_A.M. 2962. B.C. 1042._ This Psalm was composed either when David was in great distress, or afterward in remembrance thereof. Bishop Patrick thinks it was written soon after the straits he was reduced to in the wilderness of Maon, when he fled from Keilah, and was so closely pursued by Saul that, w... [ Continue Reading ]
_Never let me be ashamed_ Namely, of my confidence in thy promises. _Deliver me in thy righteousness_ By, or for, or according to thy faithfulness and goodness, both which often come under the name of _righteousness. Deliver me speedily_ Because of the greatness and urgency of my danger, which is ev... [ Continue Reading ]
_Into thy hand_ That is, to thy care and custody; _I commit my spirit_ My soul or life, either to preserve it from the malice of mine enemies, or, if they are permitted to kill my body, to receive it. For my case is almost desperate, and I am ready to give up the ghost. But our Lord used those words... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have hated them_ Not the persons, but the ways of them, _that regard_ Hebrew, השׁמרים, _hashomerim, that observe;_ that is, are attached to, depend upon, or expect help from, _lying vanities_, הבלי שׁוא, _hablee shave, vanities of emptiness_, or, _most vain vanities_, such as are foolish, deceitf... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast known my soul in adversities_ Hast not stood aloof from me, and acted toward me as a stranger, but hast loved me, and cared for me. For knowledge often implies affection. _And hast not shut me up_ Or, suffered me to be shut up; _into the hand_ Or _power; of the enemy_ Of which I was in gr... [ Continue Reading ]
_Mine eye is consumed with grief_ With continual weeping; _yea, my soul_ My sorrows are not counterfeit, or slight, but inward and penetrating: my mind is oppressed, my heart is ready to sink under my burden; _and my belly_ So the word בשׂני, _bitai_, signifies: but it evidently means here the whole... [ Continue Reading ]
_I was a reproach among all mine enemies_ That is, the subject of their reproaches and scoffs. “This,” said they, “is David, anointed to be king of Israel, a goodly monarch indeed! forsaken by God and men, and in a desperate and perishing condition. He pretends great piety to God, and loyalty to Sau... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am forgotten_, &c. Whatsoever good service I have done to the king or kingdom, or to any particular persons, which they have sometimes acknowledged and highly commended, is now quite forgotten by them all: or at least they behave toward me as if it were so. _As a dead man out of mind_ Whose name... [ Continue Reading ]
_I said, Thou art my God_ Mine by paternal relation, and care, and affection, and by thy promise, or covenant, made with me. _My times are in thy hand_ The time of my life, how long I shall live; or, all the affairs and events of my life are wholly in thy power, to dispose and order as thou seest fi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the lying lips_ The slanderous tongues; _be put to silence_ Either by thy discovery and vindication of my integrity; or by some imminent judgment, which may either convince them, or take them off. _Which speak grievous things_ Hebrews עתק, _gnatak, what is hard_, or _hard things_, the singular... [ Continue Reading ]
_O, how great is thy goodness_ No words can express the greatness of thy love and blessings; _which thou hast laid up_ Hebrew, צפנת, _tzapanta, hast hid_, namely, with thyself, or in thy own breast. The word is very emphatical, and removes an objection of ungodly men taken from the present calamitie... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence_ Or, _as in the secret of thy presence:_ either, 1st, As if they were in thy presence- chamber, where thine own eye and hand guard them from all the assaults of their enemies; called his _secret_, partly because the greatest part of the world are s... [ Continue Reading ]
_He hath showed me marvellous kindness in a strong city _ Namely, in Keilah, where God had wonderfully preserved him; of which see 1 Samuel 23:7. Or, _as in a strong city._ He hath kept me as safe in woods and caves as if I had been in a fenced city. _I said in my haste_ In my hasty flight from Saul... [ Continue Reading ]
_O love the Lord, all ye his saints_ Those that have their own hearts full of love to God, cannot but desire that others also should love him: for in his love there is no need to fear a rival. It is the character of all the saints, that they love God; and yet they must still be called upon to love h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be of good courage_ Or, _be strong_, namely, in the Lord, and through confidence in his promises, which will not fail you, as I have found by experience. _And he shall strengthen your heart_ The God you put your trust in, will, by that trust, impart fortitude and strength to you; _all ye that hope... [ Continue Reading ]