Psalms · Chapter 94

Verse 1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth] God is the author of retributive justice, as well as of mercy. This retributive justice is what we often term vengeance, but perhaps improperly; for vengeance with us signifies an excitement of angry passions, in order to gratify a vindictive spirit, which supposes itself to have received some real injury; whereas what is here referred to is that simple act of justice which gives to all their due.

Verses 1-4. O God, to whom vengeance belongeth — To whom, as the supreme Judge of the world, the patron and protector of the righteous, and the declared enemy of all wickedness and wicked men, and to whom alone it belongs to take revenge on those who oppress thy people when they should protect them; show thyself — Make thy justice conspicuous, by speedily avenging thine elect, and rendering a recompense to their enemies. Lift up thyself — To punish thy proud enemies. Be exalted in thine own strength, and let those proud men, who have acted as if they thought none could control them, know that they have a superior. How long shall they utter — Pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth water, (so w[yby, jabbignu, signifies,) and speak hard things — Grievous, insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people; and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves — Of their invincible power, and prosperous success in their wicked designs.

1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth—The original is very vehement: O God of vengeance, Jehovah; God of vengeance, shine forth. “Vengeance” is in the plural, vengeances, or revenge, and is twice repeated to give intensity. The cry comes from the lowest depths. The “shine forth” is a call for such a signal manifestation of God’s power as shall leave no doubt of its divine origin, and finds its ground idea in the theophanies of the cloud in the wilderness and the shekinah. Exodus 16:6, 7, 10; Leviticus 9:23; Numbers 14:10. Compare Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 50:2, 3; 80:1, 2. The spirit and motive of the prayer are explained in verses 2, 3, and the urgent cause of it in verses 5, 6.

Verse 2. Lift up thyself] Exert thy power.

Render a reward to the proud.] To the Babylonians, who oppress and insult us.

Verses 1-4. O God, to whom vengeance belongeth — To whom, as the supreme Judge of the world, the patron and protector of the righteous, and the declared enemy of all wickedness and wicked men, and to whom alone it belongs to take revenge on those who oppress thy people when they should protect them; show thyself — Make thy justice conspicuous, by speedily avenging thine elect, and rendering a recompense to their enemies. Lift up thyself — To punish thy proud enemies. Be exalted in thine own strength, and let those proud men, who have acted as if they thought none could control them, know that they have a superior. How long shall they utter — Pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth water, (so w[yby, jabbignu, signifies,) and speak hard things — Grievous, insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people; and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves — Of their invincible power, and prosperous success in their wicked designs.

2. Reward to the proud—Recompense upon the arrogant. The upon specifies the visitation of personal desert. God will avenge his elect and requite innocent blood. See Deuteronomy 32:35.

Verse 3. How long shall the wicked triumph?] The wicked are often in prosperity; and this only shows us of how little worth riches are in the sight of God, when he bestows them on the most contemptible of mortals. But their time and prosperity have their bounds.

Verses 1-4. O God, to whom vengeance belongeth — To whom, as the supreme Judge of the world, the patron and protector of the righteous, and the declared enemy of all wickedness and wicked men, and to whom alone it belongs to take revenge on those who oppress thy people when they should protect them; show thyself — Make thy justice conspicuous, by speedily avenging thine elect, and rendering a recompense to their enemies. Lift up thyself — To punish thy proud enemies. Be exalted in thine own strength, and let those proud men, who have acted as if they thought none could control them, know that they have a superior. How long shall they utter — Pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth water, (so w[yby, jabbignu, signifies,) and speak hard things — Grievous, insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people; and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves — Of their invincible power, and prosperous success in their wicked designs.

3. How long—Twice uttered for emphasis, implying that the delays of justice are mysterious.

V. 4. Utter-Or pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth waters (so this Hebrew word signifies.) Hard things-Insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people.

