| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Psalm Sixty
Psalm 60
Chapter Contents
David prays for the deliverance of Israel from their
enemies. (1-5) He entreats God to carry on and complete their victories. (6-12)
Commentary on Psalm 60:1-5
(Read Psalm 60:1-5)
David owns God's displeasure to be the cause of all the
hardships he had undergone. And when God is turning his hand in our favour
it
is good to remember our former troubles. In God's displeasure their troubles
began
therefore in his favour their prosperity must begin. Those breaches and
divisions which the folly and corruption of man make
nothing but the wisdom
and grace of God can repair
by pouring out a spirit of love and peace
by
which only a kingdom is saved from ruin. The anger of God against sin
is the
only cause of all misery
private or public
that has been
is
or shall be. In
all these cases there is no remedy
but by returning to the Lord with
repentance
faith
and prayer; beseeching him to return to us. Christ
the Son
of David
is given for a banner to those that fear God; in him they are
gathered together in one
and take courage. In his name and strength they wage
war with the powers of darkness.
Commentary on Psalm 60:6-12
(Read Psalm 60:6-12)
If Christ be ours
all things
one way or another
shall
be for our eternal good. The man who is a new creature in Christ
may rejoice
in all the precious promises God has spoken in his holiness. His present
privileges
and the sanctifying influences of the Spirit
are sure earnests of
heavenly glory. David rejoices in conquering the neighbouring nations
which
had been enemies to Israel. The Israel of God are through Christ more than
conquerors. Though sometimes they think that the Lord has cast them off
yet he
will bring them into the strong city at last. Faith in the promise will assure
us that it is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom: But we are not
yet made complete conquerors
and no true believer will abuse these truths to
indulge sloth
or vain confidence. Hope in God is the best principle of true
courage
for what need those fear who have God on their side? All our victories
are from him
and while those who willingly submit to our anointed King shall
share his glories
all his foes shall be put under his feet.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 60
Verse 2
[2] Thou
hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof;
for it shaketh.
Tremble — A
poetical expression
signifying great changes among the people.
Verse 3
[3] Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the
wine of astonishment.
To drink —
Thou hast filled us with no less honor
than men intoxicated with strong drink.
Verse 4
[4] Thou
hast given a banner to them that fear thee
that it may be displayed because of
the truth. /*Selah*/.
A banner —
Which is a sign and instrument
1. Of union. This people who were lately
divided
thou hast united under one banner
under my government: 2. Of battle.
Thou hast given us an army
and power to oppose our enemies; which blessing God
gave to Israel
for the sake of those few sincere Israelites who were among
them.
The truth —
Not for any merit of ours
but to shew thy faithfulness in making good thy
promises.
Verse 5
[5] That
thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand
and hear me.
Beloved —
Thy beloved people.
Verse 6
[6] God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice
I will divide Shechem
and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Rejoice —
Therefore I will turn my prayers into praises
for what God has already done.
Divide —
Which supposeth possession and dominion.
Shechem — A
place within Jordan
in mount Ephraim.
Succoth — A
place without Jordan. He mentions Shechem
and Succoth; for all the land of
Canaan
within and without Jordan.
Verse 7
[7]
Gilead is mine
and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine
head; Judah is my lawgiver;
Gilead —
All the land beyond Jordan
which was possessed by Reuben and Gad
and half of
the tribe of Manasseh.
Manasseh —
The other half of that tribe within Jordan.
The strength — A
chief part of my strength
either to offend mine enemies
or to defend myself.
For this tribe was very numerous
and valiant and rich.
Law-giver —
The chief seat of my throne and kingdom
and of the inferior throne of
judgment
Psalms 122:5.
Verse 8
[8] Moab
is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia
triumph thou
because of me.
Wash-pot — In
which I shall wash my feet. I shall bring them into the lowest degree of
servitude.
Shoe — I
will use them like slaves; a proverbial expression.
Triumph — It
is an ironical expression
signifying that her triumphs were come to an end.
Verse 9
[9] Who
will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
Who —
None can do it but God.
City —
The cities; the singular number for the plural. Having beaten his enemies out
of the field
he desires God's assistance to take their strong-holds
and so
secure himself from farther attempts.
Edom —
Which was an high and rocky country
Obadiah 1-3
fortified by nature
as well as by
art
and therefore not to be subdued without a Divine hand.
Verse 10
[10] Wilt
not thou
O God
which hadst cast us off? and thou
O God
which didst not go
out with our armies?
Hadst cut off —
But now hast graciously returned to us.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Here is a
lengthy title
but it helps us much to expound the Psalm. To the Chief
Musician upon Shushaneduth
or the Lily of Testimony. The forty-fifth was
on the lilies
and represented the kingly warrior in his beauty going forth to
war; here we see him dividing the spoil and bearing testimony to the glory of
God. Tunes have strange names apparently
but this results from the fact that
we do not know what was in the composer's mind
else they might seem to be
touchingly appropriate; perhaps the music or the musical instruments have more
to do with this title than the Psalm itself. Yet in war songs
roses and lilies
are often mentioned
and one remembers Macaulay's Song of the Hugenots
though
perhaps we err in mentioning so carnal a verse—
"Now by
the lips of those ye love
fair gentlemen of France
Charge for the golden lilies now
upon them with the lance."
Michtam
of David
to teach. David obeyed the precept to teach the children of Israel;
he recorded the Lord's mighty acts that they might be rehearsed in the ears of
generations to come. Golden secrets are to be told on the house tops; these
things were not done in a corner and ought not to be buried in silence. We ought
gladly to learn what inspiration so beautifully teaches. When he strove with
Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah. The combined Aramean tribes sought to
overcome Israel
but were signally defeated. When Joab returned. He had
been engaged in another region
and the enemies of Israel took advantage of his
absence
but on his return with Abishai the fortunes of war were changed. And
smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. More than this appear
to have fallen according to 1Ch 18:12
but this commemorates one memorable part
of the conflict. Terrible must have been the battle
but decisive indeed were
the results
and the power of the enemy was utterly broken. Well did the Lord
deserve a song from his servant.
