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Psalm Fifty-seven
Psalm 57
Chapter Contents
David begins with prayer and complaint. (1-6) He
concludes with joy and praise. (7-11)
Commentary on Psalm 57:1-6
(Read Psalm 57:1-6)
All David's dependence is upon God. The most eminent
believers need often repeat the publican's prayer
"God be merciful to me
a sinner." But if our souls trust in the Lord
this may assure us
in our
utmost dangers
that our calamities will at length be overpast
and in the mean
time
by faith and prayer
we must make him our refuge. Though God be most
high
yet he condescends so low
as to take care that all things are made to
work for good to his people. This is a good reason why we should pray
earnestly. Look which way we will on this earth
refuge fails
no help appears;
but we may look for it from heaven. If we have fled from the wrath to come
unto Jesus Christ
he that performed all things needful to purchase the
salvation of his people
will do for us and in us all things needful for our
enjoyment of it. It made David droop to think there should be those that bore
him so much ill-will. But the mischief they designed against him
returned on
themselves. And when David was in the greatest distress and disgrace
he did
not pray
Lord
exalt me
but
Lord
exalt thine own name. Our best
encouragement in prayer
is taken from the glory of God
and to that
more than
to our own comfort
we should have regard in all our petitions for mercy.
Commentary on Psalm 57:7-11
(Read Psalm 57:7-11)
By lively faith
David's prayers and complaints are at
once turned into praises. His heart is fixed; it is prepared for every event
being stayed upon God. If by the grace of God we are brought into this even
composed frame of mind
we have great reason to be thankful. Nothing is done to
purpose
in religion
unless it is done with the heart. The heart must be fixed
for the duty
put in frame for it; fixed in the duty by close attention. Our
tongue is our glory
and never more so than when praising God; dull and sleepy
devotions will never be acceptable to God. Let us awake early in the morning
to begin the day with God; early in the beginning of a mercy. When God comes
toward us with his favours
let us go forth to meet him with our praises. David
desired to bring others to join in praising God; and in his psalms
he is still
praising God among the people
singing to Him among the nations. Let us seek to
have our hearts fixed to praise his boundless mercy and unfailing faithfulness;
and to glorify him with body
soul
and spirit
which are his. Let us earnestly
pray that the blessings of the gospel may be sent through every land.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 57
Verse 3
[3] He shall send from heaven
and save me from the reproach
of him that would swallow me up. /*Selah*/. God shall send forth his mercy and
his truth.
Send forth — Will discover them
by affording
his gracious help in pursuance of his promises.
Verse 4
[4] My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that
are set on fire
even the sons of men
whose teeth are spears and arrows
and
their tongue a sharp sword.
Lions — Fierce and bloody men.
I lie — I have my abode.
On fire — From hell. Who are mere fire-brands
breathing out
wrath and threatenings
and incensing Saul against me.
Verse 5
[5] Be thou exalted
O God
above the heavens; let thy glory
be above all the earth.
Excited — Glorify thy power
and goodness
and justice
and
faithfulness
by my deliverance.
Above
… — To the highest degree possible.
Verse 7
[7] My heart is fixed
O God
my heart is fixed: I will sing
and give praise.
Fixed — In a stedfast belief of thy promises.
Verse 8
[8] Awake up
my glory; awake
psaltery and harp: I myself
will awake early.
My glory — My tongue
the instrument of singing.
Awake — I will employ all the powers of my soul and body.
Verse 9
[9] I will praise thee
O Lord
among the people: I will sing
unto thee among the nations.
The people — Among the Israelites
and among
the Heathens
as I shall have occasion.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. To the
Chief Musician. So glad a song as this becomes ere it closes
should be in
the keeping of the most skilled of all the temple minstrels. Altaschith
i.e.
DESTROY NOT. This petition is a very sententious prayer
as full as
it is brief
and well worthy to be the motto for a sacred song. David had said
"destroy not
"in reference to Saul
when he had him in his power
and now he takes pleasure in employing the same words in supplication to God.
We may infer from the spirit of the Lord's prayer
that the Lord will spare us
as we spare our foes. There are four of these "Destroy not"
Psalms
namely
the 57th
58th
59th
and 75th. In all of them there is a
distinct declaration of the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of
the righteous
and they all have probably a reference to the overthrow of the
Jews
on account of their persecution of the great Son of David: they will
endure heavy chastisement
but concerning them it is written in the divine
decree
"Destroy them not." Michtam of David. For quality this
Psalm is called golden
or a secret
and it well deserves the name. We may read
the words and yet not know the secret joy of David
which he has locked up in
his golden casket. When he fled from Saul in the cave. This is a song
from the bowels of the earth
and
like Jonah's prayer from the bottom of the
sea
it has a taste of the place. The poet is in the shadow of the cave at
first
but he comes to the cavern's mouth at last
and sings in the sweet fresh
air
with his eye on the heavens
watching joyously the clouds floating
therein.
DIVISION. We have here
prayer
Ps 57:1-6
and praise
Ps 57:7-11. The hunted one takes a long breath
of prayer
and when he is fully inspired
he breathes out his soul in jubilant
song.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Be merciful unto me
O God
be merciful unto me. Urgent
need suggests the repetition of the cry
for thus intense urgency of desire is
expressed. If `he gives twice who gives quickly
'so he who would receive
quickly must ask twice. For mercy the psalmist pleads at first
and he feels he
cannot improve upon his plea
and therefore returns to it. God is the God of
mercy
and the Father of mercies
it is most fit therefore that in distress he
should seek mercy from him in whom it dwells. For my soul trusteth in thee.
