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Psalm Fifty-nine
Psalm 59
Chapter Contents
David prays for deliverance from his enemies. (1-7) He
foresees their destruction. (8-17)
Commentary on Psalm 59:1-7
(Read Psalm 59:1-7)
In these words we hear the voice of David when a prisoner
in his own house; the voice of Christ when surrounded by his merciless enemies;
the voice of the church when under bondage in the world; and the voice of the
Christian when under temptation
affliction
and persecution. And thus
earnestly should we pray daily
to be defended and delivered from our spiritual
enemies
the temptations of Satan
and the corruptions of our own hearts. We
should fear suffering as evil-doers
but not be ashamed of the hatred of
workers of iniquity. It is not strange
if those regard not what they
themselves say
who have made themselves believe that God regards not what they
say. And where there is no fear of God
there is nothing to secure proper
regard to man.
Commentary on Psalm 59:8-17
(Read Psalm 59:8-17)
It is our wisdom and duty
in times of danger and
difficulty
to wait upon God; for he is our defence
in whom we shall be safe.
It is very comfortable to us
in prayer
to look to God as the God of our
mercy
the Author of all good in us
and the Giver of all good to us. The
wicked can never be satisfied
which is the greatest misery in a poor
condition. A contented man
if he has not what he would have
yet he does not
quarrel with Providence
nor fret within himself. It is not poverty
but
discontent that makes a man unhappy. David would praise God because he had many
times
and all along
found Him his refuge in the day of trouble. He that is
all this to us
is certainly worthy of our best affections
praises
and
services. The trials of his people will end in joy and praise. When the night
of affliction is over
they will sing of the Lord's power and mercy in the
morning. Let believers now
in assured faith and hope
praise Him for those
mercies
for which they will rejoice and praise him for ever.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 59
Verse 4
[4] They
run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me
and behold.
Run — To
and fro
to receive Saul's commands
and to execute them with all speed.
Verse 5
[5] Thou therefore
O LORD God of hosts
the God of Israel
awake to visit all
the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. /*Selah*/.
The God — A
God in covenant with all true Israelites
whom thou hast promised to protect
and bless.
The heathen —
Or
these heathens
who though they are Israelites by birth; yet in their
dispositions they are mere Heathens.
Be not —
For indeed thou canst not according to thy word
be merciful to such
incorrigible offenders.
Verse 6
[6] They
return at evening: they make a noise like a dog
and go round about the city.
Return —
Watching for me: which they did at this time all the night long
1 Samuel 19:11.
A dog —
When he is pursuing his prey.
Go round —
When they did not find him in his own house
they sought for him in other parts
of the city.
Verse 7
[7]
Behold
they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who
say
they
doth hear?
Pour out —
Sharp and bitter word's
abundantly and vehemently
as a fountain doth waters
as this word signifies.
Swords —
Words as keen and mischievous as swords.
For who —
David doth not hear us
and God either doth not hear
or not regard what we
say.
Verse 10
[10] The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon
mine enemies.
Prevent —
Thou wilt help me sooner than I expect.
Verse 11
[11] Slay
them not
lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them
down
O Lord our shield.
My people —
Over whom thou hast appointed me to be governor in due time.
Forget —
Their former danger
and thy glorious mercy in delivering them.
Scatter —
Let them wander from place to place
that they may carry the tokens of thy
justice
and their own shame to all places.
Verse 12
[12] For
the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in
their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak.
Pride —
For their proud and insolent speeches against thee.
Lying —
For their execrations and lying reports
which they have spread concerning me.
Verse 13
[13]
Consume them in wrath
consume them
that they may not be: and let them know
that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. /*Selah*/.
Not be — In
the land of the living any more.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
To the Chief
Musician. Strange that the painful events in David's life should end in
enriching the repertoire of the national minstrelsy. Out of a sour
ungenerous
soil spring up the honey bearing flowers of psalmody. Had he never been cruelly
hunted by Saul
Israel and the church of God in after ages would have missed
this song. The music of the sanctuary is in no small degree indebted to the
trials of the saints. Affliction is the tuner of the harps of sanctified
songsters. Altaschith. Another "destroy not" Psalm. Whom God
preserves Satan cannot destroy. The Lord can even preserve the lives of his
prophets by the very ravens that would naturally pick out their eyes. David
always found a friend to help him when his case was peculiarly dangerous
and
that friend was in his enemy's household; in this instance it was Michal
Saul's daughter
as on former occasions it had been Jonathan
Saul's son. Michtam
of David. This is the Fifth of the Golden Secrets of David: God's chosen
people have many such. When Saul sent
and they watched the house to kill
him. Great efforts were made to carry the Psalms away to other authors and
seasons than those assigned in the headings
it being the fashion just now to
prove one's learning by disagreeing with all who have gone before. Perhaps in a
few years the old titles will be as much reverenced as they are now rejected.
There are spasms in these matters
and in many other things among the would be
"intellectuals" of the schools. We are not anxious to show our
readiness at conjecture
and therefore are content with reading this Psalm in
the light of the circumstances here mentioned; it does not seem unsuitable to any
verse
and in some the words are very appropriate to the specified occasion.
DIVISION. In Ps 59:1-2
he prays
in Ps 59:3-4 he complains of his woes
and again in Ps 59:5 he prays.
Here he inserts a Selah
and ends one portion of his song. In Ps 59:6-7 he
renews his complaint
in Ps 59:8-10 declares his confidence in God
and in Ps
59:11-13 lifts up his heart in prayer; closing another part of his Psalm with
Selah. Then he prays again in Ps 59:14-15
and afterwards betakes himself to
singing.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Deliver me from mine enemies
O my God. They were all
round the house with the warrant of authority
and a force equal to the
carrying of it out. He was to be taken dead or alive
well or ill
and carried
to the slaughter. No prowess could avail him to break the cordon of armed men
neither could any eloquence stay the hand of his bloody persecutor. He was
taken like a bird in a net
and no friend was near to set him free. Unlike the
famous starling
he did not cry
"I cannot get out
"but his faith
uttered quite another note. Unbelief would have suggested that prayer was a
waste of breath
but not so thought the good man
for he makes it his sole
resort. He cries for deliverance and leaves ways and means with his God. Defend
me from them that rise up against me. Saul was a king
and therefore sat in
high places
and used all his authority to crush David; the persecuted one
therefore beseeches the Lord to set him on high also
only in another sense. He
asks to be lifted up
as into a lofty tower
beyond the reach of his adversary.
