Psalms · Chapter 17

ver. 1-9. Describes their wickedness, ver. 10-12. Prays for deliverance from them, and rests in hope, ver. 13-15.

A prayer of David.

V. 1. The right-Regard my righteous cause.

Verse 1. Hear the right] Attend to the justice of my cause, qdx hwhy Yehovah tsedek, righteous Jehovah. “O righteous Jehovah, attend unto my cry.”

Goeth not out of feigned lips.] My supplication is sincere: and the desire of my heart accompanies the words of my lips.

Verse 1. Hear the right, O Lord — Hebrew, qdx, tzedek, righteousness, that is, my righteous cause, or me, who, notwithstanding all their accusations, and slanders, am righteous in my conduct toward them and all men. Attend unto my cry — My fervent prayer, attended with strong cries. That goeth not out of feigned lips — Hebrew, hmrm ytpv, shipthee mirmah, lips of deceit, or of guile, which speak one thing when the heart knows and designs another. This profession of his sincerity in his words fitly makes way for his solemn appeal to God, in the following verses.

1. Compare titles of Psalm 86 and 90; and Psalm 95:2 and 81:2.

1. Hear the right—To hear the right, or righteousness, is the same as to hear the prayer for righteousness, or that righteousness may obtain. David does not pray, Hear the righteous man, but righteousness, being intent upon that which is right rather than personal victory. Herein he submits everything to the will of God as the rule of justice. The hearing invoked is a judicial hearing. My cry—My outcry, my loud call for help. Attend… give ear—That is, hearken, listen, stronger words than “hear.” Feigned lips—Lips of deceit. This he could aver of himself without reserve, that he was innocent of any crime as the cause of his persecution, and honest in his desire that righteous judgment should be given. Morally he was upright, however defective his judgment; and his appeal to the divine judgment was confidently grounded upon the rectitude of his intentions. 2 Let my sentence come forth—Rather, my judgment [acquittal] shall come forth from thee. Thine eyes shall behold equity. The verb is declarative, as an expression of faith. Things that are equal—Taken adverbially, the word denotes rightly, uprightly; thine eyes behold righteously. Proverbs 8:6.

V. 2. Sentence-Judgment on my behalf. Come-From thy tribunal.

Verse 2. My sentence come forth from thy presence] Thou knowest my heart, and my ways; judge me as thou shalt find; let me not fall under the judgment of man.

Let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.] Thou knowest whether I render to all their due, and whether others act justly by me. Thou canst not be deceived: do justice between me and my adversaries.

Verse 2. Let my sentence — Hebrew, ycpvm, mishpati, my judgment, that is, judgment in my cause, or on my behalf: come forth from thy presence — From thee, and from thy tribunal, to which I bring my cause. Do not suspend or delay it, but speedily examine my cause, and give sentence in it. Behold the things that are equal — Or right: for though I need and desire thy mercy and favour in many other respects, yet I beg only the interposition of thy justice in this cause between me and them.

V. 3. Proved-Or, searched or tried it, by many temptations and afflictions. Night-When mens minds being freed from the distraction of business, and from the society of men, they act more vigorously and freely, according to their several inclinations. Tried-As gold-smiths do metals. Nothing-Nothing of unrighteousness. Purposed-I have resolved, upon deliberation, as the word implies. Mouth-I am so far from practising against Saul’s life, as they charge me, that I will not wrong him so much as in a word.

Verse 3. Thou hast proved mine heart] Thou well knowest whether there be any evil way in me. Thou hast given me to see many and sore trials; and yet, through thy mercy, I have preserved my integrity both to thee and to my king. Thou hast seen me in my most secret retirements, and knowest whether I have plotted mischief against him who now wishes to take away my life.

Thou hast tried me] yntprx tseraphtani; Thou hast put me to the test, as they do metals, in order to detect their alloy, and to purify them: well expressed by the Vulgate, Igne me examinasti, “Thou hast tried me by fire;” and well paraphrased in my old Psalter,—Thu examynd me the lykkenyng of the fournas, that purges metal, and imang al this, wykednes es nout funden in me: that es, I am funden clene of syn, and so ryghtwis.— He who is saved from his sin is right wise; he has found the true wisdom. My mouth shall not transgress.] This clause is added to the following verse by the Vulgate and Septuagint: “That my mouth may not speak according to the works of men, I have observed difficult ways because of the words of thy lips.” That is, So far from doing any improper action, I have even refrained from all words that might be counted inflammatory or seditious by my adversaries; for I took thy word for the regulation of my conduct, and prescribed to myself the most painful duties, in order that I might, in every respect, avoid what would give offence either to thee or to man. Among the genuine followers of God, plots and civil broils are never found.

