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Psalm One
Hundred Forty
Psalm 140
Chapter Contents
David encourages himself in God. (1-7) He prays for
and
prophesies the destruction of
his persecutors. (8-13)
Commentary on Psalm 140:1-7
(Read Psalm 140:1-7)
The more danger appears
the more earnest we should be in
prayer to God. All are safe whom the Lord protects. If he be for us
who can be
against us? We should especially watch and pray
that the Lord would hold up
our goings in his ways
that our footsteps slip not. God is as able to keep his
people from secret fraud as from open force; and the experience we have had of
his power and care
in dangers of one kind
may encourage us to depend upon him
in other dangers.
Commentary on Psalm 140:8-13
(Read Psalm 140:8-13)
Believers may pray that God would not grant the desires
of the wicked
nor further their evil devices. False accusers will bring
mischief upon themselves
even the burning coals of Divine vengeance. And
surely the righteous shall dwell in God's presence
and give him thanks for
evermore. This is true thanksgiving
even thanks-living: this use we should
make of all our deliverances
we should serve God the more closely and
cheerfully. Those who
though evil spoken of and ill-used by men
are righteous
in the sight of God
being justified by the righteousness of Christ
which is
imputed to them
and received by faith
as the effect of which
they live
soberly and righteously; these give thanks to the Lord
for the righteousness
whereby they are made righteous
and for every blessing of grace
and mercy of
life.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 140
Verse 3
[3] They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent;
adders' poison is under their lips. /*Selah*/.
Tongues — Using words as sharp and piercing as the sting of a
serpent.
Verse 9
[9] As for the head of those that compass me about
let the
mischief of their own lips cover them.
Mischief — The mischief which they design against me
shall fall
upon themselves.
Verse 10
[10] Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into
the fire; into deep pits
that they rise not up again.
Coals — Divine vengeance
which is compared to coals of fire.
Verse 13
[13] Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name:
the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Dwell — Shall constantly enjoy thy gracious and powerful
presence.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and
Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village
Preacher
This Psalm is
in its proper place
and so fitly follows 139 that you might almost read right
on
and make no break between the two. Serious injury would follow to the whole
Book of Psalms if the order should be interfered with as certain wiseacres
propose. It is The Cry Of A Hunted Soul the supplication of a believer
incessantly persecuted and beset by cunning enemies
who hungered for his
destruction. David was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains
and seldom
obtained a moment's rest. This is his pathetic appeal to Jehovah for
protection
an appeal which gradually intensifies into a denunciation of his
bitter foes. With this sacrifice of prayer he offers the salt of faith; for in
a very marked and emphatic manner he expresses his personal confidence in the
Lord as the Protector of the oppressed
and as his own God and Defender. Few
short Psalms are so rich in the jewellery of precious faith.
TO
THE CHIEF MUSICIAN. The writer wished this experimental hymn to be under the care of
the chief master of song
that it might neither be left unsung
nor chanted in
a slovenly manner. Such trials and such rescues deserved to be had in
remembrance
and to be set up among the choicest memorials of the Lord's
goodness. We
too
have our songs which are of no ordinary kind
and these must
be sung with our best powers of heart and tongue. We will offer them to the
Lord by no other hand than that of "the Chief Musician."
A
PSALM OF DAVID. The life of David wherein he comes in contact with Saul and Doeg
is the best explanation of this Psalm; and surely there can be no reasonable
doubt that David wrote it
and wrote it in the time of his exile and peril. The
tremendous outburst at the end has in it the warmth which was so natural to
David
who was never lukewarm in anything; yet it is to be noticed that
concerning his enemies he was often hot in language through indignation
and
yet he was cool in action
for he was not revengeful. His was no petty malice
but a righteous anger: he foresaw
foretold
and even desired the just
vengeance of God upon the proud and wicked
and yet he would not avail himself
of opportunities to revenge himself upon those who had done him wrong. It may
be that his appeals to the great King cooled his anger
and enabled him to
leave his wrongs unredressed by any personal act of violence. "Vengeance
is mine; I will repay
saith the Lord"; and David when most wounded by
undeserved persecution and wicked falsehood was glad to leave his matters at
the foot of the throne
where they would be safe with the King of kings.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Deliver me
O LORD
from the evil man. It reads like a
clause of the Lord's prayer
"Deliver us from evil." David does not
so much plead against an individual as against the species represented by him
namely
the being whose best description is—"the evil man." There are
many such abroad; indeed we shall not find an unregenerate man who is not in
some sense an evil man
and yet all are not alike evil. It is well for us that
our enemies are evil: it would be a horrible thing to have the good against us.
When "the evil man" bestirs himself against the godly he is as
terrible a being as a wolf
or a serpent
or even a devil. Fierce
implacable
unpitying
unrelenting
unscrupulous
he cares for nothing but the indulgence
of his malice. The persecuted man turns to God in prayer; he could not do a
wiser thing. Who can meet the evil man and defeat him save Jehovah himself
whose infinite goodness is more than a match for all the evil in the universe?
We cannot of ourselves baffle the craft of the enemy
but the Lord knoweth how
to deliver his saints. He can keep us out of the enemy's reach
he can sustain
us when under his power
he can rescue us when our doom seems fixed
he can
give us the victory when defeat seems certain; and in any and every case
if he
do not save us from the man he can keep us from the evil. Should we be at this
moment oppressed in any measure by ungodly men
it will be better to leave our
defence with God than to attempt it ourselves. Preserve me from the violent
man. Evil in the heart simmers in malice
and at last boils in passion. Evil is
a ragtag thing when it getteth liberty to manifest itself; and so "the
evil man" soon develops into "the violent man" What
watchfulness
strength
or valour can preserve the child of God from deceit and
violence? There is but one sure Preserver
and it is our wisdom to hide under
the shadow of his wings. It is a common thing for good men to be assailed by
enemies: David was attacked by Saul
Doeg
Ahithophel
Shimei
and others; even
Mordecai sitting humbly in the gate had his Haman; and our Lord
the Perfect
One
was surrounded by those who thirsted for his blood. We may not
therefore
hope to pass through the world without enemies
but we may hope to be delivered
out of their hands
and preserved from their rage
so that no real harm shall
come of their malignity. This blessing is to be sought by prayer
and expected
by faith.
