Psalms · Chapter 63

V. 1. Early-Heb. in the morning, Which implies the doing it with diligence and speed. Thirsteth-For the enjoyment of thee in thy house and ordinances. Flesh-The desire of my soul, is so vehement, that my very body feels the effects of it. No water-In a land where I want the refreshing waters of the sanctuary.

Verse 1. O God, thou art my God] He who can say so, and feels what he says, need not fear the face of any adversary. He has God, and all sufficiency in him.

Early will I seek thee] From the dawn of day. Deuteronomy luce, from the light, Vulgate; as soon as day breaks; and often before this, for his eyes prevented the night-watches; and he longed and watched for God more than they who watched for the morning. The old Psalter says, God my God, til the fram light I wake; and paraphrases thus: God of all, thurgh myght; thu is my God, thurgh lufe and devocion; speciali till the I wak. Fra light, that is, fra thy tym that the light of thi grace be in me, that excites fra night of sine. And makes me wak till the in delite of luf, and swetnes in saul. Thai wak till God, that setes all thar thoght on God, and for getns the werld. Thai slep till God, that settis thair hert on ani creatur.—I wak till the, and that gars me thirst in saule and body.

What first lays hold of the heart in the morning is likely to occupy the place all the day. First impressions are the most durable, because there is not a multitude of ideas to drive them out, or prevent them from being deeply fixed in the moral feeling.

In a dry and thirsty land] xrab beerets, IN a land: but several MSS. have xrak keerets, AS a dry and thirsty land, &c.

Verse 1. O God — O thou who art God, and the only living and true God, the author and end of all things, the Governor and Judge of men and angels, and the sole object of their worship; thou art my God — Mine by creation, and therefore my rightful owner and ruler; mine by covenant and my own consent, and therefore the object of my highest esteem, most fervent desire, and most entire trust and confidence. Early will I seek thee — Which clause is all expressed in one word in the Hebrew, Ërjva, ashacherecha, (a most significant term, from rjv, shachar, aurora, vel diluculum, the dawn of day, or morning twilight,) a phrase which no translation can very happily express. Buxtorf interprets it thus, Quasi aurorare, vel diluculare dicas, words which will not admit of being rendered into our language. The sense of them, however, is, I will prevent, or be as early as the first approach of light in seeking thee. Perhaps no version can better express the precise meaning and force of the original term than that of the Seventy, namely, prov se orqrizw, but it is equally difficult, if not impossible, to be literally translated into English. We find the same Hebrew phrase Isaiah 26:9, which our translators interpret in the same manner, namely, “With my spirit within me will I seek thee early.” The primary meaning of the word early, in both passages, is early in the morning, or before, or with the dawn of day; which implies the doing it (namely, seeking God) with the greatest speed and diligence, taking the first and best time for it. And to seek him, the reader will observe, is to covet his favour as our chief good, and to consult his glory as our highest end: it is to seek an acquaintance with him by his word, and mercy from him by prayer: it is to seek union with him, and a conformity to him by his Spirit. My soul thirsteth for thee — Eagerly desires to approach thee, to have access to thee, and to enjoy communion with thee. Thirsting, in all languages, is frequently used for earnestly longing after, or passionately desiring any thing. My flesh longeth for thee — Or, languisheth, or pineth away, as hmk, chamah, the word here used, seems properly to signify. R. Sal. renders it, arescit, it is dried up, withered, or wasted. In some approved lexicons it is interpreted of the eye growing dim, the colour changing, and the mind being weakened. As used here by the psalmist, the word implies the utmost intenseness and fervency of desire; as though it impaired his sight, altered the very hue of his body, and even injured his understanding; effects oftentimes produced by eager and unsatisfied desires. In a dry and thirsty land where no water is — Where I have not the refreshing waters of the sanctuary, and where I thirst not so much for water to refresh my body, although I also greatly want that, as for thy presence, and the communications of thy grace to refresh my soul. He experienced the vehemence of natural thirst in a wilderness, where he could get no supply of water; and by that sensation he expresses the vehemence of his spiritual thirst, of his desire after God, and the ordinances of his worship.