Verse 3. Thou hast proved mine heart — Or searched, or tried it, by many temptations and afflictions; by which the sincerity or hypocrisy of men’s hearts is discovered, and especially is manifest to thy all-seeing eye. Thou hast visited me in the night — Thou hast been present with me in my greatest privacies; to discover whether, in my retirement from the eyes of men, in the night season, when secrecy and solitude prompt the hypocrite to sin, I was forming any evil designs, or indulging any mischievous imaginations. Thou hast tried me — Accurately and severely, as goldsmiths do metals. And shalt find nothing — Nothing of unrighteousness in me. In the Hebrew it is only, Thou shalt not find; namely, that whereof my enemies accuse me, whether hypocrisy toward thee, or evil designs against Saul, covered with fair pretences. I am purposed — I have resolved upon deliberation, as the word here used implies; that my mouth shall not transgress — I am so far from taking any measures, or practising any thing against Saul’s life, as they charge me, that I will not wrong him so much as in word. Or, more generally, and without any particular reference to Saul, “I am so far from doing any wicked thing, that I will keep a strict watch even over my words; and though mine enemies persecute me ever so much by their evil deeds, I am resolved they shall not tempt me to speak evil.” Observe, reader, he does not say, I hope my mouth shall not transgress, or I wish it may not, but I am fully purposed that it shall not. With this bridle he kept it, Psalm 39:2. Constant resolution and watchfulness against the sins of the tongue will be a good evidence of our integrity. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, James 3:2.

Verse 3. Thou hast tried me. Vulgate, Igne me examinâsti, Thou hast proved or tested me with fire, referring to the test of metals.

3. Proved mine heart—He accepts his afflictions as tests of his sincerity. The word prove is applied to the trying of metals. Jeremiah 9:7; Zechariah 13:9. In the night—See Psalm 16:7. Tried—A word of similar import to “proved,” in previous line. Thou hast purified me. Psalm 66:10; Isaiah 48:10. Shalt find nothing—No dross, no concealed iniquity upon which to ground condemnation. See John 14:30. My mouth shall not transgress—I will not speak otherwise than I think and purpose. My heart and my lips shall be alike pure.

V. 4. Concerning-Observing the works of the men of this age, how wicked they are, I was resolved to take more care in ordering my own actions. By-By the help of thy blessed word. Paths-The customs and practices. Destroyer-Or, of the violent man: such as Saul, and his courtiers and soldiers.

Verse 4. The paths of the destroyer.] Some render, hard or difficult paths, the sense of which is given above. But the passage is exceedingly obscure. My old Psalter translates and paraphrases as follows:— Trans. That my mouthe speke noght the werkes of men, for the wordes of thi lippes I haf keped hard wayse.

Par. That es, that nothing passe of my mouthe bot at falles to the louyng of the; noght til werkes of men, that dos o gaynes thy wil; als to say, I spak noght bot gude; and for the wordes of thi lippes, that es, to ful fil the wordes that thi prophetes saide; I kepe hard waies of verteus and of tribulacioun, the qwilk men thynk hard; and for thi thai leve the hard way til heven, and takes the soft way til hel; but it es ful hard at the end.

Verse 4. Concerning the works of men — That is, the works which men generally practise: observing how unreasonable, wicked, and pernicious they are, not only to others, but also to themselves, I have been resolved to take more care in the ordering of my actions. This he says, to show that he had been as careful to abstain from sinful actions as from sinful words, and in all respects to do his duty to God and man. By the word of thy lips — By the help of thy blessed word, and the excellent precepts, promises, and threatenings thereof, which, by deep and frequent meditation, I have hid and fixed in my heart, as the rule of my actions, the guide of my life, and the best antidote against sin and temptation, Psalm 119:9, 11. I have kept me from the paths — Hebrew, twjra ytrmv, shamarti arechoth, I have watched, or observed, that is, in order to avoid, the paths, or ways of the destroyer. The ways of sin are the ways of the destroyer, that is, of the devil, whose name is Abaddon, and Apollyon, or destroyer, and who ruins souls by decoying them into these ways. Now, if we would shun them, we must attend to the word of God as our rule and guide, and in order thereto, must understand, believe, and hide it in our heart. “If the word be not in our heart at all, or if it be not there in such a manner as to be ready at all times for use and application, we shall be in danger, at every turn, of going astray.” — Horne.

4. There is an historic background to the allusions of this verse. David was leading a fugitive life on the southern boundary of Judea, and in Arabia and Philistia, exiled from his country, proscribed by government, hunted by Saul, and compelled to live most of his time in the neighbourhood of robbers. It was a wild border life; but the word of God had kept him from going in their paths or adopting their habits. Concerning the works of men—As to the doings of men; that is, the common practices of men who follow not God. Compare “course of this world.” Ephesians 2:2. Kept… from the paths of the destroyer—Literally, I have watched the paths of the destroyer; that is, with a view to avoid them.