DIVISION. Properly the
song may be said to consist of three parts: the complaining verses
Ps 60:1-3;
the happy
Ps 60:4-8; the prayerful
Ps 60:9-12. We have divided it as the
sense appeared to change.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Before the days of Saul
Israel had been brought very low; during
his government it had suffered from internal strife
and his reign was closed
by an overwhelming disaster at Gibeon. David found himself the possessor of a
tottering throne
troubled with the double evil of factions at home
and
invasion from abroad. He traced at once the evil to its true source
and began
at the fountainhead. His were the politics of piety
which after all are the
wisest and most profound. He knew that the displeasure of the Lord had brought
calamity upon the nation
and to the removal of that displeasure he set himself
by earnest prayer. O God
thou hast cast us off. Thou hast treated us as foul
and offensive things
to be put away; as mean and beggarly persons
to be
shunned with contempt; as useless dead boughs
to be torn away from the tree
which
they disfigure. To be cast off by God is the worst calamity that can befall a
man or a people; but the worst form of it is when the person is not aware of it
and is indifferent to it. When the divine desertion causes mourning and
repentance
it will be but partial and temporary. When a cast off soul sighs
for its God it is indeed not cast off at all. Thou has scattered us. David
clearly sees the fruits of the divine anger
he traces the flight of Israel's
warriors
the breaking of her power
the division in her body politic
to the
hand of God. Whoever might be the secondary agent of these disasters
he
beholds the Lord's hand as the prime moving cause
and pleads with the Lord
concerning the matter. Israel was like a city with a breach made in its wall
because her God was wroth with her. These first two verses
with their
depressing confession
must be regarded as greatly enhancing the power of the
faith which in the after verses rejoices in better days
through the Lord's
gracious return unto his people.
Thou
hast been displeased. This is the secret of our miseries. Had we pleased thee
thou wouldst have pleased us; but as we have walked contrary to thee
thou hast
walked contrary to us. O turn thyself to us again. Forgive the sin and smile
once more. Turn us to thee
turn thou to us. Aforetime thy face was towards thy
people
be pleased to look on us again with thy favour and grace. Some read it
"Thou wilt turn to us again
"and it makes but slight difference
which way we take it
for a true hearted prayer brings a blessing so soon that
it is no presumption to consider it already obtained. There was more need for
God to turn to his people than for Judah's troops to be brave
or Joab and the
commanders wise. God with us is better than strong battalions; God displeased
is more terrible than all the Edomites that ever marched into the valley of
salt
or all the devils that ever opposed the church. If the Lord turn to us
what care we for Aramnaharaim or Aramzobah
or death
or hell? but if he
withdraw his presence we tremble at the fall of a leaf.
Verse
2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble. Things were as
unsettled as though the solid earth had been made to quake; nothing was stable;
the priests had been murdered by Saul
the worst men had been put in office
the military power had been broken by the Philistines
and the civil authority
had grown despicable through insurrections and intestine contests. Thou hast
broken it. As the earth cracks
and opens itself in rifts during violent
earthquakes
so was the kingdom rent with strife and calamity. Heal the
breaches thereof. As a house in time of earthquake is shaken
and the walls
begin to crack
and gape with threatening fissures
so was it with the kingdom.
For it shaketh. It tottered to a fall; if not soon propped up and repaired it
would come down in complete ruin. So far gone was Israel
that only God's
interposition could preserve it from utter destruction. How often have we seen
churches in this condition
and how suitable is the prayer before us
in which
the extremity of the need is used as an argument for help. The like may be said
of our personal religion
it is sometimes so tried
that like a house shaken by
earthquake it is ready to come down with a crash
and none but the Lord himself
can repair its breaches
and save us from utter destruction.
Verse
3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things. Hardships had
been heaped upon them
and the psalmist traces these rigorous providences to
their fountainhead. Nothing had happened by chance
but all had come by divine
design and with a purpose
yet for all that things had gone hard with Israel.
The psalmist claims that they were still the Lord's own people
though in the
first verse he had said
"thou hast cast us off." The language of
complaint is usually confused
and faith in time of trouble ere long
contradicts the desponding statements of the flesh. Thou hast made us to drink
the wine of astonishment. Our afflictions have made us like men drunken with
some potent and bitter wine; we are in amazement
confusion
delirium; our
steps reel
and we stagger as those about to fall. The great physician gives
his patients potent potions to purge out their abounding and deep seated
diseases. Astonishing evils bring with them astonishing results. The grapes of
the vineyard of sin produce a wine which fills the most hardened with anguish
when justice compels them to quaff the cup. There is a fire water of anguish of
soul which even to the righteous makes a cup of trembling
which causes them to
be exceeding sorrowful almost unto death. When grief becomes so habitual as to
be our drink
and to take the place of our joys
becoming our only wine
then
are we in an evil case indeed.
Verse
4. Here the strain takes a turn. The Lord has called back to himself
his servants
and commissioned them for his service
presenting them with a
standard to be used in his wars. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear
thee. Their afflictions had led them to exhibit holy fear
and then being
fitted for the Lord's favour
he gave them an ensign
which would be both a
rallying point for their hosts
a proof that he had sent them to fight
and a
guarantee of victory. The bravest men are usually intrusted with the banner
and it is certain that those who fear God must have less fear of man than any
others. The Lord has given us the standard of the gospel
let us live to uphold
it
and if needful die to defend it. Our right to contend for God
and our
reason for expecting success
are found in the fact that the faith has been
once committed to the saints
and that by the Lord himself. That it may be
displayed because of the truth. Banners are for the breeze
the sun
the
battle. Israel might well come forth boldly
for a sacred standard was borne
aloft before them. To publish the gospel is a sacred duty
to be ashamed of it
a deadly sin. The truth of God was involved in the triumph of David's armies
he had promised them victory; and so in the proclamation of the gospel we need
feel no hesitancy
for as surely as God is true he will give success to his own
word. For the truth's sake
and because the true God is on our side
let us in
these modern days of warfare emulate the warriors of Israel
and unfurl our
banners to the breeze with confident joy. Dark signs of present or coming ill
must not dishearten us; if the Lord had meant to destroy us he would not have
given us the gospel; the very fact that he has revealed himself in Christ Jesus
involves the certainty of victory. Magna est veritas et praevalebit.