Verse
2. Which imagine mischiefs in their heart. They cannot be
happy unless they are plotting and planning
conspiring and contriving. They
seem to have but one heart
for they are completely agreed in their malice; and
with all their heart and soul they pursue their victim. One piece of mischief
is not enough for them; they work in the plural
and prepare many arrows for
their bow. What they cannot actually do they nevertheless like to think over
and to rehearse on the stage of their cruel fancy. It is an awful thing to have
such a heart disease as this. When the imagination gloats over doing harm to
others
it is a sure sign that the entire nature is far gone in wickedness. Continually
are they gathered together for war. They are a committee of opposition in
permanent session: they never adjourn
but perpetually consider the all
absorbing question of how to do the most harm to the man of God. They are a
standing army always ready for the fray: they not only go to the wars
but dwell
in them. Though they are the worst of company
yet they put up with one
another
and are continually in each other's society
confederate for fight.
David's enemies were as violent as they were evil
as crafty as they were
violent
and as persistent as they were crafty. It is hard dealing with persons
who are only in their element when they are at daggers drawn with you. Such a
case calls for prayer
and prayer calls on God.
Verse
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. The
rapid motion of a viper's tongue gives you the idea of its sharpening it; even
thus do the malicious move their tongues at such a rate that one might suppose
them to be in the very act of wearing them to a point
or rubbing them to a
keen edge. It was a common notion that serpents inserted their poison by their
tongues
and the poets used the idea as a poetical expression
although it is
certain that the serpent wounds by his fangs and not by his tongue. We are not
to suppose that all authors who used such language were mistaken in their
natural history any more than a writer can be charged with ignorance of
astronomy because he speaks of the sun's travelling from east to west. How else
can poets speak but according to the appearance of things to an imaginative
eye. The world's great poet puts it in "King Lear":
"She
struck me with her tongue
Most serpent like
upon the very heart."
In
the case of slanderers
they so literally sting with their tongues
which are
so nimble in malice
and withal so piercing and cutting
that it is by no means
unjust to speak of them as sharpened. "Adders' poison is under their
lips." The deadliest of all venom is the slander of the unscrupulous.
Some men care not what they say so long as they can vex and injure. Our text
however
must not be confined in its reference to some few individuals
for in
the inspired epistle to the Romans it is quoted by the apostle as being true of
us all. So depraved are we by nature that the most venomous creatures are our
fit types. The old serpent has not only inoculated us with his venom
but he
has caused us to be ourselves producers of the like poison: it lies under our
lips
ready for use
and
alas
it is all too freely used when we grow angry
and desire to take vengeance upon any who have caused us vexation. It is sadly
wonderful what hard things even good men will say when provoked; yea
even such
as call themselves "perfect" in cool blood are not quite as gentle as
doves when their claims to sinlessness are bluntly questioned. This poison of evil
speaking would never fall from our lips
however much we might be provoked
if
it were not there at other times; but by nature we have as great a store of
venomous words as a cobra has of poison. O Lord
take the poison bags away
and
cause our lips to drop nothing but honey. Selah. This is heavy work. Go
up
go up
my heart! Sink not too low. Fall not into the lowest key. Lift up
thyself to God.
Verse
4. Keep me
O LORD
from the hands of the wicked. To fall
into their hands would be a calamity indeed. David in his most pitiable plight
chose to fall into the hand of a chastising God rather than to be left in the
power of men. No creature among the wild beasts of the wood is so terrible an
enemy to man as man himself when guided by evil
and impelled by violence. The
Lord by providence and grace can keep us out of the power of the wicked. He
alone can do this
for neither our own watchfulness nor the faithfulness of
friends can secure us against the serpentine assaults of the foe. We have need
to be preserved from the smooth as well as the rough hands of the ungodly
for
their flatteries may harm us as much as their calumnies. The hands of their
example may pollute us
and so do us more harm than the hands of their
oppression. Jehovah must be our keeper
or evil hands will do what evil hearts
have imagined and evil lips have threatened. Preserve me from the violent
man. His intense passion makes him terribly dangerous. He will strike
anyhow
use any weapon
smite from any quarter: he is so furious that he is
reckless of his own life if he may accomplish his detestable design. Lord
preserve us by thine omnipotence when men attack us with their violence. This
prayer is a wise and suitable one. Who have purposed to overthrow my goings.
They resolve to turn the good man from his resolve
they would defeat his
designs
injure his integrity
and blast his character. Their own goings are
wicked
and therefore they hate those of the righteous
seeing they are a
standing rebuke to them. This is a forcible argument to use in prayer with God:
he is the patron of holiness
and when the pure lives of his people are in
danger of overthrow
he may be expected to interpose. Never let the pious
forget to pray
for this is a weapon against which the most determined enemy
cannot stand.
Verse
5. The proud have hid a snare for me. Proud as they are
they
stoop to this mean action: they use a snare
and they hide it away
that their
victim may be taken like a poor hare who is killed without warning—killed in
its usual run
by a snare which it could not see. David's enemies wished to
snare him in his path of service
the usual way of his life. Saul laid many
snares for David
but the Lord preserved him. All around us there are snares of
one sort or another
and he will be well kept
aye
divinely kept
who never
falls into one of them. And cords. With these they pull the net together
and with these they bind their captive. Thus fowlers do
and trappers of
certain large animals. The cords of love are pleasant
but the cords of hate
are cruel as death itself. They have spread a net by the wayside. Where
it will be near their prey; where the slightest divergence from the path will
bring the victim into it. Surely the common wayside ought to be safe: men who
go out of the way may well be taken in a net
but the path of duty is
proverbially the path of safety; yet it is safe nowhere when malicious persons
are abroad. Birds are taken in nets
and men are taken by deceit. Satan
instructs his children in the art of fowling
and they right speedily learn how
to spread nets: perhaps they have been doing that for us already; let us make
our appeal to God concerning it. They have set gins for me. One
instrument of destruction is not enough; they are so afraid of missing their
prey that they multiply their traps
using differing devices
so that one way
or another they may take their victim. Those who avoid the snare and the net
may yet be caught in a gin
and accordingly gins are placed in all likely
places. If a godly man can be cajoled
or bribed
or cowed
or made angry
the
wicked will make the attempt. Ready are they to twist his words
misread his
intentions
and misdirect his efforts; ready to fawn
and lie
and make
themselves mean to the last degree so that they may accomplish their abominable
purpose. Selah. The harp needs tuning after such a strain
and the heart
needs lifting up towards God.
Verse
6. I said unto the LORD
Thou art my God. Here was David's
stay and hope. He was assured that Jehovah was his God
he expressed that
assurance
and he expressed it before Jehovah himself. That had need be a good
and full assurance which a man dares to lay before the face of the heart
searching Lord. The Psalmist when hunted by man
addressed himself to God.
Often the less we say to our foes
and the more we say to our best Friend the
better it will fare with us: if we say anything
let it be said unto the Lord.
