Psalms · Chapter 109

V. 1. God-The author and matter of all my praises.

Verse 1. Hold not thy peace] Be not silent; arise and defend my cause.

Verse 1. Hold not thy peace — Do not neglect me, but take notice of my extreme danger and misery, and let my sentence come forth from thy presence, Psalm 17:2. Delay not to give judgment upon the appeal made to thee. O God of my praise — The author and matter of all my praises: in whom I glory, and not in any wisdom or strength of my own: who hast given me continual occasion to praise thee; whom I have praised, and will praise while I live, and hope to praise to all eternity.

1. Hold not thy peace—Be not a silent witness of my wrongs. God of my praise—Taken in the genitive, for the object of “my praise,” the fundamental passage is Deuteronomy 10:21. Compare Jeremiah 17:14. But the Septuagint and Vulgate read the whole line, “O God, pass not over my praise in silence.” Do not omit to speak in my praise while others slander me. This would accord with verse 2, but the former is to be preferred.

Verse 2. The mouth of the wicked and-the deceitful are opened against me] Many persons are continually uttering calumnies against me. Thou knowest my heart and its innocence; vindicate my uprightness against these calumniators.

Verses 2-4. The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful — Of those who add hypocrisy and perfidiousness to their malice; are opened against me — They speak against me freely, boldly, and publicly, without any fear or shame. They have spoken against me — Hebrew, yta, itti, to, or with me, as this particle commonly signifies; with a lying tongue — With deep dissimulation, and professions of friendship and kindness: or, against me, with calumnies, or false and malicious reports. They compassed me with words of hatred — Which, though covered with specious pretences, proceeded from deep malice and hatred, and were designed to work my destruction. Without a cause — Without any just provocation given by me. For my love they are my adversaries — They requite my love and goodwill with enmity and mischief, verse 5; but I give myself unto prayer — Hebrew, hlpt ynaw, vaani tephillah, but I prayer, that is, I am a man of prayer. Thus, I peace, is put for, I am for peace, as we render it, Psalm 120:7. The sense here is, While they reproach and curse me, I pray, either, 1st, For them, as Psalm 35:13; or, 2d, For himself: I do not render unto them evil for evil, but quietly commit myself and my cause to God by prayer, desiring him to plead my cause against them.

Verses 2-4. The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful — Of those who add hypocrisy and perfidiousness to their malice; are opened against me — They speak against me freely, boldly, and publicly, without any fear or shame. They have spoken against me — Hebrew, yta, itti, to, or with me, as this particle commonly signifies; with a lying tongue — With deep dissimulation, and professions of friendship and kindness: or, against me, with calumnies, or false and malicious reports. They compassed me with words of hatred — Which, though covered with specious pretences, proceeded from deep malice and hatred, and were designed to work my destruction. Without a cause — Without any just provocation given by me. For my love they are my adversaries — They requite my love and goodwill with enmity and mischief, verse 5; but I give myself unto prayer — Hebrew, hlpt ynaw, vaani tephillah, but I prayer, that is, I am a man of prayer. Thus, I peace, is put for, I am for peace, as we render it, Psalm 120:7. The sense here is, While they reproach and curse me, I pray, either, 1st, For them, as Psalm 35:13; or, 2d, For himself: I do not render unto them evil for evil, but quietly commit myself and my cause to God by prayer, desiring him to plead my cause against them.

3. Compassed… fought—Military terms; enemies surrounded and fought him with the words of falsehood and hatred. These were their weapons and their policy of war. Without a cause—In the absence of all just ground of hostility they could deal in nothing but falsehood. Compare, in the Messianic sense of the psalm, Matthew 26:59.

V. 4. Adversaries-They requite my love with enmity, as it is explained ver. 5.

Verse 4. For my love they are my adversaries] In their behalf I have performed many acts of kindness, and they are my adversaries notwithstanding; this shows principles the most vicious, and hearts the most corrupt. Many of the fathers and commentators have understood the principal part of the things spoken here as referring to our Lord, and the treatment he received from the Jews; and whatever the original intention was, they may safely be applied to this case, as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th verses are as highly illustrative of the conduct of the Jewish rulers towards our Lord as the following verses are of the conduct of Judas; but allowing these passages to be prophetic, it is the Jewish state rather than an individual, against which these awful denunciations are made, as it seems to be represented here under the person and character of an extremely hardened and wicked man; unless we consider the curses to be those of David’s enemies. See Clarke’s note on “Psalm 109:20”. But I give myself unto prayer] hlpt ynaw vaani thephillah; “And I prayer.” The Chaldee: ylxa anaw vaana atsalley, “but I pray.” This gives a good sense, which is followed by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Æthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. The Syriac, “I will pray for them.” This, not so correctly; as dreadful imprecations, not prayers, follow. But probably the whole ought to be interpreted according to the mode laid down, Psalm 109:20. The translation and paraphrase in the old Psalter are very simple:—

Trans. For that thyng that thai sulde hafe lufed me, thai bakbited me; bot I prayed. Par. That is, that sulde haf lufed me for I was godson, and thai bakbited me sayande, in Belzebub he castes oute fendes; bot I prayed for thaim.

Verses 2-4. The mouth of the wicked, and the mouth of the deceitful — Of those who add hypocrisy and perfidiousness to their malice; are opened against me — They speak against me freely, boldly, and publicly, without any fear or shame. They have spoken against me — Hebrew, yta, itti, to, or with me, as this particle commonly signifies; with a lying tongue — With deep dissimulation, and professions of friendship and kindness: or, against me, with calumnies, or false and malicious reports. They compassed me with words of hatred — Which, though covered with specious pretences, proceeded from deep malice and hatred, and were designed to work my destruction. Without a cause — Without any just provocation given by me. For my love they are my adversaries — They requite my love and goodwill with enmity and mischief, verse 5; but I give myself unto prayer — Hebrew, hlpt ynaw, vaani tephillah, but I prayer, that is, I am a man of prayer. Thus, I peace, is put for, I am for peace, as we render it, Psalm 120:7. The sense here is, While they reproach and curse me, I pray, either, 1st, For them, as Psalm 35:13; or, 2d, For himself: I do not render unto them evil for evil, but quietly commit myself and my cause to God by prayer, desiring him to plead my cause against them.

4, 5. For my love—Instead of “my love,” or instead of returning love for “my love,” they are my adversaries. And so, verse 5. This “rewarding evil for good and hatred for love” is the purest diabolism. Verses 3-5 set forth the true moral relation of David to his enemies, both as to past conduct and present feelings, and have an essential bearing on the import and true spirit of the psalm. It is impossible to construe the psalm in the spirit of personal hate or vindictiveness. But the higher application is to Christ and his persecutors. But I give myself unto prayer—Literally, But I prayer; that is, “But I am wholly prayer.”—Furst. I use no other means of vindication or defence. The form is intensive, as in Psalm 120:7, “I peace”—I am wholly given to peace. The hatred of the psalmist’s foes is not of to-day or of yesterday, but of old, and of years past.”—Canon Cook.

4, 5. For my love—Instead of “my love,” or instead of returning love for “my love,” they are my adversaries. And so, verse 5. This “rewarding evil for good and hatred for love” is the purest diabolism. Verses 3-5 set forth the true moral relation of David to his enemies, both as to past conduct and present feelings, and have an essential bearing on the import and true spirit of the psalm. It is impossible to construe the psalm in the spirit of personal hate or vindictiveness. But the higher application is to Christ and his persecutors. But I give myself unto prayer—Literally, But I prayer; that is, “But I am wholly prayer.”—Furst. I use no other means of vindication or defence. The form is intensive, as in Psalm 120:7, “I peace”—I am wholly given to peace. The hatred of the psalmist’s foes is not of to-day or of yesterday, but of old, and of years past.”—Canon Cook.

V. 6. A wicked man-Who will rule him with rigour and cruelty. Satan-To accuse him; for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts.

Verse 6. Let Satan stand at his right hand.] As the word ˆcc satan means an adversary simply, though sometimes it is used to express the evil spirit Satan, I think it best to preserve here its grammatical meaning: “Let an adversary stand at his right hand:” i.e., Let him be opposed and thwarted in all his purposes.