1. My God—The “Our Father” and “Abba Father” of the Old Testament, expressive of the confidence and submission of all acceptable prayer or praise. Early—At daybreak, to be taken literally. See on Psalm 46:5. Soul—It occurs four times, and “is the characteristic word of the psalm.”—Jebb. Flesh longeth—The soul thirsted for God, the fountain of living water; the flesh languished from hunger for the bread of life. Dry and thirsty land—Dry and weary land. A land which exhausted life and furnished no supply. To be taken literally of the land, but as an emblem, also, of his condition in exile, cut off from the ordinances of worship and the fellowship of saints. Where no water is—Not absolutely, but where it was frightfully scarce. En-gedi, now Ain-jiddy, means “fountain of the kid,” from a beautiful fountain that breaks out of the rocks above the ruins of the ancient city, and about 400 feet above the plain. But such fountains are very rare in the desert. The city stood far south, near the shore of the Dead Sea, in the heart of the desert, south by east from Hebron. Its immediate vicinity was exceedingly fertile and beautiful, but David was in the adjacent desert mountains, probably el-Mersed, on the north.

V. 2. To see-To enjoy. Power-The powerful and glorious effects of thy gracious presence.

Verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory-in the sanctuary.] In his public ordinances God had often showed his power in the judgments he executed, in the terror he impressed, and in awakening the sinful; and his glory in delivering the tempted, succouring the distressed, and diffusing peace and pardon through the hearts of his followers. God shows his power and glory in his ordinances; therefore public worship should never be neglected. We must see God, says the old Psalter, that he may see us. In his temple he dispenses his choicest blessings.

Verse 2. To see — To enjoy, as seeing often means; thy power and glory — The powerful and glorious effects and evidences of thy gracious presence: to see them here in this wilderness, as I have seen them in the tabernacle; to see them in secret, as I have seen them in the solemn assembly: or, to see them again in the sanctuary, as I have formerly seen them there. He longs to be brought out of this wilderness, not that he might see his friends again, and be restored to the pleasures and gayeties of the court, but that he might have access to the sanctuary; not to see the priests there, and the ceremonies of the worship, but to see the power and glory, that is, the glorious power, or powerful glory, of God, which is put for all his attributes and perfections: that he might increase in his acquaintance with them, and have the suitable impressions of them made upon his heart: in other words, so to behold the glory of the Lord as to be changed into the same image, 2 Corinthians 3:18. The phraseology of the psalmist should be observed here; he does not say, to see thy power and glory as I have seen them, but as I have seen thee. We cannot, indeed, see the essence of God, but we see him, in the sense meant by the psalmist, in seeing by faith his gracious and glorious perfections. With the remembrance of these sights David here pleaseth himself: those were precious minutes which he spent in communion with God: he loved to recollect and dwell upon them: of these he lamented the loss, and to these he longed to be restored. Reader, are thy views and feelings of this kind? Dost thou thus esteem, desire, and delight in God’s ordinances? Art thou thus pained when deprived of them, and thus delighted when privileged with the enjoyment of them? And dost thou thus desire, and expect, and seek, and find the presence of God in them? “The true Christian,” says Dr. Horne, “dedicates to God ‘the sweet hour of prime,’ he opens the eyes of his understanding, together with those of his body, and awakes each morning to righteousness. He arises with an inextinguishable thirst after those comforts which the world cannot give, and has immediate recourse, by prayer, to the fountain of the water of life; ever longing to behold the divine power and glory in the sanctuary above, of which he has been favoured with some glimpse in the services of the church below.”