Verse 4. They utter and speak] wayby yabbiu, their hearts get full of pride and insolence; and then, from the abundance of such vile hearts, the mouth speaks; and the speech is of hard things, threatenings which they are determined to execute, boastings of their power, authority, &c.

Verses 1-4. O God, to whom vengeance belongeth — To whom, as the supreme Judge of the world, the patron and protector of the righteous, and the declared enemy of all wickedness and wicked men, and to whom alone it belongs to take revenge on those who oppress thy people when they should protect them; show thyself — Make thy justice conspicuous, by speedily avenging thine elect, and rendering a recompense to their enemies. Lift up thyself — To punish thy proud enemies. Be exalted in thine own strength, and let those proud men, who have acted as if they thought none could control them, know that they have a superior. How long shall they utter — Pour forth freely, constantly, abundantly, as a fountain doth water, (so w[yby, jabbignu, signifies,) and speak hard things — Grievous, insolent, and intolerable words against thee and thy people; and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves — Of their invincible power, and prosperous success in their wicked designs.

Verse 5. They break in pieces thy people] This was true of the Babylonians. Nehuchadnezzar slew many; carried the rest into captivity; ruined Jerusalem; overturned the temple; sacked, pillaged, and destroyed all the country.

Verses 5-7. They afflict thy heritage — Those righteous persons whom thou hast chosen for thy portion or inheritance. They slay the widow, &c. — Whom common humanity obliged them to spare, pity, and relieve. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see — Their meeting with impunity and prosperity in their impious and barbarous practices makes them ready to doubt, or to deny, the providence of God in the government of his church and of the world. Neither doth the God of Jacob regard it — Though there are such evident demonstrations of the divine interpositions in favour of Jacob, and of his watchful care over them as his people, yet, for all that, they fancy he does not regard, nor will call them to any account for their doings.

5. Break in pieces—Crush. Afflict—Literally, Cast down to the ground, bring low. The phrase answers to “break in pieces,” crush, in the preceding member.

Verse 6. They slay the widow] Nebuchadnezzar carried on his wars with great cruelty. He carried fire and sword every where; spared neither age, sex, nor condition. The widow, the orphan, and the stranger, persons in the most desolate condition of life, were not distinguished from others by his ruthless sword.

Verses 5-7. They afflict thy heritage — Those righteous persons whom thou hast chosen for thy portion or inheritance. They slay the widow, &c. — Whom common humanity obliged them to spare, pity, and relieve. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see — Their meeting with impunity and prosperity in their impious and barbarous practices makes them ready to doubt, or to deny, the providence of God in the government of his church and of the world. Neither doth the God of Jacob regard it — Though there are such evident demonstrations of the divine interpositions in favour of Jacob, and of his watchful care over them as his people, yet, for all that, they fancy he does not regard, nor will call them to any account for their doings.

Verse 6. They slay the widow, and the stranger, and the fatherless; that is, the rich and the landed interest, having frittered away the jubilee to little more than a name, would not allow the destitute more than half bread. Our land proprietors do the same, in many parts of this kingdom; they force the widow to dine and sup on a potato feast. This complaint is proof that this psalm was not written in Babylon, as the Arians plead, to get rid of it, and twenty other psalms, as uninspired, and merely moral odes.

6. They slay the widow… stranger… fatherless—Proving that the laws of war and of humanity are set aside. Non-combatants—innocent helpless ones—are murdered. It is a massacre, not a war. Murder without the pretence of trial or discrimination. The classes here distinguished were specially protected by the law of Moses, and by the promise of God. Exodus 22:21, 22; Psalm 10:14, 18; 68:5; Isaiah 3:15.

V. 7. Of Jacob-He who takes that name to himself, but has no regard to his people.

Verse 7. The Lord shall not see] This was either the language of infidelity or insult. Indeed, what could the Babylonians know of the true God? They might consider him as the God of a district or province, who knew nothing and did nothing out of his own territories.