Note how he sets the title
My God
over against the word
mine
enemies. This is the right method of effectually catching and quenching the
fiery darts of the enemy upon the shield of faith. God is our God
and
therefore deliverance and defence are ours.
Verse
2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Saul was treating
him very unjustly
and besides that was pursuing a tyrannical and unrighteous
course towards others
therefore David the more vehemently appeals against him.
Evil men were in the ascendant at court
and were the ready tools of the
tyrant
against these also he prays. Bad men in a bad cause may be pleaded
against without question. When a habitation is beset by thieves
the good man
of the house rings the alarm bell; and in these verses we may hear it ring out
loudly
"deliver me
""defend me
""deliver me
""save me." Saul had more cause to fear than David had
for
the invincible weapon of prayer was being used against him
and heaven was
being aroused to give him battle. And save me from bloody men. As David
remembers how often Saul had sought to assassinate him
he knows what he has to
expect from that quarter and from the king's creatures and minions who were
watching for him. David represents his enemy in his true colours before God;
the bloodthirstiness of the foe is a fit reason for the interposition of the
righteous God
for the Lord abhors all those who delight in blood.
Verse
3. For
lo
they lie in wait for my soul. They were in
ambuscade for the good man's life. He knew their design and cried to God to be
rescued from it. Like wild beasts they crouched
and waited to make the fatal
spring; but their victim used effectual means to baffle them
for he laid the
matter before the Lord. While the enemy lies waiting in the posture of a beast
we wait before God in the posture of prayer
for God waits to be gracious to us
and terrible towards our foes. The mighty are gathered against me. None of them
were absent from the muster when a saint was to be murdered. They were too fond
of such sport to be away. The men at arms who ought to have been fighting their
country's battles
are instead thereof hunting a quiet citizen; the gigantic
monarch is spending all his strength to slay a faithful follower. Not for my
transgression
not for my sin
O Lord. He appeals to Jehovah that he had done
no ill. His only fault was
that he was too valiant and too gracious
and was
besides
the chosen of the Lord
therefore the envious king could not rest till
he had washed his hands in the blood of his too popular rival. We shall always
find it to be a great thing to be innocent; if it does not carry our cause
before an earthly tribunal
it will ever prove the best of arguments in the
court of conscience
and a standing consolation when we are under persecution.
Note the repetition of his declaration of integrity. David is sure of his
innocence. He dares repeat the plea.
Verse
4. They run and prepare themselves without my fault. They are
all alive and active
they are swift to shed blood. They prepare and use their
best tactics; they besiege me in my house
and lay their ambuscades as for some
notable enemy. They come up fully armed to the attack
and assail me with all
the vigour and skill of a host about to storm a castle; and all for no cause
but out of gratuitous malice. So quick are they to obey their cruel master
that they never stay to consider whether their errand is a good one or not;
they run at once
and buckle on their harness as they run. To be thus
gratuitously attacked is a great grief. To a brave man the danger causes little
distress of mind compared with the injustice to which he is subjected. It was a
cruel and crying shame that such a hero as David should be hounded down as if
he were a monster
and beset in his house like a wild beast in its den. Awake
to help me
and behold. When others go to sleep
keep thou watch
O God. Put
forth thy might. Arouse thee from thy inaction. Only look at thy servant's sad
condition and thy hand will be sure to deliver me. We see how thorough was the
psalmist's faith in the mercy of his Lord
for he is satisfied that if the Lord
do but look on his case it will move his active compassion.
Verse
5. Thou
thyself
work for me personally
for the case needs
thine interposition. Therefore
because I am unjustly assailed
and cannot help
myself. O Lord
ever living
God of Hosts
able to rescue me; the God of
Israel
pledged by covenant to redeem thine oppressed servant; awake to visit
all the heathen
arouse thy holy mind
bestow thy sacred energies
punish the
heathen among thine Israel
the false hearted who say they are Jews and are
not
but do lie. And when thou art about the business
let all the nations of
thine enemies
and all the heathenish people at home and abroad know that thou
art upon circuit
judging and punishing. It is the mark of a thoughtful prayer
that the titles which are in it applied to God are appropriate
and are
as it
were
congruous to the matter
and fitted to add force to the argument. Shall
Jehovah endure to see his people oppressed? Shall the God of hosts permit his
enemies to exult over his servant? Shall the faithful God of a chosen people
leave his chosen to perish? The name of God is
even in a literal sense
a
fortress and high tower for all his people. What a forceful petition is
contained in the words
"awake to visit"! Actively punish
in
wisdom judge
with force chastise. Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors.
Be merciful to them as men
but not as transgressors; if they continue hardened
in their sin
do not wink at their oppression. To wink at sin in transgressors
will be to leave the righteous under their power
therefore do not pass by
their offences but deal out the due reward. The psalmist feels that the
overthrow of oppression which was so needful for himself must be equally
desirable for multitudes of the godly placed in like positions
and therefore
he prays for the whole company of the faithful
and against the entire
confraternity of traitors. Selah. With such a subject before us we may well
pause. Who would not sit still and consider
when vengeance is being meted out
to all the enemies of God? How wrong is that state of mind which hates to hear
of the punishment of the wicked!
Verse
6. They return at evening. Like wild beasts that roam at
night
they come forth to do mischief. If foiled in the light
they seek the
more congenial darkness in which to accomplish their designs. They mean to
break into the house in the dead of might. They make a noise like a dog
and go
round about the city. Howling with hunger for their prey
they sneak round and
round the walls
prowling with stealthy footstep
and barking in unamiable
concert. David compares his foes to Eastern dogs
unowned
loathsome
degraded
lean
and hungry
and he represents them as howling with disappointment
because they cannot find the food they seek. Saul's watchmen and the cruel king
himself must have raved and raged fiercely when they found the image and the
pillow of goat's hair in the bed instead of David. Vain were their watchings
the victim had been delivered
and that by the daughter of the man who desired
his blood. Go
ye dogs
to your kennels and gnaw your bones
for this good man
is not meat for your jaws.
Verse
7. Behold they belch out with their mouth. The noisy
creatures are so remarkable in their way
that attention is called to them with
a behold. Ecce homines
might we not say
Ecce canes! Their
malicious speech gushes from them as from a bubbling fountain. The wicked are
voluble in slander; their vocabulary of abuse is copious
and as detestable as
it is abundant. What torrents of wrathful imprecation will they pour on the
godly! They need no prompters
their feelings force for themselves their own
vent
and fashion their own expressions. Swords are in their lips. They speak
daggers. Their words pierce like rapiers
and cleave like cutlasses. As the
cushion of a lions's paw conceals his claw
so their soft ruby lips contain
bloody words. For who
say they
doth hear? They are free from all restraint
they fear no God in heaven
and the government on earth is with them. When men
have none to call them to account
there is no accounting for what they will
do. He who neither fears God nor regards man sets out on errands of oppression
with gusto
and uses language concerning it of the most atrociously cruel sort.
