mate, therefore he will
have no parting of stakes, but all or none; and therefore he which asks here
thy heart, in the sixth of Deuteronomy and the fifth verse, asketh "all
thy heart, all thy soul, and all thy strength"; thrice he requireth all,
lest we should keep a thought behind. Yet it is thy heart, that is, a vain
heart, a barren heart, a sinful heart, until thou give it unto God, and then it
is the spouse of Christ, the temple of the Holy Ghost, and the image of God, so
changed, and formed, and refined, that God calls it a new heart. There is such
strife for the heart as there was for Moses's body. "Give it me",
saith the Lord; "give it me", saith the tempter; "give it
me", saith the pope; "give it me", saith riches; "give it
me", saith pleasure; as though thou must needs give it to some one. Now
here is the choice, whether thou wilt give it to God or the devil; God's heart
or the devil's heart; whose wilt thou be?—Henry Smith.
Verse
4. Let me not eat of their dainties. Sin is not only meat,
but sweet meat, not only bread, but pleasant bread to an evil heart. Daniel for
some weeks ate no pleasant bread; he ate bread to keep life and soul together,
but he forbare feasting or good cheer. Sin is a feast to a carnal man, it is
his good cheer, yea, it is "dainties" to him. David, speaking
of wicked men, says, Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise
wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
These "dainties" may be expounded either for the prosperity
that comes in by wicked practices (some by wicked ways get not only their
ordinary food but "dainties"); or those "dainties"
are sin itself: they feasted themselves in doing evil: "Lord, let me
not eat of their dainties." If that be their food I had rather starve
than eat with them.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse
4. Their dainties. The enemies of David were sensual and
luxurious; and they would have gladly admitted him to share in their banquets,
if his character had resembled their own. He entreats to be preserved from
inducement so to do.—William Walford.
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me, etc. This verse is so obscure
as to be almost unintelligible. According to the English versions, it expresses
his willingness to be rebuked by good men for his benefit. But this sense is not
only hard to be extracted from the words, but foreign from the context. Of the
many contradictory interpretations which have been proposed the most probable
is that which makes the sentence mean, that the sufferings endured by the good
man, even at the hand of the wicked, are chastisements inflicted by a righteous
God in justice and with mercy, and as such may be likened to a festive
ointment, which the head of the sufferer should not refuse, as he will still
have need of consolation and occasion to invoke God, in the midst of trials and
of mischiefs yet to be experienced.—Joseph Addison Alexander.
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me, The word olh is seldom used in
Scripture but to signify a severe stroke which shakes the subject smitten, and
causeth it to tremble; see Pr 23:35 1Sa 14:16 Ps 74:6; and it is used for the
stroke of the hammer on the anvil in fashioning of the iron (Isa 41:7).
Wherefore the word dox following may be taken adverbially, as a lenitive of
that severity which this word imports: "Let him smite me, but" leniter,
benigne, misericorditer, "gently, kindly, friendly, mercifully":
and so some translations read the words, "Let the righteous smite me
friendly, or kindly."—John Owen.
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness, etc.
Grace will teach a Christian to take those potions which are wholesome, though
they be not toothsome. Faithful reproof is a token of love, and therefore may
well be esteemed a kindness. Such wounding of a friend is healing, and so David
might well call it an excellent oil. And he did not only say so, which
is easy and ordinary, but acted accordingly. He did not as the papists, who
highly commend holy water, but turn away their faces when it comes to be
sprinkled on them. When he had by sin, and continuance in it, so gangrened his
flesh, and corrupted himself, that he was in danger of death, he suffered his
sores to be thoroughly searched without regret. Nathan was the chirurgeon whom
God employed to search that wound which had divers mouths for festering in his
soul; and truly he did not dally with his patient, though he were a prince, but
thrust his instrument to the bottom; yet whatever pain it put him to, he took
it patiently, and was so far from being angry with the prophet, that he made
him one of his privy council. It is a sign of a polluted nature for a man, like
a serpent, if he be but touched, to gather poison, and vomit it up at the
party. "Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee": Pr 9:8.—George
Swinnock.