Verses 5-7. They afflict thy heritage — Those righteous persons whom thou hast chosen for thy portion or inheritance. They slay the widow, &c. — Whom common humanity obliged them to spare, pity, and relieve. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see — Their meeting with impunity and prosperity in their impious and barbarous practices makes them ready to doubt, or to deny, the providence of God in the government of his church and of the world. Neither doth the God of Jacob regard it — Though there are such evident demonstrations of the divine interpositions in favour of Jacob, and of his watchful care over them as his people, yet, for all that, they fancy he does not regard, nor will call them to any account for their doings.

7. They say, The Lord shall not see—This, and the corresponding statement, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it, is a reproachful taunt upon the Hebrews, implying that their God has abandoned them to their enemies, and takes no further notice of the treatment they are receiving; equal to “Where is thy God?” in Psalm 42:3, 10. This alone could embolden them to such deeds of violence. How exactly does all this accord with the conduct of the Church’s persecutors in all ages.

Verse 8. Understand, ye brutish] These are the same expressions as in Psalm 92:6, on which see the note. See Clarke “Psalm 92:6”.

Verses 8, 9. Understand, ye brutish — Hebrew, µyr[b, bognarim; ye who are governed by your lusts and appetites, as the word signifies; who have only the shape, but not the understanding, reason, or judgment of men in you, or are not directed and governed thereby; who, though you think yourselves the wisest of men, yet, in truth, are the most brutish of all people; he that planted the ear — The word planted (Hebrew, [cn, notang) is very emphatical, signifying the excellent structure of the ear, or of the several organs belonging to the sense of hearing, and the wise position of all those parts in their proper places; shall he not hear? — He must necessarily hear. The truth of the inference depends upon that evident and undeniable principle in reason, that nothing can give to another that which it hath not either formally or more eminently in itself, and that no effect can exceed the virtue of its cause. He that formed the eye, &c. — By the word formed, (Hebrew, rxy, jotzer, concerning which see note on Genesis 2:7,) he seems to intimate the accurate and most curious workmanship of the eye, which is observed by all who write on the subject.

8. Understand, ye brutish among the people—The address in verses 8-10 must be considered as applying to those Hebrews who inferred from the present calamity that God had ceased to take judicial notice of their sufferings, and had thus left them to their fate. See Judges 6:13. Brutish—Stupid, like cattle who have no reason, and are governed by selfish instinct and appetite. Fools—Literally, Fat, heavy, phlegmatic, dull of apprehension, with the implied idea of impiety and disrelish for religion. The two words, (as in Psalm 73:22,) denote a sensuous and irreligious person; the hardest to reach with spiritual truth.

V. 9. Planted-The word is emphatical, signifying the excellent structure of the ear, or the several organs belonging to the sense of hearing. Formed-By which word he intimates the accurate and curious workmanship of the eye.

Verse 9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear?] This is allowed to be an unanswerable mode of argumentation. Whatever is found of excellence in the creature, must be derived from the Creator, and exist in him in the plenitude of infinite excellence. God, says St. Jerome, is all eye, because he sees all; he is all hand, because he does all things; he is all foot, for he is every where present. The psalmist does not say, He that planted the ear, hath he not an ear? He that formed the eye, hath he not eyes? No; but, Shall he not hear? Shall he not see! And why does he say so? To prevent the error of humanizing God, of attributing members or corporeal parts to the infinite Spirit. See Calmet.

Verses 8, 9. Understand, ye brutish — Hebrew, µyr[b, bognarim; ye who are governed by your lusts and appetites, as the word signifies; who have only the shape, but not the understanding, reason, or judgment of men in you, or are not directed and governed thereby; who, though you think yourselves the wisest of men, yet, in truth, are the most brutish of all people; he that planted the ear — The word planted (Hebrew, [cn, notang) is very emphatical, signifying the excellent structure of the ear, or of the several organs belonging to the sense of hearing, and the wise position of all those parts in their proper places; shall he not hear? — He must necessarily hear. The truth of the inference depends upon that evident and undeniable principle in reason, that nothing can give to another that which it hath not either formally or more eminently in itself, and that no effect can exceed the virtue of its cause. He that formed the eye, &c. — By the word formed, (Hebrew, rxy, jotzer, concerning which see note on Genesis 2:7,) he seems to intimate the accurate and most curious workmanship of the eye, which is observed by all who write on the subject.