David rejoiced in the fact that he had already said that Jehovah was his God:
he was content to have committed himself
he had no wish to draw back. The Lord
was David's own by deliberate choice
to which he again sets his seal with
delight. The wicked reject God
but the righteous receive him as their own
their treasure
their pleasure
their light and delight. Hear the voice of
my supplications
O LORD. Since thou art mine
I pray thee hear my cries.
We cannot ask this favour of another man's god
but we may seek it from our own
God. The prayers of saints have a voice in them; they are expressive pleadings
even when they sound like inarticulate moanings. The Lord can discern a voice
in our waitings
and he can and will hearken thereto. Because he is God he can
hear us; because he is our God he will hear us. So long as the Lord doth but
hear us we are content: the answer may be according to his own will
but we do
entreat to be heard: a soul in distress is grateful to any one who will be kind
and patient enough to hearken to its tale
but specially is it thankful for an
audience with Jehovah. The more we consider his greatness and our
insignificance
his wisdom and our folly
the more shall we be filled with
praise when the Lord attends unto our cry.
Verse
7. O GOD the Lord
the strength of my salvation
thou hast
covered my head in the day of battle. When he looked back upon past dangers
and deliverances
the good man felt that he should have perished had not the
Lord held a shield over his head. In the day of the clash of arms
or of the
putting on of armour (as some read it)
the glorious Lord had been his constant
Protector. Goliath had his armour bearer
and so had Saul
and these each one
guarded his master; yet the giant and the king both perished
while David
without armour or shield
slew the giant and baffled the tyrant. The shield of
the Eternal is a better protection than a helmet of brass
When arrows fly
thick and the battle axe crashes right and left
there is no covering for the
head like the power of the Almighty. See how the child of providence glorifies
his Preserver! He calls him not only his salvation
but the strength of it
by
whose unrivalled force he had been enabled to outlive the cunning and cruelty
of his adversaries. He had obtained a deliverance in which the strength of the
Omnipotent was clearly to be seen. This is a grand utterance of praise
a
gracious ground of comfort
a prevalent argument in prayer. He that has covered
our head aforetime will not now desert us. Wherefore let us fight a good fight
and fear no deadly wound: the Lord God is our shield
and our exceeding great
reward.
Verse
8. Grant not
O LORD
the desires of the wicked. Even they
are dependent upon thee they can do no more than thou dost permit. Thou dost
restrain them; not a dog of them can move his tongue without thy leave and
license. Therefore I entreat thee not to let them have their way. Even though they
dare to pray to their
do not hear their prayers against innocent men.
Assuredly the Lord Jehovah will be no accomplice with the malevolent; their
desires shall never be his desires; if they thirst for blood he will not
gratify their cruelty. Further not his wicked devices They are so united
as to be like one man in their wishes; but do rot hear their prayers. Though
hand join in hand
and they desire and design as one man
yet do not thou lend
them the aid of thy providence. Do not permit their malicious schemes to
succeed. The Lord may allow success to attend the policy of the wicked for a
time for wise reasons unknown to us
but we are permitted to pray that it be
not so. The petition "Deliver us from evil" includes and allows such
supplication. Lest they exalt themselves. If successful
the wicked are
sure to grow proud
and insult the righteous over whom they have triumphed
and
this is so great an evil
and so dishonouring to God
that the Psalmist uses it
in his pleading as an argument against their being allowed to prosper. The
glory of the wicked is opposed to the glory of God. If God seems to favour them
they grow too high for this world
and their heads strike against the heavens.
Let us hope that the Lord will not suffer this to be. Selah. Here let us
exalt our thoughts and praises high over the heads of self exalting sinners.
The more they rise in conceit the higher let us rise in confidence.
Verse
9. As for the head of those that compass me about
let the
mischief of their own lips cover them. To the Lord who had covered his head
amid the din of arms the Psalmist appeals against his foes
that their heads
may be covered in quite another sense—covered with the reward of their own
malice. David's foes were so many that they hemmed him in
encircling him as
hunters do their prey. It is little wonder that he turns to the Lord in his
dire need. The poet represents his adversaries as so united as to have but one
head; for there is often a unanimity among evil spirits which makes them the
more strong and terrible for their vile purposes. The lex talionis
or
law of retaliation
often brings down upon violent men the evil which they
planned and spoke of for others: their arrows fall upon themselves. When a
man's lips vent curses they will probably
like chickens
come home to roost. A
stone hurled upward into the air is apt to fall upon the thrower's head.
David's words may be read in the future as a prophecy; but in this verse
at
any rate
there is no need to do so in order to soften their tone. It is so
just that the mischief which men plot and the slander which they speak should
recoil upon themselves that every righteous man must desire it: he who does not
desire it may wish to be considered humane and Christlike
but the chances are
that he has a sneaking agreement with the wicked
or is deficient in a manly
sense of right and wrong. When evil men fall into pits which they have digged
for the innocent we believe that even the angels are glad; certainly the most
gentle and tender of philanthropists
however much they pity the sufferers
must also approve the justice which makes them suffer. We suspect that some of
our excessively soft spoken critics only need to be put into David's place
and
they would become a vast deal more bitter than he ever was.
Verse
10. Let burning coals fall upon them. Then will they know that
the scattering of the firebrands is not the sport they thought it to be. When
hailstones and coals of fire descend upon them
how will they escape? Even the
skies above the wicked are able to deal out vengeance upon them. Let them be
cast into the fire. They have kindled the flames of strife
and it is fair
that they should be cast therein. They have heated the furnace of slander seven
times hotter than it was wont to be heated
and they shall be devoured therein.
Who would have pitied Nebuchadnezzar if he had been thrown into his own burning
fiery furnace? Into deep pits
that they rise not up again. They made
those ditches or fosses for the godly
and it is meet that they should themselves
fall into them and never escape. When a righteous man falls he rises again; but
when the wicked man goes down "he falls like Lucifer
never to hope
again." The Psalmist in this passage graphically depicts the Sodom of the
wicked persecutor: fire falls upon him from heaven; the city blazes
and he is
cast into the conflagration; the vale of Siddim is full of slime pits
and into
these he is hurried. Extraordinary judgment overtakes the extraordinary
offender: above
around
beneath
all is destruction. He would have consumed
the righteous
and now he is consumed himself. So shall it be: so let it be.