Faith urges her suit right well. How can the Lord be unmerciful to a trustful
soul? Our faith does not deserve mercy
but it always wins it from the
sovereign grace of God when it is sincere
as in this case where the soul
of the man believed. "With the heart man believeth unto
righteousness." Yea
in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge. Not
in the cave alone would he hide
but in the cleft of the Rock of ages. As the
little birds find ample shelter beneath the parental wing
even so would the
fugitive place himself beneath the secure protection of the divine power. The
emblem is delightfully familiar and suggestive. May we all experimentally know
its meaning. When we cannot see the sunshine of God's face
it is blessed to
cower down beneath the shadow of his wings. Until these calamities be overpast.
Evil will pass away
and the eternal wings will abide over us till then.
Blessed be God
our calamities are matters of time
but our safety is a matter
of eternity. When we are under the divine shadow
the passing over of trouble
cannot harm us; the hawk flies across the sky
but this is no evil to the
chicks when they are safely nestling beneath the hen.
Verse
2. I will cry. He is quite safe
but yet he prays
for faith
is never dumb. We pray because we believe. We exercise by faith the spirit of
adoption whereby we cry. He says not I do cry
or I have cried
but I will cry
and indeed
this resolution may stand with all of us until we pass through the
gates of pearl; for while we are here below we shall still have need to cry.
Unto God most high.—Prayers are for God only; the greatness and sublimity of
his person and character suggest and encourage prayer; however high our
enemies
our heavenly Friend is higher
for he is Most high
and he can
readily send from the height of his power the succour which we need. Unto God
that performeth all things for me. He has cogent reason for praying
for he
sees God performing. The believer waits and God works. The Lord has undertaken
for us
and he will not draw back
he will go through with his covenant
engagements. Our translators have very properly inserted the words
"all
things
"for there is a blank in the Hebrew
as if it were a carte
blanche
and you might write therein that the Lord would finish anything
and everything which he has begun. Whatsoever the Lord takes in hand he will
accomplish; hence past mercies are guarantees for the future
and admirable
reasons for continuing to cry unto him.
Verse
3. He shall send from heaven. If there be no fit instruments
on earth
heaven shall yield up its legions of angels for the succour of the
saints. We may in times of great straits expect mercies of a remarkable kind;
like the Israelites in the wilderness
we shall have our bread hot from heaven
new every morning; and for the overthrow of our enemies God shall open his
celestial batteries
and put them to utter confusion. Wherever the battle is
more fierce than ordinary
there shall come succours from headquarters
for the
Commander in chief sees all. And save me from the reproach of him that would
swallow me up. He will be in time
not only to rescue his servants from being
swallowed up
but even from being reproached. Not only shall they escape the
flames
but not even the smell of fire shall pass upon them. O dog of hell
I
am not only delivered from thy bite
but even from thy bark. Our foes shall not
have the power to sneer at us
their cruel jests and taunting gibes shall be
ended by the message from heaven
which shall for ever save us. Selah. Such
mercy may well make us pause to meditate and give thanks. Rest
singer
for God
has given thee rest! God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. He asked for
mercy
and truth came with it. Thus evermore doth God give us more than we ask
or think. His attributes
like angels on the wing
are ever ready to come to
the rescue of his chosen.
Verse
4. My soul is among lions. He was a very Daniel. Howled at
hunted
wounded
but not slain. His place was in itself one of extreme peril
and yet faith made him feel himself secure
so that he could lie down. The cave
may have reminded him of a lion's den
and Saul and his band shouting and
yelling in their disappointment at missing him
were the lions; yet beneath the
divine shelter he finds himself safe. And I lie even among them that are set on
fire. Perhaps Saul and his band kindled a fire in the cavern while they halted
in it
and David was thus reminded of the fiercer fire of their hate which
burned within their hearts. Like the bush in Horeb
the believer is often in
the midst of flames
but never consumed. It is a mighty triumph of faith when
we can lie down even among firebrands and find rest
because God is our
defence. Even the sons of men
whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongue
a sharp sword. Malicious men carry a whole armoury in their mouths; they
have not harmless mouths
whose teeth grind their own food as in a mill
but
their jaws are as mischievous as if every tooth were a javelin or an arrow.
They have no molars
all their teeth are canines
and their nature is canine
leonine
wolfish
devilish. As for that busy member the tongue
in the case of
the malicious
it is a two edged
keen
cutting
killing sword. The tongue
which is here compared to a sword
has the adjective sharp added to it
which is not used in reference to the teeth
which are compared to spears
as
if to show that if men were actually to tear us with their teeth
like wild
beasts
they could not thereby wound us so severely as they can do with their
tongues. No weapon is so terrible as a tongue sharpened on the devil's
grindstone; yet even this we need not fear
for "No weapon that is formed
against thee shall prosper
and every tongue that riseth against thee in
judgment thou shalt condemn."
Verse
5. Be thou exalted
O God
above the heavens. This is the
chorus of the Psalm. Before he has quite concluded his prayer the good man
interjects a verse of praise; and glorious praise too
seeing it comes from the
lion's den and from amid the coals of fire. Higher than the heavens is the Most
High
and so high ought our praises to rise. Above even the power of cherubim
and seraphim to express it
the glory of God is revealed and is to be
acknowledged by us. Let thy glory be above all the earth. As above
so below
let thy praises
O thou great Jehovah
be universally proclaimed. As the air
surrounds all nature
so let thy praises gird the earth with a zone of song.