Hard
things thou hast upon us laid
And made us drink most bitter wine;
But still thy banner we have displayed
And borne aloft thy truth divine.
Our courage fails not
though the night
No earthly lamp avails to break
For thou wilt soon arise in might
And of our captors captives make.
Selah.
There is so much in the fact of a banner being given to the hosts of Israel
so
much of hope
of duty
of comfort
that a pause is fitly introduced. The sense
justifies it
and the more joyful strain of the music necessitates it.
Verse
5. That thy beloved may be delivered. David was the Lord's
beloved
his name signifies "dear
or beloved
"and there was in
Israel a remnant according to the election of grace
who were the beloved of
the Lord; for their sakes the Lord wrought great marvels
and he had an eye to
them in all his mighty acts. God's beloved are the inner seed
for whose sake
he preserves the entire nation
which acts as a husk to the vital part. This is
the main design of providence
That thy beloved may be delivered; if it
were not for their sakes he would neither give a banner nor send victory to it.
Save with thy right hand
and hear me. Save at once
before the prayer is over;
the case is desperate unless there be immediate salvation. Tarry not
O Lord
till I have done pleading: save first and hear afterwards. The salvation must
be a right royal and eminent one
such as only the omnipotent hand of God
linked with his dexterous wisdom can achieve. Urgent distress puts men upon
pressing and bold petitions such as this. We may by faith ask for and expect
that our extremity will be God's opportunity; special and memorable
deliverances will be wrought out when dire calamities appear to be imminent.
Here is one suppliant for many
even as in the case of our Lord's intercession
for his saints. He
the Lord's David
pleads for the rest of the beloved
beloved and accepted in him the Chief Beloved; he seeks salvation as though it
were for himself
but his eye is ever upon all those who are one with him in
the Father's love. When divine interposition is necessary for the rescue of the
elect it must occur
for the first and greatest necessity of providence is the
honour of God
and the salvation of his chosen. This is fixed fate
the centre
of the immutable decree
the inmost thought of the unchangeable Jehovah.
Verse
6. God hath spoken in his holiness. Faith is never happier
than when it can fall back upon the promise of God. She sets this over against
all discouraging circumstances; let outward providences say what they will
the
voice of a faithful God drowns every sound of tear. God had promised Israel
victory
and David the kingdom; the holiness of God secured the fulfilment of
his own covenant
and therefore the king spake confidently. The goodly land had
been secured to the tribes by the promise made to Abraham
and that divine
grant was an abundantly sufficient warrant for the belief that Israel's arms
would be successful in battle. Believer make good use of this
and banish
doubts while promises remain. I will rejoice
or "I will triumph."
Faith regards the promise not as fiction but fact
and therefore drinks in joy
from it
and grasps victory by it. "God hath spoken; I will rejoice:"
here is a fit motto for every soldier of the cross.
I
will divide Shechem. As a victor David would allot the conquered territory to
those to whom God had given it by lot. Shechem was an important portion of the
country
which as yet had not yielded to his government; but he saw that by
Jehovah's help it would be
and indeed was all his own. Faith divides the spoil
she is sure of what God has promised
and enters at once into possession. And
mete out the valley of Succoth. As the east so the west of Jordan should be
allotted to the proper persons. Enemies should be expelled
and the landmarks
of peaceful ownership set up. Where Jacob had pitched his tent
there his
rightful heirs should till the soil. When God has spoken
his divine shall
our I will
becomes no idle boast
but the fit echo of the Lord's
decree. Believer
up and take possession of covenant mercies. Divide
Shechem
and mete out the valley of Succoth. Let not Canaanitish doubts and
legalisms keep thee out of the inheritance of grace. Live up to thy privileges
take the good which God provides thee.
Verse
7. Gilead is mine
and Manasseh is mine. He claims the whole
land on account of the promise. Two other great divisions of the country he
mentions
evidently delighting to survey the goodly land which the Lord had
given him. All things are ours
whether things present or things to come; no
mean portion belongs to the believer
and let him not think meanly of it. No
enemy shall withhold from true faith what God has given her
for grace makes
her mighty to wrest it from the foe. Life is mine
death is mine
for Christ is
mine. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. All the military power of the
valiant tribe was at the command of David
and he praises God for it. God will
bow to the accomplishment of his purposes all the valour of men; the church may
cry
"the prowess of armies is mine
" God will overrule all their
achievements for the progress of his cause. Judah is my lawgiver. There the
civil power was concentrated: the king being of that tribe sent forth his laws
out of her midst. We know no lawgiver
but the King who came out of Judah. To
all the claims of Rome
Or Oxford
or the councils of men
we pay no attention;
we are free from all other ecclesiastical rule
but that of Christ: but we
yield joyful obedience to him: Judah is my lawgiver. Amid distractions
it is a great thing to have good and sound legislation
it was a balm for
Israel's wounds
it is our joy in the Church of Christ.
Verse
8. Having looked at home with satisfaction
the hero king now looks
abroad with exultation. Moab
so injurious to me in former years
is my
washpot. The basin into which the water falls when it is poured from an
ewer upon my feet. A mere pot to hold the dirty water after my feet have been
washed in it. Once she defiled Israel
according to the counsel of Balaam
the
son of Beor; but she shall no longer be able to perpetrate such baseness; she
shall be a washpot for those whom she sought to pollute. The wicked as we see
in them the evil
the fruit
and the punishment of sin
shall help on the
purification of the saints. This is contrary to their will
and to the nature
of things
but faith finds honey in the lion
and a washpot in filthy Moab.