David must have been in a singular plight when he could hear the foul talk and
hideous braggings of Saul's black guards around the house. After the style in
which a Cavalier would have cursed a Puritan
or Claverhouse a Coventanter
the
Saulites swore at the upstarts whom the king's majesty had sent them to arrest.
David called them dogs
and no doubt a pretty pack they were
a cursed cursing
company of curs. When they said
"Who doth hear?" God was listening
and this David knew
and therefore took courage.
Verse
8. But thou
O Lord
shalt laugh at them. He speaks to God
as to one who is close at hand. He points to the liers in wait and speaks to
God about them. They are laughing at me
and longing for my destruction
but
thou hast the laugh of them seeing thou hast determined to send them away
without their victim
and made fools of by Michal. The greatest
cleverest
and
most malicious of the enemies of the church are only objects of ridicule to the
Lord; their attempts are utterly futile
they need give no concern to our
faith. Thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. As if David had said—What
are these fellows who lie in ambush! And what is the king their master
if God
be on my side? If not only these but all the heathen nations were besetting the
house
yet Jehovah would readily enough disappoint them and deliver them. In
the end of all things it will be seen how utterly contemptible and despicable
are all the enemies of the cause and kingdom of God. He is a brave man who sees
this today when the enemy is in great power
and while the church is often as
one shut up and besieged in his house.
Verse
9. Because of his strength will I wait upon thee. Is my
persecutor strong? Then
my God
for this very reason I will turn myself to
thee
and leave my matters in thy hand. It is a wise thing to find in the
greatness of our difficulties a reason for casting ourselves on the Lord.
"And
when it seems no chance nor change
From grief can set me free
Hope finds its strength in helplessness
And
patient
waits on thee."
For
God is my defence
my high place
my fortress
the place of my resort in the
time of my danger. If the foe be too strong for me to cope with him
I will
retreat into my castle
where he cannot reach me.
Verse
10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me. God who is the giver
and fountain of all the undeserved goodness I have received
will go before me
and lead my way as I march onward. He will meet me in my time of need. Not
alone shall I have to confront my foes
but he whose goodness I have long tried
and proved will gently clear my way
and be my faithful protector. How
frequently have we met with preventing mercy—the supply prepared before the
need occurred
the refuge built before the danger arose. Far ahead into the
future the foreseeing grace of heaven has projected itself
and forestalled
every difficulty. God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. Observe
that the words
my desire
are not in the original. From the Hebrew we
are taught that David expected to see his enemies without fear. God will enable
his servant to gaze steadily upon the foe without trepidation; he shall be
calm
and self possessed
in the hour of peril; and ere long he shall look down
on the same foes discomfited
overthrown
destroyed. When Jehovah leads the way
victory follows at his heels. See God
and you need not fear to see your
enemies. Thus the hunted David
besieged in his own house by traitors
looks
only to God
and exults over his enemies.
Verse
11. Slay them not
lest my people forget. It argues great
faith on David's part
that even while his house was surrounded by his enemies
he is yet so fully sure of their overthrow
and so completely realises it in
his own mind
that he puts in a detailed petition that they may not be too soon
or too fully exterminated. God's victory over the craft and cruelty of the
wicked is so easy and so glorious that it seems a pity to end the conflict too
soon. To sweep away the plotters all at once were to end the great drama of
retribution too abruptly. Nay
let the righteous be buffeted a little longer
and let the boasting oppressor puff and brag through his little hour
it will
help to keep Israel in mind of the Lord's justice
and make the brave party who
side with God's champion accustomed to divine interpositions. It were a pity
for good men to be without detractors
seeing that virtue shines the brighter
for the foil of slander. Enemies help to keep the Lord's servants awake. A
lively
vexatious devil is less to be dreaded than a sleepy
forgetful spirit
which is given to slumber. Scatter them by thy power. Blow them to and fro
like chaff in the wind. Let the enemy live as a vagabond race. Make Cains of
them. Let them be living monuments of divine power
advertisements of heaven's
truth. To the fullest extent let divine justice be illustrated in them. And
bring them down. Like rotten fruit from a tree. From the seats of power which
they disgrace
and the positions of influence which they pollute
let them be
hurled into humiliation. This was a righteous wish
and if it be untempered by
the gentleness of Jesus
we must remember that it is a soldier's prayer
and
the wish of one who was smarting under injustice and malice of no ordinary
kind. O Lord
our shield. David felt himself to be the representative of the
religious party in Israel
and therefore he says
our shield
speaking
in the name of all those who make Jehovah their defence. We are in good company
when we hide beneath the buckler of the Eternal; meanwhile he who is the shield
of his people is the scatterer of their enemies.
Verse
12. For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let
them even be taken in their pride. Such dreadful language of atheism and
insolence deserves a fit return. As they hope to take their victims
so let
them be taken themselves
entangled in their own net
arrested in the midst of
their boastful security. Sins of the lips are real sins
and punishable sins.
Men must not think because their hatred gets no further than railing and
blasphemy that therefore they shall be excused. He who takes the will for the
deed
will take the word for the deed and deal with men accordingly. Wretches
who are persecutors in talk
burners and stabbers with the tongue
shall have a
reckoning for their would be transgressions. Pride though it show not itself in
clothes
but only in speech
is a sin; and persecuting pride
though it pile no
faggots at Smithfield
but only revile with its lips
shall have to answer for
it among the unholy crew of inquisitors. And for cursing and lying which they
speak. Sins
like hounds
often hunt in couples. He who is not ashamed to curse
before God
will be sure to lie unto men. Every swearer is a liar. Persecution
leads on to perjury. They lie and swear to it. They curse and give a lying
reason for their hate. This shall not go unnoticed of the Lord
but shall bring
down its recompense. How often has it happened that while haughty speeches have
been fresh in the mouths of the wicked they have been overtaken by avenging
providence
and made to see their mischief recoil upon themselves!