Verse
6. They have prepared a net for my steps. The enemies of the
godly spare no pains
but go about their wicked work with the coolest
deliberation. As for each sort of fish
or bird
or beast
a fitting net is
needed
so do the ungodly suit their net to their victim's circumstances and
character with a careful craftiness of malice. Whatever David might do
and
whichever way he might turn
his enemies were ready to entrap him in some way
or other. My soul is bowed down. He was held down like a bird in a trap; his
enemies took care to leave him no chance of comfort. They have digged a pit before
me
into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. He likens the
design of his persecutors to pits
which were commonly dug by hunters to entrap
their prey; these were made in the usual path of the victim
and in this case
David says
before me
i.e.
in my ordinary way. He rejoices because
these devices had recoiled upon themselves. Saul hunted David
but David caught
him more than once and might have slain him on the spot. Evil is a stream which
one day flows back to its source. Selah. We may sit down at the pit's mouth and
view with wonder the just retaliations of providence.
Verse
7. My heart is fixed. One would have thought he would have
said
"My heart is fluttered; "but no
he is calm
firm
happy
resolute
established. When the central axle is secure
the whole wheel is
right. If our great bower anchor holds
the ship cannot drive. O God
my heart
is fixed. I am resolved to trust thee
to serve thee
and to praise thee. Twice
does he declare this to the glory of God who thus comforts the souls of his
servants. Reader
it is surely well with thee
if thy once roving heart is now
firmly fixed upon God and the proclamation of his glory. I will sing and give
praise. Vocally and instrumentally will I celebrate thy worship. With lip and
with heart will I ascribe honour to thee. Satan shall not stop me
nor Saul
nor the Philistines
I will make Adullam ring with music
and all the caverns
thereof echo with joyous song. Believer
make a firm decree that your soul in
all seasons shall magnify the Lord.
"Sing
though sense and carnal reason
Fain would stop the joyful song:
Sing
and count it highest treason
For a saint to hold his tongue."
Verse
8. Awake up
my glory. Let the noblest powers of my nature
bestir themselves: the intellect which conceives thought
the tongue which
expresses it
and the inspired imagination which beautifies it—let all be on
the alert now that the hour for praise has come. Awake
psaltery and harp. Let
all the music with which I am familiar be well attuned for the hallowed service
of praise. I myself will awake early. I will awake the dawn with my joyous
notes. No sleepy verses and weary notes shall be heard from me; I will
thoroughly arouse myself for this high employ. When we are at our best we fall
short of the Lord's deserts
let us
therefore
make sure that what we bring
him is our best
and
if marred with infirmity
at least let it not be
deteriorated by indolence. Three times the psalmist calls upon himself to
awake. Do we need so much arousing
and for such work? Then let us not spare
it
for the engagement is too honourable
too needful to be left undone or ill
done for want of arousing ourselves.
Verse
9. I will praise thee
O Lord
among the people. Gentiles
shall hear my praise. Here is an instance of the way in which the truly devout
evangelic spirit overleaps the boundaries which bigotry sets up. The ordinary
Jew would never wish the Gentile dogs to hear Jehovah's name
except to tremble
at it; but this grace taught psalmist has a missionary spirit
and would spread
the praise and fame of his God. I will sing unto thee among the nations.
However far off they may be
I would make them hear of thee through my glad
psalmody.
Verse
10. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens. Right up from
man's lowliness to heaven's loftiness mercy reaches. Imagination fails to guess
the height of heaven
and even thus the riches of mercy exceed our highest
thoughts. The psalmist
as he sits at the cave's mouth and looks up to the
firmament
rejoices that God's goodness is more vast and more sublime than even
the vaulted skies. And thy truth unto the clouds. Upon the cloud he sets the
seal of his truth
the rainbow
which ratifies his covenant; in the cloud he
hides his rain and snow
which prove his truth by bringing to us seedtime and
harvest
cold and heat. Creation is great
but the Creator greater far. Heaven
cannot contain him; above clouds and stars his goodness far exceeds.
Verse
11. Be thou exalted
O God
above the heavens. A grand chorus.
Take it up
ye angels and ye spirits made perfect
and join in it
ye sons of
men below
as ye say
Let thy glory be above all the earth. The prophet in the
previous verse spoke of mercy "unto the heavens
"but here his song
flies "above the heavens; "praise rises higher
and knows no bound
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. This Psalm was
composed
as the title notes
by David prayer wise
when he hid himself from
Saul in the cave
and is inscribed with a double title
Altaschith
Michtam
of David. Altaschith refers to the scope
and Michtam to the dignity
of the subject matter. The former signifies destroy not
or
let there
be no slaughter; and may either refer to Saul
concerning whom he gave charge
to his servants not to destroy him; or rather it hath reference to God
to whom
in this great exigence he poured out his soul in this pathetic ejaculation; Altaschith
destroy not. The latter title
Michtam
signifies a golden ornament
and
so is suited to the choice and excellent matter of the Psalm
which much more
deserves such a title than Pythagoras' golden verses did. John Flavel
(1627-1692)
in "Divine Conduct
or the Mystery of Providence."
Title. A Psalm
composed when David fled from Saul in the cave
which is referred to in
Psalm 143
and which
because it is without any other distinction called
"the cave
"is probably that celebrated cave where David with his six
hundred followers lay concealed when Saul entered and David cut off the skirt
of his robe. The king
accompanied by three thousand followers
chased him to
the loftiest alpine heights—"to the sheepcotes
"where the cattle
were driven in the hottest summer months only—to hunt him in every hiding
place. There was a cave
in the darkened cool of which David and his men were
hid. Such caves in Palestine and the East are frequently enlarged by human
hands
and so capacious that they accommodate thousands of people. This song of
complaint was written during the hours of suspense which David spent there
to
wait until the calamity was overpast (Ps 57:2); in which he only gradually
gains a stout heart (Ps 57:8). His life was really suspended by a hair
if Saul
or any of his attendants had espied him! Agustus F. Tholuck.
Title. The cave.