Verse
11. Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth. For
that would be an established plague
a perpetual curse. Men of false and cruel
tongues are of most use when they go to fatten the soil in which they rot as
carcases: while they are alive they are the terror of the good
and the torment
of the poor. God will not allow the specious orators of falsehood to retain the
power they temporarily obtain by their deceitful speaking. They may become
prominent
but they cannot become permanent. They shall be disendowed and
disestablished in spite of all that they can say to the contrary. All evil
bears the element of decay within itself; for what is it but corruption? Hence
the utmost powers of oratory are insufficient to settle upon a sure foundation
the cause which bears a lie within it. Evil shall hunt the violent man to
overthrow him. He hunted the good
and now his own evil shall hunt him. He
tried to overthrow the goings of the righteous
and now his own unrighteousness
shall prove his overthrow. As he was violent
so shall he be violently
assaulted and hunted down. Sin is its own punishment; a violent man will need
no direr doom than to reap what he has sown. It is horrible for a huntsman to
be devoured by Iris own hounds; yet this is the sure fate of the persecutor.
Verse
12. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted
and
the right of the poor. All through the Psalm the writer is bravely
confident
and speaks of things about which he had no doubt: in fact
no Psalm
can be more grandly positive than this protest against slander. The slandered
saint knew Jehovah's care for the afflicted
for he had received actual proofs
of it himself. "I will maintain it" is the motto of the great
Defender of the rights of the needy. What confidence this should create within
the bosoms of the persecuted and poverty stricken! The prosperous and wealthy
can maintain their own cause
but those who are otherwise shall find that God
helps those who cannot help themselves. Many talk as if the poor had no rights
worth noticing
but they will sooner or later find out their mistake when the
Judge of all the earth begins to plead with them.
Verse
13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name. The
former Psalm had its "surely"
but this is a more pleasing one. As
surely as God will slay the wicked he will save the oppressed
and fill their
hearts and mouths with praises. Whoever else may be silent
the righteous will
give thanks; and whatever they may suffer
the matter will end ill their living
through the trial
and magnifying the Lord for his delivering grace. On earth
ere long
and in heaven for ever
the pure in heart shall sing unto the Lord. How
loud and sweet will be the songs of the redeemed in the millennial age
when
the meek shall inherit the earth
and delight themselves in the abundance of
peace! The upright shall dwell in thy presence. Thus shall they give thanks in
the truest and fullest manner. This abiding before the Lord shall render to him
"songs without words"
and therefore all the more spiritual and true.
Their living and walking with their God shall be their practical form of
gratitude. Sitting down in holy peace
like children at their father's table
their joyful looks and language shall speak their high esteem and fervent love
to him who has become their dwelling place. How high have we climbed in this
Psalm—from being hunted by the evil man to dwelling in the divine presence; so
doth faith upraise the saint from the lowest depths to heights of peaceful
repose. Well might the song be studded with Selahs
or uplifters.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. Another Psalm "of David"
to be sung by all
saints
even as it was used by their Head
David's Son. In it we have (Ps
140:1-3) the picture of the wicked
with a "Selah"
that bids us pause over its dark colours. Then we have (Ps 140:4-5) a view
of the snares spread by the wicked
with another "Selah"—pause.
Thereafter
we see a soul in the attitude of faith (Ps 140:6-8). They
are laying the snares
but calm as Elisha beholding the Syrian host assembling
(2Ki 6:15)
the stayed soul sings
"I
have said to the Lord
My God art thou"; and then he prays
putting a
"Selah" at the close
that we may again pause and survey the scene.—Andrew
A. Bonar.
Whole
Psalm. There is no doubt that this Psalm expresses the feelings of David
on the first intelligence of Saul's setting out anew in pursuit of him
(comp. Ps 140:2). And then
in Psalm 141
we have his supplication at the time
when this danger was ever approaching nearer. Various things are said in this
Psalm (according to the Hebrew) primarily of a single person (Saul:) thus e.g.
Ps 140:1
4; and the numerous tongues of which David complains (Ps 140:3) are
just the tongues of traitors who again informed Saul of this new place of
David's residence in the wilderness of Engedi
where he might have imagined
himself so secure. The laying of snares (Ps 140:5) agrees perfectly in part
with this treachery
and in part with the search after David by Saul and his
numerous army
mentioned in 1Sa 24:2. In the same way might the burning coals
spoken of in Ps 140:10
and likewise the deep pits (German
floods) mentioned
there
have suggested themselves most naturally to David upon the rocks of
Engedi
where he had the Dead Sea just before him. Ps 140:10 seems also to
allude to the events which happened on the night before the destruction of
Sodom.—T. C. Barth
in "The Bible Manual."
Whole
Psalm. As in Psalm 138. David set before his seed God's promise as the
anchor of hope (2Sa 7:1-17); and in Psalm 139
God's omniscience as our
consolation in danger and motive for shunning evil; so in this Psalm he sets
forth the danger from calumnious enemies
and our only safety in Jehovah
our
strength.—Andrew Robert Fausset.
Verses
1
4
6
8. Good men live by prayer. He who gets to the throne of grace is
covered by the cloud of glory
through which no sun can smite by day
nor moon
by night.—William Swan Plumer.
Verses
1
7-11. On the first reading of this Psalm one is inclined to think that
there is somewhat of fierceness and bitterness in it
which is hardly
consistent with the character of a child of God
and therefore unbecoming in
David...And yet I really think that a little more examination of the language
of this Psalm will lead us to believe that we are doing David wrong in affixing
anything like a meaning or desire of vindictiveness to his words. Assuredly we
can find no fault with one who takes his wrongs in prayer to God; who
like
Hezekiah
takes the roll of his cares
and sorrows
and trials
and spreads it
before the Lord. And this is what David does in the very first verse: "Deliver
me
O Lord
from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man." I do
not think a person who does this
who
when smarting under a sense of injury
and wrong
goes at once to God and lays open his heart to him
is likely to go
very far wrong; for even though he may have begun in somewhat of an unkindly
spirit
yet prayer opens before us such a sight and sense of our own guiltiness
and wrongs towards God
and thereby exercises such an abasing
as well as
healing and soothing
influence over our feelings towards others
that we might
almost be assured that he whose prayer might begin even with a vehement
enumeration of his own wrongs
would end with something very like a
determination to bless them that cursed
and to do good to them that hated him.
You will observe
too
how
from first to last
David leaves his cause in God's
hands; it is not "my sword and my bow that shall help me"; he counted
them vain things to help a man; and therefore
as he had so often said in other
Psalms; "The Lord was his shield and his defence"
and as God had
already shielded his head in the day of battle
so he prays for the same
protection against his enemies now.—Barton Bouchier.
Verses
1
11. Three special forms of Satanic energy are individualized. The
evil or wicked man
the violent man
and the man of tongue are severally
appealed from by the suppliant speaker of the prayer of faith.—Arthur
Pridham.
Verse
2. Continually are they gathered together for war. Literally
this clause reads
who gather wars
and so some understand it. But it is
well known that the prepositions are often omitted in the Hebrew
and no doubt
he means that they stirred up general enmity by their false information which
acted as a trumpet sounding to battle.—John Calvin.