David treats his foes as but insignificant and inconsiderable; a whole nation
he counts but as a footbath for his kingdom. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe.
As a man when bathing throws his shoes on one side
so would he obtain his
dominion over haughty Esau's descendants as easily as a man casts a shoe.
Perhaps he would throw his shoe as nowadays men throw their glove
as a
challenge to them to dare dispute his sway. He did not need draw a sword to
smite his now crippled and utterly despondent adversary
for if he dared revolt
he would only need to throw his slipper at him
and he would tremble. Easily
are we victors when Omnipotence leads the way. The day shall come when the
church shall with equal ease subdue China and Ethiopia to the sceptre of the
Son of David. Every believer also may by faith triumph over all difficulties
and reign with him who hath made us kings and priests. "They overcame
through the blood of the Lamb
"shall yet be said of all who rest in the
power of Jesus.
Philistia
triumph thou because of me. Be so subdued as to rejoice in my victories over my
other foes. Or does he mean
I who smote thy champion have at length so subdued
thee that thou shalt never be able to rejoice over Israel again; but if thou
must needs triumph it must be with me
and not against me; or rather is it a
taunting defiance
a piece of irony? O proud Philistia
where are thy vaunts?
Where now thy haughty looks
and promised conquests? Thus dare we defy the last
enemy
"O death
where is thy sting? O grave
where is thy victory?"
So utterly hopeless is the cause of hell when the Lord comes forth to the
battle
that even the weakest daughter of Zion may shake her head at the enemy
and laugh him to scorn. O the glorifying of faith! There is not a grain of vain
glory in it
but yet her holy boastings none can hinder. When the Lord speaks
the promise
we will not be slow to rejoice and glory in it.
Verse
9. As yet the interior fortresses of Edom had not been subdued.
Their invading bands had been slain in the valley of salt
and David intended
to push his conquests even to Petra the city of the rock
deemed to be
impregnable. Who will bring me into the strong city? It was all but inaccessible
and hence the question of David. When we have achieved great success it must be
a stimulus to greater efforts
but it must not become a reason for self
confidence. We must look to the strong for strength as much at the close of a
campaign as at its beginning. Who will lead me into Edom? High up among the
stars stood the city of stone
but God could lead his servant up to it. No
heights of grace are too elevated for us
the Lord being our leader
but we
must beware of high things attempted in self reliance. EXCELSIOR is well enough
as a cry
but we must look to the highest of all for guidance. Joab could not
bring David into Edom. The veterans of the valley of salt could not force the
passage
yet was it to be attempted
and David looked to the Lord for help.
Heathen nations are yet to be subdued. The city of the seven hills must yet
hear the gospel. Who will give the church the power to accomplish this? The
answer is not far to seek.
Verse
10. Wilt not thou
O God
which hadst cast us off? Yes
the chastising
God is our only hope. He loves us still. For a small moment doth he forsake
but with great mercy does he gather his people. Strong to smite
he is also
strong to save. He who proved to us our need of him by showing us what poor
creatures we are without him
will now reveal the glory of his help by
conducting great enterprises to a noble issue. And thou
O God
which didst not
go out with our armies? The self same God art thou
and to thee faith cleaves.
Though thou slay us
we will trust in thee
and look for thy merciful help.
Verse
11. Give us help from trouble. Help us to overcome the
disasters of civil strife and foreign invasion; save us from further incursions
from without and division within. Do thou
O Lord
work this deliverance
for
vain is the help of man. We have painfully learned the utter impotence of
armies
kings
and nations without thine help. Our banners trailed in the mire
have proven our weakness without thee
but yonder standard borne aloft before
us shall witness to our valour now that thou hast come to our rescue. How
sweetly will this verse suit the tried people of God as a frequent ejaculation.
We know how true it is.
Verse
12. Through God we shall do valiantly. From God all power
proceeds
and all we do well is done by divine operation; but still we
as
soldiers of the great king
are to fight
and to fight valiantly too. Divine
working is not an argument for human inaction
but rather is it the best
excitement for courageous effort. Helped in the past
we shall also be helped
in the future
and being assured of this we resolve to play the man. For he it
is that shall tread down our enemies. From him shall the might proceed
to him
shall the honour be given. Like straw on the threshing floor beneath the feet
of the oxen shall we tread upon our abject foes
but it shall rather be his
foot which presses them down than ours; his hand shall go out against them so
as to put them down and keep them in subjection. In the case of Christians
there is much encouragement for a resolve similar to that of the first clause.
We shall do valiantly
we will not be ashamed of our colours
afraid of our
foes
or fearful of our cause. The Lord is with us
omnipotence sustains us
and we will not hesitate
we dare not be cowards. O that our King
the true
David
were come to claim the earth
for the kingdom is the Lord's
and he is
the governor among the nations.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
TITLE. There are some
difficulties attendant upon the title of this Psalm
when it is compared with
the contents. We naturally expect after such as inscription
joy
congratulation
and praise for victory; but the psalmist breaks out into
lamentations and bitter complaints: his strains are
however
changed
when he
has proceeded as far as verse three
where he begins to feel confidence
and to
employ the language of exultation and triumph. The best means of removing this
discrepancy seems to be by remarking
that this Psalm was written after some of
the battles of which mention is made in the title
but that the author does not
restrict himself to those events without taking a wider range
so as to embrace
the afflictive conditions both of Israel and Judah during the latter part of
Saul's life
and the former years of David's reign. In the concluding years of
Saul
the Philistines obtained a superiority over him
and finally destroyed
him with his army. Subsequently to these events the whole land was in a very
disturbed and agitated condition
arising out of the contentions between the
partisans of Saul's family
and those who were attached to David. The nations
which inhabited the regions adjacent to the land of Canaan were at all times
inimical to the Jews
and seized every opportunity of attacking and injuring
them. But when David had succeeded in uniting the whole nation under his
authority
he proceeded to avenge the injuries and insults that had been
inflicted upon his countrymen by the Philistines
Edomites
Moabites
and
Syrians; and God was pleased to give him signal success in his undertakings. He
appears
therefore
to have combined all these transactions
and made them the
subject of this Psalm. William Walford.