All the Versions have devil, or some equivocal word. The ARABIC has [Arabic] eblees, the chief of the apostate spirits; but the name is probably corrupted from the GREEK diabolov diabolos; from which the LATIN diabolus. the ITALIAN diavolo, the SPANISH diablo, the FRENCH diable, the IRISH or CELTIC diabal, the DUTCH duivel, the GERMAN teufel, the ANGLO-SAXON deofal, and the ENGLISH devil, are all derived. The original, diabolov, comes from dia ballein to shoot or pierce through.

Verses 6, 7. Set thou a wicked man over him — Either over all his enemies, speaking of them collectively, or over some one particular enemy, who was worse than any of the rest, more implacable and inexcusable, whom he did not think proper to name. Set a wicked man over him to be as cruel and oppressive to him as he hath been to others; for God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another. Hebrew, [vr, the wicked, or the wicked one; namely, Satan, who is mentioned in the next clause. Let him be, or he shall be, delivered into the power of Satan, to be influenced and ruled by him at his pleasure. Let Satan stand — Hebrew, dm[y ˆccw, and Satan, or the adversary, as the word means, shall stand at his right hand — To molest and vex him, and hinder him in all his affairs; or rather to accuse him, for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts. When he shall be judged — When he shall be called to an account, and his cause be examined before thy tribunal; let his prayer become sin — That is, be turned into sin, or be as unavailable with thee for his relief as his sins. When he makes supplication to his judge, as Job speaks, Job 9:16, for pity and pardon, let his judge be the more provoked and enraged by it. If David spoke thus in reference to Doeg or Ahithophel, (see the contents,) it was only as they were types of Judas: at least the Holy Ghost intended it of Judas, and the persecutors of our Lord, as we learn Acts 1:20, of whom this whole paragraph, to the end of verse 19, is a prophecy. Thus Dr. Horne on verse 6: “A transition is here made to the adversaries of Messiah; primarily to Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus, Acts 1:16; secondarily to the synagogue, of whom Judas may be considered as an epitome and representative. It is foretold, that by betraying and murdering the best of masters, they should subject themselves to the tyranny of the worst; that they should become slaves to the wicked one, who should justly be set over them, when they had delivered themselves into his hands; that Satan, who had stood by them to tempt them, should stand at their right hand, to accuse them at the tribunal of God; that, when tried, they would be convicted and condemned, and even their prayer would be an abomination in the sight of the Lord, as being offered without true contrition and repentance, without faith, hope, or charity. Such is the wretched state of the Jews, estranged from God, and in bondage to the devil; such the prayers which, from hardened and malignant hearts, they continually utter for the excision of all Christians, and for the extirpation of that blessed name on which Christians call.”

Verse 6. Set thou a wicked man over him. This cannot apply to Ahithophel; he was already his own executioner.—Let Satan, that is, an adversary, stand at his right hand, to accuse him, as Doëg stood and falsely accused the highpriest, and David also of conspiracy against Saul; a just punishment for accusing the innocent.

6. Set thou a wicked man over him—Cause a wicked man to be appointed over him; that is, as a judge, as the next member and verse 7 show. The verb is in Hiphil imperative, grammatically the proper form of prayer. All other verbs in the psalm, which are rendered optatively (“let”) in our English version, (according to the rule that in a connected discourse the first verb in the series fixes the character of those which follow,) are in the future—the predictive or declarative tense—and should be so translated, as in the following notes. Whatever sense the verbs should take, the translation should conform to the original. The special sense belongs to the province of commentary, not to that of translation.

The Hebrew imperative is used variously to express a command, a prayer or entreaty, a warning, a prophecy, or promise. When used in the first or the third person it takes the form of the future tense of some one of the conjugations, the Hebrew having no other mode, in such cases, of expressing the imperative. This future form is marked by a slight grammatical peculiarity. In each particular instance the connexion and the known facts in the case must determine which of the several senses of which it is susceptible is to be adopted. But in each and every case the imperative discovers itself by the tone of absoluteness, of certainty and authority, which gives assurance that the thing denoted will come to pass according to the moral conditions expressed or implied. The great error of many, in the interpretation of this psalm, is in limiting the so-called imprecatory verbs too rigidly to the sense of request, or wish, as if they proceeded from a vindictive feeling. There is no rule in Hebrew, however, to justify or allow this as a necessary grammatical construction; and the ethics of Holy Scripture, and the facts of David’s history, absolutely forbid it. The verbs in question, therefore, must have a future predictive sense, to be construed as warnings, like beacon fires lighted up along the way of the wicked to deter them from their course; and the imperative tone evinces the sanction of law and the certainty of judgment under the divine moral government. This sense is not infrequent. Indeed, it is common for imperatives in the first and third persons future to drop the precatory and take the declarative sense. Thus, in Isaiah 23:1, “Howl, ye ships of Tarshish,” etc., the form is imperative, but the sense is that of predictive warning: “Ye shall howl,” etc., that is, unless repentance avert the judgment. So in Numbers 16:26, “Depart from the tents,” etc.; the verbis in the imperative, but the sense is that of entreative warning, and hence the particle of entreaty, (an,) is added, “Depart, I pray you,” etc. In Psalm 128:5, “Thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem,” the original is imperative, “see thou the good,” etc., but the sense is that of predictive promise, as in the English version. In Psalm 22:27, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn,” etc., the form is Kal (indicative) future, and is a predictive promise, but the verb is imperative. When the imperative form is intended as an optative, expressing a wish, the particle just alluded to is commonly employed, as in Psalm 7:9, “Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but,” etc. But though this is the common use of the particle, (to excite and express desire,) it is not once used in Psalm cix, a strong indication that not a wish of vengeance is intended, but, as we have said, a solemn warning predictively uttered. The verbs in question, therefore, should be translated as in the original, in the future tense, carrying the force of the imperative, that is, an authoritative warning under sanction of divine law. Let Satan stand at his right hand—An adversary, or accuser, shall stand, etc. The Hebrew “satan,” here, is without the article, and is an appellative, not a proper name. It is noticeable that it occurs four times in this psalm; once, in its verb form. Verses 4, 20, 29. As a proper name for the chief of the evil spirits, (tw arconti twn dimoniwn, the chief of the devils, Matthew 9:34,) it occurs Job 1:6; Zechariah 3:1, 2, et al., whose children David’s enemies might well be called. John 8:44. The language of the text is forensic. In the Hebrew courts the judge sat, and the parties stood up. The accuser, or adversary, (plaintiff,) is here placed at the right hand of the accused, the proper place of the advocate. See verse 31. The allusion is more fully carried out in Zechariah 3:1, 2, where the phrase “to resist him” is literally to prosecute him, to accuse him, to be his adversary.

V. 7. Sin-Because it is not from his heart.

Verse 7. Let him be condemned] [vr axy yetse rasha. “Let him come out a wicked man;” that is let his wickedness be made manifest. Let his prayer become sin.] Thus paraphrased by Calmet: “Let him be accused, convicted, and condemned, and let the defence which he brings for his justification only serve to deepen his guilt, and hasten his condemnation.” I once more apprise the reader, that if these are not the words of David’s enemies against himself, (see on Psalm 109:20,) they are prophetic denunciations against a rebellious and apostate person or people, hardened in crime, and refusing to return to God.