Verses
2-3. The wicked assault the righteous with three weapons:—with the
heart
by conspiracy; with the tongue
by lying; and with the hand
by
violence.—John Lorinus
1569-1634.
Verse
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. To
sharpen or whet the tongue imports the keenest and most extreme kind of
talkativeness
much more to sharpen the tongue "like a serpent."
Naturalists tell us that no living creature stirs his tongue so swiftly as a
serpent
and serpents are therefore said to have a treble tongue
because
moving their tongue so fast
they seem to have three tongues. The Psalmist
means—the wicked speak thick and threefold
they sting and poison me with their
tongues.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. This is
an exact description of the way in which a serpent darts out his tongue before he
inflicts the wound. See him: his head is erect
and his piercing eye is wildly
and fiercely fixed on the object; the tongue rapidly appears and disappears
as
if by that process it would be sharpened for the contest. Thus were the enemies
of David making sharp their tongues for his destruction.—Joseph Roberts
in
"Oriental Illustrations of the Sacred Scriptures
" 1835.
Verse
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent
etc. Is
it not a fact
that there are many men
the very existence of whom is a baneful
poison
as it were? They dart their livid tongue like the tongue of a serpent;
and the venom of their disposition corrodes every object upon which it
concentrates itself; ever vilifying and maligning
like the ill omened bird of
night.—Pliny.
Verse
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. As the
adder skilfully prepares herself for her work of death
so do the unhappy
children of slander and falsehood prepare themselves
by every possible effort
for injuring their unoffending victims.—John Morison.
Verse
3. In St. James's day
as now
it would appear that there were idle
men and idle women
who went about from house to house
dropping slander as
they went
and yet you could not take up that slander and detect the falsehood
there. You could not evaporate the truth in the slow process of the crucible
and then show the residuum of falsehood glittering and visible. You could not
fasten upon any word or sentence
and say that it was calumny; for in order to
constitute slander
it is not necessary that the word spoken should be
false—half truths are often more calumnious than whole falsehoods. It is not
even necessary that a word should be distinctly uttered; a dropped lip
an
arched eyebrow
a shrugged shoulder
a significant look
an incredulous
expression of countenance
nay
even an emphatic silence
may do the work; and
when the light and trifling thing which has done the mischief has fluttered
off
the venom is left behind
to work and rankle
to inflame hearts
to fever
human existence
and to poison human society at the fountain springs of life.
Very emphatically was it said by one whose whole being had smarted under such
affliction
Adders' poison is under their lips.—Frederick William
Robertson.
Verse
3. Slander and calumny must always precede and accompany
persecution
because malice itself cannot excite people against a good man
as
such; to do this
he must first be represented as a bad man. What can be said
of those who are busied in this manner
but that they are a "generation of
vipers"
the brood of the old "Serpent"
that grand accuser and
calumniator of the brethren
having under their tongues a bag of
"poison"
conveying instant death to the reputation on which they
fasten. Thus David was hunted as a rebel
Christ was crucified as a blasphemer
and the primitive Christians were tortured as guilty of incest and murder.—George
Horne.
Verse
3. Man consists of soul and body; the body is but the shadow
or at
best but the bearer of the soul: it's the soul that bears God's image; it's the
soul especially for which Christ died. Now
by how much the soul is more
precious than the body
by so much are the helps more excellent
and the
enemies more dangerous than the body's. The body is fed with meat; but it is
perishing meat (1Co 6:13); but the food of the soul is the heavenly manna (Joh
6:27). Answerably
the enemies are more hurtful
for that that hurts or kills
the body toucheth not the soul; but what hurts or kills the soul kills the body
with it
and destroys the whole man. The conclusion is
that therefore the bane
or poison of the soul is much more hideous
horrible and hateful than that of
the body; and of that poison speaks the present Scripture: adders' poison is
under their lips.
A
strange text
some may say
and 'tis true; but it is the fitter for these
strange times
wherein the poison both of soul and body so far prevails. The
words do describe in part the malignant and malicious nature of the
unregenerate and sinful man; and to that purpose are they cited by the apostle
to the Romans (Ro 3:13). The asp is but a little creature; but not a
little poisonous. So little a creature hath been the bane and death of many a
great person; let one suffice for all. That royal and renowned Cleopatra
queen
of Egypt
chose rather to die by the biting of two asps than to be carried in
triumph at Rome by Augustus. The manner of their poisoning is this
—he that is
bitten by the asp falls forthwith into a gentle sweat and a sweet sleep
and
his strength and vital spirits decay and weaken by little till he die; thus the
present pain is little
but the stroke is deadly. And even such stings are the
tongues
and such swords the words of wicked men. And no marvel; for what can
come but poisonous words and actions from them whose very inward nature is all
poison within!
The
poison of the soul is only sin
and this is like to poison in many
respects. Poison
wherever it enters
stays not there
but diffuses itself all
over the body
and never ceaseth till it has infected all. Such is the nature
of sin; enter where it will it creeps from one member of the body to another
and from the body to the soul
till it has infected tim whole man; and then
from man to man
till a whole family; and stays not there
but runs like a
wildfire
from family to family
till it has poisoned a whole town
and so a
whole country
and a whole kingdom. Woeful experience proves this true
both
for Popish opinions
idle fashions
vain customs
and ill—examples of all
sorts
which once set on foot
spread themselves over the politic body of
church and commonwealth
like a gangrene or a leprosy over the natural body
or
like a poison through all the blood. Poison
having entered anywhere
as it
seeks to creep presently over all
so desires it especially to seize upon the
heart; such a malice and pride lies in the malignant nature of it
that it
aspires to the heart; and such a craft and cunning lurks in it
that having
once entered
it creeps closely and unfelt till it gets to the heart; but
having possessed itself of that sovereign part of man
then like a tyrant it
reigns and rages
and infecting first the vital blood and noble parts
it
diffuses itself over all and every part. And such is the nature of sin
the
spiritual poison of the soul; enter where it will
it is tim heart it aims at
and it will never stay till it comes there. The truth of this is so clear that
proofs are needless; for who knows not that the senses are but the doors or
windows
but the heart is the throne
and the soul itself the seat of sin: and
hence it is that Solomon advises
—"My son
keep thy heart with all
diligence": Pr 4:23.—William Crashaw
in "The Parable of
Poyson
" 1618.
Verse
3. Adders' poison is under their lips. The word rendered "adder"
bwvke
achsub
occurs here only; and it is perhaps impossible to
determine what species is intended. As the word
in its proper signification
seems to express coiling
or bending back—an act common to most serpents—the
name has perhaps no determinate reference; or it may be another name for the pethen
mentioned under Job 20.; which seems also to have been the opinion of the
Seventy
as they render both words by
aspiv
and are followed by the Vulgate (aspis).