Verse 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths] David walked in God’s ways; but, without Divine assistance, he could not walk steadily, even in them. The words of God’s lips had shown him the steps he was to take, and he implores the strength of God’s grace to enable him to walk in those steps. He had been kept from the paths of the destroyer; but this was not sufficient; he must walk in God’s paths-must spend his life in obedience to the Divine will. Negative holiness can save no man. “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

Verse 5. Hold up my goings, &c. — As by thy word and grace thou hast hitherto kept me from the paths of evil men, and led me into thy paths, so I pray thee enable me, by the same means, to persevere therein, and in an abhorrence of all wicked courses. Let me not only be restrained from doing that which is evil, but quickened to abound always in that which is good. Let my goings be so held in thy paths that I may not turn back from them, nor turn aside out of them; and let them be held up, that I may not stumble and fall into sin, that I may not become indolent, and neglect my duty. Observe, reader, we stand no longer than he is pleased to uphold us, we go no farther than he is pleased to lead us. Those, therefore, that would proceed on and persevere in the ways of God, must by faith and prayer fetch in daily supplies of grace and strength from him. That my footsteps slip not — That I may not fall into the sin of revenging myself on Saul, to which I may be more and more tempted, nor into any other sin, whereby thou mayest be provoked, or men may be offended, and religion disgraced. David was sensible that his way was slippery, that he himself was weak, and not so well fixed and established as he ought to be, and that there were those that watched for his halting, and would improve the least slip he might make against him, and therefore he prays in this manner to be upheld and preserved. Let us go and do likewise.

5. Hold up my goings—Rather, My steps hold fast to thy paths. It is a protestation by the psalmist of his fidelity, as in verse 3, and Job 23:11; and this agrees better with the Hiphil preterit of the next verb, My steps have not been moved.

Verse 6. Incline thine ear unto me] David prayed from a conviction that God would hear: but he could not be satisfied unless he received an answer. In a believer’s mind the petition and the answer should not be separated.

Verse 6. I have called upon thee — It hath been, still is, and shall be, my constant course, to apply myself to thee for assistance and deliverance. For thou wilt hear, O God — Though thou mayest delay for a season, I am well assured that thou wilt hear and answer me.

6. Having laid open his inmost thoughts, and protested his innocence before God, the psalmist now resumes his prayer.

V. 7. By-By thy great power.

Verse 7. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness] David was now exposed to imminent danger; common interpositions of Providence could not save him; if God did not work miracles for him, he must fall by the hand of Saul. Yet he lays no claim to such miraculous interpositions; he expects all from God’s lovingkindness.

The common reading here is Ëydsj hlph haphleh chasadeycha, “distinguish thy holy ones;” but alph haple, “do wonders,” is the reading of about seventy MSS., some ancient editions, with the Septuagint, Vulgate, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. The marginal reading of this verse is nearer the original than that of the text.

Verse 7. Show thy marvellous loving-kindness — Namely, in preserving and delivering me: which, if thou dost, I must ever acknowledge it to be an act of kindness, or free grace and mercy, yea, and of marvellous kindness, because of my extreme and pressing dangers, out of which nothing but a miracle of divine mercy and power can save me; O thou that savest by thy right hand — By thy great power, and needest not the agency of any other; them which put their trust in thee — Or, in it, namely, thy right hand, as was now expressed; from those that rise up against them — Hebrew, µymmwqtmm, me-mithkomemim, from, or, because of, those that exalt themselves, not only against me, but also against thee, who hast engaged and declared thyself for me. But the latter clause of this verse is differently translated in the margin, and, as many eminent interpreters, both ancient and modern, think, more agreeably to the Hebrew text. The reader, therefore, will please to attend to it, and to observe, that rising up against God’s right hand, a sin which, according to that translation, David charges upon his enemies, signifies opposing God’s power, or counsels, whether respecting the exaltation of David, and the Messiah his seed, or any other of his dispensations.

7. Show thy marvellous loving-kindness—Literally, Set apart, distinguish, make honourable, thy loving kindness; work in an extraordinary manner. He would seem to call for some special miracle, but all God’s acts of deliverance are special and wonderful. See Exodus 33:16 and Psalm 4:3, where “separated” and “set apart” mean, to be made honourable.

Verse 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye] Or, as the black of the daughter of eye. Take as much care to preserve me now by Divine influence, as thou hast to preserve my eye by thy good providence. Thou hast entrenched it deeply in the skull; hast ramparted it with the forehead and cheek-bones; defended it by the eyebrow, eyelids, and eyelashes; and placed it in that situation where the hands can best protect it. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings] This is a metaphor taken from the hen and her chickens. See it explained at large in the note on Matthew 23:37. The Lord says of his followers, Zecariah 2:8: “He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye.” How dear are our eyes to us! how dear must his followers be to God!

Verses 8, 9. Keep me as the apple of the eye — Which thou hast marvellously fenced on every side, and which men use their utmost care and diligence to preserve. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings — Protect me from my enemies, visible and invisible, as a hen protects her chickens from birds of prey. There seems also to be an allusion to the wings of the cherubim, overshadowing the mercy-seat. From the wicked — Or, Because of the wicked. From my deadly enemies — Hebrew, Mine enemies in, for, or, against my soul, or, life, whom nothing but my blood or life will satisfy. Who compass me about — And thereby show both their extreme malice and my danger.