Verse
13. Consume them in wrath. As if he had changed his mind and
would have them brought to a speedy end
or if spared would have them exist as
ruins
he cries
consume them
and he redoubles his cry
consume
them; nay
he gives a triple note
that they may not be. Revilers of God
whose mouths pour forth such filth as David was on this occasion obliged to
hear
are not to be tolerated by a holy soul; indignation must flame forth
and
cry to God against them. When men curse the age and the place in which they
live
common humanity leads the righteous to desire that they may be removed.
If they could be reformed it would be infinitely better; but if they cannot
if
they must and will continue to be like mad dogs in a city
then let them cease
to be. Who can desire to see such a generation perpetuated? And let them know; i.e.
let all the nations know
that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth.
He whose government is universal fixes his headquarters among his chosen
people
and there in special he punishes sin. So David would have all men see.
Let even the most remote nations know that the great moral Governor has power
to destroy ungodliness
and does not wink at iniquity in any
at any time
or
in any place. When sin is manifestly punished it is a valuable lesson to all
mankind. The overthrow of a Napoleon is a homily for all monarchs
the death of
a Tom Paine a warning to all infidels
the siege of Paris a sermon to all cities.
Selah. Good cause there is for this rest
when a theme so wide and important is
introduced. Solemn subjects ought not to be hurried over; nor should the
condition of the heart while contemplating themes so high be a matter of
indifference. Reader
bethink thee. Sit thou awhile and consider the ways of
God with men.
Verse
14. Here verse six is repeated
as if the songster defied his foes
and revelled in the thought of their futile search
their malice
their
disappointment
their rage
their defeated vigilance
their wasted energy. He
laughs to think that all the city would know how they were deceived
and all
Israel would ring with the story of the image and the goats' hair in the bed.
Nothing was more a subject of Oriental merriment than a case in which the
crafty are deceived
and nothing more makes a man the object of derision than
to be outwitted by a woman
as in this instance Saul and his base minions were
by Michal. The warrior poet hears in fancy the howl of rage in the council of
his foes when they found their victim clean escaped from their hands.
Verse
16. Let them wander up and down for meat. Like dogs that have
missed the expected carcass
let them go up and down dissatisfied
snapping at
one another
and too disappointed to be quiet and take the matter easily. And
grudge if they be not satisfied. Let them act like those who cannot believe
that they have lost their prey: like a herd of Oriental dogs
unhoused
unkennelled
let them prowl about seeking a prey which they shall never find.
Thus the menial followers of Saul paraded the city in vain hope of satisfying
their malice and their master. "Surely
"say they
"we shall
have him yet. We cannot endure to miss him. Perhaps he is in yonder corner
or
concealed is such a hiding place. We must have him. We grudge him his life. Our
lust for his blood is hot
nor can we be persuaded but that we shall light upon
him." See the restlessness of wicked men; this will increase as their
enmity to God increases
and in hell it will be their infinite torment. What is
the state of the lost
but the condition of an ambitious camp of rebels
who
have espoused a hopeless cause
and will not give it up
but are impelled by
their raging passions to rave on against the cause of God
of truth
and of his
people.
Verse
16. But I will sing of thy power. The wicked howl
but I sing
and will sing. Their power is weakness
but thine is omnipotence; I see them
vanquished and thy power victorious
and for ever and ever will I sing of thee.
Yea
I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning. When those lovers of
darkness find their game is up
and their midnight howlings die away
then will
I lift up my voice on high and praise the lovingkindness of God without fear of
being disturbed. What a blessed morning will soon break for the righteous
and
what a song will be theirs! Sons of the morning
ye may sigh tonight
but joy
will come on the wings of the rising sun. Tune your harps even now
for the
signal to commence the eternal music will soon be given; the morning cometh and
your sun shall go no more down for ever. For thou hast been my defence. The
song is for God alone
and it is one which none can sing but those who have
experienced the lovingkindness of their God. Looking back upon a past all full
of mercy
the saints will bless the Lord with their whole hearts
and triumph
in him as the high place of their security. And refuge in the day of my
trouble. The greater our present trials the louder will our future songs be
and the more intense our joyful gratitude. Had we no day of trouble
where were
our season of retrospective thanksgiving? David's besetment by Saul's
bloodhounds creates an opportunity for divine interposition and so for
triumphant praise.
Verse
17. Unto thee
O my strength
will I sing. What transport is
here! What a monopolising of all his emotions for the one object of praising
God! Strength has been overcome by strength; not by the hero's own prowess
but
by the might of God alone. See how the singer girds himself with the
almightiness of God
and calls it all his own by faith. Sweet is the music of
experience
but it is all for God; there is not even a stray note for man
for
self
or for human helpers. For God is my defence
and the God of my mercy.
With full assurance he claims possession of the Infinite as his protection and
security. He sees God in all
and all his own. Mercy rises before him
undisturbed and manifold
for he feels he is undeserving
and security is with
him
undisturbed and impregnable
for he knows that he is safe in divine
keeping. Oh
choice song! My soul would sing it now in defiance of all the dogs
of hell. Away
away
ye adversaries of my soul
the God of my mercy will keep
ye all at bay—
"Nor
shall the infernal lion rend
Whom he designs to keep."
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
This
Psalm has in its stern contents something no doubt strange to our ears. But
never let us omit to distinguish from each other the times and diverse
economies
and to place ourselves as far as possible
in sympathy with the
experience of a heart which burned for nothing more than for the glorifying of
God in this world. Everything that tended to obscure the theocratic relation of
God to his people
called up in the soul of David the most vehement passion.
The scornful oppression with which Saul and his venal satellites visited him
the man of God
could not but have
upon the eyes of all
the appearance as if
Jehovah were no longer Lord in his own land
who inexorably adhered to his laws
and rights. Treason
falsehood
and every kind of evil then prevailed
unchecked. What wonder
that as formerly Moses in the wilderness was provoked
against the stiff necked people
so also David
whom the awful holiness of God
had already made to tremble
should feel his spirit stirred against the ungodly
who surrounded him
and should say
with Job
"My bowels boiled within
me." Frederick William Krummacher
D.D.
in "David
the King of
Israel
"1867.
Verse
1. O my God. There are two pleas which the psalmist makes use
of; one was
that God was his God
Ps 59:1; the other was the power
and strength of his enemies. It is a blessed thing to have the
covenant to fly to in all times of straits and troubles; there is always an
anchor hold of hope there. My God
is such a plea as infinitely over
balances all other things. He has engaged himself to do his people good; and it
is time for him to work when the enemy exalts himself. The church's enemies are
never so near destruction as when they think they have nothing to do
but take
and divide the spoil. We may plead God's promise and the enemies' power too;
both are a ground of hope to a believer in Jesus. John Hill (1711-1746)
in
"Sermons on Several Occasions."
