1._And he said, etc. _I will not stop to examine too minutely the syllables, or the few words, in which this psalm differs from the song which is recorded in the twenty-second chapter of the Second Book of Samuel. When, however, we meet with any important difference, we shall advert to it in the pro... [ Continue Reading ]
2._Jehovah is my rock, etc. _When David thus heaps together many titles by which to honor God, it is no useless or unnecessary accumulation of words. We know how difficult it is for men to keep their minds and hearts stayed in God. They either imagine that it is not enough to have God for them, and,... [ Continue Reading ]
3._I will call upon the praised Jehovah. _Calling upon God, as has been observed elsewhere, frequently comprehends the whole of his service; but as the effect or fruit of prayer is particularly mentioned in what follows, this phrase in the passage before us, I have no doubt, signifies to have recour... [ Continue Reading ]
4._The cords _(394) _of death had compassed me about. _David now begins to recount the undoubted and illustrious proofs by which he had experienced that the hand of God is sufficiently strong and powerful to repel all the dangers and calamities with which he may be assailed. And we need not wonder t... [ Continue Reading ]
We shall now make a few observations with respect to the words. The Hebrew word חבלי, _chebley, _means _cords _or _sorrows, _or any deadly evil, (395) which consumes a man’s health and strength, and which tends to his destruction. That the psalm may correspond with the song recorded in 2nd Samuel, f... [ Continue Reading ]
6._In my distress, etc. _It was a very evident proof of uncommon faith in David, when, being almost plunged into the gulf of death, he lifted up his heart to heaven by prayer. Let us therefore learn, that such an example is set before our eyes, that no calamities, however great and oppressive, may h... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Then the earth shook. _David, convinced that the aid of God, which he had experienced, was of such a character, that it was impossible for him to extol it sufficiently and as it deserved, sets forth an image of it in the sky and the earth, as if he had said, It has been as visible as the changes... [ Continue Reading ]
8._There went up a smoke by [or out of] his nostrils, etc _The Hebrew word אף,_aph, _properly signifies _the nose, _or _the nostrils. _But as it is sometimes taken metaphorically for _wrath, _some translate it thus, _There went up a smoke in his wrath, _which, in my opinion, is not at all appropriat... [ Continue Reading ]
10._He rode also upon a cherub. _The Psalmist having exhibited to us a sign of the wrath of God in the clouds, and in the darkening of the air, representing him as if he breathed out smoke, (401) from his nostrils, and descended with a threatening countenance, to afflict men by the dreadful weight o... [ Continue Reading ]
12._At the brightness, etc. _The Psalmist again returns to the lightnings which, by dividing and as it were cleaving the clouds, lay open the heaven; and, therefore, he says, that the clouds of God (that is to say, those which he had set before him, in token of his anger, for the purpose of deprivin... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Jehovah thundered. _David here repeats the same thing in different words, declaring that God thundered from heaven; and he calls the thunder _the yoke of God, _that we may not suppose it is produced merely by chance or by natural causes, independent of the appointment and will of God. Philosophe... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And the sources of the waters were seen. _In this verse, David doubtless alludes to the miracle which was wrought when the chosen tribes passed through the Red Sea. I have before declared the purpose for which he does this. As all the special benefits which God in old time conferred upon any of... [ Continue Reading ]
16._He sent down from above. _Here there is briefly shown the drift of the sublime and magnificent narrative which has now passed under our review, namely, to teach us that David at length emerged from the profound abyss of his troubles, neither by his own skill, nor by the aid of men, but that he w... [ Continue Reading ]
18._They had prevented me in the day of my calamity. _(409) The Psalmist here confirms in different words the preceding sentence, namely, that he had been sustained by the aid of God, when there was no way of escaping by the power of man. He tells us how he had been besieged on all sides, and that n... [ Continue Reading ]
20._Jehovah rewarded me. _David might seem at first sight to contradict himself; for, while a little before he declared that all the blessings which he possessed were to be traced to the good pleasure of God, he now boasts that God rendered to him a just recompense. But if we remember for what purpo... [ Continue Reading ]
21._For I have kept the ways of Jehovah. _He had spoken in the preceding verse of the cleanness of his hands, but finding that men judged of him perversely, and were very active in spreading evil reports concerning him, (414) he affirms that he had kept the ways of the Lord, which is equivalent to h... [ Continue Reading ]
22._For all his judgments were before me. _He now shows how he came to possess that unbending rectitude of character, by which he was enabled to act uprightly amidst so many and so grievous temptations, namely, because he always applied his mind to the study of the law of God. As Satan is daily maki... [ Continue Reading ]
23._I was also upright with him. _All the verbs in this verse are put by David in the future tense, _I will be upright, etc. _because he does not boast of one act only, or of a good work performed by fits and starts, but of steady perseverance in an upright course. What I have said before, namely, t... [ Continue Reading ]