8. As the apple of the eye—The pupil, or centre of the eye, a beautiful phrase, denoting a place of great safety, carefully guarded. The Hebrew reads: “Keep me as the little man, the daughter of the eye,” called so because the miniature picture of the man is seen in the door, or opening, of the eye. Mendelssohn reads, “The offspring of the eye;” and Kimchi, “The dark part of the eye, because there is seen in it the image of a man.” (See Deuteronomy 32:10; Lamentations 2:18; Zechariah 2:8.) Shadow of thy wings—The figure changes, but the idea of complete safety is preserved. Psalm 91:4; Matthew 23:37.

Verse 9. From my deadly enemies, who compass me about.] This is a metaphor taken from huntsmen, who spread themselves around a large track of forest, driving in the deer from every part of the circumference, till they are forced into the nets or traps which they have set for them in some particular narrow passage. The metaphor is carried on in the following verses.

Verses 8, 9. Keep me as the apple of the eye — Which thou hast marvellously fenced on every side, and which men use their utmost care and diligence to preserve. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings — Protect me from my enemies, visible and invisible, as a hen protects her chickens from birds of prey. There seems also to be an allusion to the wings of the cherubim, overshadowing the mercy-seat. From the wicked — Or, Because of the wicked. From my deadly enemies — Hebrew, Mine enemies in, for, or, against my soul, or, life, whom nothing but my blood or life will satisfy. Who compass me about — And thereby show both their extreme malice and my danger.

V. 10. They-They live in splendor and prosperity.

Verse 10. They are enclosed in their own fat] Dr. Kennicott, Bishop Horsley, Houbigant, and others, read the passage thus: wrgs wmlbj yl[ alai chablamo sageru, “They have closed their net upon me.” This continues the metaphor which was introduced in the preceding verse, and which is continued in the two following: and requires only that yl[ ali, “upon me,” should began this verse instead of end the preceding; and that blj cheleb, which signifies fat, should be read lbj chebel, which signifies rope, cable, or net. This important reading requires only the interchange of two letters. The Syriac translates it, shut their mouth: but the above emendation is most likely to be true.

They speak proudly.] Having compassed the mountain on which I had taken refuge, they now exult, being assured that they will soon be in possession of their prey.

Verse 10. They are enclosed in their own fat — They live in great splendour and prosperity, while I am exercised with many sore troubles. A similar phrase occurs Job 15:27; Psalm 73:1. Dr. Dodd considers it as “a poetical, or proverbial speech, to signify haughtiness, as caused by wealth or great prosperity; together with that indulgence of the sensual appetites, and disregard to the duties of religion, which are a consequence of such haughtiness.” Jeshurun waxed fat, that is, rich and prosperous; and the consequence was, that he kicked, grew refractory, proud, and insolent, and would not submit to the yoke of God’s law, but lifted up the heel against him. The psalmist adds here, They speak proudly — Boasting of their own power, and of the great things they had done, or would do. “Pride,” says Dr. Horne, “is the child of plenty, begotten by self-indulgence, which hardens the hearts of men against the fear of God and the love of their neighbours; rendering them insensible of the judgments of the former and the miseries of the latter. Let every man take care,” adds he, “that by pampering the flesh, he do not raise up an enemy of this stamp against himself.”

10. From this to verse 14 the character and deadly purposes of the writer’s enemies are described. Enclosed in their own fat—A phrase to be understood figuratively for haughty, insubordinate, and selfish persons, who have become wanton by prosperity.

V. 11. Steps-In all our ways. We go from place to place, to rocks, and caves, and woods; but wheresoever we go they are at hand, and ready to surround us. Eyes-They keep their eyes fixed upon us. Bowing-Couching down upon the earth, that they may watch the fittest opportunity to surprize us.

Verse 11. They have now compassed us in our steps] Instead of wnrva ashshurenu, “our steps,” Dr. Kennicott and others recommend wnyrva ashreynu, “O lucky we, at last we have compassed him.” He cannot now escape; he is sure to fall into our hands.

They have set their eyes bowing down to the earth] All the commentators and critics have missed the very expressive and elegant metaphor contained in this clause. Kennicott says, They drove the hart into toils, and then shot him. Bishop Horsley says, on the clause, They have set their eyes bowing down to the earth: “This is the attitude of huntsmen, taking aim at an animal upon the ground.” No, it is the attitude of the huntsmen looking for the slot, or track of the hart’s, hind’s, or antelope’s foot on the ground. See at the conclusion of the Psalm. See Clarke “Psalm 17:15”.