Verse
1. That rise up against me. He insists upon the strength and
violence of his enemies
with the view of exciting his mind to greater fervour
in the duty of prayer. These he describes as rising up against him
in
which expression he alludes
not simple to the audacity or fierceness of their
assaults
but to the eminent superiority of power which they possessed; and yet
he asks that he may be lifted up on high
as it were
above the reach of this
over swelling inundation. John Calvin.
Verse
3. (first clause). On the expression
they lie in wait for
my soul
compare 1Sa 19:11
"And Michal
David's wife
told him
saying
If thou save not thy life soul tonight
tomorrow thou shalt be slain;
"and Ps 7:2
5. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
3. The mighty are gathered against me
is rendered by
Chandler
The mighty are turned aside to lay snares against me.
Verse
3. The mighty are gathered against me. As if he would say
"But I am weak
be thou
however
my strength
and vindicate my
innocence." Arnd.
Verses
3-4. He pleads his own innocency
not as to God
but as to his
persecutors. Note
1.
The innocency of the godly will not secure them from the malignity of the
wicked. Those that are harmless like doves
yet for Christ's sake are hated of
all men
as if they were noxious like serpents
and obnoxious accordingly.
2.
Though our innocency will not secure us from troubles
yet it will greatly
support and comfort us under our troubles. The testimony of our conscience for
us
that we have behaved ourselves well toward those that have behaved
themselves ill towards us
will be very much our rejoicing in the day of evil.
If we are conscious to ourselves of our innocency
we may with humble
confidence appeal to God
and beg of him to plead our injured cause which he
will do in due time. Matthew Henry.
Verse
4. They run
as armed warriors rushing to the assault (Ps
18:29). The Hebrew for "prepare themselves
"(Heb.) means also
"they establish themselves; "they make firm their footing
like forces assaulting a city. Job 30:14. A. R. Fausset.
Verse
4. They run and prepare. The zeal and diligence of the wicked
in the cause of unrighteousness might well reprove the languor and tardiness of
saints in the work of faith and labour of love. In the church of God nothing is
the source of more mischief than the want of true zeal and liveliness. It is
only when "many run to and fro" that "knowledge shall be
increased." William S. Plumer.
Verse
4. Without fault. As it respected Saul
he was a faithful
subject and an obedient son-in-law. Benjamin Boothroyd.
Verse
4. Awake to help me
literally
Awake to meet me. In
time of temptation the Lord seems to be absent from us
and not to observe our
distress—to be
as it were
as Jesus
in the storm
is described as having been
"asleep in the hinder part of the ship." Mr 4:38. But it is only an
appearance; the Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps 121:4); he is always ready
to come to our help when we call upon him. O. Prescott Hiller.
Verse
4. And behold. The expression is one which savours at once of
faith and of the infirmity of the flesh. In speaking of God
as if his eyes had
been hitherto shut to the wrongs which he had suffered
and needed now for the
first time to be opened for the discovery of them
he expresses himself
according to the weakness of our human apprehension. On the other hand
in
calling upon God to behold his cause
he shows his faith by virtually
acknowledging that nothing was hid from his providential cognisance. John
Calvin.
Verse
5. O Lord God of hosts
the God of Israel. In time of straits
we should set our eyes most upon those styles of God which most serve to
strengthen our faith
especially such as hold forth his power and goodwill to
employ his power for us. David Dickson.
Verse
5. Lord God of hosts. YAHVEH
Elohim
Tsebaoth; as in
Ps 80:4
19 84:8. Compare 2Sa 5:10 1Ki 19:10
14 Ps 89:8. From "The
Psalms translated from the Hebrew
with Notes chiefly exegetical." By
William Kay
D.D.
1871.
Verse
5. Lord God of hosts. Some have thought this equivalent to
God of battles; the true force of the epithet
however
is
"Sovereign of
the stars
material hosts of heaven
and of the angels their inhabitants."
A. A. Hodge
in "Outlines of Theology
"1866.
Verse
5.
1. God
of hosts
and therefore able;
2. God
of Israel
and therefore willing. Andrew A. Bonar.
Verse
6. At evening. The evening expresses the time of
calamity and want
and alludes to the wild beasts which are wont in the evening
to go forth in quest of prey. Hermann Venema.
Verse
6. They make a noise like a dog. The noise I heard then I
shall never forget. To say that if all the sheep dogs in going to Smithfield on
a market day
had been kept on the constant bark and pitted against the yelping
curs upon all the carts in London
they could have given any idea of the canine
uproar that now first astonished me
would be to make the feeblest of images.
The whole city rang with one vast riot. Down below me
at Tophane; over about
Stamboul; far away at Scutari; the whole sixty thousand dogs that are said to
overrun Constantinople
appeared engaged in the most active extermination of
each other
without a moment's cessation. The yelping
howling
barking
growling
and snarling
were all merged into one uniform and continuous even
sound
as the noise of frogs becomes
when heard at a distance. For hours there
was no lull. I went to sleep and woke again
and still
with my windows open
I
heard the same tumult going on; nor was it until daybreak that anything like
tranquillity was restored. Albert Smith
in "A Month at
Constantinople
" 1850.
Verse
6. In bringing their secret plans to bear
they are represented as
hungry dogs
prowling about the city in the darkness for prey; ranging
each
one with his own object
but in one common cause. To take in the full force of
this metaphor it must be remembered that in Eastern cities formerly
as at the
present day
it was the custom to cast out all the refuse of food—bones
offal
etc.—into the streets
which was consumed chiefly by dogs
great numbers of
which were kept
as it would seem
for that particular purpose. With this idea
in mind
the metaphor has great propriety in its application to Christ's
enemies.
"Every
evening they return
They howl like dogs
And surround the city."
—William Hill Tucker.
Verses
6-7. This is a continued metaphor
which must be well observed
of a
famished and rabid dog
unable to satisfy either its hunger or thirst; and
describes men
howling formerly like dogs
pursuing
seizing all good things
for themselves
and devouring; but now destitute of all things
unable to
quench their cupidity
despised
miserable
and desperate wanderers. Such did
Saul and his messengers sent against David in Najoth Rama show themselves to
be
and give the prelude to their coming misery. Hermann Venema.
Verses
6-7.
1.
They are diligent about it
They return at evening.
2. Mad
and set to do it
They make a noise like a dog
and threaten boldly.