9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear—The argument is to those who admit the doctrine that God created man and endowed him with his faculties, which further proves that he is addressing not heathen, but sceptical or backslidden Hebrews. The ground of the argument from the creature to the Creator is, that man was made in the similitude of God; a thoroughly Hebraistic doctrine. Genesis 1:27.

V. 10. Know-Mens thoughts and words and actions.

Verse 10. He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct?] YOU, who are heathens, and heathens of the most abandoned kind. He that teacheth man knowledge] We here supply shall not he know? But this is not acknowledged by the original, nor by any of the Versions. Indeed it is not necessary; for either the words contain a simple proposition, “It is he who teacheth man knowledge,” or this clause should be read in connexion with Psalm 94:11: “Jehovah, who teacheth man knowledge, knoweth the devices of man, that they are vanity.” As he teaches knowledge to man, must he not know all the reasonings and devices of the human heart?

Verse 10. He that chastiseth — Or, He that instructeth, or teacheth, or reproveth (as the word rsy, jasar, often signifies, and is rendered Proverbs 9:7; Isaiah 8:11, &c.) the heathen, the Gentiles, or nations of the world: not only the Jews, but all other people, all mankind, as the next clause explains it; shall not he correct? — He who, when he pleases, can and does punish the nations of the world, is he not able to punish you for your wicked speeches and actions? Or, He that reproveth, and therefore discerneth their evil words and works, shall he not discern and reprove yours, who sin against greater light, and more privileges and advantages, and whose sins therefore are more aggravated? He that teacheth man knowledge — That giveth him understanding, and the knowledge of many excellent things by the light of nature; shall not he know — Namely, men’s thoughts, as in the next verse, and of consequence their whole conduct? These words are not in the Hebrew text, but are easily understood out of the foregoing clause. The meaning of the verse, in substance, is, “He that instructeth the nations, and supplieth them with all the knowledge they have, can he want means of discovering what they are contriving and doing, or of finding them out? Will not he be able to trace them out in all their machinations?” Or, as Dr. Horne paraphraseth the words, “It is God who hath instructed the world, by his revelations, in religious knowledge, and, consequently, without all doubt, he cannot be ignorant of the use and abuse which men make of that unspeakable gift.”

10. He that chastiseth the heathen—That is, It is admitted by you Hebrews that God chastiseth the nations for their idolatry, and shall he not correct his own people also for the same sin?

V. 11. Thoughts-Yes, he knoweth all things, even the most secret things, as the thoughts of men; and in particular your thoughts; much more your practices.

Verse 11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man — This is an answer to the foregoing question, Shall not he know? Yes, he knoweth all things, yea, even the most secret things, as the thoughts of men; and in particular your thoughts, and much more your practices, which you supposed he did not see, verses 6, 7. And he knows that they are generally vain and foolish; and that, while you applaud yourselves in such thoughts, you do not benefit, but only delude yourselves with them.

11. The Lord knoweth—A direct affirmation of what had been put interrogatively in verses 9, 10. He knoweth the thoughts, devices, of men, not only as an intellectual conception, but by way of judicial cognizance, with the intent to punish then. Vanity—Literally, a breath. The idea is, not only that of emptiness, but of wickedness also, as the word often denotes. Deuteronomy 32:21; Proverbs 13:11. God is not an indifferent spectator. He fathoms all the devices of the wicked oppressors, and will requite them.