2. Sanctuary—The holy place. A title given to the sacred tabernacle, Exodus 25:8, first settled at Shiloh, Joshua 18:1, afterwards at Nob, 1 Samuel 21:1-6, and later at Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 16:39. The ark of the covenant had been, from the date of Eli’s judicature, at Kirjath-jearim. 1 Samuel 7:1, 2. Still the tabernacle was revered as holy, and oracles were given by Urim and Thummim, and answers of prayer obtained. 1 Kings 3:4, 5; 1 Chronicles 16:39. The tabernacle worship still supplied the highest manifested glory of God known in the Hebrew worship, for which the exiled psalmist now longs.

Verse 3. Thy loving-kindness is better than life] This is the language of every regenerate soul. But O how few prefer the approbation of God to the blessings of life, or even to life itself in any circumstances! But the psalmist says, Thy loving-kindness, Ëdsj chasdecha, thy effusive mercy, is better מחיים mechaiyim, than LIVES: it is better than, or good beyond, countless ages of human existence.

My lips shall praise thee.] Men praise, or speak well, of power, glory, honour, riches, worldly prospects and pleasures; but the truly religious speak well of GOD, in whom they find infinitely more satisfaction and happiness than worldly men can find in the possession of all earthly good.

Verse 3. Because, &c. — Here we see the reason of the psalmist’s thirst after God, as is expressed in the two preceding verses; thy loving-kindness is better than life — That is, the discoveries and influences of thy grace and favour, which thou usually impartest to thy people in thy sanctuary, are more durable, and comfortable, and satisfactory than the present life, with all the imaginary advantages belonging to it. Mark well this declaration of the psalmist, reader. God’s loving-kindness is in itself, and in the account of all the saints, better than life, and all the comforts of life; life in its best estate; long life and prosperity. It is our spiritual and eternal life, and that is better than our natural and temporal life. It is better, a thousand times, to die in God’s favour, than to live under his wrath, under which we should of course be if we were deprived of his loving-kindness. My lips shall praise thee — Both for my former tastes and experiences of this truth, which I have just expressed, and for the assurance I have of being restored to the same blessed enjoyments which I have formerly had. Observe again, reader, those that have their hearts refreshed with the tokens of God’s favour, ought to have them enlarged in his praises. Great reason indeed have such to bless God, for they have better provisions and better possessions than the wealth of this world could afford them; and in the service of God, and in communion with him, have better employments and better enjoyments than they could have in the business and converse of this life.

3. Thy loving kindness is better than life—Thy mercy, by which life eternal is provided, is better than natural life with kingly honours super-added. Compare 1 John 3:1. The words, as Mrs. Conant beautifully says, are “an implication of immortality. In what sense could his ‘loving kindness’ be ‘better than life,’ if it ceased with the cessation of ‘life?’ A conscious possession, independent of the earthly ‘life’ and superior to it—something for which the earthly life might properly be sacrificed, something therefore indestructible by the death of the body— can alone come up to the measure of the thought here expressed.” See Dr. Conant’s version of the Psalms, in loc. These “implications of immortality” are everywhere scattered over the pages of the Old Testament. My lips shall praise thee—Because, notwithstanding all my sufferings, the paramount good remains.

Verse 4. I will lift up my hands in thy name.] I will take God for my portion. I will dedicate myself to him, and will take him to witness that I am upright in what I profess and do. Pious Jews, in every place of their dispersion, in all their prayers, praises, contracts, &c., stretched out their hands towards Jerusalem, where the true God had his temple, and where he manifested his presence.

Verse 4. Thus will I bless thee — That is, so as I have done, and have now said. As I have begun, I will go on: the present devout affections shall not pass away like the morning cloud, but shine more and more like the morning sun. Or, for this reason, being so sensible of the sweetness of thy favour; or, certainly, as the particle ˆk, cheen, is sometimes used. While I live — I will persevere in this work of blessing and praising thee: it shall be an important part of the business of my whole life. Through thy grace I will retain a sense of thy former favours, and repeat my thanksgivings for them; and every day give thanks for the benefits with which I am daily loaded. I will lift up my hands — Toward thee, in heaven, in prayers and praises, to my duty, and against my enemies; in thy name — According to thy command, with confidence in thy name, or thy nature and attributes, and in the strength of thy Spirit and grace.

