Psalms 120:1 «A Song of degrees. » In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me. _A Song of degrees_] A most excellent song, Tremellius rendereth it; and so indeed this and the fourteen following are, both for the matter and for the form or manner of expression, which is wondrous short and... [ Continue Reading ]
Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, [and] from a deceitful tongue. Ver. 2. _Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips_] This was David's distress, and it lay heavy upon his spirit; so it did upon Job's, and Jeremiah's, Jeremiah 20:10; the scourge of tongues he felt as sharp as scorpions. Of th... [ Continue Reading ]
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Ver. 3. _What shall be given unto thee? &c._] That is (as Austin senseth it), what remedy is there for thee? _q.d._ None at all. _Contra sycophantarum morsum non est remedium,_ saith Seneca. But others better, what g... [ Continue Reading ]
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Ver. 4. _Sharp arrows of the mighty_] Arrows sharp, and shot with force. A false tongue is likened to a sharp razor, Psalms 52:4; to a sharp sword, Psalms 57:5; to sharp arrows, Proverbs 20:18; here it hath sharp for sharp: as God loveth to retalia... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, [that] I dwell in the tents of Kedar! Ver. 5. _Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech_] That is, in Muscovio, say some; in Hetruria, say others; in Cappadocia rather, Magog's country, Ezekiel 38:2,3; anywhere out of the bosom of the true Church; or (as some sense i... [ Continue Reading ]
My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. Ver. 6. _My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace_] With Saul, that implacable tyrant, and with other barbarous and brutish persons, skilful to destroy. The very society of such (be they never so tame and civil) is tedious and unsavoury... [ Continue Reading ]
I [am for] peace: but when I speak, they [are] for war. Ver. 7. _I am for peace_] Heb. I am peace, or peaceable, as far as is possible, Romans 12:18; this was David's motto, and must be every man's study. But it is not peace, but party, that many men mind, _Maxima pars studiorum est studium partium... [ Continue Reading ]