Verses 6, 7. Set thou a wicked man over him — Either over all his enemies, speaking of them collectively, or over some one particular enemy, who was worse than any of the rest, more implacable and inexcusable, whom he did not think proper to name. Set a wicked man over him to be as cruel and oppressive to him as he hath been to others; for God often makes one wicked man a scourge to another. Hebrew, [vr, the wicked, or the wicked one; namely, Satan, who is mentioned in the next clause. Let him be, or he shall be, delivered into the power of Satan, to be influenced and ruled by him at his pleasure. Let Satan stand — Hebrew, dm[y ˆccw, and Satan, or the adversary, as the word means, shall stand at his right hand — To molest and vex him, and hinder him in all his affairs; or rather to accuse him, for this was the place and posture of accusers in the Jewish courts. When he shall be judged — When he shall be called to an account, and his cause be examined before thy tribunal; let his prayer become sin — That is, be turned into sin, or be as unavailable with thee for his relief as his sins. When he makes supplication to his judge, as Job speaks, Job 9:16, for pity and pardon, let his judge be the more provoked and enraged by it. If David spoke thus in reference to Doeg or Ahithophel, (see the contents,) it was only as they were types of Judas: at least the Holy Ghost intended it of Judas, and the persecutors of our Lord, as we learn Acts 1:20, of whom this whole paragraph, to the end of verse 19, is a prophecy. Thus Dr. Horne on verse 6: “A transition is here made to the adversaries of Messiah; primarily to Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus, Acts 1:16; secondarily to the synagogue, of whom Judas may be considered as an epitome and representative. It is foretold, that by betraying and murdering the best of masters, they should subject themselves to the tyranny of the worst; that they should become slaves to the wicked one, who should justly be set over them, when they had delivered themselves into his hands; that Satan, who had stood by them to tempt them, should stand at their right hand, to accuse them at the tribunal of God; that, when tried, they would be convicted and condemned, and even their prayer would be an abomination in the sight of the Lord, as being offered without true contrition and repentance, without faith, hope, or charity. Such is the wretched state of the Jews, estranged from God, and in bondage to the devil; such the prayers which, from hardened and malignant hearts, they continually utter for the excision of all Christians, and for the extirpation of that blessed name on which Christians call.”

7. When he shall be judged—The narrative shows that it is of human courts, not the divine tribunal, that David speaks. Let him be condemned—Literally, He shall go out [from court] guilty. Let his prayer become sin—His prayer shall become sin; that is, when he shall plead innocence, and pray against judgment due to guilt, it shall be counted as adding sin to sin. See Proverbs 28:9; Isaiah 1:15; Psalm 66:18.

Verse 8. Let another take his office.] The original is wtdqp pekuddatho, which the margin translates charge, and which literally means superintendence, oversight, inspection from actual visitations. The translation in our common Version is too technical. His bishopric, following the Septuagint, episkophn, and Vulgate, episcopatum, and has given cause to some light people to be witty, who have said, “The first bishop we read of was bishop Judas.” But it would be easy to convict this witticism of blasphemy, as the word is used in many parts of the sacred writings, from Genesis downward, to signify offices and officers, appointed either by God immediately, or in the course of his providence, for the accomplishment of the most important purposes. It is applied to the patriarch Joseph, Genesis 39:4, whdqpyw vaiyaphkidehu, he made him bishop, alias overseer; therefore it might be as wisely said, and much more correctly, “The first bishop we read of was bishop Joseph;” and many such bishops there were of God’s making long before Judas was born. After all, Judas was no traitor when he was appointed to what is called his bishopric, office, or charge in the apostolate. Such witticisms as these amount to no argument, and serve no cause that is worthy of defence. Our common Version, however, was not the first to use the word: it stands in the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.], “and his episcopacy let take other.” The old Psalter is nearly the same; I shall give the whole verse: Fa be made his days, and his bysshopryk another take. “For Mathai was sett in stede of Judas; and his days was fa that hynged himself.”

Verse 8. Let his days be few — The days of his life. Let him die an untimely death. So did Ahithophel, and so did Judas; both hanging themselves. And let another take his office — Made void by his death. This is the clause which St. Peter has cited and applied to Judas, in his discourse to the disciples, at the election of Matthias into Judas’s place. He cites, at the same time, a clause from Psalm 69:25; Let their habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein. This latter sentence, though in the plural number in the Hebrew, yet is applied by St. Peter in the singular number to Judas. The passage in this Psalm is singular, “yet applicable,” says Dr. Horne, “not to Judas only, but to the whole nation of the Jews; whose days, after they had crucified the Lord of glory, were few; who were dispossessed of the place and office which they held as the church of God, and to which, with all its honours and privileges, the Gentile Christian Church succeeded in their stead, when the Aaronical priesthood was abolished, and that of the true Melchisedek established for ever.”

8. Let his days be few—His days shall be few. A prediction and a warning founded on the justice of God, by which “bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.” Psalm 55:23. The verbs in this last passage quoted, and in the text, are in the same conjugation and tense, and should be rendered alike, in the declarative future, not the imperative. The full meaning is: “As he intended to have shortened my days, so let his days be few.”—Hengstenberg. Let another take his office—Quoted verbatim from the Septuagint, and applied to Judas Iscariot, Acts 1:20. The word “office” means, a superior office, that of oversight; Greek, episkoph, episcope, English version, (Acts 1:20,) bishopric. See Numbers 1:50; Nehemiah 12:44; Jeremiah 1:10. Doeg, David’s enemy, held the office of overseer of Saul’s herdsmen, an important position, (1 Samuel 21:7,) and it would seem, also, that of a prime minister of his court. 1 Samuel 22:9. High in office and base in character, he was a fit type of the arch traitor who “by transgression fell.” Acts 1:25.

Verse 9. Let his children be fatherless, &c.] It is said that Judas was a married man, against whom this verse, as well as the preceding is supposed to be spoken; and that it was to support them that he stole from the bag in which the property of the apostles was put, and of which he was the treasurer.

Verses 9, 10. Let his children be — Hebrew, wynb wyhy jihju banaiv, his children shall be fatherless — Namely, while they are but children, and so are unable to provide for themselves; and his wife a widow — Made a widow by his death, and continuing a widow. Let his children be vagabonds — Hebrew, wynb w[wny [wnw, in wandering, his children shall wander, that is, they shall certainly wander, and beg — Not knowing where to obtain the least sustenance. Let them seek, &c., out of their desolate places — Into which they have fled for fear and shame, as not daring to show their faces among men. “If, by the wretched death of Judas,” says the last-mentioned divine, “his wife became a widow, and his children orphans, vagabonds, and beggars, their fate was but a prelude to that of thousands and tens of thousands of the same nation, whose husbands and fathers came afterward to a miserable end at the destruction of Jerusalem. Their children and children’s children have since been continually vagabonds upon the earth, in the state of Cain, when he had murdered his righteous brother, not cut off, but marvellously preserved for punishment and wo.” Thus also Dr. Hammond on these verses: “By this is described, in a very lively manner, the condition of the Jewish posterity, ever since their ancestors fell under that signal vengeance for the crucifying of Christ. 1st, Their desolations and devastations in their own country, and being rejected thence. 2d, Their continual wanderings from place to place, scattered over the face of the earth: and, 3d, Their remarkable covetousness, keeping them always poor and beggarly, be they never so rich, and continually labouring and moiling for gain, as the poorest are wont to do; and this is continually the constant course attending this people, wheresoever they are scattered.”

V. 10. Desolate places-Into which they are fled for fear and shame.

Verse 10. Let his children-beg] The father having lost his office, the children must necessarily be destitute; and this is the hardest lot to which any can become subject, after having been born to the expectation of an ample fortune.

Verses 9, 10. Let his children be — Hebrew, wynb wyhy jihju banaiv, his children shall be fatherless — Namely, while they are but children, and so are unable to provide for themselves; and his wife a widow — Made a widow by his death, and continuing a widow. Let his children be vagabonds — Hebrew, wynb w[wny [wnw, in wandering, his children shall wander, that is, they shall certainly wander, and beg — Not knowing where to obtain the least sustenance. Let them seek, &c., out of their desolate places — Into which they have fled for fear and shame, as not daring to show their faces among men. “If, by the wretched death of Judas,” says the last-mentioned divine, “his wife became a widow, and his children orphans, vagabonds, and beggars, their fate was but a prelude to that of thousands and tens of thousands of the same nation, whose husbands and fathers came afterward to a miserable end at the destruction of Jerusalem. Their children and children’s children have since been continually vagabonds upon the earth, in the state of Cain, when he had murdered his righteous brother, not cut off, but marvellously preserved for punishment and wo.” Thus also Dr. Hammond on these verses: “By this is described, in a very lively manner, the condition of the Jewish posterity, ever since their ancestors fell under that signal vengeance for the crucifying of Christ. 1st, Their desolations and devastations in their own country, and being rejected thence. 2d, Their continual wanderings from place to place, scattered over the face of the earth: and, 3d, Their remarkable covetousness, keeping them always poor and beggarly, be they never so rich, and continually labouring and moiling for gain, as the poorest are wont to do; and this is continually the constant course attending this people, wheresoever they are scattered.”