Title. Shushaneduth.
The lilies of the testimony—means
that this Psalm has for its chief
subject something very lovely and cheering in the law; namely
the words of
promise quoted in the beginning of verse six
according to which the land of
Canaan belonged to the Israelites
upon which is thus established the
confidence expressed in Ps 60:6-8
with respect to their right of property over
the land
and their possession of it. This promise
not to cite many other
passages
which occur in the Five Books of Moses
and even so early as the
patriarchs
is contained in Genesis 49
and Deuteronomy 33. It is evident of
what value and importance this promise was
and particularly the remembrance of
it at this time. T. C. Barth's "Bible Manual
"1865.
Title. The only other
eduth or "testimony" in the Psalter
Psalm 80
makes
mention by name of the tribes of Ephraim
Benjamin
and Manasseh
and is a
witness against those tribes for forsaking the Shepherd of Israel who had
brought them up out of the land of Egypt. Joseph Francis Thrupp
M.A.
in
"An Introduction to the Study and Use of the Psalms
"1860.
Title. Aramnaharaim.
The name Aram corresponds to Syria in its widest and vaguest
sense
and is joined with other names to designate particular parts of that
large country. It even includes Mesopotamia
which is a term of physical rather
than political geography
and denotes the space between the Tigris and
Euphrates
corresponding to Aram Naharaim
or Syria of the Two
Rivers
in the verse before us. The king of this country was tributary to
the king of Aram Zobah
as appears from the account of David's second Aramean
war (2Sa 10:16
19). Joseph Addison Alexander.
Title. When he
strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah. An insult offered to David's
ambassadors by Hanun
king of the Ammonites
led to a serious war. Hanun
obtained mercenaries from Syria to reinforce his army
Joab and Abishai his brother
David's generals
gave them battle. Joab
opposed to the Syrians
gained the
first success
and the Ammonites
seeing their allies routed
took to flight
into their town. But this defeat provoked a great coalition
embracing all the
people between the Jordan and the Euphrates. David
however
fearlessly marched
against them at the head of his army; he vanquished all his enemies
and made
himself master of the small Aramaean kingdoms of Damascus
Zobah
and Hamath
and subjugated the Eastern Idumaeans
who met their final defeat in the Valley
of Salt. Francois Lenormant and E. Chevallier
in "A Manual of the
Ancient History of the East
"1869.
Title. Joab
returned and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand
compared
with 2Sa 8:13
"David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the
Syrians in the valley of salt
being eighteen thousand men
"and 1Ch
18:12
where this very service was performed by Abishai. Answer. It is
one thing to attribute the victory for the honour of the king that was the
cause. But the mentioning of these chief generals
by whom the service was
performed
is another. David
under God
must have the honour of the work
for
the increase of his name
being set for the typing out of Christ
who must have
all the glory of the day
whatever conquest he gets by instruments of that
service here
who likewise are typed out in David's worthies
of whom Joab and
Abishai were chief. By these he obtained that great victory over Hadadezer. In
returning from which service Joab found his brother Abishai engaged in the
valley of salt against eighteen thousand Edomites or Syrians (all one)
whose valour the Almighty looked on
as he attributes the whole slaughter to
him
because first attempting it. Joab
it seems
took this in his return from
the former slaughter
and fell in for the assistance of his brother Abishai
(for that was their usual course: though they divided their armies
they did
not divide their hearts). But if the enemies were too strong
one would help
the other. 1Ch 19:12. And of this eighteen thousand attributed to David and
Abishai before
Joab slew twelve thousand of them; the memory of which service
is here embalmed with a Psalm; first showing the extremes they were in
doubtful at first they should not get the victory. Secondly
applying it to the
kingdom of Christ. Lastly
ascribing all the honour of the conquest to God;
saying
through God this valiant service was done; it was he that trod down our
enemies; and will do (last verse). William Streat
in "The Dividing of
the Hoof
"1654.
Title. The Valley
of Salt. The ridge of Usdum exhibits more distinctly its peculiar
formation; the main body of the mountain being a solid mass of rock salt...
We could at first hardly believe our eyes
until we had several times
approached the precipices
and broken off pieces to satisfy ourselves
both by
the touch and taste. The salt
where thus exposed
is everywhere more or less
furrowed by the rains. As we advanced
large lumps and masses broken off from
above
lay like rocks along the shore
or were fallen down as debris.
The very stones beneath our feet were wholly salt... The position of this
mountain at the south end of the sea
enables us also to ascertain the place of
The Valley of Salt mentioned in Scripture
where the Hebrews under
David
and again under Amaziah
gained decisive victories over Edom. This
valley could have been no other than the Ghor south of the Dead Sea
adjacent
to the mountain of salt; it separates indeed the ancient territories of Judah
and Edom. Edward Robinson's "Biblical Researches in Palestine
"1867.
Title. The historic
record mentions eighteen thousand slain
and here but twelve
thousand. The greater of course includes the less. The discrepancy may be
explained by supposing that the title contains the numbers slain by one
division of the army
or that the twelve thousand were slain in the
battle
and the residue in the flight. Or an error may have crept into the
text. Every scholar admits that there is sometimes serious difficulty in
settling the numbers of the Old Testament. In this place Calvin has two and
twenty thousand
the common version twelve thousand
while the
original is two ten thousand
which taken in one way would mean twenty
thousand
i.e.
two tens of thousands. Hammond refers the number slain to
different battles
and so avoids the difficulty. William S. Plumer.
Verse
1. O God
thou hast cast us off. The word here used means
properly to be foul
rancid
offensive; and then
to treat anything as if
it were foul or rancid; to repel
to spurn
to cast away. It is strong
language
meaning that God had seemed to treat them as if they were loathsome
of offensive to him. Albert Barnes.