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me, etc. If the righteous smite us
by reproofs, it must be taken as a kindness, and as a precious balsam, which
doth not break our head, but heal us. Not that we are bound to belie ourselves
in compliance with every man's censorious humour that will accuse us; but we
must be readier to censure ourselves than others, and readier to confess a
fault than to expect a confession from others whom we reprove. Sincerity and
serious repentance will be honourable in that person who is most careful to
avoid sin, and most ready penitently to confess it when he hath been overcome,
and truly thankful to those that call him to repentance; as being more desirous
that God and his laws and religion should have the glory of their holiness,
than that he himself should have the undue glory of innocency; and escape the
deserved shame of his sin. It is one of the most dangerous diseases of
professors, and one of the greatest scandals of this age, that persons taken
for eminently religious arc more impatient of plain, though just, reproof than
many a drunkard, swearer, or fornicator; and when they have spent hours or days
in the seeming earnest confession of their sin, and lament before God and man
that they cannot do it with more grief and tears, yet they take it for a
heinous injury in another that will say half so much against them, and take him
for a malignant enemy of the godly who will call them as they call themselves.—Richard
Baxter (1615-1691), in "The Morning Exercises."
Verse
5. Let the righteous smite me. If a righteous or a right wise
man smite and reprove, he will do it, 1. Sine felle, without gall,
without bitterness. 2. Sine publicatione, without publishing, divulging,
or telling it to the world. 3. Sine contumelia, without disgrace—to
reform his friend, not to disgrace him. 4. Sine adulatione, without
flattery. 5. Nonn sine Deo, not without God.—John Gore, in a Sermon
entitled "Unknowne Kindnesse", 1635.
Verse
5. The righteous, etc. The minister cannot be always
preaching; two or three hours, may be, in a week, he spends among his people in
the pulpit, holding the glass of the gospel before their faces; but the lives
of professors, these preach all the week long: if they were but holy and
exemplary, they would be as a repetition of the preacher's sermon to their families
and neighbours among whom they converse, and keep the sound of his doctrine
continually ringing in their ears. This would give Christians an amiable
advantage in doing good to their carnal neighbours by counsel and reproof,
which now is seldom done, and when done it proves to little purpose, because
not backed with their own exemplary walking. "It behooves him", saith
Tertullian, "that would counsel or reprove another, to guard his speech
with the authority of his own conversation, lest, wanting that, what he says
puts himself to the blush." We do not love one that hath a stinking breath
to come very near us; such, therefore, had need have a sweet scented life.
Reproofs are a good physic, but they have an unpleasant reception; it is hard
for men not to throw them back on the face of him that gives them. Now nothing
is more powerful to keep a reproof from thus coming back than the holiness of
the person that reproves. "Let the righteous smite me", saith
David, "it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an
excellent oil, which shall not break my head." See how well it is
taken from such a hand, from the authority that holiness carries with it. None
but a vile wretch will smite a righteous man with reproach for smiting him with
a reproof, if softly laid on, and like oil fermented, and wrought into him, as
it should, with compassion and love to his soul! Thus we see how influential
the power of holiness would be unto the wicked, neither would it be less upon
our brethren and fellow Christians. Holy David professed he would take it as a
kindness for the righteous man to smite him; yea, as kindly as if he broke a
box of precious oil upon his head, which was amongst the Jews a high expression
of love.—William Gurnall.
Verse
5. It shall be a kindness.
1.
It is a kindness reducere errarvin, to bring back the wandering.
2. Senate cegrotum, to recover the sick.
3. Suscitare letbargum, to awake, to stir up the lethargic, the sleepy.
4. Ligure insanum, to bind a madman.
5. Liberare perditum, to save a lost man, one in imminent danger.
—John Gore.
Verse
5. It shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.
Some persons pride themselves on being blunt, or, as they call it,
"honest"; but very blunt people do little good to others, and get
little love to themselves. The Scriptures recommend gentleness and kindness.