10. Continually vagabonds—Hebrew, wandering, his sons shall wander: without a fixed habitation, homeless: the condition to which David had been already reduced by the treachery and falsehood of his enemy. The same word expresses David’s exilement (Psalm 56:8) and Cain’s punishment, (Genesis 4:12, 14,) where, “for fugitive and vagabond,” the Septuagint have stenwn kai tremwn, groaning and trembling. The parallel passage is Psalm 59:11, 15, where also the same word occurs. The consequences of crime and impiety often reappear in the offspring of the wicked, according to the declarations of Exodus 20:5; 34:7, and of this the psalmist now forewarns them. “Every consequence of sin is a punishment, and every punishment is from the living God. And is not man permitted to desire that God should do what he really does, provided he desires it in that sense in which God does it?”—Tholuck. Out of their desolate places— “Out of” should here read from, that is, far from. The fall of the wicked father brings ruin and desolation upon the household, and from, far from, the ruins of a home from which they are shaken out, they wander up and down, and ask and search for bread. See Psalm 37:25. A description of human poverty and wretchedness which has not a parallel.

V. 11. Catch-Heb. ensnare, take away not only by oppression but also by cunning artificers. Stranger-Who hath no right to his goods.

Verse 11. Let the strangers spoil his labour.] Many of these execrations were literally fulfilled in the case of the miserable Jews, after the death of our Lord. They were not only expelled from their own country, after the destruction of Jerusalem, but they were prohibited from returning; and so taxed by the Roman government, that they were reduced to the lowest degree of poverty. Domitian expelled them from Rome; and they were obliged to take up their habitation without the gate Capena, in a wood contiguous to the city, for which they were obliged to pay a rent, and where the whole of their property was only a basket and a little hay. See JUVENAL, Sat. ver. 11:—

Substitit ad veteres arcus, madidamque Capenam:

Hic ubi nocturne Numa constituebat amicæ,

Nunc sacri fontis nemus, et delubra locantur

Judæis: quorum cophinus, fœnumque supellex:

Omnis enim populo mercedem pendere jussa est

Arbor, et ejectis mendicat silva Camœnis.

He stopped a little at the conduit gate,

Where Numa modelled once the Roman state;

In nightly councils with his nymph retired:

Though now the sacred shades and founts are hired

By banished Jews, who their whole wealth can lay

In a small basket, on a wisp of hay.

Yet such our avarice is, that every tree

Pays for his head; nor sleep itself is free;

Nor place nor persons now are sacred held,

From their own grove the Muses are expelled.

DRYDEN.

The same poet refers again to this wretched state of the Jews, Sat. vi., ver. 541; and shows to what vile extremities they were reduced in order to get a morsel of bread:—

Cum dedit ille locum, cophino fœnoque relicto,

Arcanam Judæa tremens mendicat in aurem,

Interpres legum Solymarum, et magna sacerdos

Arboris, ac summi fida internuncia coeli.

Implet et illa manum, sed parcius, ære minuto.

Qualia cunque voles Judæi somnia vendunt.

Here a Jewess is represented as coming from the wood mentioned above, to gain a few oboli by fortune-telling; and, trembling lest she should be discovered, she leaves her basket and hay, and whispers lowly in the ear of some female, from whom she hopes employment in her line. She is here called by the poet the interpretess of the laws of Solymæ, or Jerusalem, and the priestess of a tree, because obliged, with the rest of her nation, to lodge in a wood; so that she and her countrymen might be said to seek their bread out of desolate places, the stranger having spoiled their labour. Perhaps the whole of the Psalm relates to their infidelities, rebellions, and the miseries inflicted on them from the crucifixion of our Lord till the present time. I should prefer this sense, if what is said on Psalm 109:20 be not considered a better mode of interpretation.

Verses 11, 12. Let the extortioner catch, &c. — Hebrew, hvn vqny, jenakkesh nosheh, the creditor, or usurer, shall insnare all that he hath: that is, take it away, not only by oppression and violence, but by cunning artifices and fraud, whereby such persons are wont to entangle, and so ruin their debtors. Let the stranger — Who hath no right to his goods, and will use no pity in spoiling him; spoil his labour — All the fruits of his labour. Let there be — There shall be none to extend mercy to him, &c. — He and his offspring shall be unpitied and hated as the public enemies of mankind. “Since the destruction of Jerusalem how often hath this race been seized, pillaged, stripped, and empoverished by prince and people, in all the nations of the known world, none appearing, as in other cases, to favour and extend mercy to them:” see notes on Leviticus 26:21-39; Deuteronomy 28:29-68. “They have had no nation, none,” says Dr. Jackson, “to avenge their grievous wrong, which the Lord God of their forefathers had ordained they should suffer at all times and in all places, wheresoever they have come, without redress. Nay, their general carriage hath been so odious and preposterous, that albeit Christian magistrates had conspired together for their good, they would themselves have certainly provoked their own misery.”

11. Extortioner—The lender, whether of money or other property for a pledge, especially one who takes occasion of the necessity of the borrower to extort and oppress. The idea is that of a merciless creditor. See Exodus 22:25; Psalm 89:22. Strangers spoil his labour— Foreigners, heathens, shall make a spoil of his wealth; a special dishonour to a Hebrew. See Deuteronomy 28:33, 51; Jeremiah 5:17.

Verses 11, 12. Let the extortioner catch, &c. — Hebrew, hvn vqny, jenakkesh nosheh, the creditor, or usurer, shall insnare all that he hath: that is, take it away, not only by oppression and violence, but by cunning artifices and fraud, whereby such persons are wont to entangle, and so ruin their debtors. Let the stranger — Who hath no right to his goods, and will use no pity in spoiling him; spoil his labour — All the fruits of his labour. Let there be — There shall be none to extend mercy to him, &c. — He and his offspring shall be unpitied and hated as the public enemies of mankind. “Since the destruction of Jerusalem how often hath this race been seized, pillaged, stripped, and empoverished by prince and people, in all the nations of the known world, none appearing, as in other cases, to favour and extend mercy to them:” see notes on Leviticus 26:21-39; Deuteronomy 28:29-68. “They have had no nation, none,” says Dr. Jackson, “to avenge their grievous wrong, which the Lord God of their forefathers had ordained they should suffer at all times and in all places, wheresoever they have come, without redress. Nay, their general carriage hath been so odious and preposterous, that albeit Christian magistrates had conspired together for their good, they would themselves have certainly provoked their own misery.”

12. Let there be none to extend mercy—There shall be none. The word “extend” takes the sense of lengthened time, as Psalm 36:10, “O continue,” etc. Psalm 85:5, “Wilt thou draw out,” etc. Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred,” etc. And the quality of mercy here denoted is that of requital—remitting the claim of a creditor—as in 2 Samuel 9:1, 3, 7; 10:2; 1 Kings 2:7. The idea is, that the life and character of the father had been such as awakened no regrets at his downfall, and none felt obligated to requite his acts with favour, or to prolong kindness to his family for the father’s sake. In the divine constitution this is a penal consequence of accumulating wealth by a merciless and unprincipled life. Proverbs 21:13; 28:8; James 2:13.

Verse 13. Let his posterity be cut off] It is a fact that the distinction among the Jewish tribes in entirely lost. Not a Jew in the world knows from what tribe he is sprung; and as to the royal family, it remains nowhere but in the person of Jesus the Messiah. He alone is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Except as it exists in him, the name is blotted out.

Verses 13-15. Let his posterity, &c. — His posterity shall be cut off, &c.: they suffered an excision by the Roman sword, and in the generation following, their name, as a church, and civil polity, were blotted out of the list of states and kingdoms. Let the iniquity of his father be remembered — Hebrew, rkzy, it shall be remembered against him, or punished in him, as God had threatened to deal with great delinquents, Exodus 20:5. Let them be — wyhy, they shall be, namely, the sins of his parents last mentioned; before the Lord — In God’s sight and memory, to provoke him to punish them: they shall not be covered nor pardoned. That upon them, as Christ foretold, might come all the righteous blood shed from the blood of righteous Abel; &c., Matthew 22:25. For “the blood of the prophets cried for vengeance against those who crucified the Lord of the prophets.”