Verse
2. Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh. They pray that
this may be done with the utmost speed
because there was a danger in delay
for the kingdom was already pressed down with a heavy calamity
and on the
brink of ruin
which is signified by the word hjm whose origin is in a very
strong and tremulous inclination to one side
properly from the application of
a lever
and is applied to those who are leaning so far to one side that
they are just on the point of falling; figuratively
therefore
it expresses a most
perilous condition
in which one is on the edge of destruction. Hermann
Venema.
Verse
2. Heal the breaches thereof. Even Israel is subject to breaches.
So it was with the literal typical Israel
David's kingdom; so it may be with
spiritual mystical Israel
the kingdom of Christ
the church of God upon earth.
There are breaches from without
and breaches from within.
I will invert the order. From without
by open persecution; from within
by intestine and homebred divisions. Of both these the church of God in
all ages hath had sufficient experience. Look we upon the primitive
times
during the infancy of the church
however the soundest and most
entire church that ever was
yet how was it broken! Broken
as by
foreign persecutions
so by homebred divisions. Both these ways was the church
during the apostles' time broken
distressed by enemies from without who
persecuted it. John Brinsley (1600-1665)
in "The Healing of Israel's
Breaches."
Verse
2. It shaketh. That is
presaging nothing but ruin and
downfall
unless it be speedily underpropped
and the breaches
thereof made up and healed. Thus did David look upon Israel's
disease
and hereupon it was that he was so deeply affected with it
so
earnestly desiring the cure of it. The reference
as interpreters conceive
is
to those homebred divisions
those civil wars betwixt the two houses of
Saul and David
after the death of Saul: then did the "earth
"the
land
that land of Israel (as the Chaldee explains it)
quake and tremble
being broken
riven (as the word in the original signifieth): even as
the earth sometimes by earthquakes is riven
and torn asunder with prodigious
chasms
openings
or gapings: so was that kingdom divided in those civil
commotions
the nobles and commons taking parts and siding
some with David
some with Ishbosheth. John Brinsley.
Verse
3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things. God will be sure
to plough his own ground
whatsoever becometh of the waste; and to weed his own
garden
though the rest of the world should be let alone to grow wild. John
Trapp.
Verse
3. Thou hast given us to drink infatuation
or bewilderment
as
men drink wine. So Hupfeld explains the constructions
referring to Ps
80:5
"Thou hast made them feed upon weeping like bread; "1Ki 22:27
"Feed him with affliction as bread
and with affliction as water" uxl
mymw; Isa 30:20. But the apposition is capable of being explained in another
way
for the second noun may in fact be a predicate further defining the first:
"Thou hast given us wine to drink which is (not wine
but)
bewilderment." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
3. The wine of astonishment. "Intoxicating wine."
Hebrew
"Wine of staggering
"that is
which causeth staggering
or
in other words
intoxicating. Some render
"wine of stupor
"or
stupefying. Symmachus
"wine of agitation
"and this sense I have
adopted which is also that of the Syriac. Benjamin Boothroyd.
Verse
4. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Perhaps
the delivery of a banner was anciently esteemed an obligation to
protect
and that the psalmist might consider it in this light
when
upon a
victory over the Syrians and Edomites
after the public affairs of Israel had
been in a bad state
he says
Thou hast shewed thy people hard things
etc. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee. Though thou didst
for a time give up thine Israel into the hands of their enemies
thou hast now
given them an assurance of thy having received them under thy protection. Thomas
Harmer (1715-1788)
in "Observations on Divers Passages of
Scripture."
Verse
4. Thou hast given a banner
etc. Thou hast given us by the
recent victory
after our prostrate condition
a banner of triumph to lift
up (so the Hebrew)
because of thy faithfulness to thy promise. Truth
here answers to God's holiness (Ps 60:6). So long as soldiers see their
banner uplifted
they flock round it with confidence. But when it is
prostrate their spirits and hopes fall. The banner is a pledge of
safety
and a rallying point to those who fight under it. A. R. Faussett.
Verse
4. Thou hast given a banner
etc. The psalmist compares the salvation
which the Lord bestows upon his people to a highly excellent banner
which serves as a signal
to one lying prostrate in his misery
to rise up
with an allusion perhaps to Nu 21:8. "And the Lord said to Moses
Make
thee a serpent
and set it upon a standard pole; and it happened that
every one who was bitten
and looked at it
lived." At any rate
that
passage in which the serpent is a symbol of the healing power of God
may serve
to illustrate the passage before us. Compare heal its breaches. E. W.
Hengstenberg.
Verse
4. A banner
which is a sign or instrument:
1.
Of union. This people
who were lately divided and under several banners
thou
hast now gathered together and united under one banner; to wit
under my
government.
2.
Of battle. Thou hast given us an army and power to oppose our enemies. We had
our banner to set against theirs.
3.
Of triumph. We have not lost our banner but gained theirs
and brought it away
in triumph. Compare Ps 20:5. Matthew Poole.
Verse
6. God hath spoken in his holiness. That is
by Samuel he
hath promised
as he is an holy God
and true of his word
that I should be
king of all Israel
and now he hath performed it. (2 Samuel 5.) Yet Calvin
speaks of it as not yet performed; but the course of the history makes it plain
that David was now king over the parts of which he here speaketh. I will
divide Shechem
as subjects to me as Joshua having the land under him
divided it amongst his people: so David being king over all the parts of the
land
divides to his followers such portions as belonged unto them by
inheritance
from which happily some of them had been expelled by the time of
Ishbosheth his reign; or some families in the time of those wars might be
utterly wasted away
and so the king having free power to dispose of their
lands
might give them amongst his men
and take part to himself. John
Mayer.
Verse
6. God hath spoken in his holiness. That is
he hath given
out his word from heaven
the habitation of his holiness and of his glory; or
he hath spoken it certainly
there is nothing but holiness in his word (and
that is the strength of words). David having received this word stands assured
that as Shechem and Succoth
Gilead and Manasseh
Ephraim and Judah would
willingly submit to him and yield obedience; so
also
that Moab
Edom
and Philistia
who were his professed enemies
should be subdued to him. He expected to
conquer and triumph over them
to put them to the basest offices
as his
vassals
because God had decreed and spoken it in his holiness. God hath spoken
the word
saith he
therefore is shall be done
yea
it is done; and therefore
David cried
All's mine
Gilead in mine
Manasseh is mine
Moab and Edom are
mine
as soon as God had spoken the word. Joseph Caryl.
