_David complaineth in great discouragement: he prayeth in great distress: he praiseth God._ To the chief musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. _TITLE._ השׁחר אילת _AIIELETH HASHACHAR_— Dr. Delaney supposes this and the 25th Psalm to have been written by David when he was at Mahanaim, the... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HEAREST NOT— St. Paul says, Hebrews 5:7. _That Christ was heard in that he feared;_ but Christ here says, that his father heard him not, only to intimate that he did not dispense him from suffering the death of the cross; for which the father, _who heard him always,_ (John 11:42.) had wise reas... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THOU ART HOLY, &C.— But notwithstanding thou dost not hear me at present, I am persuaded that thou wilt do so; for thou art holy, &c. good and gracious; the divinity that dwellest where the praises and homages of Israel have been always offered for mercies granted unto them.... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR FATHERS, &C.— i.e. My fathers, according to the flesh: the Israelites, to whom, whenever they cried unto thee in their distress, thou sentest a deliverer; such as Gideon, Samson, Samuel, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT I AM A WORM, &C.— As if he had said, "Thou hearest others; but, as for me, thou sufferest me to pray, to groan, and to weep, but thou wilt not seem to hear me." Christ may be said to have been a _worm,_ with respect to the mean and poor condition in which he lived; but especially to the kind of... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THOU ART HE, &C.— It was by the particular order of his Father that Christ came into the world; and therefore he said at his entrance into it, _Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:_ Hebrews 10:5. _When I was upon my mother's breasts,_ evidently relates to t... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THERE IS NONE TO HELP— See Isaiah 53:3; Isaiah 63:3. John 16:32.... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY BULLS—OF BASHAN— By the strong and fierce _bulls of Bashan,_ which was the richest soil in Palestine, are represented the haughty senators, the chief-priests, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the other great men of Judea; who, after having resolved upon the death of Christ, Psalms 2:2 were so in... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM POURED OUT LIKE WATER, &C.— _As water spilt, and poured out, I seem As all my bones were out of joint._ FENWICK. By this comparison, and by that of _wax,_ which melts before the fire, the speaker represents how much his strength was exhausted, and his spirits as it were dissolved. Nothing can... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR DOGS HAVE COMPASSED ME— The idea here is, of a pack of hounds encompassing a distressed _deer,_ which they have hunted down. See the remarks on the title. Hereby are represented the Roman soldiers and the other Gentiles who were with the Jews around the cross. Schultens renders the next clause,... [ Continue Reading ]
DELIVER MY SOUL, &C.— Bishop Hare observes, that in these two verses the Psalmist recapitulates the four things that he had before mentioned, and to which he had compared his enemies; the _sword,_ the _lion,_ the _dogs,_ the _unicorns,_ [the _oryx_ or _buffalo_] substituted instead of bulls; and he... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL DECLARE THY NAME— Nothing is more common in the psalms, than these sudden transitions, and nothing more beautiful. Our Saviour here passes from the mournful view of his death to the comfortable prospect of his resurrection. He intimates, that after God should have delivered him from the power... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEEK SHALL EAT, &C.— _The humble:_ See Matthew 11:29. "They shall eat of the true christian sacrifice; in consequence of which, they _shall praise the Lord,_ and _live for ever; i.e._ shall be always full of comfort and joy, which nothing shall be able to take from them." The next verse so clear... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THEY THAT BE FAT UPON EARTH, &C.— The _fat upon earth,_ means the _rich,_ the _great,_ and _princes themselves._ Houbigant renders it, _the rich of the earth._ They _shall eat and worship;_ devoutly partake of the eucharistical sacrifice of Christ, as the Jews did of the legal sacrifices. See 1... [ Continue Reading ]