Verse 4. I will lift up my hands in thy name. This was swearing fidelity to the Lord. The heathens did the same to their idols; they kissed their hand, or they stretched it out. Job 31:27. Psalm 44:20. David’s generals did the same, when they swore fidelity to Solomon. 1 Chronicles 29:24. An Indian writer, cited by our missionaries, speaks to the same effect; “An idol is not Brumha [God] therefore lift not up your hand to it.” Virgil refers to the same custom among the gentiles.

Oremus pacem, et dextras tendamus inermes.

ÆNEID, 11:414.

“Let us ask for peace, and extend our right hands unarmed.”

4. I will lift up my hands—In solemn posture of prayer. In thy name— Depending only on thee for such deliverance as thou canst sanction.

V. 5. Satisfied-When thou shalt fulfil my earnest desire of enjoying thee in the sanctuary.

Verse 5. My soul shall be satisfied] I shall have, in the true worshipping of thee, as complete a sensation of spiritual sufficiency and happiness, so that no desire shall be left unsatisfied, as any man can have who enjoys health of body, and a fulness of all the necessaries, conveniences, and comforts of life.

Verses 5, 6. My soul shall be satisfied — Not only as with bread, which is nourishing; but as with marrow and fatness — Which are pleasant and delicious; namely, when thou shalt fulfil my desire, and bring me to enjoy thee in the sanctuary; though now in my exile I groan and pine away for want of that mercy; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips — I will praise thee openly: I will confess with my mouth as well as believe in my heart: and I will praise thee cheerfully, from a principle of gratitude and holy joy. When I remember thee upon my bed — During the solitude and stillness of the night; a fit season for meditation on the daily repeated and long-continued mercies of God. David was so full of business all day, shifting for his own safety, that he had scarcely leisure to apply himself solemnly to religious exercises; and therefore rather than want time for them he denied himself his necessary sleep. Hebrew, upon my beds, implying that he was frequently obliged to change his bed and lodging, being driven from place to place. In the night watches — In the several seasons of the night, which were divided into three or four watches. When others sleep securely, my sleep is interrupted by perplexity and grief, but my thoughts are fixed on thee. David was now in continual peril of his life, so that we may suppose care and fear often held his eyes waking, and gave him wearisome nights; but then he entertained and comforted himself with thoughts of God and things divine. So ought we to do when sleep departs from our eyes, through pain or sickness of body, or any disturbance of mind.

5. My soul shall be satisfied—The language is spiritual. “Soul” is here the rational nature—the ego—the same as “thirsted after God,” (verse 1,) and “satisfied,” or satiated, expresses the abundant supply of every desire. This fulness David finds only in God. John 1:16. Marrow and fatness— Synonymous words, literally, fatness and fatness, a figure of a sumptuous banquet of all that is most excellent.

Verse 6. When I remember thee upon my bed] I will lie down in thy fear and love; that I may sleep soundly under thy protection, and awake with a sense of thy presence and approbation; and when I awake in the night watches, or be awakened by them, I will spend the waking moments in meditation upon thee.