25._With the merciful, etc. _David here prosecutes the same subject. In considering the grace of God by which he had been delivered, he brings it forward as a proof of his integrity, and thus triumphs over the unfounded and disgraceful calumnies of his enemies. Hypocrites, I confess, are also accust... [ Continue Reading ]
The last clause of the 26th verse, where it is said, _With the perverse thou wilt show thyself perverse, _seems to convey a meaning somewhat strange, but it does not imply any thing absurd; yea, rather, it is not without good reason that the Holy Spirit uses this manner of speaking; for he designs t... [ Continue Reading ]
27._For thou wilt save the afflicted people. _This verse contains the correction of a mistake into which we are very ready to fall. As experience shows that the merciful are often severely afflicted, and the sincere involved in troubles of a very distressing description, to prevent any from regardin... [ Continue Reading ]
28._For thou shalt light my lamp. _In the song in Samuel, the form of the expression is somewhat more precise; for there it is said not that God lights our lamp, but that he himself is our lamp. The meaning, however, comes to the same thing, namely, that it was by the grace of God that David, who ha... [ Continue Reading ]
30._The way of God is perfect. _The phrase, _The way of God, _is not here taken for his revealed will, but for his method of dealing towards his people. The meaning, therefore, is, that God never disappoints or deceives his servants, nor forsakes them in the time of need, (as may be the case with me... [ Continue Reading ]
31._For who is God besides Jehovah? _David here, deriding the foolish inventions of men, who, according to their own fancy, make for themselves tutelary gods, (426) confirms what I have said before, that he never undertook any thing but by the authority and command of God. If he had passed beyond th... [ Continue Reading ]
32._It is God who hath girded. _This is a metaphor taken either from the belt or girdle of a warrior, or from the reins, in which the Scripture sometimes places a man’s vigor or strength. It is, therefore, as if he had said, I, who would otherwise have been feeble and effeminate, have been made stro... [ Continue Reading ]
David, having taken many strongholds which, on account of their steep and difficult access, were believed to be impregnable, extols the grace of God in this particular. When he says that God had given him feet like _hinds’ feet, _he means that he had given him unusual swiftness, and such as does not... [ Continue Reading ]
_By the enlargement of his steps, _he intimates that God had opened up to him an even and an accommodating pathway through places to which there was before no means of access; for there is in the words an implied contrast between a large and spacious place and a narrow spot, out of which a person ca... [ Continue Reading ]
The point on which David insists so much is, that of showing from the effect or issue, that all his victories were to be traced to the favor of God; and from this it follows that his cause was good and just. God, no doubt, sometimes grants successes even to the ungodly and wicked; but he at length s... [ Continue Reading ]
41._They shall cry, etc. _The change of the tense in the verb from the past to the future does not break the continuity of the narration; and, therefore, the words should be explained thus: Although they cried to God, yet their prayers were rejected by him. He pursues the same subject which it was h... [ Continue Reading ]
43._Thou shalt deliver me from the contentions of the people. _David states, in a few words, that he had experienced the assistance of God in all variety of ways. He was in great danger from the tumults which sometimes arose among his own subjects, if God had not wonderfully allayed them, and subdue... [ Continue Reading ]
44._At the simple fame of my name they shall obey me. _This is of the same import with the last clause of the preceding verse. Although David, by his victories, had acquired such reputation and renown, that many laid down their arms and came voluntarily to surrender themselves to him; yet, as they a... [ Continue Reading ]
What is added immediately after, (verse 45,) the _children of strangers shall fade away; they shall tremble _(438) _from within their places of concealment, _serves to place, in a still more striking light, the great fame and formidable name which we have said David had acquired. It is no ordinary s... [ Continue Reading ]
46._Let Jehovah live. _If it is thought proper to adopt this reading, which is in the optative mood expressing a wish _that God might live, _the manner of expression may seem somewhat strange; but it may be alleged in defense of it, that it is a metaphor borrowed from the custom of men, who not only... [ Continue Reading ]
47._The God who giveth me vengeance. _The Psalmist again attributes to God the victories which he had obtained. As he could never have expected to obtain them unless he had been confident that he would receive the aid of God, so now he acknowledges God to be the sole author of them. That he may not... [ Continue Reading ]
49._Therefore will I praise thee, O Jehovah! _In this verse he teaches us that the blessings God had conferred upon him, of which he had spoken, are worthy of being celebrated with extraordinary and unusual praises, that the fame of them might reach even the heathen. There is in the words an implied... [ Continue Reading ]
50._He worketh great deliverances, etc _This concluding verse clearly shows why God had exercised such goodness and liberality towards David, namely, because he had anointed him to be king. By calling himself _God’s king, _David testifies that he had not rashly rushed into that office, nor was thrus... [ Continue Reading ]