There appear good grounds for the local tradition which fixes the cave on the
borders of the Dead Sea
although there is no certainty with regard to the
particular cave pointed out. The cave so designated is at a point to which
David was far more likely to summon his parents
whom he intended to take from
Bethlehem in to Moab
than to any place in the western plains... It is an
immense natural cavern
the mouth of which can be approached only on foot along
the side of the cliff. Irby and Mangles
who visited it without being aware
that it was the reputed Cave of Adullam
state that it "runs in by a long
winding
narrow passage
with small chambers or cavities on either side. We
soon came to a large chamber with natural arches of great height; from this
last there were numerous passages
leading in all directions
occasionally
joined by others at right angles
and forming a perfect labyrinth
which our
guides assured us had never been perfectly explored—the people being afraid of
losing themselves. The passages are generally four feet high by three feet
wide
and were all on a level with each other." ...It seems probable that
David as a native of Bethlehem
must have been well acquainted with this
remarkable spot
and had probably often availed himself of its shelter
when
out with his father's flocks. It would
therefore
naturally occur to him as a
place of refuge when he fled from Gath. John Kitto (1804-1854)
in "A
Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature."
Whole
Psalm. Mystically this hymn may be construed of Christ
who was in the
days of his flesh assaulted by the tyranny both of spiritual and temporal
enemies. His temporal enemies
Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and
people of Israel
furiously raged and took counsel together against him. The
chief priests and princes were
saith Hierome
like lions
and the
people like the whelps of lions
all of them in a readiness to devour
his soul. The rulers laid a net for his feet in their captious
interrogatories
asking (Mt 22:17)
"Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar
or not?" and (Joh 8:5) whether the woman taken in the very act of
adultery should be stoned to death or no. The people were "set on fire
"when as they raged against him
and their teeth and tongues were
spears and swords in crying
"Crucify him
crucify him." His
spiritual enemies also sought to swallow him up; his soul was among
lions all the days of his life
at the hour of his death especially. The
devil in tempting and troubling him
had laid a snare for his feet; and
death
in digging a pit for him
had thought to devour him. As
David was in death
so Christ the Son of David was in the grave. John Boys
1571-1625.
Verse
1. Be merciful unto me
O God
etc. This excellent Psalm was
composed by David when there was enough to discompose the best man in the
world. The repetition notes both the extremity of the danger
and the ardency
of the supplicant. Mercy! Mercy! Nothing but mercy
and that exerting
itself in any extraordinary way
can now save him from ruin. The arguments he
pleads for obtaining mercy in this distress are very considerable.
1.
He pleads his reliance upon God as an argument to move mercy. My soul
trusteth in thee
etc. This his trust and dependence upon God
though it be
not argumentative in respect of the dignity of the act; yet it is so in
respect both of the nature of the object
a compassionate God who will
not expose any that take shelter under his wings
and in respect of the promise
whereby protection is assured to them that fly to him for sanctuary. Isa 26:3.
2.
He pleads former experiences of his help in past distresses
as an argument
encouraging hope under the present strait (Ps 57:2). John Flavel.
Verse
1. Be merciful unto me. According to the weight of the burden
that grieveth us
is the cry that comes from us. How do poor condemned
prisoners cry to their judges
"Have pity upon us
have pity upon
us!" David
in the day of his calamities doubles his prayer for mercy: Be
merciful unto me
O God
be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee
etc.
Until these calamities be overpast. It was not a single calamity
but a multitude of calamities which compassed David
and therefore he
compasseth the Lord about with petitions. His spirit being up in prayer
like a
bell that rings out
he strikes on both sides
Be merciful unto me
O God
be merciful unto me. Joseph Caryl.
Verse
1. Be merciful unto me. The first clause contains the prayer
itself in a very forcible word ygnx
properly
"Show thy most tender
affection to me
"such as animals
with a humming sound
show to their
young. Hermann Venema.
Verse
1. For my soul trusteth in thee. The best reason with God
who "taketh pleasure in those that hope in his mercy." Ps 147:11. Poole's
Synopsis.
Verse
1. Soul. His soul trusted in God; and this is a form
of expression the force of which is not to be overlooked; for it implies that
the trust which he exercised proceeded from his very innermost affection—that
it was of no volatile character
but deeply and strongly rooted. He declares
the same truth in figurative terms
when he adds his persuasion that God would
cover him with the shadow of his wings. John Calvin.
Verse
1. In the shadow of thy wings I will trust; properly
I will
seek for protection. The very delightful figure here employed
is taken from
the chicken lying safely hid under the mother's wings; at the same time it
seems to have reference to the wings of the cherubim
by which the mercyseat
was covered. Simon de Muis
1587-1644.
Verse
1. The shadow of thy wings. Compare Ps 17:8 61:4; and Mt
23:37; and the Apocalyptic imagery
describing the church fleeing from the
dragon in the wilderness; and "to her are given the two wings of the great
eagle
"and she is delivered from the dragon
who desires to swallow
her up. See Re 12:6
15-16. Christopher Wordsworth
1868.
Verse
1. Until these calamities be overpast. He compares his
afflictions and calamity to a storm that cometh and goeth; as it is not always
fair weather with us in this life
so not always foul. Athanasius said of
Julian furiously raging against the Lord's Anointed
"Nubecula est
cito transibit
"he is a little cloud; he will soon pass away. Man is
born to labour and dolour
to travail and trouble; to labour in his actions
to
dolour in his passions; and so
"Great are the troubles of the righteous
but the Lord delivereth him out of all." If we put our trust in him and
cast all our care upon him
he will in his good time bring it to pass
that all
our afflictions shall overpass. He will either take them from us or us from
them
and then we shall assuredly know that the troubles of this life present
are not worthy of the glory which in the life to come shall be showed unto us.