13. Posterity be cut off—The word “posterity” literally signifies the end, or future of the man, and the form answers to Psalm 37:38, “The end of the wicked shall be cut off.” But the second member requires the sense of “posterity,” as in the English version, (Septuagint, tekna autou, their children,) which sense the Hebrew admits, though it is of extreme rarity. The idea is, in one generation his family name shall be blotted out. Thus his future shall be cut off. And this implies also the extinction of all his hopes and plans.

Verses 13-15. Let his posterity, &c. — His posterity shall be cut off, &c.: they suffered an excision by the Roman sword, and in the generation following, their name, as a church, and civil polity, were blotted out of the list of states and kingdoms. Let the iniquity of his father be remembered — Hebrew, rkzy, it shall be remembered against him, or punished in him, as God had threatened to deal with great delinquents, Exodus 20:5. Let them be — wyhy, they shall be, namely, the sins of his parents last mentioned; before the Lord — In God’s sight and memory, to provoke him to punish them: they shall not be covered nor pardoned. That upon them, as Christ foretold, might come all the righteous blood shed from the blood of righteous Abel; &c., Matthew 22:25. For “the blood of the prophets cried for vengeance against those who crucified the Lord of the prophets.”

Ver. 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered. Sin is often strikingly entailed on posterity, in diseases, moral consequences, and temporal circumstances.

14. Iniquity of his fathers… the sin of his mother—So called because they were of like character before him. The law forbade the transfer of punishment due to personal sins, (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20;) but where the wickedness of the parents repeated itself in the children, the punishment followed down also. See Exodus 20:5.

Verses 13-15. Let his posterity, &c. — His posterity shall be cut off, &c.: they suffered an excision by the Roman sword, and in the generation following, their name, as a church, and civil polity, were blotted out of the list of states and kingdoms. Let the iniquity of his father be remembered — Hebrew, rkzy, it shall be remembered against him, or punished in him, as God had threatened to deal with great delinquents, Exodus 20:5. Let them be — wyhy, they shall be, namely, the sins of his parents last mentioned; before the Lord — In God’s sight and memory, to provoke him to punish them: they shall not be covered nor pardoned. That upon them, as Christ foretold, might come all the righteous blood shed from the blood of righteous Abel; &c., Matthew 22:25. For “the blood of the prophets cried for vengeance against those who crucified the Lord of the prophets.”

15. Cut off the memory of them—That is, the honourable memorial of them, as the word commonly signifies. Their crimes are their only memorial, as in the case of Judas Iscariot; and this is equal to “cutting off, blotting out,” or forgetting the memory of them. See Exodus 17:14; Deuteronomy 25:19; Psalm 34:16.

Verse 16. Persecuted the poor and needy man] In the case of Jesus Christ all the dictates of justice and mercy were destroyed, and they persecuted this poor man unto death. They acted from a diabolical malice. On common principles, their opposition to Christ cannot be accounted for.

Verse 16. Because he remembered not — “The crime which brought upon its perpetrators all the above-mentioned judgments and calamities, is here pointed out too plainly to be mistaken. They remembered not to show mercy — To him who showed it to all the world; they persecuted him who for our sakes became poor; they betrayed and murdered the lowly and afflicted Jesus, whose heart was broken with sorrow for their sins, and with a sense of the punishment due to them.”

16. Because… he remembered not—He remembered not to show mercy, and therefore God will remember to punish his iniquity. Here begin the reasons for the foregoing judgments. The judgments predicted or invoked should always be considered in connexion with the assigned moral causes. Persecuted the poor and needy man—The description is of one afflicted—in straits and broken hearted—his enemy eagerly pursuing to slay him. Such are the special objects of divine pity and care. Psalm 34:6, 18.

V. 17. Delighted not-In desiring and promoting the welfare of others.

Verse 17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him] The Jews said, when crucifying our Lord, His blood be upon us and our children! Never was an imprecation more dreadfully fulfilled.

Verses 17-20. As he loved cursing — To curse others, as appears from the blessing here opposed to it, and from the next verse; to wish and to procure mischief to others; so let it come unto him — Hebrew, whawbt, teboeehu, it shall come unto him; the mischief in which he delighted, and which he both wished and designed to others, shall fall upon himself. As he delighted not in blessing — In desiring and promoting the welfare of others; so let it be, &c. — Hebrew, qjrt, tirchak, it shall be far from him — He shall never meet with the blessing of those righteous courses which he always hated and avoided. As he clothed himself with cursing — As his very business was to slander others everywhere, taking a pride in the mischievous effects of his wretched lies; so let it come — Hebrew, abtw, vatabo, it shall come, into his bowels, like water — He shall feel the miserable fruit of his wickedness spreading itself, like the water he drinks, to every artery and vein; and sticking as close to him as oil unto the bones. As the garment which covereth him — It shall compass him on every side as a garment; he shall be involved in perpetual misfortunes and miseries, and never be able to shake them off. And as a girdle wherewith he is girded continually — He shall be surrounded with, and entangled in, straits and difficulties, without any possibility of being extricated from them. Observe, reader, “They who reject Christ, reject the fountain of blessing, and choose a curse for their portion; and this portion, when they have finally made their choice, will certainly be given to them in full measure.” We see here that “the curse which lighted on the Jewish nation is resembled, for its universality and adhesion, to a garment which covereth the whole man, and is girded close about his loins; for its diffusive and penetrating nature, to water, which, from the stomach passeth into the bowels, and is dispersed through all the vessels of the frame; and to oil, which imperceptibly insinuates itself into the very bones. When that unhappy people pronounced the words, His blood be on us, and on our children, then did they put on the envenomed garment which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since; then did they eagerly swallow down that dreadful draught, the effects whereof have been the infatuation and misery of upward of seventeen hundred years! Now, if such, in this world, be the reward of Christ’s adversaries, and of those who speak evil against him, what will hereafter be the vengeance inflicted on those who crucify him afresh, and put him again to open shame? Hebrews 6:6. And what will be the operation of the sentence, Go, ye cursed, upon the bodies and souls of the wicked? How will it at once affect all the senses of the former, and all the faculties of the latter, with pain, anguish, sorrow, and despair! Think on these things, O sinner! tremble and repent.” — Horne.

Ver. 17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him. See on Genesis 9:25, where Noah curses Canaan, and Ham his father. Let all culprits truly repent, and pray the Lord for temporal mitigation; for no sentence or curse of the magistrate can affect a man’s final salvation.

17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him—Hebrew, And he loved cursing, and it came to him; and so the second member, “and he delighted not in blessing, and it was far from him.” He not only cursed—devoted to destruction—the object of his hatred, but he “loved cursing,” “clothed himself with it.” In the unerring judgments of God his anathemas returned upon his own head. Psalm 7:15, 16.

V. 18. Garment-Which a man wears constantly. Like water-Water in the cavity of the belly, between the bowels, is almost certain death. And oil soaking into any of the bones, will soon utterly destroy it.

Verse 18. Let it come into his bowels like water] Houbigant thinks this is an allusion to the waters of jealousy; and he is probably right,—the bitter waters that produce the curse. See Numbers 5:18.