V. 12. Blessed-Those afflictions which are accompanied with Divine instructions are great and true blessings.

Verse 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest] wnrsyt teyasserennu, whom thou instructest; and teachest him out of thy law. Two points here are worthy of our most serious regard: 1. God gives knowledge to man: gives him understanding and reason. 2. He gives him a revelation of himself; he places before that reason and understanding his Divine law. This is God’s system of teaching; and the human intellect is his gift, which enables man to understand this teaching. We perhaps may add a third thing here; that as by sin the understanding is darkened, he gives the Holy Spirit to dispel this darkness from the intellect, in order that his word may be properly apprehended and understood. But he gives no new faculty; he removes the impediments from the old, and invigorates it by his Divine energy.

Verses 12, 13. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest — Not he that prospers in his wickedness is happy, but he whom the Lord chasteneth when he acts amiss, and thereby teaches to study and obey his law with the greater care and diligence. That thou mayest give him rest, &c. — For the present and short troubles of the righteous prepare them for, and lead them to, true rest and blessedness, while the seeming felicity of the wicked makes way for those tremendous judgments which God hath prepared for them.

12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest—So far from this trouble arising from any indifference on the part of God toward his people, it is his method for bringing them into a higher grade of knowledge and blessedness. Teachest him out of thy law—Which is of infinitely more value than all personal or national wealth, or even national life. “Law,” here, is to be understood in the general sense of inspired revelation.

Verse 13. That thou mayest give him rest] He whom God instructs is made wise unto salvation; and he who is thus taught has rest in his soul, and peace and confidence in adversity.

Verses 12, 13. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest — Not he that prospers in his wickedness is happy, but he whom the Lord chasteneth when he acts amiss, and thereby teaches to study and obey his law with the greater care and diligence. That thou mayest give him rest, &c. — For the present and short troubles of the righteous prepare them for, and lead them to, true rest and blessedness, while the seeming felicity of the wicked makes way for those tremendous judgments which God hath prepared for them.

13. Rest from the days of adversity—Exemption and safety from the fatal calamities which shall overtake the wicked. Until the pit be digged— Whilst the pit shall be digged, etc. So the particle usually rendered until is sometimes used, as in 1 Samuel 14:19; Job 1:18. On the sense of the passage, compare Psalm 91:8.

Verse 14. The Lord will not cast off his people] Though they are now suffering under a grievous and oppressive captivity, yet the Lord hath not utterly cast them off. They are his inheritance, and he will again restore them to their own land.

Verses 14, 15. The Lord will not cast off his people — Though he may for a time correct, yet he will not utterly destroy, his true and obedient people, as he will their enemies, but will, in due time, put an end to all their calamities. But judgment shall return unto righteousness — Although the world is now full of unrighteous judgments, and even God himself seems not to judge and administer things justly, because he suffers his people to be oppressed, and the wicked to triumph over them, yet the state of things will, at the proper season, be otherwise ordered; God will show himself to be a righteous judge, and will advance and establish justice in the earth, and especially among his people. And all the upright in heart shall follow it — Namely, just judgment restored; they will all approve of and imitate this justice of God in all their actions, whereas the wicked shall still do wickedly, as is said Daniel 12:10, and in a land and state of uprightness will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord, Isaiah 26:10. Or, as wyrja, acharaiv, may be rendered, shall go after, or follow HIM, namely, the Lord, whose act it is to bring judgment to justice. While the wicked forsake God, these will cleave to him, as being confident that, how much soever he may suffer them to be oppressed for a season, yet he will, in due time, plead their cause, and bring forth their righteousness.

14. For the Lord will not cast off his people—Faith rises to the sublimest assurance in verses 14, 15.

V. 15. But-God will declare himself to be a righteous judge, and will again establish justice in the earth. Follow-They will all approve of it, and imitate this justice of God in all their actions.

Verse 15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness] If we read bvwy yosheb, shall sit, for bwvy yashub, shall return, which is only placing the w vau before the v shin instead of after it, we have the following sense: Until the just one shall sit in judgment, and after him all the upright in heart. Cyrus has the epithet qdx tsedek, the just one, in different places in the Prophet Isaiah. See Isaiah 41:2, 10; 45:8; 51:5. It was Cyrus who gave liberty to the Jews, who appeared as their deliverer and conductor to their own land, and they are all represented as following in his train.