Verse
6. I will divide Shechem. It is as much as if he should say
I will not look to have my share measured out by others
but I will divide it
and measure myself
and will be the right owner and possessor thereof. Thomas
Wilcocks.
Verse
6. I will divide Shechem
etc. Of Shechem and the Valley
of Succoth
or booths
so called from Jacob's making booths
and feeding
his cattle there. (See Ge 33:17-18.) By these are meant Samaria; and David's
dividing or meting them out
is a phrase to express his dominion
over them
in being part of the regal power to distribute his
province into cities and regions
and place judges and magistrates over them.
To these the addition of Gilead (which contained the whole region of Bashan
etc.
on the other side of Jordan)
and then the mention of Manasseh
and Ephraim
are designed
as by so many parts
to denote the kingdom of
Israel
or the ten tribes; and their being his
and the strength of
his head
notes him to be the Lord over them
and to make use of
their strength in his wars
for the defending or enlarging his dominions. And
then Judah yqqwxm is my lawgiver; as it refers to Jacob's prophecy of
the sceptre and lawgiver not departing from Judah
denoting that to be
the royal tribe; so by it is signified the kingdom of Judah
(under which Benjamin is comprehended)
that David is possessed of that
also. Henry Hammond.
Verse
6. Succoth. If the preceding views are correct
we may rest
in the result
that the present Sâkût represents the name and site of the
ancient Succoth...We passed obliquely along the northern slope of the same
broad swell
where the ground was covered only by a thick crop of thistles. On
our right was a region of lower ground to which we gradually descended; full of
grass
wild oats
and thistles
with an occasional thornbush. The soil was like
that of an Ohio bottom. The grass
intermingled with tall daisies
and the wild
oats reached to the horses backs; while the thistles sometimes overtopped the
rider's heads. All was now dry; and in some places it was difficult to make our
way through the exuberant growth. At last we came to the cause of this
fertility
a fine brook winding along the bottom. We crossed it
and passed up
again obliquely over another like swell
covered as before only with thistles.
Here was an ancient oil vat
very large and of a single stone; it was evidently
brought hither
and indicates the former growth of the olive in these parts. We
struck the same stream again at its source
called Ain el Beida
a large and
fine fountain
surrounded with gardens of cucumbers
and watering an extensive
tract. We were here on the edge of the higher portion of the Ghôr
where low
ridges and swells project out from the foot of the western mountains
and form
a rolling plain or plateau
which is well watered
arable and very extensively
cultivated for wheat. The tract further east
which we had now crossed
may be
said to extend to the high bank of the lower Jordan valley. It is less
elevated
is more generally level
though crossed by low swells between the
water courses
and has little tillage. The inhabitants of Tûbâs are divided
into three hostile parties; and they carry their divisions into their
agriculture in the Ghôr. One party sows at Ain el Beida
where we now were;
another around Ain Makhûz
more in the north; and the third at Ridghah
Sâkût
and further south. The people of Teyâsîr also sow on the south of Mâlih; the
water of which is used for irrigation. The whole tract north of Wady Mâlih was
said to be farmed from the government by one of the Sheiks of the Jenâr family
who live at Jeba and in its neighbourhood. By him it is again let to the
different villages. Robinson's "Biblical Researches in Palestine."
Verses
6-7. The chief and principal places where the seditious party had
their residence and abode
were those which the psalmist mentions in the sixth
and seventh verses
namely
Shechem
a city in the tribe of Ephraim; Succoth
a city in the tribe of Gad; Gilead and Manasseh
the utmost
borders of the land of Canaan beyond Jordan. These were some of the chief
places
which sided with Ishbosheth whilst he lived
as you may see
2 Samuel
2; and
as it seemeth
they still cleaved to the house of Saul after he was
dead
not acknowledging David for their king. John Brinsley.
Verse
7. Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine. That is to say
I
will possess myself of them and rule over them; not as a conqueror over slaves
but as a lord over subjects
as a father over children
owning and
acknowledging them as mine. They are my inheritance
and shall be my
people
my subjects. John Brinsley.
Verse
7. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. The strong and
warlike tribe of Ephraim being to the state what the helmet is to the warriors
in battle; or
perhaps the allusion is to De 33:17: "His glory is like the
firstling of his bullock
and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with
them he shall push the nations." J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
7. Judah is (or shall be) my lawgiver
i.e.
all his subjects
should be brought under one Head
one governor
who should give them
laws
according to which they should be ordered or governed
which power and
authority belonged to the tribe of Judah
according to that prophecy of
Jacob (Ge 49:10)
to which the psalmist here alludes. No way
no means to bring
the people unto unity
to bring them into one body
but by bringing them
under on head
one law giver
by whose laws they may be regulated
and governed. Now in the church
and in matters of religion
this one Head
is Christ
even that Lion of the tribe of Judah
as he is called
(Re 5:5). He is the Law giver of his church
and let him so be. This
will be found one
aye
and the only means to breed an holy and religious
unity
and bring home straying
wandering sheep. John Brinsley.
Verse
7. No government could stand which was not resident in Judah. John
Calvin.
Verse
8. Moab is my washpot. Implying that Moab should be reduced
to slavery
it being the business of a slave to present the hand washing basin
to his master. With the Greeks
plunein tina
to wash down any one
was
a slang term
signifying to ridicule
abuse
or beat; hence we have the word washpot
applied to the subject of such treatment. "You do not appear to be in your
right senses
who make a washpot of me in the presence of many men." Aristophanes.
Thomas S. Millington
in "The Testimony of the Heathen to the Truths of
Holy Writ
" 1863.