3.
Unwearied and obdurate in their purpose: They go round about the city.
4.
Impudent
and brag what they will do to me: Behold
they belch out with
their mouth.
5.
And their words are bloody: Swords are in their lips. Adam Clarke.
Verse
7. Behold
they belch out with their mouth
etc. Bark like
dogs
so Aben Ezra; or
bubble out
as a fountain bubbles out with
water; so they cast out their wickedness in great abundance (see Jer 6:7); the
phrase denotes the abundance of evil things and wicked speeches that come out
of their mouths
which showed the naughtiness of their hearts; so David's
enemies blustered and threatened what they would do to him could they find him;
and Christ's enemies poured out their wicked charges of blasphemy and sedition
against him in great plenty
and without proof. John Gill.
Verse
8. God sees and smiles
he looks and laughs at these giants; he sits
in heaven far above their reach; neither doth he much trouble himself about the
matter; no more should we
but trust in him
and know that there is a counsel
in heaven
that will dash the mould of all contrary counsels upon the earth
as
the stone cut out of the mountain did the four great monarchies. Da 2:34. And
therefore though the wicked
in the pride of his heart
doth persecute the
poor; though they belch out with their mouth
and seek to double murder the
innocent
by detraction and by deadly practice
yet God both hears and jeers at
their madness
and will bring all their purposes to nought with little ado; nay
the very cruelty of his enemies will move God to make haste. The saints fare
the better for the insolence and outrages of their enemies
whose ruin is
thereby accelerated; and somewhat God will do the sooner for his people
lest
the enemy exalt himself. Ps 140:8. Abraham Wright.
Verse
8. (last clause). In the close of the verse
mention is made
of all nations
to intimate
that though they might equal the whole
world in numbers
they would prove a mere mockery with all their influence and
resources. Or the words may be read—EVEN AS thou hast all the nations in
derision. One thing is obvious
that David ridicules the vain boasting of
his enemies
who thought no undertaking too great to be accomplished by their
numbers. John Calvin.
Verses
8-9.
But
thou
Lord
laugh at them;
You deride all the heathen.
His strength! Toward thee will I keep watch
For God is my high fort. William Kay.
Verse
9. Because of his strength will I wait upon thee. Those seem
to come nearest the meaning of the psalmist
who construe the words as one
continuous sentence
I will put in trust his strength with thee
meaning
that however intemperately Saul might boast of his strength
he would rest
satisfied in the assurance that there was a secret divine providence
restraining his actions. We must learn to view all men as subordinated in this
manner
and to conceive of their strength and their enterprises as depending
upon the sovereign will of God. In my opinion
the following version is the
best—His strength is with thee
I will wait. The words are parallel with
those in the end of the Psalm
where there can be no doubt that the nominative
case is employed
My strength is with thee
I will sing. John Calvin.
Verse
9. (first clause). His strength is great
humanly
viewed; but to the eye of faith what is it! LXX
to kratoz moi (—uzzi);
and so most ancient versions. (The contrast is given in Ps 59:16-17.) William
Kay.
Verse
9. Will I wait upon thee
literally
I will keep watch to
thee
alluding to the title
"When Saul sent
and they watched
the house to kill him." David sets watching before God
against their watching to kill him. A. R. Fausset.
Verse
9. How weak soever the believer finds himself
and how powerful
soever he perceives his enemy to be
it is all one to him
he hath no more to
do but to put faith on work
and to wait till God works. Because of his
(that is
the enemy's) strength
I will wait upon thee
saith he to the
Lord
for God is my defence. David Dickson.
Verse
10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me. Oh
how the saints
sing of the love of Christ! Oh
how they sing that this love was not moved by
worthiness
and it disdains all hire and price
but loves us because he loves
us! De 7:8. O sing of his wonderful love
and of the prevention of this
love of Christ: The God of my mercy shall prevent me. How
1.
It prevents thy love to him. 1Jo 4:19. We love God
because he first loved
us.
2.
It prevents our sins
as in Paul's case. Ac 4:3: And as he journeyed
he
came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from
heaven.
3.
It prevents our calamities. Ps 79:8; Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent
us. And
4.
It prevents our endeavours. The God of my mercy shall prevent me. John
Spalding
in "Synaxis Sacra
" 1703.
Verse
10. (first clause). The psalmist was sure of mercy upon these
grounds
he knew he was safe
because God was his God
and the God of his
mercy: The God of my mercy shall prevent me. Some read it
hath
prevented me; others
doth prevent me; and others
as in my text
shall
prevent me. Each of these senses is exceedingly sweet and full. Take it in
the first sense
hath prevented me; and it implies thus much
that the
psalmist never was in any difficulty
temptation
or fear
but God was
beforehand with him; having always the mercy ready which he stood in need of;
and had given it in due season
and that when he least expected it
and it may
be was least prepared for it. Take it in the second sense
doth prevent
it argues the psalmist's ground of confidence when all present appearances were
gone; as if he had said
"God is of one mind
his thoughts are thoughts of
peace
and not of evil; he may vary his providence
but his heart is the same
as ever; why should I fear
why should I not hope and rejoice? for my God is a
tried God
he is working for me even now. He prevents my fears
and he will
prevent my falling." Take the words as they lie in my text
and it comes
to the same thing. "God sees all my enemies' designs
and he is ready for
them; my prayer is heard
and sure I am deliverance will come
though I know
not the time of it." My design
under the Spirit's influence
is to look
into my own heart and yours
and show you what wonders of providence and grace
God
as the God of our mercy
has caused to pass before us. In
discoursing on these words
I shall enquire
1.
In what sense
or in what respects
God is the God of our mercy.
2.
How
as the God of our mercy
he doth prevent us.
3.
Apply.
I
am to enquire in what respects God is said to be the God of his people's
mercy
and it seems to include in it these three things.
1.
That all the mercy which is in God's nature
is for his saints. It is a great
word that (1Pe 5:10)
the God of all grace. God has in him all sorts of
grace for his saints. He hath pardoning
quickening
strengthening
comforting
and preserving grace. His mercy is rich mercy
abundant mercy
inexhaustible
mercy
sure mercy. A man's riches are his glory; God glories in his mercy; it
is his delight
he rests in it; and so may we
because there is an infinite inconceivable
fulness of it in him. "With thee is the fountain of life." God
distributes and parcels out this mercy
that we may conceive of it the better;
hence he is called by the apostle
The Father of mercies
and the God of all
comfort. 2Co 1:3. God is not called the author of our mercies
but the Father
of them; to show how freely they come from him; they are his bowels; he is
pleased with them
as the father is with his own child; dwell on the name
it
is a sweet one
the Father of mercies. In my text
David grasps all this
mercy
lays hold of it as his own mercy: The God of my mercy shall prevent
me. That is one sense.