Reproof should fall like the dew, and not like the rushing hailstorm. The "oil"
insinuates itself; the stone wounds and then rebounds. Christians should take
heed of getting fond of the work of "rebuking." Such "spiritual
constables" do a great deal of mischief without intending it. They are in
a church what a very witty and sarcastic person is in society, or what a tell
tale is in a school; and approximate very closely to that class which the
apostle terms "busy bodies in other men's matters." Our manner must
be tender and winning. The nail of reproof, says an old writer, must be well
oiled in kindness before it is driven home. Meddling with the faults of others
is like attempting to move a person afflicted with the rheumatic gout: it must
be done slowly and tenderly, nor must we be frightened by an out cry or two.
The great thing is to show the person that you really love him; and if you
manifest this in the sight of God, he will bless your efforts, and give you
favour in the sight of an erring brother.—Christian Treasury.
Verse
5. It shall be an excellent oil. Certain oils are said to
have a most salutary effect on the head; hence in fevers, or any other
complaints which affect the head, the medical men always recommend oil. I have
known people who were deranged, cured in a very short time by nothing more than
the application of a peculiar kind of oil to the head. There are, however,
other kinds which are believed, when thus applied, to produce delirium. Thus
the reproofs of the righteous were compared to "excellent oil",
which produced a most salutary effect on the head. So common is this practice
of anointing the head, that all who can afford it do it every week. But,
strange as it may appear, the crown of their heads is the place selected for
chastisement; thus owners of slaves, or husbands, or school masters, beat the
heads of the offenders with their knuckles. Should all urchin come late to
school, or forget his lesson, the pedagogue says to some of the other boys,
"Go beat his head!" "Begone, fellow! or I will beat thy
head." Should a man be thus chastised by an inferior, he quotes the old
proverb: "If my head is to be beaten, let it be done with the fingers that
have rings on"; meaning a man of rank. "Yes, yes; let a holy man
smite my head! and what of that? it is an excellent oil." "My master
has been beating my head, but it has been good oil for me."—Joseph
Roberts.
Verse
5. Oil, which shall not break my head. When I first took this
text in hand, this seemed unto me a very strange and uncouth expression. If the
Psalmist had said, It shall be a stone that shall not break my head, etc., we
had easily understood him; but to speak of an oil, or a balm, which we know to
be so soft, so supple, so lithe and gentle an ointment, that he should speak of
breaking his head with oil, it is strange. I confess it troubled me a while,
till at length I conceived it might be spoken by contraries; as when a
physician gives a patient some pectoral, or cordial, and saith, Take this, it
will not hurt you; his meaning is, it will help and do him good. So this oil shall
not break my head;that is, it shall heal it, being broken by my own
corruption, by Satan's temptations, and by the evil influence of such as flatter
me in my sins.—John Gore.
Verse
5. If David could say of his enemy that cursed him, "Let him
alone, for God hath bidden him to curse"; much more safely mayest thou say
of thy friend that reproves thee, "Let him alone, for God hath bidden him
to smite." And as the apostle saith of ministers, that God "doth
entreat you by us"; so persuade yourselves that God doth reprove you by
them.—John Gore.
Verse
5. It was the saying of a heat hell, though no heathenish saying,
"That he who would be good, must either have a faithful friend to instruct
him, or a watchful enemy to correct him." Should we murder a physician
because he comes to cure us; or like him worse, because he would make us
better? The flaming sword of reprehension is but to keep us from the forbidden
fruit of transgression. "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be
a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall
not break my head." Let him smite me as with a hammer, for so
the word signifies. A Boanerges is as necessary as a Barnabas.—William
Seeker.
Verse
5. Yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. That is,
if ever they who are my reprovers fall into calamity, though they may think
they provoked me so by reproving me, that they have lost my love, and have cast
themselves out of my prayers, or that I will never speak well of them or for
them again; yet I will pray for them with all my heart, as their matter shall
require. I will pray for them when they have most need of prayer, even "in
their calamities." Some heighten the sense thus,—The more they sharpen
their reproof, the more I think myself bound to pray for them. It shows an
excellent spirit, not to be hindered from doing good to others by anything they
do or speak against us, nor by their sharpest (though perhaps mistaken)
reproofs of us. Thus it was that that good man Job "prayed for his
friends", who had spoken much against him, and not only reproved him
without cause, but reproached him without charity.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse
6. When their judges are overthrown, etc. When the judgments
in reserve for the leaders of my enemies shall come upon them, they will
perceive too late how reasonable are my words, and wish that they had hearkened
to them sooner.—Joseph Addison Alexander.