Verses 11, 12. They have compassed us in our steps — In all our ways. We go from place to place: we flee for safety to rocks, caves, and woods; but whithersoever we go they are at hand, and ready to surround us. See an instance of this 1 Samuel 23:26. They have set their eyes — Namely, upon or against us. They have discovered us, and keep their eyes fixed upon us, that we may not escape, or as intending to shoot at us with their arrows. Bowing down to the earth — Couching and casting themselves down upon the earth, that they may not be discovered, and so may watch the fittest opportunity to surprise us. Which sense is favoured by the next verse, and by comparing Psalm 10:10. The Hebrew, however, xrab twcnl, lintoth baaretz, may be rendered, to cast us down to the earth, that is, They have fixed their eyes upon us, in order that they may watch their opportunity to lay us prostrate on the ground, and destroy us. Like a lion, greedy of his prey — Which is hungry, and therefore cruel. “The similitude of a lion, either roaming abroad in quest of his prey, or couching in secret, ready to spring upon it, the moment it comes within his reach, is often employed by David, to describe the power and malice of his enemies. Christians cannot forget that they likewise have an adversary of the same nature and character; one ever seeking whom, and contriving how, he may devour.” — Horne.

11. They have now compassed us in our steps—They have completely surrounded us, so as to cut off all retreat. “The ‘now’ points to this—that the greatest danger had arrived, and, consequently, also the time for God to help.”—Hengstenberg. Some think this points to Maon: 1 Samuel 23:25, 26. They have set their eyes—The allusion is to a beast of prey, who fixes his eyes on his victim preparatory to springing upon him. Bowing down to the earth—Either for their own concealment, as a lion watching his prey, or, taking the verb transitively, in the sense of depressing, prostrating, read: “They have fixed their eyes [upon us] to prostrate [us] to the earth. See Psalm 10:10. This agrees with the next verse.

Verse 12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey] I believe the word lion is here used to express Saul in his strength, kingly power, and fierce rapacity. See the observations at the end of the Psalm. See Clarke “Psalm 17:15”.

Verses 11, 12. They have compassed us in our steps — In all our ways. We go from place to place: we flee for safety to rocks, caves, and woods; but whithersoever we go they are at hand, and ready to surround us. See an instance of this 1 Samuel 23:26. They have set their eyes — Namely, upon or against us. They have discovered us, and keep their eyes fixed upon us, that we may not escape, or as intending to shoot at us with their arrows. Bowing down to the earth — Couching and casting themselves down upon the earth, that they may not be discovered, and so may watch the fittest opportunity to surprise us. Which sense is favoured by the next verse, and by comparing Psalm 10:10. The Hebrew, however, xrab twcnl, lintoth baaretz, may be rendered, to cast us down to the earth, that is, They have fixed their eyes upon us, in order that they may watch their opportunity to lay us prostrate on the ground, and destroy us. Like a lion, greedy of his prey — Which is hungry, and therefore cruel. “The similitude of a lion, either roaming abroad in quest of his prey, or couching in secret, ready to spring upon it, the moment it comes within his reach, is often employed by David, to describe the power and malice of his enemies. Christians cannot forget that they likewise have an adversary of the same nature and character; one ever seeking whom, and contriving how, he may devour.” — Horne.

12. Like as a lion—Literally, He is like a lion, etc. The sudden change from the plural, in verse 11, to the singular, in this, suggests that the singular be taken distributively. The likeness of him—that is, of every one of them—is as a lion, etc.; or, the singular may represent the body of the wicked collectively.

V. 13. Sword-Thy instrument to execute vengeance upon thine enemies. Do not punish me with this rod: let me fall into thy hands, and not into the hands of men.

Verse 13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him] When he arises to spring upon and tear me to pieces, arise thou, O Lord; disappoint him of his prey; seize him, and cast him down.

Deliver my soul] Save my life.

From the wicked, which is thy sword] Saul is still meant, and we may understand the words as either implying the sword, the civil power, with which God had intrusted him, and which he was now grievously abusing; or, it may mean, deliver me by THY sword-cut him off who wishes to cut me off. On this ground the next verse should be read from men, BY thy hand. So the margin. The hand of God not only meaning his power, but his providence.

Verse 13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him — Hebrew, wynp hmdq, kadmah panaiv, prevent his face; that is, Go forth against him, and meet and face him in battle, as enemies are wont to do. Or, prevent the execution of his mischievous designs against me: stop him in his attempt, and give him the first blow. The wicked, which is thy sword — Or thy hand, as it follows,

13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him—Literally, Rise, O Jehovah, meet his face. The lion couched, with his eye on the prey, is before us in verses 11,

12. God only can step between and face the monster. It may also be equal to “smite his face.” Psalm 3:7. Thy sword—Not which is “thy sword,” but by thy sword.

V. 14. Thy hand-Wherewith thou dost correct me. World-Who set their hearts upon this world, and neither have, nor desire any other portion. Belly-Mind or appetite, as that word is used, Job 20:20. Proverbs 20:30. Treasure-With extraordinary wealth and glory. Children-When many of thy faithful servants are barren, these are blessed with a numerous posterity.

Verse 14. From men of the world, which have] מחלד ממתים mimethim mecheled, from mortal men of time; temporizers; men who shift with the times, who have no fixed principle but one, that of securing their own secular interest: and this agrees with what follows-which have their portion in this life; who never seek after any thing spiritual; who have bartered heaven for earth, and have got the portion they desired; for thou fillest their belly with thy hid treasure. Their belly-their sensual appetites-is their god; and, when their animal desires are satisfied, they take their rest without consideration, like the beasts that perish.