2.
It supposes
farther
that there is a portion of mercy laid by
in the purpose
of God
for every saint; a portion of mercy which he may call his own.
This some understand to be Christ's meaning to Paul (2Co 12:9): My grace is
sufficient for thee; i.e.
that grace which I have allotted for thee thou
wilt find sufficient. I knew what thou wouldst need in my eternal counsels; I
have made provision beforehand; I have taken care thou shouldest have enough.
3.
The words suppose
farther
that God has taken it upon him as his charge
to
keep this portion of his mercy for his people. Whatever it be
soul
it is in
trust for thee with him. Every saint may apply to God
as the God of every
mercy which he needs. Condensed from John Hill's Sermon.
Verse
10. God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. The
words
my desire
are not in the original
and would be better omitted.
The sense is—God will enable me to look down calmly upon my enemies. So Christ
looked upon his murderers. So Stephen was enabled to do when they "gnashed
upon him with their teeth." "All that sat in the council looking
steadfastly upon him saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." Ac
6:15. Christopher Wordsworth.
Verse
11. Slay them not
that they may be a whetstone to others'
faith—as the Spartans (mentioned in Plutarch's Apothegms) refused to allow the
destruction of a neighbouring city which had often called forth their armies
saying
"Destroy not the whetstone of our young men." Andrew A.
Bonar.
Verse
11. Slay them not:
"Live
loathed and long
You smiling
smooth
detested parasites."
—W. Shakespeare.
Verse
11. The enemies must serve for monuments of the divine righteousness
not less in the abiding wretchedness of their race than by their own sudden
destruction. Parallel to this verse
and to Ps 59:6
14
is the curse which
David utters upon Joab
in 2Sa 3:29: "Let there not fail from the house of
Joab one that hath an issue
or that is a leper
or that leaneth on a staff
or
that falleth on the sword
or that lacketh bread; "then the
threatening of a man of God to Eli
in 1Sa 3:36
where
after announcing the
violent death of the evildoers themselves
corresponding to 1Sa 3:13 here
it
is said: "And it shall come to pass
that every one that is left in thine
house shall come and crouch to him (the new high priest) for a piece of silver
and a morsel of bread
and shall say
Put me
I pray thee
into one of the
priests offices
that I may eat a piece of bread." Christian expositors
have all along drawn attention to the fact
that the substance of our verse
as
that also of verses
6
14
has gone into fulfilment on the Jews. "They
have been scattered into all lands
and must go and stand before the eyes of
all Christians
as a living witness that they have crucified the true Messiah
and Saviour of the world. So that if you see a Jew
think on this word."
(Arndt.) E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
11. Slay them not; namely
suddenly. Scatter them. It
should seem that he hath a relation to Cain's punishment
whom God would not
have killed
but would have him to be a wanderer all the days of his life for a
spectacle
and an example of his judgments. Ge 4:12. Others translate it
shake
them namely
their degree of honour and glory. John Diodati
1576-1649.
Verse
12. For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips
etc.
Albeit the persecutors do not accomplish their purpose against the righteous;
yet their pride
their brags
their lies
their slanders
their curses against
the godly
are a sufficient ditty for damnation and wrath to come upon them. David
Dickson.
Verse
12. The words of their lips. The phrase
word of the lips
is often used for empty loquacity and boasting; the opposite of a word that is
solid and founded on fact
as in 2Ki 18:20. "Thou speakest
but it is only
a word of the lips." Pr 14:23. "In all labour there is profit:
but the word of the lips tendeth only to penury." Hermann
Venema.
Verse
13. Consume them
emphatically
consume them in wrath
that
they may not be; which at first sight seems contrary to his first desire
Slay
them not; but it is not so
for he speaks not of their life
as if he would
have them so consumed
that they should not remain alive; but he desires only a
consumption of their power
royalty
command
etc. And so these words are a
farther explication of his second desire
Bring them down. He would have
them so brought down and consumed in their strength
dignity
command
wealth
riches
that made them proud
that they never be able any more to oppose God
hurt his people
trample upon religion and his church; he would have them live.
William Nicholson.
Verse
13. Consume them. I hear of sad doings in Poland
of villages
burnt down
of peaceable men deported to Siberia by hundreds
of woman flogged;
and when I look away to that Warsaw market place where a woman
nearly naked
is being publicly beaten
and when I see cruel Mouravieff smile as the blood
jets forth from the scourged shoulders
I will not deny that I feel very much
tempted to say
"Happy man
whose bullet in fair flight should empty that
saddle!" Am I bloodthirsty in this? Am I vindictive? Do you condemn me for
this feeling? R. A. Bertram.
Verse
13. That they may not be. By the word wmgyaw
that they may
not be
may be understood either a vile and wretched state in general
or
even total destruction. The former must indeed here be admitted
as is
plain from the context
yet not to the exclusion of the latter sense; since
a miserable condition
such as in a disease
issues in destruction at length. Not
to be is evidently by no means rarely taken for to be nobody
to be
wretched
afflicted
despised. Compare Jer 31:15. Hermann Venema.
Verse
13. Selah. Though God be in all his words Yea and Amen
yet in setting this seal of Selah to this doctrine
he hath testified
his will that he would have all these things the better understood and the
deeper imprinted; that if the wicked go on to persecute the godly
Selah
assuredly God will have them in derision; Selah
assuredly God shall
shiver their bones
shake their best actions
and discover their impurity; Selah
assuredly God's hand shall be heavy upon them
and they shall not discern it to
be his hand till they are consumed. Selah
assuredly
verily
amen
this
is a faithful
an infallible truth; as the Lord liveth it shall be so. Abraham
Wright.
Verse
14. Dog. Is it the influence of Christianity extending its law
of kindness to the lower animals
or something in the nature of northern dogs
and northern men which makes dogs among us Anglo Saxons
and all the
associations connected with them
so entirely different from what they are in
the East? Imagine the effigy of an Oriental saint reposing with its feet on a
dog
like that of William the Silent
the heroic Prince of Orange
on the
faithful spaniel which rescued his life in the night attack of the Spanish
troops
and like so many a sculptured knight of medieval times! The very
presence of such an image would
in Oriental eyes
be the greatest desecration
an enemy could inflict on a sacred edifice. And in the Bible how exceedingly
contemptuous
and how inapplicable to English dogs
are the terms employed in
describing canine habits. "They grin like a dog
and go about the city
and grudge if they be not satisfied; " "Without are dogs." What
possible resemblance is there between such a description and the grave dignity
of a Newfoundland; the sagacious
acute expression of a terrier; the wistful
almost human eyes of our house spaniels? But here at Tyre
as in most Eastern
towns
the familiar words came to us with all their true and forcible meaning.