For as the globe of the earth
which improperly for his show of bigness we term
the world
and is
after the mathematician's account
many thousand miles in
compass; yet
being compared unto the greatness of the starry sky's
circumference
is but a centre or little prick: so the travail and affliction
of this life temporal
in respect of the joys eternal in the world to come
bear not any proportion
but are to be reputed in comparison a very nothing
as
a dark cloud that cometh and goeth in a moment. John Boys.
Verses
1-3. In the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge
until these
calamities be overpast
etc. As if he had said
Lord
I am already in the
cave and in the holds
and in the shadow of it
but yet for all that I think
not myself safe indeed
till I have made my refuge in the shadow of thy wings:
that is therefore the course I resolve and build upon. It was wisely done of
him: and mark what course he takes to do it
Ps 57:2
I will cry unto God most
high
I will by prayer put myself under the shadow of God's wings: and mark
what success should follow
Ps 57:3
He shall send from heaven
and save me
from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his
mercy and his truth. When we send prayers up to heaven
God will send help
down from heaven. But yet David prays to God
as well as trusts
in God. And unless we pray as well as trust
our trust will fail us
for we
must trust to God for that we pray for. Jeremiah Dyke
1620.
Verse
3. Him that would swallow me up. If I were to take you to my
house
and say that I had an exquisite fat man
and wished you to join me in
eating him
your indignation could be restrained by nothing. You would
pronounce me to be crazy. There is not in New York a man so mean that he would
not put down a man who should propose to have a banquet off from a fellow man
cutting steaks out of him
and eating them. And that is nothing but feasting on
the human body
while they will all sit down
and take a man's soul
and look
for the tender loins
and invite their neighbours in to partake of the little
titbits. They will take a man's honour and name
and broil them over the coals
of their indignation
and fill the whole room with the aroma thereof
and give
their neighbour a piece
and watch him
and wink as he tastes it. You all eat
men up... You eat the souls
the finest elements of men. You are more than glad
if you can whisper a word that is derogatory to a neighbour
or his wife
or
his daughter... The morsel is too exquisite to be lost. Here is the soul of a
person
here is a person's hope for this world and the world to come
and you
have it on your fork
and you cannot refrain from tasting it
and give it to
some one else to taste. You are cannibals
eating men's honour and name and
rejoicing in it—and that
too
when you do not always know that the things
charged against them are true; when in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the
probabilities are that they are not true. Henry Ward Beecher
1870.
Verse
3. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth
viz.
to
save me. That is to say
God
to manifest his mercy
and vindicate the truth of
his promises
will save me. The reader will observe
that mercy and truth are
here poetically represented as ministers of God
standing in his presence
ready to execute his pleasure
and employed by him in the salvation of his
people. Samuel Chandler.
Verse
3. His mercy and his truth. He need not send down angels
he
need send but mercy and truth down
which elsewhere it is said he
prepares in the heavens. Ps 61:7. He prepares commissions for them
and sends
them down with them for execution. Thomas Goodwin.
Verse
4. My soul is among lions. This may also be construed of the
church
and that both in respect of her spiritual enemies and temporal. As for
her ghostly foes
the devil is a roaring lion (1Pe 5:8)
and our sins
are the whelps of lions
ready to devour us. And concerning outward
enemies
the church in this world is like Daniel in the lion's den
or as
"the sucking child playing upon the hole of the asp." Isa 11:8. She
hath here no visible power or outward help to fly to for succour
all her trust
is in the Lord
and "under the shadow of his wings is her refuge
till
this evil is overpast."... And surely
beloved
if the church had not any
other enemies
but only these monstrous Antichrists of Rome
yet she might
truly complain with our prophet here
My soul is among lions. Eleven
popes had that name
whereof all
excepting two or three
were roaring lions in
their Bulls
and ravening lions in seeking after their prey. Leo the
tenth so pilled (Pill—peel
to pillage
plunder
strip) and polled (Poll
used
synonymously with peel) the goodly nations of Germany with his unpardonable
pardons and merciless indulgences
as that his insupportable cruelty gave the
first occasion of the Reformation of religion in that country. John Boys.
Verse
4. (first clause). Mudge translates literally
I lie with
my soul amidst lionesses. This agrees with the opinion of Bochart
who
thinks that the animals here intended are lionesses
properly
when giving suck
to their young
a time when they are peculiarly fierce and dangerous
"nor
need we wonder
"he observes
"that the lioness is reckoned among the
fiercest lions; for the lioness equals
or even exceeds
the lion in strength
and fierceness; "and this he proves from the testimonies of ancient
writers. James Anderson's Note to Calvin in loc
1846.
Verse
4. And I lie even among them that are set on fire. The whole
pith lies in the word hbkva
I will recline
which denotes a tranquil
and secure condition of body and mind
like a man reclining and
sleeping
as Ps 3:5; I laid me down and slept
I awaked; and lived
composedly; Ps 4:9; I will both lay me down in peace
etc. Hermann
Venema.
Verse
4. The horrors of a lion's den
the burning of a fiery furnace
and
the cruel onset of war
are the striking images by which David here describes
the peril and wretchedness of his present condition. John Morison.
Verse
6. Net. Not having fire arms
the ancients were much more
skilful than the moderns in the use of snares
nets
and pits for capturing
wild animals. A large class of Biblical figures and allusions necessarily
presuppose this state of things. W. M. Thomson.