Their portion in this life] בחיים bachaiyim, in lives, probably meaning heritable lands and estates; for they leave them to their children, they descend to posterity, and every one has his life portion in them. They are lands of lives.

They are full of children] Have a numerous offspring, whom they educate in the same principles, and to whom they leave a large earthly patrimony, and who spend it as their fathers have done, and perhaps even more dissolutely. Often covetous fathers lay up riches, which profligate sons scatter to all the winds of heaven. I have seen many instances of this.

verse 14, that is, thy instrument to execute vengeance upon thine enemies, or to chastise and exercise thy people; for which latter reason the Assyrian is termed God’s rod, Isaiah 10:5, as being raised up and appointed for the correction of God’s people, Habakkuk 1:12. The sense therefore is, Do not punish me by this rod: let me fall into thy hands, and not into the hands of wicked men, 2 Samuel 24:14. The words, however, may be rendered, Let thy sword deliver me from the wicked: thy hand, O Lord, from men: verse 14, from those men, who are of this world: the sword and hand of Jehovah being frequently used to denote his power and vengeance. Verse 14. From men which are thy hand — Wherewith thou dost correct me. From men of the world — Who prosper in, and set their hearts upon, this vain and transitory world, and neither have, nor choose, nor desire, any other portion or felicity: who are actuated by the spirit of the world, walk according to the course of this world, are in love with the wealth and pleasure of this world, eager in the pursuits of it, making them their business; and at ease in the enjoyments of it, making them their happiness: such as, in our Lord’s language, have their reward here, and are to expect none hereafter. The Hebrew dljm µytm, methim mecheled, means, properly, mortals of the world, a world cessans, instabilis, et transiens, perishing, unstable, and transient, as Buxtorff interprets the word — who, though dying men, in a world continually changing, and at last passing away, are content to have their portion in it; looking upon the reputed good things of it as the best things, and sufficient to make them happy; choosing them accordingly, placing their felicity in enjoying them, aiming at them as their chief good, and, if they attain them, resting satisfied therewith, and neither looking farther, nor taking care to provide for another world. Now, Lord, shall men of this character, men so unreasonable, so unwise, so sottish; men so earthly, so sensual, so grovelling, so like the beasts that perish; shall men of this sort be supported and countenanced against those that honour thee, by preferring thy favour, and the enjoyment of thee, before all the wealth, and honour, and pleasures of this world? Whose belly thou fillest — That is, whose mind or appetite thou satisfiest, with thy hid treasure, that is, not only with common mercies, such as food and raiment, but with the choicest of earthly things, such as men are wont to hide or keep in their treasures; with wealth, and glory, and all the delights and comforts of the present life: “whom thou permittest to enjoy thy temporal blessings in abundance, as if it were to convince us in what estimation we ought to hold the world when we see the largest shares of it dealt out to the most worthless of the sons of Adam.” They are full of children — While many of thy faithful servants are barren, these are blessed with a numerous posterity. Or, as µynb w[bcy jisbegnu banim, may be rendered, their children are filled up, or satisfied, namely, as well as themselves. There is abundantly enough, both for them and for their children, and even for their children’s children, for they leave the residue of their substance to their babes — “After living in plenty, perhaps to a good old age, they leave behind them a numerous and flourishing posterity, who inherit their estates, and go on, as their fathers did before them, without piety to God, or charity to the poor. From these men and their ways we have all reason to say with David, Good Lord, deliver us.” — Horne.

Ver. 14. Men—which have their portion in this life, as in Luke 16:25. The holy patriarchs, on the contrary, expected their portion in the life to come, and died believing in the promises. The Lord kept David under the shadow of his wings, safe from Saul’s lions, that lurked for his life.

14. Thy hand—By thy hand; same as by thy sword, verse 13. Men of the world—The word “world,” here, comes from the idea of time, duration, and means the passing world, this temporary state of things, same as aiwn. Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19. Men of the world, therefore, are men who live for temporary and perishable things, same as “children of this world,” (Luke 16:8,) “man of the earth,” (Psalm 10:18,) which see. Their portion in this life— “This life” is opposed to the life to come, as time is to eternity. See Job 21:13, 14; Luke 6:24; 16:25. No language could more clearly define the sensuous and the spiritual character, the temporary present and the eternal future life, the carnally minded and the spiritually minded, the lovers of this world and the lovers of God, as unfolded in the New Testament. Full of children—Satisfied with children. Wealth and a numerous posterity were their portion, and in these they rested all their hope.

V. 15. I will-I do not place my portion in earthly treasures, but in beholding God’s face, in the enjoyment of God’s presence and favour; which is enjoyed in part in this life, but not fully. Satisfied-The time is coming, wherein I shall be abundantly satisfied with beholding thy face. Awake-When I arise from he dead. Likeness-With the image of God stamped upon my glorified soul.

Verse 15. As for me] I cannot be satisfied with such a portion. I will behold thy face] Nothing but an evidence of thy approbation can content my soul.