The wolfish
hungry
masterless dogs which "go about the cities (of
Alexandria
for instance)
gathering in packs like jackals
prowling about for
offal
and grudging if they be not satisfied; "or the famished outcasts
like our dogs at Tyre
prowling "outside" the city. To these we may
apply the highly unfavourable definitions of Scripture
which every Englishman
and Englishwoman must indignantly disclaim on behalf of the loyal
faithful
patient creatures who watch beside our homes like sentinels
and guard our
flocks like shepherds
and welcome us with ecstatic joy when we come home
again
and sometimes will even die rather than desert a master's grave. From
"Wanderings over Bible Lands and Seas
" 1862.
Verse
14. Those that repent of their sins when they are in trouble
mourn
like doves; those whose hearts are hardened when they are in trouble
make
a noise like dogs. Matthew Henry.
Verse
16. Let them wander up and down
etc. A beggarly and indigent
and so an unsatisfied and wearisome condition
shall be their lot; the greatest
worldly plague that can fall on any—large appetites and no possessions or
acquires to satisfy them. Henry Hammond.
Verse
16. And grudge if they be not satisfied. A contented man
if
he has not what he would have
yet doth not grudge
doth not quarrel with
providence
nor fret within himself; but those whose God is their belly
if
that be not filled and its appetites gratified
fall out both with God and
themselves. It is not poverty
but discontent that makes a man unhappy. Matthew
Henry.
Verse
16. The hunger of a dog is deservedly their plague
of whom a
resemblance of that unclean animal's disposition hath been the sin. Reader
be
it thy care to avoid such sins
and cultivate a spirit of lively devotion;
that
instead of receiving thy portion where there is weeping
wailing
and
gnashing of teeth
thou mayest sing to the God of thy mercy for ever. Benjamin
Boothroyd.
Verse
16. We must not pass by the contrast with the wretched condition of
the wicked
which is indicated by the pronoun hmh
they
in Ps 59:15
an
ygaw
but I
which are in exact antithesis; also the "evening
"mentioned above
and the "morning
"now occurring
for the times of trouble and happiness
and the dog like noise of the
wicked
and the singing with joyful sound of David
to pass by other
particulars
likewise give to the diverse states additional difference. Hermann
Venema.
Verse
16. Cantabo and exaltabo
I will sing
and I will
sing aloud. Here is singing only of God's power; but there is
singing aloud of his mercy; as if his mercy were more
exaltable than his power
and that reached the very heavens; this
unto the clouds. Ps 26:5. From Humphrey Sydenham's Sermon
entitled
"The Well toned Cymball
" 1637.
Verse
17. Unto thee
O my strength
will I sing. Formerly he had
said that the strength of his enemy was with God
and now he asserts the same
thing of his own. The expression
however
which admits of two meanings
he
elegantly applies to himself in a different sense. God has the strength of the
wicked in his hands
to curb and to restrain it
and to show that any power of
which they boast is vain and fallacious. His own people
on the other hand
he
supports and secures against the possibility of falling
by supplies of
strength from himself. John Calvin.
Verse
17. Unto thee
O my strength. In opposition to the enemy's
strength
Ps 59:9. Thy power
or strength—the Hebrew word is
the same (Ps 59:16)—is my strength. There is an elegant play on similar
sounds in the Hebrew for I will wait upon thee
hrmva (Ps 59:9)
and
"I will sing
"hrmza A. R. Faussett.
Verse
17. (first clause). As on account of Saul's strength my
watching was directed to thee; so now
no account of thy strength
vouchsafed to me
my singing of praises also shall be directed to thee
alone. Martin Geier.
Verse
17. Strength—Mercy. He joins these two attributes
"strength"
and "mercy"
very well; for take away strength from
him
and he cannot; remove mercy
and he will not
protect; both must go
together in any one that will defend; power
that he can
mercy
that he will; otherwise it is but in vain to hope for help from him David found
God to be both
and for both he extols him. William Nicholson.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. (first clause). Deliver me from temptation
uphold me in
temptation
cleanse me from the result of temptation. The world
the flesh
the
devil
and chiefly sin
these are our enemies. We cannot escape them of
ourselves
but the Lord by providence and grace can rescue us.
Verse
2. (first clause). From being tempted by their promises
cowed by their threats
corrupted by their teaching
influenced by their
example
injured by their slander
hindered in usefulness by their opposition.
Verse
3. (first clause). The subtleties of Satan. Watches for
places
times
states
and ways in which to assail us. Errors in doctrine
practice
spirit
set forth to entrap us. "Ye are not ignorant of his devices."
Or
the diabolical ambush
discovered by watchfulness
and defeated by faith.
Verse
4. The activity of the evil a rebuke for the good.
1.
Their activity
run.
2. Unanimity—they run.
3. Their care—prepare themselves.
4. Their readiness—without my fault.
Verse
5. O Lord God of hosts
the God of Israel. This title
furnishes an admirable topic.
Verse
9. The greatness of difficulty a reason for prayer and faith.
Verse
10. (first clause). The divine forwardness to bless.
Verse
11. The continuance of our enemies a salutary ordinance of God for
the prevention of an evil to which we are very liable.
Verse
13 (last clause). God as the God of the church
his
government as such
known in all human history.
Verse
16. The heavenly chorister.
1.
His song is sweet in contrast with the revilings of others—but I.
2. It treats of subjects which terrify others—thy power.
3. It grows louder on tender themes—thy mercy.
4. It has its choice seasons—in the morning.
5. It is tuned by experience—for thou hast.
6. It is all to God's glory—thy power
thy mercy
thou hast.
Verse
17.
1. A
doctrine—God is his people's strength.
2. An
appropriation—"my strength."
3. A
resolution. The song of gratitude for the past
faith for the present
hope
for the future
of bliss for eternity.
WORKS UPON THE
FIFTY-NINTH PSALM
In
CHANDLER'S "Life of David
" Vol. 1.
pp. 85-89
there is an
Exposition of this Psalm.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》