As to the poison
it will be observed
that in the venomous serpents
there is a gland under the eye secreting the poisonous matter
which is
conveyed
in a small tube or canal
to the end of a fang which lies concealed
at the roof of the mouth. This fang is moveable at the pleasure of the serpent
and is protruded when it is about to strike at an antagonist. The situation of
this poison
which is
in a manner
behind the upper lip
gives great propriety
to the expression
"adders' poison is under their lips." The
usage of the Hebrew language renders it by no means improbable that the fang
itself is called Nwvl lashon
a tongue
in the present text; and a serpent
might then be said to sharpen its tongue
when
in preparing to strike
it
protruded its fangs. We do not see any explanation by which a more consistent
meaning may be extracted from the expression here employed.—John Kitto
in
the "Pictorial Bible."
Verse
3. Often the tongue of the serpent is spoken of as the seat of its
venom. This is popular
not scientific language.—William Swan Plumer.
Verse
3. Adder. The word acshub (pronounced
ak-shoob)
only
occurs in this one passage. The precise species represented by this word is
unknown. Buxtorf
however
explains the word as the Spitter
"illud genus
quod venelmm proeul exspuit." Now
if we accept this derivation
we must
take the word acshub as a synonym for pethen. We have already
identified the Pethen with the Naja haje
a snake which has the power of
expelling the poison to some distance
when it is out of reach of its enemy.
Whether the snake really intends to eject the poison
or whether it is merely
flung from the hollow fangs by the force of the suddenly checked stroke
is
uncertain. That the Haje cobra can expel its poison is an acknowledged fact
and the Dutch colonists of the Cape have been so familiarly acquainted with
this habit
that they have called this reptile by the name of Spuugh Slange
or
Spitting Snake
a name which
if we accept Buxtorf's etymology
is precisely
equivalent to the word acshub.—J.G. Wood
in "Bible
Animals."
Verses
3
5
8. Selah. We meet with Selah here for the first time since Psalm 89.
From Psalm 90 to Psalm 140 no Selah occurs. Why omitted in these fifty we
cannot tell any more than why so often recurring in others. However
there are
only about forty Psalms in all in which it is used.—Andrew A. Bonar.
Verse
4. Keep me
etc. From doing as they do
or as they would have
me do
or as they promise themselves I will do.—Matthew Henry.
Verse
4. Preserve me from the violent man. The second clause of the
first versicle of this verse is the same as the second versicle of Ps 140:1
which seems the burden of the song.—"Speaker's Commentary."
Verse
4. To overthrow my goings. To take my feet from under me
to
destroy the basis of belief
the power of advance in good works
that we may
turn back from the way of salvation
or fall upon it
or
at any rate
may go
very slowly along it.—Neale and Littledale.
Verse
5. The proud have hid a snare for me
and cords. The
following story illustrates how cords have been used by thieves so
lately as the year 1822:—"Two skilful leaders of Dacoits
having collected
some forty followers
and distributed among them ten matchlocks
ten swords
and twenty-five spears
waylaid a treasure going from the native Collector's
treasury at Budrauna to Goruckpore. The prize consisted of 1
200 pounds of
sterling
and was guarded by a Naik
or corporal
with four sepoys and five
troopers. It had to pass through a dense jungle
and it was settled—said one of
them in after years—that the attack should take place there; that we should
have strong ropes tied across the road in front and festooned to trees on both
sides
and
at a certain distance behind
similar ropes festooned to trees on
one side
and ready to be fastened on the other
as soon as the escort of horse
and foot should get well in between them. Having completed these preparations
the gang laid down on either side of the road patiently awaiting their prey.
`About five in the morning
'continued the narrator
`we heard a voice as if
calling upon the name of God (Allah)
and one of the gang started up at the
sound
and said
"Here comes the treasure!" We put five men in front
with their match locks loaded—not with ball but shot
that we might
if
possible
avoid killing anybody. When we got the troopers
infantry
and
treasure all within the space
the hind ropes were run across the road
and
made fast to the trees on the opposite side
and we opened a fire in upon the
party from all sides. The foot soldiers got into the jungle at the sides of the
road
and the troopers tried to get over the ropes at both ends
but in vain.'
The corporal and a horse were killed; two troopers wounded
and the treasure
carried off in spite of a hot pursuit."—From James Hutton's
"Popular Account of the Thugs and Dacoits of India"
1857.
Verse
5. The proud have hid a snare for me
and cords. There was
"a trap hidden for him with cords"; a trap being sunk into some
frequented hath
and always covered over with grass or brushwood
and having
long cords attached to each side
by which the hunter
lurking at a little
distance
might close it whenever he saw the game stepping on the spot. But the
net spread for him by his enemies extended to the very "side of the
encampment"
which indicates
that even among the soldiers lying around
him
there were some who had been bribed and persuaded to watch and betray
him.—Benjamin Weiss
in "A New Translation of the Psalms
with
Notes
" 1858.
Verse
5. Snare. Net. Gins. The several uses to which the
contrivances denoted by the Hebrew words thus rendered were respectively
applied
do not appear to be well ascertained. In general the Psalmist alludes
to the artifices employed for capturing birds or beasts. It is
however
a
curious circumstance
as noticed by Thevenot
that artifices of this kind are
literally employed against men as well as other animals by some of the
Orientals. "The most cunning robbers in the world"
says he
"are in this country. They use a certain slip with a running noose
which
they cast with so much sleight about a man's neck when they are within reach of
him
that they never fail
so that they strangle him in a trice."—Richard
Mast.
Verse
6. The voice of my supplications. The one safety for simple
and unlearned people when assailed by the crafty arguments of heretics and
infidels is not controversy
but prayer
a weapon their adversaries seldom use
and cannot understand.—Bruno of Aste
1123.
Verse
7. Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. Hebrew
of
armour. For David had never indeed any battle with Saul
but declined it;
but Saul often armed against him; but then God's providence covered him as a
shield: but the head is only spoken of to set forth his whole body
because
that is chiefly aimed at by the enemy
as where the life principally lieth.—John
Mayer.
Verse
7. Thou hast covered my head
etc. That is
I had no other
helmet or armour but thy Almighty power in the day when I fought with Goliath.
1Sa 17:39-40
50.—Thomas Fenton.
Verse
7. Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. A captain
or prince had always beside him in battle an armour bearer
whose duty it was
"to cover his master's head"
that is
to ward off with the shield
the blows aimed at his head
and which
in the heat of the fight
had escaped
his own notice.—Benjamin Weiss.