Verse
6. Overthrown. The verb rendered "overthrown" is
used of Jezebel in 2Ki 9:33; "Throw her down. So they threw her
down."—Speaker's Commentary.
Verse
6. They shall hear my words; for they are sweet. This is
especially true of all the words which David spake by inspiration, or the
Spirit of God spake to him; articulately in his book of Psalms; concerning the
Messiah, the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it; of the rich
experiences of grace he had, and the several doctrines of the gospel declared
by him; which were sweet, delightful, and entertaining to those who have ears
to hear such things; or whose ears are opened to hear them, so as to understand
them and distinguish them, but to others not.—John Gill.
Verse
6. They shall hear my words; for they are sweet. Those that slighted
the word of God before, will relish it and be glad of it when they are in
affliction; for that opens the ear to instruction. When the world is bitter the
word is sweet. Oppressed innocency cannot gain a hearing with those that live
in pomp and pleasure; but when they come to be overthrown themselves, they will
have more compassionate thoughts of the afflicted.—Matthew Henry.
Verse
6. For they are sweet. They shall be pleasant; mild; gentle;
equitable; just. After the hash and severe enactments of Saul, after enduring
his acts of tyranny, the people will be glad to welcome me, and to live under
the laws of a just and equal administration. The passage, therefore, expresses
confidence that Saul and his hosts would be overthrown, and that the people of the
land would gladly hail the accession to the throne of one who had been anointed
to reign over them.—Albert Barnes.
Verses
6-7. The mild and dutiful behaviour of David towards Saul and his
friends are set together by way of contrast, in the strongest light, from the
instances of each sort here produced. The first is, David's humanity towards
Saul, in giving him his life at two several times, when he had it in his power
to destroy him as he pleased. "Their judges have been dismissed in the
rocky places; and have heard my words that they are sweet"; that is,
"Their princes have been dismissed in safety, when I had them at an
advantage in those rocky deserts; and only heard me expostulate with them in
the gentlest words." The other is, Saul's barbarity and cruelty towards
David (or his friends, which is much the same) in the horrid massacre of
Ahimelech and the priests, by the hand of Doeg the Edomite, done in such a
savage manner, that he compares it to the chopping and cleaving wood; "Like
as when one cutteth and cleaveth, so have our bones been scattered on the earth
at the command of Saul"; for so I read the Hebrew words, le-pi
Saul, at the mouth, that is, the command of Saul. Should we suppose this
passage to refer to the first time of David's sparing Saul, viz., when he had
him in his power in the cave of Engedi (here called jede selay),
the sides of the rock, or the rocky places, the speech he made on this occasion
when he called after Saul (and which is recorded in 1Sa 24:8-16.) might well be
called sweet or pleasant words. For they set his own innocence
and the king's unjust behaviour to him in so strong a light, and with all that
gentleness and mildness, and even this hard hearted prince could not forbear
being greatly affected with it for the present; and we are told (1Sa 24:16-17)
that "he lifted up his voice and wept."—Charles Peters.
Verse
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, etc. The
primary reference may be to the slaughter of the priests by the command of
Saul, 1Sa 22:16-19. The language, however, may be illustrative of the many
massacres like that on the eve of St. Bartholomew, so numerous as to be
scattered on the face of the earth, marking the passage of pious martyrs from
this world to a better, and testifying where the blood of the slain shall be
disclosed for the judgment of their murderers.—W. Wilson.
Verse
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, etc.
Assuming the very extreme, it is a look of hope into the future: should his
bones and the bones of his followers be even scattered about the mouth of Sheol
(cf. the Syrian picture of Sheol: "the dust upon its threshold, `al-escufteh",
Deutsche Morgenland. Zeit-schrift, 20. 513), their soul below, their bones
above—it would nevertheless be only as when one in ploughing cleaves the earth;
i.e., they do not lie there in order that they may continue lying, but that
they may rise up anew, as the seed that is sown sprouts up out of the upturned
earth.—Franz Delitzsch.