In righteousness] I cannot have thy approbation unless I am conformed to thy will. I must be righteous in order that my heart and life may please thee.

I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.] Nothing but God can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit. He made it with infinite capacities and desires; and he alone, the infinite Good, can meet and gratify these desires, and fill this all-capacious mind. No soul was ever satisfied but by God; and he satisfies the soul only by restoring it to his image, which, by the fall, it has lost.

I think there is an allusion here to the creation of Adam. When God breathed into him the breath of lives, and he became a living soul, he would appear as one suddenly awaked from sleep. The first object that met his eyes was his glorious Creator, and being made in his image and in his likeness, he could converse with him face to face-was capable of the most intimate union with him, because he was filled with holiness and moral perfection. Thus was he satisfied, the God of infinite perfection and purity filling all the powers and faculties of his soul. David sees this in the light of the Divine Spirit, and knows that his happiness depends on being restored to this image and likeness; and he longs for the time when he shall completely arise out of the sleep and death of sin, and be created anew after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness. I do not think that he refers to the resurrection of the body, but to the resurrection of the soul in this life; to the regaining the image which Adam lost. The paraphrase in my old Psalter understands the whole of this Psalm as referring to the persecution, passion, death, and resurrection of Christ; and so did several of the primitive fathers, particularly St. Jerome and St. Augustine. I shall give a specimen from Psalm 17:11:— Projicientes me, nunc circumdederunt me: oculos suos statuerunt declinare in terram.

Trans. Forth castand me now, thai haf umgyfen me: thair egheu thai sette to heelde in the erde.

Par.—Forth kasten me out of the cite, als the stede had bene fyled of me: now thai haf umgyfen me in the cros hyngand, als folk that gedyrs til a somer gamen: for thai sett thair eghen, that es the entent of thaire hert to heeld in the erde; that es, in erdly thynges to covayte tham, and haf tham. And thai wende qwen thai slew Crist that he had suffird al the ill, and thai nane.

Perhaps some of my readers may think that this needs translating, so far does our present differ from our ancient tongue.

Text.—They have now cast me forth; they have surrounded me: their eyes they set down to the earth.

Par.—They have cast me out of the city, as if the state were to be defiled by me: now they have surrounded me hanging on the cross, as people gathered together at summer games. For they set their eyes, that is, the intent of their heart, down to the earth; that is, earthly things, to covet them and to have them: and they thought, when they slew Christ, that he had suffered all the ill, and they none.

BY the slot or track of the hart on the ground, referred to in Psalm 17:11, experienced huntsmen can discern whether there have been a hart there, whether he has been there lately, whether the slot they see be the track of a hart or a hind, and whether the animal be young or old. All these can be discerned by the slot. And if the reader have that scarce book at hand, Tuberville on Hunting, 4to, 1575 or 1611, he will find all this information in chap. xxii., p. 63, entitled, The Judgment and Knowledge by the Slot of a Hart; and on the same page; a wood-cut, representing a huntsman with his eyes set, bowing down to the earth, examining three slots which he had just found. The cut is a fine illustration of this clause. Saul and his men were hunting David, and curiously searching every place to find out any track, mark, or footstep, by which they might learn whether he had been in such a place, and whether he had been there lately. Nothing can more fully display the accuracy and intensity of this search than the metaphor contained in the above clause. He who has been his late Majesty’s huntsmen looking for the slot in Windsor Forest will see the strength and propriety of the figure used by the psalmist. Ver. 12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey.] This is the picture of Saul. While his huntsmen were beating every bush, prying into every cave and crevice, and examining every foot of ground to find out a track, Saul is ready, whenever the game is started, to spring upon, seize, and destroy it. The metaphors are well connected, well sustained, and strongly expressive of the whole process of this persecution.

In the ninth verse the huntsmen beat the forest to raise and drive in the game. In the tenth they set their nets, and speak confidently of the expected success. In the eleventh, they felicitate themselves on having found the slot, the certain indication of the prey being at hand. And in the twelfth, the king of the sport is represented as just ready to spring upon the prey; or, as having his bow bent, and his arrow on the string, ready to let fly the moment the prey appears. It is worthy of remark, that kings and queens were frequently present, and were the chiefs of the sport; and it was they who, when he had been killed, broke up the deer: 1. Slitting down the brisket with their knife or sword; and, 2. Cutting off the head. And, as Tuberville published the first edition of his book in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, he gives a large wood-cut, p. 133, representing this princess just alighted from her horse-the stag stretched upon the ground-the huntsman kneeling, holding the fore foot of the animal with his left hand, and with his right presenting a knife to the queen for the purpose of the breaking up. As the second edition was published in the reign of James the First, the image of the queen is taken out and a whole length of James introduced in the place.

The same appears in Tuberville’s Book of Falconrie, connected with the above. In p. 81, edition 1575, where the flight of the hawk at the heron is represented, the queen is seated on her charger: but in the edition of 1611 King James is placed on the same charger, the queen being removed. The lion is the monarch of the forest; and is used successfully here to represent Saul, king of Israel, endeavouring to hunt down David; hemming him in on every side; searching for his footsteps; and ready to spring upon him, shoot him with his bow, or pierce him with his javelin, as soon as he should be obliged to flee from his last cover. The whole is finely imagined, and beautifully described.