Verses 17-20. As he loved cursing — To curse others, as appears from the blessing here opposed to it, and from the next verse; to wish and to procure mischief to others; so let it come unto him — Hebrew, whawbt, teboeehu, it shall come unto him; the mischief in which he delighted, and which he both wished and designed to others, shall fall upon himself. As he delighted not in blessing — In desiring and promoting the welfare of others; so let it be, &c. — Hebrew, qjrt, tirchak, it shall be far from him — He shall never meet with the blessing of those righteous courses which he always hated and avoided. As he clothed himself with cursing — As his very business was to slander others everywhere, taking a pride in the mischievous effects of his wretched lies; so let it come — Hebrew, abtw, vatabo, it shall come, into his bowels, like water — He shall feel the miserable fruit of his wickedness spreading itself, like the water he drinks, to every artery and vein; and sticking as close to him as oil unto the bones. As the garment which covereth him — It shall compass him on every side as a garment; he shall be involved in perpetual misfortunes and miseries, and never be able to shake them off. And as a girdle wherewith he is girded continually — He shall be surrounded with, and entangled in, straits and difficulties, without any possibility of being extricated from them. Observe, reader, “They who reject Christ, reject the fountain of blessing, and choose a curse for their portion; and this portion, when they have finally made their choice, will certainly be given to them in full measure.” We see here that “the curse which lighted on the Jewish nation is resembled, for its universality and adhesion, to a garment which covereth the whole man, and is girded close about his loins; for its diffusive and penetrating nature, to water, which, from the stomach passeth into the bowels, and is dispersed through all the vessels of the frame; and to oil, which imperceptibly insinuates itself into the very bones. When that unhappy people pronounced the words, His blood be on us, and on our children, then did they put on the envenomed garment which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since; then did they eagerly swallow down that dreadful draught, the effects whereof have been the infatuation and misery of upward of seventeen hundred years! Now, if such, in this world, be the reward of Christ’s adversaries, and of those who speak evil against him, what will hereafter be the vengeance inflicted on those who crucify him afresh, and put him again to open shame? Hebrews 6:6. And what will be the operation of the sentence, Go, ye cursed, upon the bodies and souls of the wicked? How will it at once affect all the senses of the former, and all the faculties of the latter, with pain, anguish, sorrow, and despair! Think on these things, O sinner! tremble and repent.” — Horne.

18. Into his bowels—Hebrew, his inward parts; penetrating like oil his whole being. It is an advance upon the figure of clothing—garment—as an outside covering, in the previous member. The allusion is to the waters of jealousy, (Numbers 5:22,) “And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels.”

Verse 19. And for a girdle] Let the curse cleave to him throughout life: as the girdle binds all the clothes to the body, let the curse of God bind all mischiefs and maladies to his body and soul.

The Hindoos, Budhists, and others often wear a gold or silver chain about their waist. One of those chains, once the ornament of a Moudeliar in the island of Ceylon, lies now before me: it is silver, and curiously wrought.

Verses 17-20. As he loved cursing — To curse others, as appears from the blessing here opposed to it, and from the next verse; to wish and to procure mischief to others; so let it come unto him — Hebrew, whawbt, teboeehu, it shall come unto him; the mischief in which he delighted, and which he both wished and designed to others, shall fall upon himself. As he delighted not in blessing — In desiring and promoting the welfare of others; so let it be, &c. — Hebrew, qjrt, tirchak, it shall be far from him — He shall never meet with the blessing of those righteous courses which he always hated and avoided. As he clothed himself with cursing — As his very business was to slander others everywhere, taking a pride in the mischievous effects of his wretched lies; so let it come — Hebrew, abtw, vatabo, it shall come, into his bowels, like water — He shall feel the miserable fruit of his wickedness spreading itself, like the water he drinks, to every artery and vein; and sticking as close to him as oil unto the bones. As the garment which covereth him — It shall compass him on every side as a garment; he shall be involved in perpetual misfortunes and miseries, and never be able to shake them off. And as a girdle wherewith he is girded continually — He shall be surrounded with, and entangled in, straits and difficulties, without any possibility of being extricated from them. Observe, reader, “They who reject Christ, reject the fountain of blessing, and choose a curse for their portion; and this portion, when they have finally made their choice, will certainly be given to them in full measure.” We see here that “the curse which lighted on the Jewish nation is resembled, for its universality and adhesion, to a garment which covereth the whole man, and is girded close about his loins; for its diffusive and penetrating nature, to water, which, from the stomach passeth into the bowels, and is dispersed through all the vessels of the frame; and to oil, which imperceptibly insinuates itself into the very bones. When that unhappy people pronounced the words, His blood be on us, and on our children, then did they put on the envenomed garment which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since; then did they eagerly swallow down that dreadful draught, the effects whereof have been the infatuation and misery of upward of seventeen hundred years! Now, if such, in this world, be the reward of Christ’s adversaries, and of those who speak evil against him, what will hereafter be the vengeance inflicted on those who crucify him afresh, and put him again to open shame? Hebrews 6:6. And what will be the operation of the sentence, Go, ye cursed, upon the bodies and souls of the wicked? How will it at once affect all the senses of the former, and all the faculties of the latter, with pain, anguish, sorrow, and despair! Think on these things, O sinner! tremble and repent.” — Horne.

19. Continually—This garment and girdle are to be worn perpetually, not to be intermitted, or laid off, as with common apparel.

V. 20. That speak evil against my soul-With design to take away my life.

Verse 20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.] Following the mode of interpretation already adopted, this may mean: All these maledictions shall be fulfilled on my enemies; they shall have them for their reward. So all the opposition made by the Jews against our Lord, and the obloquies and execrations wherewith they have loaded him and his religion, have fallen upon themselves; and they are awful examples of the wrath of God abiding on them that believe not.

But is not this verse a key to all that preceded it? The original, fairly interpreted, will lead us to a somewhat different meaning: yvpn l[ [r והדברים hwhy tam yncc פעלת זאת zoth peullath soteney meeth Yehovah, vehaddoberim ra al naphshi. “This is the work of my adversaries before the Lord, and of those who speak evil against my soul,” or life. That is, all that is said from the sixth to the twentieth verse consists of the evil words and imprecations of my enemies against my soul, laboring to set the Lord, by imprecations, against me, that their curses may take effect. This, which is a reasonable interpretation, frees the whole Psalm from every difficulty. Surely, the curses contained in it are more like those which proceed from the mouth of the wicked, than from one inspired by the Spirit of the living God. Taking the words in this sense, which I am persuaded is the best, and which the original will well bear and several of the Versions countenance, then our translation may stand just as it is, only let the reader remember that at the sixth verse David begins to tell how his enemies cursed HIM, while he prayed for THEM.

Verses 17-20. As he loved cursing — To curse others, as appears from the blessing here opposed to it, and from the next verse; to wish and to procure mischief to others; so let it come unto him — Hebrew, whawbt, teboeehu, it shall come unto him; the mischief in which he delighted, and which he both wished and designed to others, shall fall upon himself. As he delighted not in blessing — In desiring and promoting the welfare of others; so let it be, &c. — Hebrew, qjrt, tirchak, it shall be far from him — He shall never meet with the blessing of those righteous courses which he always hated and avoided. As he clothed himself with cursing — As his very business was to slander others everywhere, taking a pride in the mischievous effects of his wretched lies; so let it come — Hebrew, abtw, vatabo, it shall come, into his bowels, like water — He shall feel the miserable fruit of his wickedness spreading itself, like the water he drinks, to every artery and vein; and sticking as close to him as oil unto the bones. As the garment which covereth him — It shall compass him on every side as a garment; he shall be involved in perpetual misfortunes and miseries, and never be able to shake them off. And as a girdle wherewith he is girded continually — He shall be surrounded with, and entangled in, straits and difficulties, without any possibility of being extricated from them. Observe, reader, “They who reject Christ, reject the fountain of blessing, and choose a curse for their portion; and this portion, when they have finally made their choice, will certainly be given to them in full measure.” We see here that “the curse which lighted on the Jewish nation is resembled, for its universality and adhesion, to a garment which covereth the whole man, and is girded close about his loins; for its diffusive and penetrating nature, to water, which, from the stomach passeth into the bowels, and is dispersed through all the vessels of the frame; and to oil, which imperceptibly insinuates itself into the very bones. When that unhappy people pronounced the words, His blood be on us, and on our children, then did they put on the envenomed garment which has stuck to and tormented the nation ever since; then did they eagerly swallow down that dreadful draught, the effects whereof have been the infatuation and misery of upward of seventeen hundred years! Now, if such, in this world, be the reward of Christ’s adversaries, and of those who speak evil against him, what will hereafter be the vengeance inflicted on those who crucify him afresh, and put him again to open shame? Hebrews 6:6. And what will be the operation of the sentence, Go, ye cursed, upon the bodies and souls of the wicked? How will it at once affect all the senses of the former, and all the faculties of the latter, with pain, anguish, sorrow, and despair! Think on these things, O sinner! tremble and repent.” — Horne.