Verses 5, 6. My soul shall be satisfied — Not only as with bread, which is nourishing; but as with marrow and fatness — Which are pleasant and delicious; namely, when thou shalt fulfil my desire, and bring me to enjoy thee in the sanctuary; though now in my exile I groan and pine away for want of that mercy; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips — I will praise thee openly: I will confess with my mouth as well as believe in my heart: and I will praise thee cheerfully, from a principle of gratitude and holy joy. When I remember thee upon my bed — During the solitude and stillness of the night; a fit season for meditation on the daily repeated and long-continued mercies of God. David was so full of business all day, shifting for his own safety, that he had scarcely leisure to apply himself solemnly to religious exercises; and therefore rather than want time for them he denied himself his necessary sleep. Hebrew, upon my beds, implying that he was frequently obliged to change his bed and lodging, being driven from place to place. In the night watches — In the several seasons of the night, which were divided into three or four watches. When others sleep securely, my sleep is interrupted by perplexity and grief, but my thoughts are fixed on thee. David was now in continual peril of his life, so that we may suppose care and fear often held his eyes waking, and gave him wearisome nights; but then he entertained and comforted himself with thoughts of God and things divine. So ought we to do when sleep departs from our eyes, through pain or sickness of body, or any disturbance of mind.

6. Meditate… in the… watches—Through all “the night watches”—the whole night. The language of this verse does not accord with a condition of alarm, agitation, and precipitate flight, such as David experienced the first night of his escape from Absalom; nor do these calm night meditations answer to the deep disturbance and casting about of his soul then. (See introductory note.) But they perfectly suit the serene safety which ensued after the peaceful departure of Saul. 1 Samuel 24:22. Night watches— Of these the Hebrews reckoned three: the first, or “beginning of the watches,” ending at midnight, Lamentations 2:19; the “middle watch,” ending at the “cock crowing” or about three o’clock, Judges 7:19; and the “morning watch,” ending at sunrise, Exodus 14:24. In the time of Christ the Jews had adopted the Roman method of reckoning four watches of three hours each, beginning at six o’clock in the evening. Mark 13:35.

Verse 7. Therefore in the shadow of thy wings] I will get into the very secret of thy presence, into the holy of holies, to the mercy-seat, over which the cherubs extend their wings. If the psalmist does not allude to the overshadowing of the mercy-seat by the extended wings of the cherubim, he may have in view, as a metaphor, the young of fowls, seeking shelter, protection, and warmth under the wings of their mothers. See the same metaphor, Psalm 61:4. When a bird of prey appears, the chickens will, by natural instinct, run under the wings of their mothers for protection. The old Psalter translates, And in hiling of thi wenges I sall joy. The paraphrase is curious. “Thou art my helper, in perels; and I can joy in gode dedes in thi hiling, (covering,) for I am thi bride, (bird,) and if thou hil (cover) me noght, the glede (kite) will rawis me, (carry me away.”)

Verse 7. Because thou hast been my help — When other helps and helpers failed me; because I have known by experience both thy power and will to save those that trust in thee; therefore, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice — Hebrew, ˆnra, aranneen, will I sing: I will confide in thee for the future, and will do it with delight and comfort: I will rest securely and joyfully, and will sing thy praises under thy protection. He alludes either to the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the mercy-seat, between which God was said to dwell; or to the wings of a fowl, under which her helpless young ones have shelter. Thus the recollection of past mercies inclines the true believer still to have recourse, in all his dangers and difficulties, to his strong helper, and to put himself and all his affairs under the wings of an overshadowing providence.

7. Because… therefore—His past experience offers assurance to faith of future deliverances. Thus “tribulation worketh patience,… experience,… hope.” Romans 5:3, 4. Wings—Emblem of tender care and protection. Luke 13:34. The figure always refers to the cherubim whose wings shadowed the “mercy seat.”

Verse 8. My soul followeth hard after thee] Ëyrja yvpn hqbd dabekah naphshi achareycha, “My soul cleaves (or) is glued after thee.” This phrase not only shows the diligence of the pursuit, and the nearness of the attainment, but also the fast hold he had got of the mercy of his God.