Verse
7. My heart is fixed
O God
etc. The psalmist knowing that
it is the order and work of God
first to prepare the heart for communion
and
then to incline his own ear to hear his people
and to entertain communion with
them in ordinances
he doth observe this order
and follow it with a practice
suitable to it in his daily address to God
that is thus
wheresoever he doth
find his heart put into a fitted and prepared frame for communion with God
he
doth not let it die again
and go out of frame by a slothful neglect of such a
disposition of heart. No
but he immediately sets himself to duty
to worship
God
and to the acts of his worship
in his ordinances
as he expresses himself
in Ps 57:7; viz.
thus—ybl nwkg myhla ybl nwkg
Nachon libbi Elohim
nachon
libbi (there is the first; he finds his heart fitted and prepared for
communion with God): "My heart
"saith he
"is fitted or
prepared" (for the word nwkg nachon is the passive conjugation niphal
signifying
he is fitted or prepared
from the root nzb
chun
he fitted
or prepared
in the active; and so it is rather to be rendered prepared or
fitted
then "fixed
"thus ykl
libbi
my heart; nwkg
nachon
is fitted or prepared)
"O God
my heart is fitted or prepared" for
communion with thee. Well
what follows? He presently sets himself upon that
great duty and ordinance of communion with God
in the praising of his name and
singing forth those praises
as in the words immediately following in the same
verse
thus: My heart is prepared
O God
my heart is prepared;
therefore
hrmzaw
ashidah va-azamerah
"I will sing and give
praise." William Strong
in "Communion with God
" 1656.
Verse
7. My heart is fixed
O God
etc. Fitness for duty lies in
the orderly temper of body and mind
making a man willing to undertake
and
able to finish his work with comfortable satisfaction. If either the body or
mind be distempered
a man is unfit for such an undertaking; both must be in a
suitable frame
like a well tuned instrument
else there will be no melody:
hence when David prepared himself for praises and worship
he tells us his
heart was ready and fixed
and then
his tongue was ready also (Ps
45:1)
so was his hand with psaltery and harp; all these were awakened into a
suitable posture. That a man is or hath been in a fit order for service may be
concluded from
1.
His alacrity to undertake a duty.
2.
His activity in the prosecution.
3.
His satisfaction afterward. Right grounds and principles in these things being
still presupposed. Richard Gilpin (1625-1699
1700)
in "Daemonologia
Sacra."
Verse
7. I will sing. It should alarm the wicked that they are
contending with a people who sing and shout on the battle field. Yea
they
never sing louder than when most distressed and afflicted. Whether saints
conquer or are conquered they still sing on. Blessed be God for that. Let
sinners tremble at contending with men of a spirit so heavenly. William S.
Plumer.
Verse
7. Sincerity makes the Christian sing
when he hath nothing to his
supper. David was in none of the best case when in the cave
yet we never find
him merrier: his heart makes sweeter music than ever his harp did. William
Gurnall.
Verses
7-8. That worship that is performed with a sleepy
drowsy body
is a
weak worship
but the psalmist here makes the awakening of the body to be the
fruit and effect of the preparation of the heart; Awake up
my glory; awake
psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. Why so? My heart is prepared.
The heart prepared and thereby awaked
will awake the body. To worship God
therefore without a prepared heart
is to worship him with a drowsy body
because with a drowsy heart
and therefore weakly. John Angier
in "An
Help to Better Hearts
for Better Times
" 1647.
Verse
8. Awake up
my glory; awake
psaltery and harp: I myself will
awake early. We must prevent God by early praise as well as prayer:
"The God of my mercy shall prevent me
"sings David; and every child
of David must prevent God again with his songs. Jehoshaphat delighted God with
instruments of music before his deliverance. Faith must tune an epinikion
a psalm of victory
before the triumph. Praise is the ingenious mother of
future mercies; as the Virgin Mary sang at Hebron before the birth of her son
at Bethlehem. Oh
heavenly contention between mercy and duty! Samuel Lee
1625-1691.
Verse
8. Awake up
my glory
etc. We must sing with excited
grace. Not only with grace habitual
but with excited and actual: the
musical instrument delights not but when it is played upon. In this duty we
must follow Paul's advice to Timothy (2Ti 1:6)
anazwpurein
stir up the
grace that is in us
and cry out as David
Awake love
awake delight. Ps
57:8. The clock must be wound up before it can guide our time; the bird
pleaseth not in her nest
but in her notes; the chimes only make music when
they are going. Let us therefore beg the Spirit to blow upon our garden
that
the spices thereof may flow out
when we set upon this joyous service. God
loves active grace in duty
that the soul should be ready trimmed when it
presents itself to Christ in any worship. John Wells
in "Morning
Exercises
"1674.
Verse
8. I will awake early. Literally
`I will awake the dawn.' a
bold figure of poetry
as if the writer had said
—The morning shall not awake
me to praise; but in my songs I will anticipate the dawn. R. T. Society's
Notes.
Verse
8. It will answer our purpose to take notice
first
of the terms
David uses
and then
secondly
press the exhortation. Of the terms he
uses:
1.
My glory. That is my soul (say some) because the spirit of a man
is the glory of a man
whereby he is dignified and raised so much above the brutes
as to be but a "little lower than the angels
"nay
to be akin to God
himself
"the Father of spirits." My musical skill
say
others
the glory of the artist above the unskilful; and that wherein David had
the glory of excelling
as Jubal had of the first invention. My tongue
say others; for this is also the glory of a man above the dumb creatures
and
the glory of a wise man above a fool. And as the tongue is the glory of a man
so the glory of the tongue is to glorify God. Praise is the glory of all other
uses to which the tongue is employed; and the tongue is
in the body
that
"temple of the Holy Ghost
"what the silver trumpet was in the temple
of Solomon; to sound the high praises of God
and express the raised affections
of our souls.
2. Awake
psaltery and harp. The one for a psalm
the other for a spiritual song or
hymn; that is to say
all my musical instruments and skill I will employ in and
consecrate to the glory of him who "puts new songs into my mouth." He
first teaches my fingers to fight
and then to play the epinikion
or
song of triumph. Sound
then
my psaltery and harp
emulous of those that are
around the throne above; your melody can soften my cares
lay my fears
and
turn my cave into a choir. As to these instruments in the worship
of God
they were doubtless allowed to David
and to the church in his time.