Verse
8. His wicked device; which is to destroy me. "Exalt themselves";
not only against me
but against thee also
as if by their power and policy
they had frustrated thy design and promise made to me.—M. Pool.
Verse
9. As for the head of those that compass me about
etc. God
he saith
had covered his head in the day of battle: now contrariwise ho
showeth what should cover the head of his enemies
viz.
it should come to them
as with their lips they had maliciously spoken against him; for it may be thus
rendered—"The head of my besieger
let the trouble of his lips cover
it": for cursing
"let him be covered with cursing as with a
cloak."—John Mayer.
Verse
9. Those that compass me about. For an explanation of this
expression we would refer the reader to "The Treasury of David"
vol.
1.p. 387
where he will find two very pertinent extracts from J. Stevenson and
Dr. Shaw.
Verse
9. The mischief of their own lips. The pride and hauteur of
the Jews in our Lord's day brought the Roman arms upon them
and caused them to
fall into irremediable ruin. They invoked their own fate by exposing themselves
to an invasion from Rome at all; but they did it still more in that terrific
cry—"His blood be upon us and on our children."—William Hill
Tucker
in "The Psalms
with Notes
Shewing their Prophetic and Christian
Character
" 1840.
Verses
9-10. Such passages admit of translation in the future
and are rather
predictions than imprecations.—Ingram Cobbin
1839.
Verses
9-11. The prophet
in these three verses
predicted those just
judgments which heaven will inflict on the slanderers and persecutors of the
righteous. Their lips
which uttered mischief against others
shall be the
means of covering themselves with confusion
when out of their own mouths they
shall be judged. Those tongues which have contributed to set the world on fire
shall be tormented with the hot burning coals of eternal vengeance: and they
who
with so much eagerness and diligence have prepared pits for the
destruction of their brethren
shall be cast into a deep and bottomless pit
out of which they will not rise up again any more for ever. Evil speakers and
false accusers shall gain no lasting establishment
but punishment shall hunt
sin through all its doubles
and seize it at last as its legal prey. Let these
great truths be firmly rooted in our hearts
and they will keep us steady in
the worst of times.—George Horne.
Verse
10. Let burning coals fall upon them
etc. The Psalmist seems
here to allude to the destruction of the Sodomites. In these imprecations he
considered his enemies as the enemies of God
rather than as his own; and lie
thus cursed them
as knowing
in the quality of a prophet
that God himself had
cursed them: and therefore these sorts of imprecations do not authorize other
persons to curse their enemies.—Thomas Fenton.
Verse
10. Let burning coals full upon them
etc. An imprecation
which (with the similar previous one
Ps 9:6
etc.) is a prophecy; and one
which
while it has had no fulfilment in the case of David's enemies
or any
persecutors of the church in times past
brings again vividly before the mind
the fiery judgment of the Lord's coming
and the awful sentence already
pronounced against "the beast and false prophet"
the leaders of the
confederation of the kings of the earth and their armies
then "gathered
together to make war against him"—"these were cast alive into the
lake of fire burning with brimstone": Re 19:19-20. So before
Ps 55:15
63:9.—William De Burgh.
Verse
11. Let not an evil speaker a man full of tongue be established
etc. The man given to talk
the liar
the flatterer
the detractor
the scold
the brawler
"shall not be established in the earth"
for such
people are abhorred by the wicked as well as by the good.—Robert Bellarmine.
Verse
11. Let not an evil speaker be established
etc. The positions
laid down in this verse will find abundant illustration in every age of the
church. "An evil speaker"
who takes delight in wounding the
reputation of others
is seldom established or prospered in the earth.
Providence fights against such an unhappy wretch. "The violent
man"
the ishmaelite whose hand is against every man
is in general
overthrown by the very same weapons which he wields against others.—John
Morison.
Verse
11. An evil speaker. By "a man of the tongue"
as
the original has it
the Hebrews express a detractor or sycophant;
one who gives his tongue the liberty to vent what mischief lie pleases. The
Chaldee here expresses it by a delator or vile informer with a threefold
or three forked tongue;because such a man wounds three at once;
the receiver
the sufferer
and himself.—Thomas Fenton.
Verse
11. Evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. 'Tis an
allusion to hounds that are of a quick scent
and pursue the game with
pleasure; they do not see the deer or the hare
yet they follow upon the scent;
and though they have sometimes a very cold and dead scent
yet they will follow
and work it out. Thus "evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow
him"; and though sometimes he hath
as it were
got out of the view or
sight of evil
and thinks himself under covert
yet these evils
like a company
of greedy hounds
will pursue till they have overtaken and overthrown him.—Joseph
Caryl.
Verse
12. I know. For I have a promise of it
and that's
infallible.—John Trapp.
Verses
12-13. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause
etc. Why
how comes the Psalmist so confident? "Surely the righteous shall give
thanks unto thy name": as if he had said
Thou hast a name for a
gracious and faithful God in thy promise
and this thou wilt never suffer to be
blotted by failing in thy work. Christian
thou mayest venture all thou art
worth on the public faith of Heaven: "His words are pure
as silver tried
seven times in a furnace." He that will not suffer a liar or covenant
breaker to set foot on his holy hill
will much less suffer any one thought of
falseness or unfaithfulness to enter into his own most holy heart.—William
Gurnall.
Verse
13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name
etc.
Teacheth us two things
first
that it becometh the godly to show themselves
continually thankful
because God is continually merciful to them; secondly
what is the excellent estate and condition of God's children
which
though it
do not yet appear
yet shall it in the end break forth with fulness of
glory."—Thomas Witcocks.
Verse
13. The upright shall dwell in thy presence. "Sit in thy
presence"
as thy friends or guests or favoured servants. Perhaps it
may mean sit (enthroned) before thee. Compare Mt 19:28. Some understand
the sense to be shall dwell (in the land) before thee
i.e.
under thy protection and inspection.—Joseph Addison Alexander.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verses
1-5.
1.
The particular source of David's affliction: it was from men. In this he was a
type of Christ.
a)
Their wickedness: "the evil man."
b)
Their violence: "the violent man."
c)
Their malicious designs: "which imagine mischiefs in their heart."
d)
Their confederacy: "continually are they gathered together for war."
e)
Their false accusations: "They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent"
etc. (Ps 140:3).
f)
Their avowed design: "they have purposed to overthrow my goings" (Ps
140:4).
g)
Their intrigues (Ps 140:5).
2.
His universal remedy: "Deliver me
O Lord"; "preserve" and
help me. His defence is
a)
In God.
b) In prayer to God.—G. R.
Verses
1-5. In our position
age
and country
we are not in danger of
violence from men
as was David; still
no man is absolutely safe front the
danger.