Verse
8. (second clause). When
keeping in view the idea of washing
the feet
a person throws his shoes
which he has taken off
to any one to be
taken away or to be cleaned—kylvh with le and also with la
1Ki 19:19
is "to
throw to any one"—the individual to whom it belongs to perform such an
office must be a slave of the lowest kind. E. W. Hengstenberg.
Verse
8. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe
which notes either
contempt of them
as if he had said
O look upon them as worthy only to scrape
and make clean my shoes. Or secondly
conquest over them—I will walk through
Edom and subdue it. Joseph Caryl.
Verse
8. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe. By extension
immission
or projection of the shoe
either upon the necks of people
or over
their countries
is meant nothing else but to overcome
subdue
bring under
power
possess
and subject to vileness such men and such countries. The very
vulgar acceptation of the word possession
in the grammatical sense
imports as much; for the etymology of possessio is no more but pedum
positio. This manner of speaking hath also allusion to the positive law
recorded in De 25:6-10; for the letter of the law is
that is the kinsman would
not marry the brother's widow and raise up seed unto his brother; the widow
loosing his shoe
and spitting in his face
he lost the claim and interest of
such possessions as belonged to the woman in right of her husband. And the
house of such a man was called domus discalceati
that is to say
"The house of him that hath his shoe loosed." The practice also of
this law we find recorded in the book of Ruth
in the case of Elimelech's land
between Boaz and the kinsman
about the widow Ruth
who had her interest by
right of her husband in the said land. Moreover
the frequent use of this
phrase meeting us very often in the book of God
makes this to be the meaning
of the words
as clear as the day. This king elsewhere singing his trophies
saith
"They are fallen under my feet." "Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
he shall see it
and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden
upon." But the people must "not meddle with Mount Seir; for God would
not give them thereof so much as a foot's breadth; "yet ever the place
whereon the soles of their feet should tread
from the wilderness of Lebanon
and from the river Euphrates unto the utmost sea
should be theirs. Ps 18:38 De
1:36 2:5. William Loe
in "A Sermon before the King at Theobalds
"entitled
"The King's Shoe
made and ordained to trample on
and to
tread down enemies
" 1623.
Verse
8. Over Edom will I cast out my shoe. Turnus
having slain
Palias
—"Bestrode the corpse
and pressed it with his foot." Virgil.
Verse
8. Of the Philistines he says
Over Philistia it is mine to
boast; for so I would translate
and not
as is usual
Philistia
triumph thou over me
which does not yield a consistent meaning. Hermann
Venema.
Verse
8. (last clause). Let not our adversaries triumph over our breaches.
"Rejoice not against me
O mine enemy." Or
if they will
let them
triumph: Triumph thou
O Philistia
because of me
or over me. John
Brinsley.
Verses
8-10. Moab in the East
Edom in the South
and Philistia in the West
(the North is not mentioned
because the banner of David had already been
victorious there.) Augustus F. Tholuck.
Verse
11. For vain is the help of man. As they had lately
experimented in Saul
a king of their own choosing
but not able to save
them from those proud Philistines. John Trapp.
Verse
11. So long as sight and reason find footing in matters
there is no
place for faith and hope; the abundance of human helps puts not grace to proof
but the strength of faith is in the absence of them all. A man is stronger when
he goeth on his feet alone
than when he standeth by a grip in his infancy
or
leaneth on a staff in his old age: the two feet of faith and hope serve us best
when we are fixed on the Rock of Sion alone. William Struther.
Verse
12. Through God we shall do
etc. In war these two must be
joined
and indeed in all actions: HE
we; God and man.
1.
"We shall do valiantly
"for God helps not remiss
or cowardly
or
negligent men.
2.
And yet
that being done
the work is his: "He shall tread down;
"the blow and the overthrow are not to be attributed to us
but to him.
Adam Clarke.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. Prayer of a church in low condition.
1. Complaint.
(a)
Left of God's Spirit.
(b) Scattered.
2. Cause.
Something displeasing to God. Neglect or actual sin; a subject for self
examination.
3. Cure.
The Lord's return to us and ours to him. In our version it is a prayer; in the
Septuagint an expression of faith—"Thou wilt return."
Verse
2. The perturbation
the prayer
the plea. G. R.
Verse
3. That God does afflict his people severely
and that he has good
reason for the same.
Verse
3. The wine of astonishment. A purgative
a tonic.
Astonishing sin followed by astonishing chastisements
discoveries of
corruption
of the spirituality of the law
of the terrors of divine wrath
and
by astonishing depressions
temptations
and conflicts.
Verse
4. The banner of the gospel.
1.
Why a banner? A rallying point
meant to fight under
etc.
2.
By whom given. Thou.
3.
To whom. To them that fear thee.
4.
What is to be done with it. To be displayed.
5.
For what cause. Because of the truth. Truth promotes truth.
Verse
5. The deliverance of the elect needs a saving God
a mighty God (right
hand)
and a prayer hearing God.
Verse
5. (last clause). Save... and hear. The remarkable
order of these words suggests that—
1.
In the purpose of God.
2.
In the first works of grace.
3.
Often under trial.
4.
And specially in fierce temptations
Gods saving precedes man's praying.
Verse
6. God's holy promise
ground for present joy
and for boldly taking
possession of the promised good.
Verse
7. Gilead is mine
and Manasseh is mine. How
and in what
respect this world is the Christian's.
Verse
7. Judah is my lawgiver. The believer owning no law but that
which comes from Christ.
Verse
8. Moab is my washpot. How we may make sinners subservient to
our sanctification. We are warned by their sin
and punishment
etc. See
"Spurgeon's Sermons
"No. 983
"Moab is my washpot."
Verse
9. The soul winner's question.
1.
The object of attack; the strong city of man's heart
barricaded by depravity
ignorance
prejudice
custom
etc.
2.
Our main design. To penetrate
to reach the citadel for Jesus.
3.
Our great enquiry. Eloquence
learning
wit
none of these can force the gate
but there is One who can.
Verse
12. Divine operation a reason for human activity.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》