Verse 8. My soul followeth hard after thee — Pursues communion with thee, and a conformity to thee, with earnest, increasing, and restless desire, lively expectation, and unwearied diligence: follows thee resolvedly, and, as it were, step by step, when thou seemest to depart, and withdraw thyself from me, as the Hebrew phrase here used implies. My soul and spirit cleave, or adhere to thee, (as the word hqbd, dabekah, is rendered, Genesis 2:24; Jeremiah 13:11, and elsewhere,) even when my body is absent from thy sanctuary. Thy right hand upholdeth me — Supports and preserves me from sinking under the many trials and troubles which have lain, and still lie, heavy upon me; and upholds me in my devotions, maintaining holy desires in my heart, and preventing my being weary in thy service: so that I do not lose my labour in following hard after thee. Let us always remember we should fail and be weary of following the Lord, and certainly should not follow him fully, if his right hand did not uphold us. It is he that strengthens us in the pursuit of himself, that raises and supports good affections in us, and encourages and comforts us, while we are labouring after what we have not yet attained. It is by his power that we are kept from falling, and enabled to persevere in his ways. Let him therefore have the praise and glory!

8. My soul followeth hard after thee—Or, my soul taketh fast hold behind thee. The figure is that of following close behind, and taking fast hold meanwhile of, the person leading. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” 1 Corinthians 6:17; see Jeremiah 13:11. Thy right hand upholdeth me—See Song of Solomon 2:6. It is not enough that we should take firm hold of God, but God must also take hold of us. Our feeble grasp would be insufficient, but “none can pluck us out of his hand.” “Soul,” here, must be understood of the inner and spiritual nature, as in verses 1, 5.

V. 9. Shall go-Into the grave.

Verse 9. Lower parts of the earth.] They are appointed, in the just judgment of God, to destruction; they shall be slain and buried in the earth, and shall be seen no more. Some understand the passage as referring to the punishment of hell; which many supposed to be in the centre of the earth. So the old Psalter,—Thai sall entir in till lagher pine of hell. Lahher or laigher, lower, undermost.

Verses 9, 10. But those that seek my soul, &c. — That seek to take away my life; shall go into the lower parts of the earth — Into the grave; and, if they repent not, into hell. God shall cut them off, and send them to their own place. Their enmity to David, and opposition to the counsel of God respecting him, he foresaw would be their death and their damnation, their ruin and their eternal ruin. They shall fall by the sword — Shall die in battle, as he foretold 1 Samuel 26:10, and as was accomplished in Saul and his followers, who were David’s greatest enemies. They shall be a portion for foxes — The carcasses of some of them shall lie unburied upon the earth, and thereby shall become a prey to wild and ravenous beasts, and especially to foxes, which abounded in those parts.

Ver. 9. The lower parts of the earth; that is, to hell, for graves they had none. See on Job 26:5.

9. But those—He turns from these soul yearnings and sweet thoughts of God to the stern battle of life before him. The strong adversative force of the conjunction, joined to the pronoun, brings out the sharp contrast between him and his enemies. That seek my soul, to destroy it—The order of the Hebrew words is, but they to destruction will seek after my soul, that is, to their own destruction, and so the parallel clause, they shall go, etc., shows that it is not what they intended for him, which is clearly enough implied, but what should overtake them, that he is speaking of. The word here rendered destruction radically denotes a loud noise, crash, and means tempestuous overthrow, ruin with a crash. Lower parts of the earth—Not a periphrasis for grave, as elsewhere and as in Ephesians 4:9, for in verse 10 he declares they shall be denied burial, and being a threatened punishment of bad men, it must be understood of punishment in sheol, or the future world, taking the phrase as synonymous with our Lord’s words, John 8:23: “Ye are ‘ek twn katw, (from the beneath,)” using beneath as antithetic to “ta anw, (the above,)” in the same connexion; and more sharply defined verse 44, “Ye are ‘ek patrov tou diabolouv, (from your father the devil.)” And this is further evidence by their condition after death, verse 21, “Whither I go ye cannot come,” a denunciation conditioned on their “dying in their sins,” which shows that he is speaking of the future state. In the same verse (verse 23) our Lord says, “Ye are ‘ek tou kosmou, (from the world,)” but kosmov, world, here is to be taken figuratively in the morally bad sense of a state of society at enmity with God, as in John 15:8, 9; 1 John 2:15, 16. Different is John 3:31, where ek thv ghv, (of the earth,) is to be understood of humble, imperfect, perishable origin. It is clear, therefore, that both the psalmist and the Saviour, in the words in question, use language Hebraistically of future punishment.