1.
Mention some eases not yet impossible.
a)
A Christian workman
because he cannot comply with unrighteous customs
excites
the animosity of his fellow workers. They will do him mischief
spoil his work
steal his tools
speak evil of him
until his employer discharges him to
restore peace in the factory.
b)
A Christian clerk or shop assistant
because his presence is a check upon his
sinful companions
may have snares laid for him
etc.
2.
Suggest advice
useful
should such a case arise.
a)
Resort to God with a "Deliver me"
and a "Preserve me."
b)
Maintain integrity and uprightness.
c) Should
the mischievous ones succeed
still trust in God
who can make their mischief
lead to your profit
and make his goodness outwit their devices.—J. F.
Verse
3. The depraved state of the natural man as to his speech.
Verse
4. (first clause). A wise prayer. The wicked will slander
and oppress
or mislead
flatter and defile. No one can keep us but the Lord.
Verse
5. The Dangers of Society.
1.
The secrecy of the attacks of the ungodly: "hid a snare."
2. The variety of their weapons: "and cords."
3. The cunning choice of position: "by the wayside."
4. The object of their designs: "for me": they desire to destroy the
man himself.
Verse
5. The Net by the Wayside
or
covert temptations;
temptations brought near
and made applicable to daily life.
Verse
6.
1.
The language of assurance.
2. The plea for acceptance in prayer.
Verses
6-7. David comforted himself
1.
In his interest in God: "I said...thou art my God."
2.
In his access to God: he had leave to speak to him
and might expect an answer
of peace: "Hear"
etc.
3.
In the assurance he had of help from God
and happiness in him (Ps 140:7).
4.
In the experience he had formerly of God's care of him: "Thou hast covered
my head in the day of battle."—Matthew Henry.
Verses
6-8. Three arguments to be pleaded in a prayer for protection.
1.
The believer's covenanted property in God. "I said... thou art my
God."
2.
The past mercies of God. "Thou hast covered"
etc.
3.
The impropriety of the wicked being encouraged in their wickedness
Ps 140:8.—J.
F.
Verses
6-12. The Consolations of the Believer in Time of Trouble.
1.
What he can say.
2. What he can remember.
3. What he is assured of.
Verses
6-7
12-13. Times of Assault
Slander
and Temptation should be special times
of Prayer and Faith. David here makes prominent five things.
1. Possession
asserted.
a)
The Possession: "My God." Opposed to idols. Beloved by self.
b) The Claim published.
c) The Witness selected. Secret. Sacred. Searching.
d) The Occasion chosen.
2. Petition
presented.
a)
His prayers were frequent.
b) His prayers were full of meaning.
c) His prayers were meant for God.
d) His prayers needed divine attention.
3. Preservation
experienced.
a)
God had been his Armour bearer.
b) God had guarded his most vital part.
c) God had saved him.
d) God's strength had been displayed.
4. Protection
expected.
a)
God is a righteous Judge.
b) God is a compassionate Friend.
c) God is a well known Guardian.
5. Praise
predicted.
a)
Praise assured by gratitude.
b) Praise expressed by words.
c) Praise implied by confidence.
d) Praise practised by communion.
Verse
9. How the sin of evil speakers comes home to them.—W. B. H.
Verse
11. (first clause.)
1.
Notice a few varieties of evil speakers.
a)
Liars; the common liar
the trade liar
the stock exchange liar
the political
liar
etc.
b)
Scandal mongers.
c)
Blasphemers and swearers.
d)
Libertines and seducers.
e)
Sceptics and new theology inventors.
2.
The propriety of the prayer.
a)
Because evil speaking is intrinsically an evil thing.
b)
It is an extensively injurious thing.
c)
He who would have God's truth established must needs desire that evil speaking
must fail.
3.
The limitation of the prayer: "In the earth."
a)
It is certain an evil speaker cannot be established in heaven
nor in hell.
b)
The earth is the only sphere of his influence; but
alas! men on the earth are
too prone to be influenced by him.
c)
Then
become righteous and true
by faith in the Righteous One and the
"Truth."—J. F.
Verse
11. (second clause.) The Cruel Hunter pursued by his own Dogs.
Verse
11. (second clause.) Theme—Sins committed
and not repented
of
pursue men to their ruin.
1.
Illustrate.
a)
They may raise a force of opposition from men. Tarquin
Napoleon
etc.
b)
They may precipitate ruin
as Haman was hunted by his own sin to the gallows.
c)
They may arouse destructive remorse
as in Judas.
d)
Certainly they will pursue to the judgment seat
and hunt the soul into hell.
2.
Apply.
a)
How fearful a thing must sin be.
b)
The mole terrible because self created.
c)
Flee from the avenging pursuers to Christ
the only and safe refuge.—J. F.
Verse
11. (second clause.) The hunt and pursuit of the violent
sinner.
1.
The progress of the chase.
a)
At first the victim is ignorant of it.
b)
But ere long he finds Scripture
conscience
God
Death
at his heels.
c)
His own sins cry loudest after him.
2.
The issue of the hunt. Hemmed in
overthrown
lost for ever
unless he repent.
3.
Another Huntsman. "The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was
lost."—W. B. H.
Verse
12.
1.
The known fact.
2. The reasons for being so assured of it.
3. The conduct arising out of the knowledge.
Verse
12. Something worth knowing.
1.
By the afflicted and the poor who trust in the Lord.
2.
By the oppressors who afflict and do the wrong.
3.
By all men
that they may trust in the Lord
and praise him for his compassion
towards the needy
and for his even handed justice.—J. F.
Verses
12-13.
1.
Trust under all circumstances (Ps 140:12).
2.
Gratitude for all things: "The righteous shall give thanks unto thy
name."
3.
Safety at all times: "The upright shall dwell in thy presence."—G.
R.
Verse
13. One of the noblest forms of praise
—dwelling in the presence of
God. Or
reverent regard to God's presence
holy communion with the Lord
confiding rest in God's dealings
obedient doing of the heavenly will—the best
way of giving thanks to God.
Verse
13. Two assertions beyond contradiction.
1.
The righteous are sure to give thanks to God
let others be as thankless as
they will. For
a)
They recognise all their good as coming from God.
b) They realise themselves as unworthy of the good they receive.
c) They are anxious to do right
because they are righteous; and that involves
thanksgiving.
d) Thankfulness is a part of the joy derived from what they enjoy.
2.
The upright are sure to dwell in God's presence.
a)
In the sense of setting the Lord before them.
b) In the sense of an abiding present fellowship with God.
c) In the sense of enjoying God's approval.
d) In the sense of dwelling in heaven for ever.—J. F.
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》