Verse
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth. That is to
say, I and my company are in a dying condition, free among the dead; yea, if
taken we should be put to most cruel deaths, hewn in pieces, or pulled
limbmeal, and left unburied; and our dead bodies mangled by a barbarous
inhumanity, as wood cleavers make the shivers fly hither and thither. This is
the perilous case of me and my partisans.—John Trapp.
Verse
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth. This seems
to be strong eastern painting, and almost figurative language; but that it may
be strictly true, the following extract demonstrates: "At five o'clock we
left Garigana, our journey being still to the eastward of north; and, at a
quarter past six in the evening, arrived at the village of that name, whose
inhabitants had all perished with hunger the year before; their wretched bones
being all unburied, and scattered upon the surface of the ground, where the
village formerly stood. We encamped among the bones of the dead, as no space
could be found free from them; and on the 23rd, at six in the morning, full of
horror at this miserable spectacle, we set out for Teawa."—(James
Bruce's Travels.) To the Jews such a spectacle must have been very
dreadful, as the want of burial was esteemed one of the greatest calamities
which could befall them.—Burder's "Oriental Customs."
Verse
7. Like one ploughing and cleaving in the earth. This clause
may be explained not of cleaving wood but ploughing, to which the first verb is
applied in Arabic. Like (one) ploughing and cleaving (making furrows) in
the earth, not for the sake of mangling its surface, but to make it
fruitful and productive, (so) our bones are scattered at the mouth of
hell as the necessary means of a glorious resurrection.—Joseph Addison
Alexander.
Verse
7. Who can attend the digging of a grave, and view the ruins then
disclosed, without exclaiming, Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,
as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth?—George Horne.
Verse
8. Mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord. If you would keep
your mind fixed in prayer, keep your eye fixed. Much vanity comes in at the
eye. When the eyes wander in prayer, the heart wanders. To think to keep the
heart fixed in prayer, and yet let the eyes gaze abroad, is as if one should
think to keep his house sate, yet let the windows be open.—Thomas Watson.
Verse
8. Leave not my soul destitute. The literal Hebrew is, Pour
not out my soul, but keep it in thy cup of salvation.—Agellius. Compare Isa
53:12: "He hath poured out his soul unto death."
Verse
8. Leave not my soul destitute, or, "Cast not out my
soul." That is, cast not my life away, as water, which is of no
account, is cast out of a vessel containing it.—Daniel Cresswell.
Verse
8. Leave not my soul destitute. His soul knew what it was to
be "destitute"; he had known the misery of spiritual beggary
and soul poverty. It was not with him as natural poverty is with the rich, a
matter of speculation, a mere matter of theory; but a matter of personal and
painful experience...It is in the margin "Make not my soul bare",
Strip me not of every hope; leave me not completely naked; abandon me not to
nature's beggary and misery; let me not go down into the pit with all my sins
upon my head; leave not my soul destitute of pardon and peace.—Joseph C.
Philpot.
Verses
8-10.
O
pour not out my soul, I pray,
From the dark snare preserve my way,
The chambers of the blind entangling net,
Which by my path the powers of evil set.
Behold them hid, the godless crew,
Low in the toils they darkly drew:
The while, with gathering heart and watchful eye
I wait mine hour to pass victorious by.
—John Keble.