Verses 14, 15. The Lord will not cast off his people — Though he may for a time correct, yet he will not utterly destroy, his true and obedient people, as he will their enemies, but will, in due time, put an end to all their calamities. But judgment shall return unto righteousness — Although the world is now full of unrighteous judgments, and even God himself seems not to judge and administer things justly, because he suffers his people to be oppressed, and the wicked to triumph over them, yet the state of things will, at the proper season, be otherwise ordered; God will show himself to be a righteous judge, and will advance and establish justice in the earth, and especially among his people. And all the upright in heart shall follow it — Namely, just judgment restored; they will all approve of and imitate this justice of God in all their actions, whereas the wicked shall still do wickedly, as is said Daniel 12:10, and in a land and state of uprightness will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord, Isaiah 26:10. Or, as wyrja, acharaiv, may be rendered, shall go after, or follow HIM, namely, the Lord, whose act it is to bring judgment to justice. While the wicked forsake God, these will cleave to him, as being confident that, how much soever he may suffer them to be oppressed for a season, yet he will, in due time, plead their cause, and bring forth their righteousness.

Ver. 15. Judgment shall return to righteousness. The Lord will give a double portion of blessings to his people, after complicated afflictions; light being sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

15. Judgment shall return unto righteousness—However disordered the administration of the world may appear, a brighter day shall come, when judgment shall resume the course of justice, and the right be vindicated. A prophetic glimpse of the millennium. “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them.” Revelation 20:4.

V. 16. Rise-To defend and help me. I looked hither and thither, but none appeared; God alone helped me.

Verse 16. Who will rise up for me] Who is he that shall be the deliverer of thy people? Who will come to our assistance against these wicked Babylonians?

Verse 16. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? — Have I any friend that, in love to me, will appear for me? Hath justice any friend that, in a pious indignation at unrighteousness, will plead my injured cause? He looked, but there was none to save, there was none to uphold. On the side of the oppressor there was power, and therefore the oppressed had no comforter. God alone helped him, as he says in the next verse.

16. Who will rise up for me—Who is able to rise up for our help against these evil doers? That is, there is no human power to do it. God alone can do it. The inference, then, is, that our continued existence is itself proof that God is still our helper.

V. 17. Dwelt-In the place of silence, the grave.

Verse 17. Unless the Lord had been my help] Had not God in a strange manner supported us while under his chastising hand, we had been utterly cut off.

My soul had almost dwelt in silence.] The Vulgate has in inferno, in hell or the infernal world; the Septuagint, tw adh, in the invisible world.

17. My soul had almost dwelt in silence—My soul had in a little time— soon—have inhabited silence; the land of silence, the region of the dead. We had quickly perished had not God been our help. On c[m, little, almost, little time, etc., see Psalm 81:14; Isaiah 26:20.

Verse 18. When I said, My foot slippeth] When I found myself so weak and my enemy so strong, that I got first off my guard, and then off my centre of gravity, and my fall appeared inevitable,—

Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.] ynd[sy yisadeni, propped me. It is a metaphor taken from any thing falling, that is propped, shored up, or buttressed. How often does the mercy of God thus prevent the ruin of weak believers, and of those who have been unfaithful!

Verse 18. When I said, My foot slippeth — I am now upon the point of falling into mischief and utter destruction; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up — A merciful, gracious, and powerful hand was immediately stretched out to support my steps, and establish my goings. Observe, reader, we are beholden, not only to God’s power but to his pity, for spiritual supports, and we are then prepared to receive those supports, when we are sensible of our own weakness and inability to stand by our own strength, and come to God to acknowledge it, and to tell him how our foot slippeth.

V. 19. Thoughts-While my heart was filled with various and perplexing thoughts, as this Hebrew word signifies. Comforts-Thy promises, and the remembrance of my former experience of thy care and kindness.