They were agreeable to the state of that church and people
who were led very
much by their senses; and whose infant and less discerning condition made it
needful for the natural man to have something to fasten upon and be entertained
with in the worship of God and to sweeten and take off from the labour and
burden of that service. But as the gospel worship and appointments are a more
spiritual
pleasant
and reasonable service
and need them less
so in the
gospel institution we find no footsteps of them; and we know who first brought
them into the church
as well as who first brought them into the world. It is
not my business here to dispute this matter; and he must at any time do it but
indifferently
whose inclination is against him all the while
and whose genius
tempts him to wish himself solidly confuted in all he can advance. But since I
find these instruments in my text
and since the sound of such texts as these
is made use of to turn the public worship so frequently into concerts of music
I shall leave them with this remark: that to let them alone
especially in
public worship
though one thought them tolerable
has a much better grace with
it than to declare them "sorely displeasing to God
and that they filthily
defile his holy house and place of prayer."
3. I
myself will awake early. And without this
all the rest have been an empty
sound; there would have been no melody to the Lord
whatsoever good music he
might have made to himself. He would not put God off with a sacrifice of mere
air. He summons the attendance of all his powers. Himself is the offering; and
his music plays to the sacrifice
as it goes up in holy affections and
spiritual joys; and unless these accompany the song
the mere breath of an
organ
or the trembling of the strings of an harp is as good devotion and less
offensive to God. Consider the nature and excellency of the duty.
Singing psalms is a compound of several other duties. It contains prayer to a
very great advantage: the stretch of the voice does humour and lead on the
earnest reaching of the mind after the desired blessing. It is the very element
and breath of praise; and the apostle tells us that "teaching and
admonishing one another" is performed in singing "psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs." For when we sing of judgment
it is awakening
to sinners; and when we sing of mercy
it is comforting to all.
Meditation cannot have a better help. The solemn movement of the time gives
room for the mind to compass the full sense of the matter
and to impress it
deep; and while the tongue is making the pause
the heart may make the elevation.
In short
it gives an accent to all duty; it is the music of all other
ordinances; it is adapted and suited to all circumstances; as appears from the
psalms composed upon all occasions and subjects
doctrinal
prophetical
oratory
and historical; of praise and prayer
of grief and joy
in the
penitential and complaining
in the triumphal and rejoicing; as if singing of
psalms could stand for everything
and
like the manna in the wilderness
gives
a taste of all the other food we enjoy in the house of God.
Benjamin
Grosvenor
D.D. (1675-1758)
in "An Exhortation to the Duty of Singing
" Eastcheap Lectures
1810.
Verse
8. The psaltery was a stringed instrument
usually with
twelve strings
and played with the fingers. The harp or lyre was a
stringed instrument
usually consisting of ten strings. Josephus says that it
was struck or played with a key. It appears
however
that it was sometimes
played with the fingers. Albert Barnes.
Verse
9. I will praise thee
O Lord
among the people. The Spirit
of God who indited this scripture
made his penman know that the Gentiles
should have the use of his Psalms. David Dickson.
Verse
9. The people—the nations. The Hebrew church was neither
called nor qualified to be a missionary society
but it never ceased to desire
and hope for the conversion of the nations. This is seen in those passages in
which the psalmists betray a consciousness that they shall one day have all the
world for auditors. How boldly does David exclaim
I will sing unto thee
among the nations. In the same spirit
a later psalmist summons the church
to lift up her voice
so that all the nations may hear her recital of the
Lord's mighty acts: O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make
known his deeds among the people. Ps 105:1. The full import of this class
of texts is often hidden from the English reader by the circumstance that our
translators have hardly ever used the word people in its plural form.
Twice in the Revelation they venture to write peoples; everywhere else
the singular form has to do duty for both numbers; so that in not a few
passages the sense is greatly obscured to those who have no access either to
the original or to other versions. In the Psalms
in particular
the mention of
the Gentiles is more frequent than the English reader is made aware of. It is
to be observed
moreover
that in addition to this strain of indirect
prediction
the conversion of the world is articulately celebrated in many
glorious Psalms. Indeed
so numerous are these
and so generally distributed
over the centuries between David and Ezra
that it would seem that at no time
during the long history of inspired Psalmody
did the Spirit cease to indite
new songs in which the children of Zion might give utterance to their world
embracing hopes. William Binnie
D.D.
in "The Psalms: their History
Teachings
and Use
"1870.
Verses
10-11. A hard and ungrateful heart beholds even in prosperity only
isolated drops of divine grace; but a grateful one like David's
though chased
by persecutors
and striking the harp in the gloom of a cave
looks upon the
mercy and faithfulness of God as a mighty ocean
waving and heaving from the
earth to the clouds
and from the clouds to the earth again. Agustus F.
Tholuck.
Verse
11. Be thou exalted
O God
above the heavens
etc. Greater
words of prayer than these never came from human lips. Heaven and earth have as
they imply
a mutually interwoven history
and the blessed
glorious end of
this is in the sunrise of the Divine glory over both. Franz Delitzsch
1869.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. (first clause). Repetition in prayer.
1.
Its dangers. May degenerate into "vain repetitions." Carried to
excess painfully suggests the idea
God is unwilling.
2.
Its uses. Eases the soul like tears. Manifests intense emotion. Enables those
of less mental activity to join in the general supplication. R. A. Griffin.
Verse
1. Here are—
1.
Calamities:
(a)
War.
(b) Pestilence.
(c) Privations.
(d) Sin
greatest of all.
