_A.M. 2984. B.C. 1020._ It is not certain by whom or on what occasion this Psalm was composed. It plainly appears, however, to be a song of thanksgiving for deliverance from trouble, either temporal or spiritual, or both. The Jews were wont to sing this Psalm, with the three preceding and two follo... [ Continue Reading ]
_I love the Lord_ Hebrew, _I love, because the Lord hath heard my voice._ “The soul, transported with gratitude and love, seems, at first, to express her affection without declaring its object, as thinking that all the world must know who is the person intended. Thus Mary Magdalene, at the sepulchre... [ Continue Reading ]
_The sorrows of death compassed me_ Dangerous and deadly calamities as bitter as death: Hebrew, חבלי מות, _cheblee maveth, the cords_, or _bands of death:_ see note on Psalms 18:4. _The pains of hell _ Or _of the grave_, or _of death;_ either cutting, killing pains, or such agonies and horrors as dy... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gracious is the Lord_ Therefore he will maintain my just cause against my unrighteous oppressors, will perform his promises, and save those who faithfully serve and trust in him. _The Lord preserveth the simple_ That is, those who are upright and sincere, and make use of no crafty arts or counsels,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Return unto thy rest, O my soul_ Unto that tranquillity of mind, and cheerful confidence in God's providence and promises, which thou didst once enjoy. Repose thyself in God; seek not for that rest in the creature which is to be found only in the Creator. God is thy rest; in him only canst thou dwe... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will walk_ Hebrew, אתהלךְ, _ethhalleck, I will set myself to walk; before the Lord_ I determine, in the strength of divine grace, to set him before me; to live as in his presence, and as under his eye; to speak and act in a manner becoming his presence, and the relation in which I stand to him as... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have believed_ God's promise of deliverance; _therefore have I spoken_ What I have now said; or, I have firmly believed, and trusted in God's almighty power, and ever watchful providence, and therefore have addressed my prayer unto him with confidence in my greatest dangers and distresses. In thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_I said in my haste_ Yet once, I confess, I spoke very unadvisedly, through precipitation of mind, for want of due consideration, as the same phrase, בחפזי, _bechophzi_, is used Psalms 31:22. It may, however, be rendered, _in my terror_, or _amazement_, that is, when I was discomposed, and almost di... [ Continue Reading ]
_What shall I render unto the Lord_ Yet, notwithstanding all my dangers, and my distrust of God also, he hath conferred so many and great blessings upon me, that I can never make sufficient returns to him for them. _I will take the cup of salvation_ Or _of deliverance_, as Bishop Patrick renders ישׁ... [ Continue Reading ]
_Precious, &c., is the death of his saints_ He sets a high price upon it: he will not easily grant it to the will of their enemies. If any son of violence procure it, he will make him pay very dearly for it. And when the saints suffer it for God's sake, as they frequently do, it is a most acceptable... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, truly I am thy servant_ This is a thankful acknowledgment of his great obligations to God, whereby he was in duty bound to be his perpetual servant. _The son of thy handmaid_ The son of a mother who was devoted, and did devote me to thy service. _Thou hast loosed my bonds_ Thou hast rescued... [ Continue Reading ]