Verse 19. In the multitude of my thoughts] Of my griefs, (dolorum, Vulgate;) my sorrows, (odunwn, Septuagint.) According to the multitude of my trials and distresses, have been the consolations which thou hast afforded me. Or, While I have been deeply meditating on thy wondrous grace and mercy, Divine light has broken in upon my soul, and I have been filled with delight.

Verse 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me — While my heart is filled with various and perplexing thoughts, as the original word signifies, and tormented with cares and fears about my future state; thy comforts delight my soul — Thy promises, contained in thy word, and the remembrance of my former experience of thy care and kindness to me, afford me such consolation as revives my dejected mind.

V. 20. Shall-Wilt thou take part with the unrighteous powers of the world who oppress thy people. A law-By virtue of those unrighteous decrees which they have made.

Verse 20. Shall the throne of iniquity] No wicked king, judge, or magistrate shall ever stand in thy presence. No countenance shall such have from thy grace or providence.

Which frameth mischief] Devise, plan, and execute, as if they acted by a positive law, and were strictly enjoined to do what they so much delighted in.

Verse 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? — Wilt thou take part with the unrighteous powers of the world, who oppress thy people? Wilt thou countenance and support these tyrants in their wickedness? We know thou wilt not; but wilt manifest thy justice and displeasure against them. A throne has fellowship with God, when it is a throne of justice, and answers the end of its being erected; for by him kings reign; and when they reign for him their judgments are his, and he owns them as his ministers; and whoever resist them, or rise up against them, shall receive to themselves condemnation; but when it becomes a throne of iniquity, it has no longer fellowship with God. Far be it from the just and holy God that he should be the patron of unrighteousness, even in princes and those that sit on thrones; yea, though they be the thrones of the house of David. Which frameth mischief by a law — Who devise wicked devices, and lay heavy burdens upon men by virtue of those unrighteous decrees which they have made in form of laws; or by false pretences of law. Or, against law, against all right, and the laws, both of God and men.

Ver. 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? This, it would seem, was written when some idolatrous prince filled the throne, and some delicacy is due to misguided monarchs.

20. Throne of iniquity—The miseries which these “evil doers” cause thy people to suffer, are not the doings of a few individuals, nor a few exceptional outbursts of violence, but the settled policy of government, which, by giving its high sanction to deeds of injustice and violence upon the rights of citizenship and of conscience, forgets its divine right of authority, and becomes “the throne of iniquity,” or “the throne of Satan, (o qronov tou Satana,) Revelation 2:13. And just so far as government arrays its authority against private right and the divine law, it merits this appellation. See verse 21.

Verse 21. They gather themselves together] In every thing that is evil, they are in unity. The devil, his angels, and his children, all join and draw together when they have for their object the destruction of the works of the Lord. But this was particularly the case with respect to the poor Jews among the Babylonians: they were objects of their continual hatred, and they laboured for their destruction.

This and the following verses have been applied to our Lord, and the treatment he met with both from his own countrymen and from the Romans. They pretended to “judge him according to the law, and framed mischief against him;” they “assembled together against the life of the righteous one,” and “condemned innocent blood;” but God evidently interposed, and “brought upon them their own iniquity,” according to their horrible imprecation: “His blood be upon us and upon our children!” God “cut them off in their own iniquity.” All this had, in reference to him, a most literal fulfilment.