(e) Death.
(f)Curse of a broken law.
2.
Here is a refuge from these calamities.
(a)
In God.
(b) Specially in the mercy of God.
3.
There is flying to that refuge.
(a)
By faith; My soul trusteth in thee; Under the shadow
etc.
(b) By prayer; "Be "etc.
4.
Here is continuance both in faith and prayer; until
etc. G. R.
Verses
1
4
6-7. Note the varying condition of the same heart
at the same time. My
soul trusteth in thee... My soul is among lions... My soul is bowed down... My
heart is fixed.
Verse
2. Prayer to the performing God. He performs all his promises
all
my salvation
all my preservation
all needed between here and heaven. Here he
reveals his omnipotence
his grace
his faithfulness
his immutability; and we
are bound to show our faith
patience
joy
and gratitude.
Verse
2. Strange reasons.
1.
The psalmist in the depth of distress
cries to God
because he is most high in
glory. Surely this thought might well paralyse him with the fear of divine
inaccessibility
but the soul quickened with suffering
sees through and beyond
the metaphor
rejoices in the truth
"Though the Lord be high
yet hath he
respect unto the lowly."
2.
He cries to God for help
because God is performing all things for him.
Why urge him then? Prayer is the music to which "the mighty man of
war" goes forth to battle. R. A. G.
Verse
3. The saints comfort in adversity.
1.
All contingencies are provided for: He shall (or will) send.
2.
The highest resources are available: from heaven.
3.
The worst foes will be overcome in the end: him that would swallow me
up.
4.
By the holiest means: mercy and truth. R. A. G.
Verse
3. The celestial messengers. What they are. The certainty of their
being sent. Their efficient operation. The grateful receiver.
Verse
3. (last clause). The harmony of the divine attributes in
salvation. Mercy founded on truth
truth vindicating mercy. Mercy without injustice
justice honoured in mercy.
Verse
5.
1.
The end which God has in view
both in heaven and earth
in a sinful and in
sinless worlds—his own glory.
2.
Our duty to acquiesce in that end: Be thou
etc.—Not self
not men
not
angels—Be thou exalted
etc. In this we should acquiesce—
(a)
Actively
by seeking that end.
(b)
Passively
by submission to his will. G. R.
Verse
7. (first clause). It is implied that the heart is the
main thing required in all acts of devotion; nothing is done to purpose in religion
further than it is done with the heart. The heart must be fixed; fixed for
the duty
fitted and put in frame for it; fixed in the duty by a close
application; attending on the Lord without distraction. Matthew
Henry.
Verse
7.
1.
What is fixed? the heart
not the mind merely
but the will
the conscience
the affections
which draw the mind after them: My heart is fixed—found
an anchorage
a resting place
not therefore at the mercy of every gale
etc.
2.
The objects upon which it is fixed.
(a)
Upon God.
(b) Upon his word.
(c) Upon his salvation.
(d) Upon heaven.
3.
The fixedness of the heart upon these objects
denotes—
(a)
Singleness of aim.
(b) Uniformity of action.
(c) Perseverance to the end. G. R.
Verses
7-9.
1.
He that will be thankful must treasure up in his heart and memory the courtesy
that is done him; so had David done
and therefore he mentions his heart;
and to make it more emphatic
he names it again
My heart.
2.
After he remembers it
he must be affected with it
and resolve upon it; so
doth David: My heart is ready
or else
My heart is fixed;
confirmed I am in it to be thankful
and I cannot be altered.
3.
It is not enough that a man carry about with him a thankful heart he must anunciare
tell it abroad
and make it known publicly what God hath done for him; yea
and
do it joyfully too: I will
saith David
sing and give praise.
4.
He must use all means he can to make it known—"tongue
""psaltery
"and "harp
"all are little
enough. Whence
by an apostrophe
David turns to these. Awake
my glory:
i.e.
Tongue
awake; lute and harp
awake; I myself will awake.
5.
He must not do it in a sleepy manner
but with intention and earnestness of
spirit: "Awake
awake
I will awake."
6.
He must take the first opportunity to do it
and not hang off and delay it. I
will awake early.
7.
He must do it in such a place
and such an assembly as may most redound to
God's honour: I will praise thee
O Lord
among the people: I will sing unto
thee among the nations. William Nicholson.
Verse
9. Who? I. What? Will praise. Whom? Thee
O Lord.
Where? Among the people. Why?
Verse
9. Public profession.
1.
A necessity.
2. A privilege.
3. A duty. R. A. G.
Verse
10. The mercy of God reaches to the heavens.
1.
As a throne. God is exalted in our eyes by his mercy.
2.
As a ladder. By mercy we ascend from earth to heaven.
3.
As a rainbow. Present and past mercies argue exemption for the saints from the
wrath of heaven.
4.
As a mountain. Its base is on the earth though its summit is lost in clouds.
The influence of the cross towers to the heaven of heavens. Who can tell the
glory of the summit of this mountain
whose base is refulgent with
glory! R. A. G.
Verse
10. The amazing greatness of mercy.
1.
It is not said merely that it is high as heaven
but great unto the heavens. It
is high as the heavens
overtopping the greatest sin
and highest
thought of man.
2.
It is wide as the far reaching sky
compassing men of all ages
countries
classes
etc.
3.
It is deep. Everything of God is proportionate; this
therefore
is deep
in abiding foundation
and infinite wisdom.
WORKS UPON THE
FIFTY-SEVENTH PSALM
The
Works of JOHN BOYS
D.D.
"Deane of Canterburie
"1629
folio
pp.
834-40
contains an Exposition of Psalm 57.
In
CHANDLER'S "Life of David
"Vol. 1.
pp. 176-9
there is an
Exposition of this Psalm.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》