V. 10. Foxes-Their carcases shall become a prey to wild and ravenous creatures.

Verse 10. They shall fall by the sword] They shall be poured out by the hand of the sword, Heb. That is, their life’s blood shall be shed either in war, or by the hand of justice.

They shall be a portion for foxes.] They shall be left unburied, and the jackals shall feed upon their dead bodies. Or, being all cut off by utter destruction, their inheritance shall be left for the wild beasts. That which was their portion shall shortly be the portion of the wild beasts of the forest. If he here refers to the destruction of the Babylonians, the prediction has been literally fulfilled. Where ancient Babylon stood, as far as it can be ascertained, is now the hold of dangerous reptiles and ferocious beasts. The jackal, or chokal, is a very ravenous beast, and fond of human flesh. It devours dead bodies, steals infants out of the lap of their mothers, devours alive the sick who are left by the side of the Ganges, and even in the streets of Calcutta has been known to eat persons who were in a state of intoxication. WARD’S Customs.

Verses 9, 10. But those that seek my soul, &c. — That seek to take away my life; shall go into the lower parts of the earth — Into the grave; and, if they repent not, into hell. God shall cut them off, and send them to their own place. Their enmity to David, and opposition to the counsel of God respecting him, he foresaw would be their death and their damnation, their ruin and their eternal ruin. They shall fall by the sword — Shall die in battle, as he foretold 1 Samuel 26:10, and as was accomplished in Saul and his followers, who were David’s greatest enemies. They shall be a portion for foxes — The carcasses of some of them shall lie unburied upon the earth, and thereby shall become a prey to wild and ravenous beasts, and especially to foxes, which abounded in those parts.

10. Sword… foxes—Denoting that they should die violent deaths, and, being unhonoured with a burial, their carcasses would become food for carrion eaters, a punishment and dishonour of no ordinary grade. Foxes, l[v, (shual,) the jackal, a natural association with his present desert life. No animal body in the East can remain long exposed after death without being eaten by dogs or jackals. See 2 Kings 9:35, 36.

V. 11. The king-I who am already anointed king. Every one-That sweareth by the name of God, in truth, and judgment, and righteousness. Every sincere servant and worshipper of God. Shall glory-Shall rejoice in my deliverance.

Verse 11. But the king shall rejoice] David shall come to the kingdom according to the promise of God. Or, if it refer to the captivity, the blood royal shall be preserved in and by Zerubbabel till the Messiah come, who shall be David’s spiritual successor in the kingdom for ever. That sweareth by him] It was customary to swear by the life of the king. The Egyptians swore by the life of Pharaoh; and Joseph conforms to this custom, as may be seen in the book of Genesis, Genesis 42:15, 16. See also 1 Samuel 1:26; 17:55, and Judith 11:7. But here it may refer to GOD. He is THE KING, and swearing by his name signifies binding themselves by his authority, acknowledging his supremacy, and devoting themselves to his glory and service alone.

The Chaldee has: “And the King shall rejoice ahla rmymb bemeymar Eloha, in the WORD of God;” or, in the WORD GOD; Meymar, WORD, being taken here substantially, as in many other places, by the Targumist. The mouth of them that speak lies] The mouth of those who acknowledge lying vanities, that worship false gods, shall be stopped. All false religions shall be destroyed by the prevalence of the truth. For he, CHRIST, shall reign till all his enemies are put under his feet. “Thy kingdom come, and hell’s o’erpower: and to thy sceptre all subdue.” Amen and Amen.