20. Let this be the reward—Literally, this is the work, or wages, of my adversaries. The word signifies both work and wages, or reward, as Leviticus 19:13; Proverbs 10:16.

V. 21. Is good-Above the mercy of all the creatures.

Verse 21. But do thou for me] While they use horrible imprecations against me, and load me with their curses, act thou for me, and deliver me from their maledictions. While they curse, do thou bless. This verse is a farther proof of the correctness of the interpretation given above.

Verses 21, 22. But do thou for me, O God — Namely, what I desire, which he expresses in the next clause, saying, Deliver thou me — Or, he means, Do thou act for me; be not silent or still, but stir up thyself to work on my behalf; for thy name’s sake — For the glory of thy faithfulness, which is highly concerned in giving me the deliverance which thou hast promised me; because thy mercy is good — That is, gracious, and ready to do good to all, but especially to those that love and fear thee. For I am poor and needy — And therefore a very proper object for thy pity and help. And my heart is wounded within me — I am wounded not slightly, but even to the very heart, with soul-piercing sorrows.

21. But do thou for me, O God—The phrase is peculiar. The object of the verb is not expressed. The psalmist does not specify what he would have done, but leaves all to God, with the reverent and qualifying words “for thy name’s sake.” Similar forms elsewhere occur, as Psalm 119:124; Jeremiah 14:7.

Verse 22. I am poor and needy] I am afflicted and impoverished; and my heart is wounded-my very life is sinking through distress.

Verses 21, 22. But do thou for me, O God — Namely, what I desire, which he expresses in the next clause, saying, Deliver thou me — Or, he means, Do thou act for me; be not silent or still, but stir up thyself to work on my behalf; for thy name’s sake — For the glory of thy faithfulness, which is highly concerned in giving me the deliverance which thou hast promised me; because thy mercy is good — That is, gracious, and ready to do good to all, but especially to those that love and fear thee. For I am poor and needy — And therefore a very proper object for thy pity and help. And my heart is wounded within me — I am wounded not slightly, but even to the very heart, with soul-piercing sorrows.

22. I am poor and needy—A plaintive confession, often made, and always urged as the counterpart of exclusive hope in God. My heart is wounded—Pierced as with a sword. So the word, Ezekiel 32:26. The adjective almost always has this sense, as Lamentations 2:12. In this pathetic strain the psalmist tells his misery and suffering in the three verses following.

V. 23. When-Towards the evening, when the sun is setting. The locust-Which is easily driven away with every wind.

Verse 23. I am gone like the shadow] “I have walked like the declining shadow,”—I have passed my meridian of health and life; and as the sun is going below the horizon, so am I about to go under the earth. I am tossed up and down as the locust.] When swarms of locusts take wing, and infest the countries in the east, if the wind happen to blow briskly, the swarms are agitated and driven upon each other, so as to appear to be heaved to and fro, or tossed up and down. Dr. Shaw, who has seen this, says it gives a lively idea of the comparisons of the psalmist.

Verse 23. I am gone, &c. — Hebrew, ytklhn, neehlacheti, I am made to go, either, 1st, From place to place; which was David’s case when he was persecuted by Saul and by Absalom, and Christ’s case upon earth when he had no certain place where to lay his head. Or, 2d, Into the grave, as this phrase frequently signifies; like the shadow when it declineth — Toward the evening, when, the sun setting, it vanisheth instantly and irrecoverably. I am tossed up and down as a locust — Which of itself is unstable, continually leaping and moving from place to place, and is easily driven away with every wind. So am I exposed to perpetual and successive changes within myself, and to a thousand violences and mischiefs from other persons and things.

23. Gone like the shadow—Like a disappearing evening shadow, till its form and outline are lost in the darkness. I am tossed up and down—I am shaken out. I have been violently cast out of home and country. So Exodus 14:27, “The Lord shook off [margin] the Egyptians” Nehemiah 5:13, “So God shake out every man from his house.” As the locust—An allusion to their being tossed up and down by violent winds. Thus Morier: “On looking up we perceived an immense cloud, here and there semi-transparent, in other parts quite black, that spread itself all over the sky, and at intervals shadowed the sun. This we soon found to be locusts, whole swarms of them falling about us; but their passage was but momentary, for a fresh wind from the southwest, which had brought them to us, so completely drove them forward that not a vestige of them was seen two hours after.”

Verse 24. My knees are weak through fasting] That hunger is as soon felt in weakening the knees, as in producing an uneasy sensation in the stomach, is known by all who have ever felt it. Writers in all countries have referred to this effect of hunger. Thus Tryphioderus Il. Excid. ver 155:— teiromenou baruqeien aterpei gounata limw. “Their knees might fail, by hunger’s force subdued; And sink, unable to sustain their load.”

MERRICK.

So PLAUTUS, Curcul, act. ii., scen. 3:—

Tenebræ oboriuntur, genua inedia succidunt. “My eyes grow dim; my knees are weak with hunger.” And LUCRETIUS, lib. iv. ver. 950:—

Brachia, palpebræque cadunt, poplitesque procumbunt. “The arms, the eyelids fall; the knees give way.” Both the knees and the sight are particularly affected by hunger.

Verses 24, 25. My knees are weak through fasting — Either through forced fasting for want of food, when he was persecuted, or for want of appetite when he was sick, or through voluntary fasting, which the frequency and long continuance of his sufferings induced him to use. I became also a reproach unto them — Instead of that pity, which either religion or humanity should have taught them to exercise toward a person in extreme misery, they loaded me with reproaches and scorns. They shaked their heads — By way of contempt and derision. In all this David was a type of Christ, who, in his humiliation, was thus wounded, thus weakened, thus reproached, and at whom they thus shook their heads, saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. He was also a type of the church, which is often afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted.

24. Fasting— “The word is never used of that want of eating which proceeds from want of appetite, but always of the exercise of penitence, as practised by men when overwhelmed, or when threatened, with severe suffering.”—Hengstenberg.

Verse 25. When they looked upon me they soaked their heads.] Thus was David treated by Shimei, 2 Samuel 16:5, 6, and our blessed Lord by the Jews, Matthew 27:39.

Verses 24, 25. My knees are weak through fasting — Either through forced fasting for want of food, when he was persecuted, or for want of appetite when he was sick, or through voluntary fasting, which the frequency and long continuance of his sufferings induced him to use. I became also a reproach unto them — Instead of that pity, which either religion or humanity should have taught them to exercise toward a person in extreme misery, they loaded me with reproaches and scorns. They shaked their heads — By way of contempt and derision. In all this David was a type of Christ, who, in his humiliation, was thus wounded, thus weakened, thus reproached, and at whom they thus shook their heads, saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. He was also a type of the church, which is often afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted.

25. Shaked their heads—Wagged their heads as a token of scorn and insult. See Psalm 22:7; 44:14; Lamentations 2:15; 2 Kings 19:21.

Verses 26-29. Help me, O Lord my God — But my hope is, that thou, my God, wilt seasonably interpose for my relief, and save me — Out of my troubles; according to thy mercy — That tender mercy which is wont to extend itself to those who have nothing else to depend upon. That they may know that this is thy hand — Being convinced of the eminence, singularity, and strangeness of the work. Let them curse, but bless thou — I can patiently bear their curses, as being causeless, and fully compensated by thy blessing. Or, rather, as the Hebrew, hmh wllqy, jekalelu hemma, is literally rendered, They will curse; I expect nothing else from them; Ërbt htaw, veatta tebareck, but thou wilt bless me, and all those that trust in thee; for, blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. When they arise let them be ashamed — Hebrew, wvbyw wmq, kamu vajeboshu, they have arisen, namely, have taken active measures against me; they shall be ashamed — Disappointed of their wicked hopes and designs against me, and covered with their own confusion as with a mantle — For that unexpected destruction which they have brought upon themselves. Observe, reader, if God bless us, we need not care who curseth us; for how can they curse whom God hath not cursed? Nay, whom he hath blessed? Numbers 23:28. Men’s curses are impotent, God’s blessings are omnipotent. And those whom men unjustly curse, may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for confessing Christ, Christ found him, John 9:35. When men, without cause, say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our hearts to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou.