Verses
9-10. Snares, Gins, Nets. The usual method of capturing or killing the
lion in Palestine was by pitfalls or nets, to both of which there are many
references in the Scriptures. The mode of hunting the lion with nets was
identical with that which is practised in India at the present time. The
precise locality of the lion's dwelling place having been discovered, a
circular wall of net is arranged round it, or if only a few nets can be
obtained, they are set in a curved form, the concave side being towards the
lion. They then send dogs into the thicket, hurl stones and sticks at the den,
shoot arrows into it, fling burning torches at it, and so irritate and alarm
the animal that it rushes against the net, which is so made that it falls down
and envelops the animal in its folds. If the nets be few, the drivers go to the
opposite side of the den, and induce the lion to escape in the direction where
he sees no foes, but where he is sure to run against the treacherous net. Other
large and dangerous animals were also captured by the same means. Another and
more common, because an easier and a cheaper method, was, by digging a deep
pit, covering the mouth with a slight covering of sticks and earth, and driving
the animal upon the treacherous covering. It is an easier method than the net,
because after the pit is once dug, the only trouble lies in throwing the
covering over its mouth. But it is not so well adapted for taking beasts alive,
as they are likely to be damaged, either by the fall into the pit, or by the
means used in getting them out again. Animals, therefore, that are caught in
pits are generally, though not always, killed before they are taken out. The
net, however, envelops the animal so perfectly, and renders it so helpless,
that it can be easily bound and taken away. The hunting net is very expensive,
and requires a large staff of men to work it, so that none but a rich man could
use the net in hunting. Besides the net, several other modes of bird catching
were used by the ancient Jews, just as is the case at the present day. Boys,
for example, who catch birds for their own consumption, and not for the market,
can do so by means of various traps, most of which are made on the principle of
the noose, or snare. Sometimes a great number of hair nooses are set in places
to which the birds are decoyed, so that in hopping about, many of them are sure
to be entangled in the snares. Sometimes the noose is ingeniously suspended in
a narrow passage which the birds are likely to traverse, and sometimes a simple
fall trap is employed.—J. G. Wood.
Verse
10. Into their own nets. The word rendered "nets"
occurs only in this place, as the closely corresponding word in Ps 140:10,
which is rendered "deep pits", occurs there only.—Speaker's
Commentary.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1.
1.
The Perpetuity of Prayer: "I cry. I cry."
2. The Personality: "unto thee", "unto me."
3. The Practicalness: "Make haste; give ear."
Verse
1. Holy haste.
1.
The saint hasting to God.
2. The saint hastening God.
3. God's sure hastening to his help.—W. B. H.
Verses
1-2.
1.
Prayer put forth:
a)
With urgency: "Make haste unto me."
b) With fervency: "Give ear", etc.
2.
Prayer set forth: "Let my prayer be set forth", etc. When hearing is
obtained there is composure and order in prayer. When the fire is kindled the
incense rises.
3.
Prayer held forth: "The lifting up of my hands as the evening
sacrifice", as constant and accepted.—G. R.
Verse
2. True prayer acceptable as incense and as the evening sacrifice.
It is spiritual, solemn, ordained of God, brings Christ to remembrance.
Verse
3.
1.
The mouth a door.
2. A watchman needed.
3. The Lord fulfilling that office.
Verse
4. Total abstinence from evil desires, practices, and delights.
Verse
4. A prayer,
1.
For the repression of every evil tendency in the heart: "Incline not my
heart", etc.
2.
For the prevention of any association with the wicked in their sinful works:
"To practise", etc.
3.
For a holy contempt of the temporal pleasure or profit placed in our way
through the sin of others: "Let me not eat", etc. Note, many who will
not engage in a wicked act do not object to participate in its gains.—J. F.
Verse
4. Deprecation of,
1.
Devil's desires.
2. Devil's deeds.
3. Devil's dainties.—W. B. H.
Verse
5. Rebukes of good men.
1.
Invited.
2. Appreciated: "it shall be a kindness."
3. Utilized: "an excellent oil."
4. Cheerfully endured: "not break my head."
5. Repaid, by our prayers for them in time of trouble.
Verse
5. (last clause.) "Intercessory Prayer." See"
Spurgeon's Sermons", No. 1,049.
Verse
6.
1.
Times of trouble will come to the careless.
2. Then they will be more ready to hear the gospel.
3. Then they will find sweetness in that which they formerly refused.
Verse
6. A Desert Oasis.
1.
The world is a stony place, hard, barren.
2. Often pride and self trust suffer overthrowing there.
3. Then words of God by his sent servant make an oasis in the desert.
—W. B. H.
Verses
7-8. A cemetery scene.
1.
Dry bones of the dead about the grave.
2. Weary bones of the aged and sick around the grave.
3. All bones being from day to day made ready for the grave.
4. Bones finding rest in God: "mine eyes are unto thee, O God", etc.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》