Verse 11. But the king shall rejoice in God — I, who am anointed to be king, and who shall actually be king when these my enemies are fallen by the sword. Every one that sweareth by him — By the name of God, namely, in truth, and judgment, and righteousness, as it is expressed Jeremiah 4:2, that is, every sincere servant and worshipper of God that invokes his name, and makes him the object of his religious reverence and fear: all which is implied in swearing by him, as an oath taken, as in the presence of God, is an immediate appeal and solemn act of worship to him. Accordingly, swearing is often put for the whole worship of God, and swearers by him, for worshippers of him. See Isaiah 45:23, compared with Romans 14:16; Isaiah 65:16. Shall glory — Shall rejoice in my deliverance and exaltation, both for their respect for the honour and service of God, which I shall advance, and for the benefits which all good men and the whole kingdom shall receive by my government: whereas, in Saul’s time, the vilest men were exalted, good men oppressed and persecuted, and the whole kingdom groaned under his tyranny. But the mouth of them that speak lies — That now make it their business to invent or spread slanderous reports concerning me and others of God’s people; shall be stopped — They shall be so silenced that they shall not have a word to say for themselves. He may mean also, that when he should be in power, he would severely restrain and punish such wicked practices. Apply this to Christ’s enemies. Those that speak lies against him, who pervert the right ways of the Lord, and speak ill of his holy religion, their mouths will be stopped too, when the Lord shall come to reckon for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Christ’s second coming will be the everlasting triumph of all his faithful friends and followers, who may therefore now triumph in the believing hopes of it.

Ver. 11. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. How was that accomplished? When Saul came out against David with three thousand of his guards, David marked the place where he lay, and in the dead of night he and the swift-footed Abishai went over to the camp, and found Saul and all around him in profound repose. David restrained Abishai from slaying the Lord’s anointed, but brought away Saul’s spear, and the cruse of water. In the morning David enjoyed a full triumph of generalship over Abner. He cried from the adjacent hill, Oh Abner, Abner; answerest thou not, Abner? Thou art worthy to die, for thou hast not kept the head of my lord the king. Abner made no defence. But Saul found a tongue. Is this thy voice my son David? Thou art more righteous than I. If a man find his enemy will he let him go again? Oh, yesterday it was rebel David, traitor David; to-day, it is my son! The battle was now over. Saul had not only lost his spear, but the whole camp was disarmed. No man in future durst say that David was forming treasons against the life of Saul, or conspiracies against his country.—These, christian, these are the weapons by which thou also shalt subdue all thy foes; for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God.

11. But… king— “King,” according to the date given to the psalm, cannot here mean David, who never assumed that title during the life of Saul, though afterwards he thus spoke of himself in the third person, Psalm 21:1, 7; 61:6. It can, therefore, apply to none but Saul, and this eminently suits the unvarying tenor of David’s loyalty; his high conceptions of the theocracy; his marvellous reverence for Saul as the Lord’s anointed; his constant refusal to take Saul’s life, when in two instances he could have done it with a single stroke; his uniform distinction between Saul as rightful sovereign and those lying flatterers who led him astray; and the unaffected lamentation and inimitable elegy upon his death. It further illustrates his forgiving piety. Every one that sweareth by him—Whether the pronoun refers to “God,” or to “king,” in the preceding clause, may be grammatically indifferent; but it may be urged against the latter, and in favour of the former, that though in a heathen country it might pass as an allowable custom to swear by the king, (see Genesis 42:15,) the Hebrews were strictly forbidden to swear by any but God.

Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20; Isaiah 65:16. What the prophet, Isaiah 45:23, calls “swearing,” the apostle, Romans 14:11, calls “confessing.” It was a religious acknowledgment of the supremacy of God. But the mouth of them that speak lies—This, with the preceding line, forms an antithetic parallelism, falsehood being opposed to truthful swearing in God’s name, and the rejoicing, or boasting in God to the shutting up the mouths of those who “speak lies.” This confirms the sense given of the passage.