Verse 27. That they may know that this is thy hand] Let thy help be so manifest in my behalf, that they may see it is thy hand, and that thou hast undertaken for me. Or, if the words refer to the passion of our Lord, Let them see that I suffer not on my own account; “for the transgression of my people am I smitten.”

Verses 26-29. Help me, O Lord my God — But my hope is, that thou, my God, wilt seasonably interpose for my relief, and save me — Out of my troubles; according to thy mercy — That tender mercy which is wont to extend itself to those who have nothing else to depend upon. That they may know that this is thy hand — Being convinced of the eminence, singularity, and strangeness of the work. Let them curse, but bless thou — I can patiently bear their curses, as being causeless, and fully compensated by thy blessing. Or, rather, as the Hebrew, hmh wllqy, jekalelu hemma, is literally rendered, They will curse; I expect nothing else from them; Ërbt htaw, veatta tebareck, but thou wilt bless me, and all those that trust in thee; for, blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. When they arise let them be ashamed — Hebrew, wvbyw wmq, kamu vajeboshu, they have arisen, namely, have taken active measures against me; they shall be ashamed — Disappointed of their wicked hopes and designs against me, and covered with their own confusion as with a mantle — For that unexpected destruction which they have brought upon themselves. Observe, reader, if God bless us, we need not care who curseth us; for how can they curse whom God hath not cursed? Nay, whom he hath blessed? Numbers 23:28. Men’s curses are impotent, God’s blessings are omnipotent. And those whom men unjustly curse, may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for confessing Christ, Christ found him, John 9:35. When men, without cause, say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our hearts to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou.

27. That this is thy hand—Here again appears the pious end sought in all the psalmist’s prayers for help, or against his enemies. Both his sufferings and his deliverances were providential, and this he wished might be made to appear, for his own and the divine vindication.

Verse 28. Let them curse, but bless thou] See on Psalm 109:20: Of the mode of interpretation recommended there, this verse gives additional proof.

Verses 26-29. Help me, O Lord my God — But my hope is, that thou, my God, wilt seasonably interpose for my relief, and save me — Out of my troubles; according to thy mercy — That tender mercy which is wont to extend itself to those who have nothing else to depend upon. That they may know that this is thy hand — Being convinced of the eminence, singularity, and strangeness of the work. Let them curse, but bless thou — I can patiently bear their curses, as being causeless, and fully compensated by thy blessing. Or, rather, as the Hebrew, hmh wllqy, jekalelu hemma, is literally rendered, They will curse; I expect nothing else from them; Ërbt htaw, veatta tebareck, but thou wilt bless me, and all those that trust in thee; for, blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. When they arise let them be ashamed — Hebrew, wvbyw wmq, kamu vajeboshu, they have arisen, namely, have taken active measures against me; they shall be ashamed — Disappointed of their wicked hopes and designs against me, and covered with their own confusion as with a mantle — For that unexpected destruction which they have brought upon themselves. Observe, reader, if God bless us, we need not care who curseth us; for how can they curse whom God hath not cursed? Nay, whom he hath blessed? Numbers 23:28. Men’s curses are impotent, God’s blessings are omnipotent. And those whom men unjustly curse, may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for confessing Christ, Christ found him, John 9:35. When men, without cause, say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our hearts to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou.

28. Let them curse, but bless thou—Hebrew, They will curse and thou wilt bless. The idea is, though they curse thou wilt bless, as 2 Samuel 16:12, “It may be the Lord will requite me good for his cursing.” When they arise—Namely, for hostile purposes.

Verse 29. Let them cover themselves] He here retorts their own curse, Psalm 109:18.

Verses 26-29. Help me, O Lord my God — But my hope is, that thou, my God, wilt seasonably interpose for my relief, and save me — Out of my troubles; according to thy mercy — That tender mercy which is wont to extend itself to those who have nothing else to depend upon. That they may know that this is thy hand — Being convinced of the eminence, singularity, and strangeness of the work. Let them curse, but bless thou — I can patiently bear their curses, as being causeless, and fully compensated by thy blessing. Or, rather, as the Hebrew, hmh wllqy, jekalelu hemma, is literally rendered, They will curse; I expect nothing else from them; Ërbt htaw, veatta tebareck, but thou wilt bless me, and all those that trust in thee; for, blessed is the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. When they arise let them be ashamed — Hebrew, wvbyw wmq, kamu vajeboshu, they have arisen, namely, have taken active measures against me; they shall be ashamed — Disappointed of their wicked hopes and designs against me, and covered with their own confusion as with a mantle — For that unexpected destruction which they have brought upon themselves. Observe, reader, if God bless us, we need not care who curseth us; for how can they curse whom God hath not cursed? Nay, whom he hath blessed? Numbers 23:28. Men’s curses are impotent, God’s blessings are omnipotent. And those whom men unjustly curse, may in faith expect and pray for God’s blessing, his special blessing. When the Pharisees cast out the poor man for confessing Christ, Christ found him, John 9:35. When men, without cause, say all the ill they can of us, and wish all the ills they can to us, we may with comfort lift up our hearts to God in this petition: Let them curse, but bless thou.

29. Clothed… cover… mantle—These several words are for intensity, denoting complete covering from head to foot. The “mantle” (ly[m, me’eel,) is to be taken as the outer tunic of the orientals, reaching from the neck to the ankles, and was the most complete covering for the whole body of any one article of dress. The dress itself is shame and confusion.

Verse 30. I will greatly praise the Lord] I have the fullest prospect of deliverance, and a plenary vindication of my innocence.

Verses 30, 31. I will greatly praise the Lord — For that deliverance which I confidently expect; with my mouth — Not only with my heart, in secret, but with my mouth, openly; and among the multitude — Or, among the mighty, or the great men, as µybr Ëwtb, betoch rabbim, may be properly translated; for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor — Nigh to him, as a present help; as his patron and advocate, to plead his cause against, and defend him from, his adversary, who stood in that place to accuse him, and procure his condemnation and destruction; to save him from those that condemn his soul — That pass a sentence of death upon him. God was David’s protector in his sufferings, and was present also with the Lord Jesus in his; stood at his right hand, so that he was not moved, Psalm 16:8; saved his soul from those that pretended to be the judges of it, and received it into his own hands. Let all those that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator, 1 Peter 4:19.

30. I will greatly praise—As the answer of the psalmist’s prayers and the fulfilment of his forewarning predictions would be to him a signal deliverance as well as a vindication of righteous principles, so his praise for the same would be rendered greatly, exceedingly, with all his might. This shows that the spirit and example of this psalm are in harmony with the mind of God, and hence with the essential ethics both of the law and of the gospel.

Verse 31. He shall stand at the right hand of the poor] Even if Satan himself be the accuser, God will vindicate the innocence of his servant. Pilate and the Jews condemned our Lord to death as a malefactor; God showed his immaculate innocence by his resurrection from the dead. The whole of this Psalm is understood by many as referring solely to Christ, the traitor Judas, and the wicked Jews. This is the view taken of it in the analysis.

Verses 30, 31. I will greatly praise the Lord — For that deliverance which I confidently expect; with my mouth — Not only with my heart, in secret, but with my mouth, openly; and among the multitude — Or, among the mighty, or the great men, as µybr Ëwtb, betoch rabbim, may be properly translated; for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor — Nigh to him, as a present help; as his patron and advocate, to plead his cause against, and defend him from, his adversary, who stood in that place to accuse him, and procure his condemnation and destruction; to save him from those that condemn his soul — That pass a sentence of death upon him. God was David’s protector in his sufferings, and was present also with the Lord Jesus in his; stood at his right hand, so that he was not moved, Psalm 16:8; saved his soul from those that pretended to be the judges of it, and received it into his own hands. Let all those that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator, 1 Peter 4:19.

31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor—The yk, (for, because,) is here most emphatic. This is the sum and object of all that is sought or desired in the psalm, and this is the reason for his “greatly praising the Lord.” Because “he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save.” See verse 16. The “right hand” was the place of the advocate and defender. See on verse 6, and Psalm 142:4; 16:8.