The inscription shows that the psalm was composed by David; but though he was its author, there is no absurdity in his speaking of himself in the person of others. The office of a prophet having been committed to him, he with great propriety prepared this as a form of prayer for the use of the faith... [ Continue Reading ]
2._May he send thee help. _That is to say, may he succor thee out of mount Sion, where he commanded the ark of the covenant to be placed, and chose for himself a dwelling-place. The weakness of the flesh will not suffer men to soar up to heaven, and, therefore, God comes down to meet them, and by th... [ Continue Reading ]
3._May he remember. _I understand the word _remember _as meaning _to have regard to, _as it is to be understood in many other places; just as _to forget _often signifies _to neglect, _or _not to deign to regard, nor even to behold, _the object to which it is applied. It is, in short, a prayer that G... [ Continue Reading ]
5._That we may rejoice in thy salvation. _This verse may be explained in two other ways, besides the sense it bears according to the translation which I have given. Some consider it to be a prayer, as if it had been said, Lord, make us to rejoice. Others think that the faithful, after having finishe... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Now I know. _Here there follows grateful rejoicing, in which the faithful declare that they have experienced the goodness of God in the preservation of the king. To this there is at the same time added a doctrine of faith, namely, that God showed by the effect that he put forth his power in maint... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Some trust in chariots. _I do not restrict this to the enemies of Israel, as is done by other interpreters. I am rather inclined to think that there is here a comparison between the people of God and all the rest of the world. We see how natural it is to almost all men to be the more courageous a... [ Continue Reading ]
8._They are bowed down. _It is probable that there is here pointed out, as it were with the finger, the enemies of Israel, whom God had overthrown, when they regarded no event as less likely to happen. There is contained in the words a tacit contrast between the cruel pride with which they had been... [ Continue Reading ]
9._Save, O Jehovah! etc. _Some read in one sentence, _O Jehovah! save the king; _(478) perhaps because they think it wrong to attribute to an earthly king what is proper to God only, — to be called upon, and to hear prayer. But if we turn our eyes towards Christ, as it becomes us to do, we will no l... [ Continue Reading ]