Verse 15. As for me — I do not envy their felicity, but my hopes and happiness are of another nature. I will (or, shall) behold thy face — I do not place my portion in earthly and temporal pleasures, as they do, but in beholding God’s face: that is, in the enjoyment of God’s presence and favour; which is, indeed, enjoyed in part in this life, but not fully, and to entire satisfaction, of which David here speaks, as appears from the last clause of this verse; the sight of God, and of his face, being frequently spoken of, both in the Old and the New Testament, as a privilege denied even to the saints in this life, and peculiar to the next life: in righteousness — In holiness, internal as well as external, without which no man shall see the Lord, Hebrews 12.; only the pure in heart being admitted to this high honour and unspeakable happiness, Matthew 5:8. He therefore that has this hope in him, must purify himself as he is pure, 1 John 3:3. But the meaning probably is rather, through righteousness, for, grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. That is, 1st, Through righteousness imputed, or justification, Romans 4:2-8. This was experienced by David, as he testifies, Psalm 32:5, and 103:3; and he sets forth the blessedness of it in the beginning of the former of these Psalms, as well as in many other places. Hereby he was entitled to this happiness, for, being justified by grace, and acquitted from condemnation, he was made an heir of it, Titus 3:7. 2d, Through righteousness implanted in him, or through the regeneration and sanctification of his nature, or the Spirit of God, and his various graces dwelling in his soul, and especially shedding abroad in his heart the love of God and all mankind. Hereby he had a meetness for the enjoyment of this felicity, Colossians 1:12. And 3d, Through practical righteousness, flowing from both the former, Titus 3:8; Ephesians 2:10; Luke 1:6. To the absolute necessity of which, our Lord, St. John, and all the apostles bear continual testimony. See Matthew 7:21; 1 John 3:4-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9,

10. In this way he was led to that vision of God to which he had a title, through his justification, and for which he was prepared by his sanctification. Remember, reader, it is only by faith in him who is the Lord our righteousness that thou canst be made a partaker of righteousness in these three absolutely necessary and closely connected branches of it. O seek this without delay, and with thy whole heart! I shall be satisfied — However distressed and exercised with trials and troubles I may be now, the time is coming when I shall be abundantly satisfied, namely, with beholding God’s face and enjoying his glorious presence, which to me is more desirable, and will be infinitely more satisfactory, and full of consolation, than all the possessions of this world. When I awake with thy likeness — When I arise from the dead, receive a body conformed to Christ’s glorious body; and as I have borne the image of the earthly Adam, shall also bear that of the heavenly; when the image of God shall be completely and indelibly stamped on my glorified soul; and I shall be made fully like him, and therefore shall see him as he is, Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:49; Revelation 22:4; 1 John 3:2.

15. As for me—The pronoun is emphatic, and marks the contrast between the psalmist and the “men of the world,” just mentioned. So Psalm 73:28: “But, [as to me,] it is good for me to draw near to God,” etc. I will behold thy face in righteousness—An expression like Job 19:26, and Psalm 11:7, on which last see note, and compare 1 John 3:2. Clearly this hope is to be realized only in the life to come. When I awake—To apply this to awaking from natural sleep, or, figuratively, to coming forth in new vigor from the night of affliction, completely destroys the sense. He is contrasting the temporal with the eternal, this world with the next. To “awake” from the sleep of death was not an uncommon figure in Old Testament times. See 2 Kings 4:31; Job 14:12; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2. A resurrection from the grave is here anticipated as an object of faith in language as full and literal as any in which Messianic prophecy has foretold the Messiah. See on Psalm 16:9-11. Likeness— The word means form, shape, similitude, and in Numbers 12:8, it would seem to denote a symbolic form of God, as the shekinah. Resemblance to God was the highest idea of perfection to the Hebrew, grounded on Genesis 1:26. It also is the point of the temptation, (Genesis 3:5,) where, instead of “ye shall be as gods,” read “ye shall be as God.” If the objective idea of form is at all involved in the word, we do not dissent, for the New Testament statements imply as much of the glorified state: (see 1 Corinthians 15:49; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2;) but the connexion of the text requires specially the subjective or moral sense—the similitude of character—just as “I will behold thy face in righteousness” is not to be understood of objective vision, but of subjective experience—perception joined with communion—and exactly accords with 1 John 3:2: “We shall see him as he is.” So, also, I shall… awake with thy likeness, is parallel to the apostle’s statement, “We shall be (omoioi autw) like him.” The same Hebrew word in Exodus 20:4, is rendered by the Septuagint omoiwma, (likeness,) a word of the same family as that used by the apostle above. Indeed, 1 John 3:2 is a complete parallel of the text, and they together bear a cognate testimony to the glorious doctrine of the resurrection of the body after a divine model.