Verses 21-23. They gather themselves against the soul of the righteous — Against the life, as the word here rendered soul commonly signifies, and as the next clause explains it. They are not satisfied with the spoils of the estates of the righteous, but do also thirst after their lives. And condemn the innocent blood — They shed the blood of those innocent persons whom they have wickedly condemned. Innocent blood is here put for the blood of innocent persons. But the Lord is my defence — Let them decree what they please, and be too hard for all laws; the Lord, who hates unrighteousness, will be my defence; he, who hath long been very gracious to me, will secure me from their violence. He is the rock of my refuge — In the clefts of which I may take shelter, and on the top of which I may set my feet, and be out of the reach of danger. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity — The fruit and punishment of their iniquity. He shall deal with them according to their desert; and that very mischief which they designed against God’s people shall be brought upon themselves. He shall cut them off in their own wickedness — Either in the midst of their sins, or by their own wicked devices, the mischief whereof he will cause to fall upon their own heads. The Lord our God — The God of Jacob, of whom they said, he did not see, nor regard them, shall cut them off — And they shall find themselves mistaken in their false views and expectations of impunity, to their sorrow; he shall cut them off out of the land of the living; shall cut them off from any fellowship with himself, and so shall make them completely miserable; and their pomp and power shall stand them in no stead.

Verse 22. The rock of my refuge.] Alluding to those natural fortifications among rocks, which are frequent in the land of Judea.

Verses 21-23. They gather themselves against the soul of the righteous — Against the life, as the word here rendered soul commonly signifies, and as the next clause explains it. They are not satisfied with the spoils of the estates of the righteous, but do also thirst after their lives. And condemn the innocent blood — They shed the blood of those innocent persons whom they have wickedly condemned. Innocent blood is here put for the blood of innocent persons. But the Lord is my defence — Let them decree what they please, and be too hard for all laws; the Lord, who hates unrighteousness, will be my defence; he, who hath long been very gracious to me, will secure me from their violence. He is the rock of my refuge — In the clefts of which I may take shelter, and on the top of which I may set my feet, and be out of the reach of danger. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity — The fruit and punishment of their iniquity. He shall deal with them according to their desert; and that very mischief which they designed against God’s people shall be brought upon themselves. He shall cut them off in their own wickedness — Either in the midst of their sins, or by their own wicked devices, the mischief whereof he will cause to fall upon their own heads. The Lord our God — The God of Jacob, of whom they said, he did not see, nor regard them, shall cut them off — And they shall find themselves mistaken in their false views and expectations of impunity, to their sorrow; he shall cut them off out of the land of the living; shall cut them off from any fellowship with himself, and so shall make them completely miserable; and their pomp and power shall stand them in no stead.

Verse 23. Shall cut them off] This is repeated, to show that the destruction of the Babylonians was fixed and indubitable: and in reference to the Jews, the persecutors and murderers of our Lord and his apostles, it was not less so. Babylon is totally destroyed; not even a vestige of it remains. The Jews are no longer a nation; they are scattered throughout the world, and have no certain place of abode. They do not possess even one village on the face of the earth.

The last verse is thus translated and paraphrased in the old Psalter:— Trans. And he sal yelde to thaim thair wickednes, and in thair malice he sall skater thaim: skater thaim sal Lorde oure God.

Par. Alswa say efter thair il entent, that thai wil do gude men harme; he sall yelde thaim pyne, and in thair malice thai sal be sundred fra the hali courte of hevene, and skatred emang the wiked fendes of hell.

For different views of several parts of this Psalm, see the Analysis.

Verses 21-23. They gather themselves against the soul of the righteous — Against the life, as the word here rendered soul commonly signifies, and as the next clause explains it. They are not satisfied with the spoils of the estates of the righteous, but do also thirst after their lives. And condemn the innocent blood — They shed the blood of those innocent persons whom they have wickedly condemned. Innocent blood is here put for the blood of innocent persons. But the Lord is my defence — Let them decree what they please, and be too hard for all laws; the Lord, who hates unrighteousness, will be my defence; he, who hath long been very gracious to me, will secure me from their violence. He is the rock of my refuge — In the clefts of which I may take shelter, and on the top of which I may set my feet, and be out of the reach of danger. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity — The fruit and punishment of their iniquity. He shall deal with them according to their desert; and that very mischief which they designed against God’s people shall be brought upon themselves. He shall cut them off in their own wickedness — Either in the midst of their sins, or by their own wicked devices, the mischief whereof he will cause to fall upon their own heads. The Lord our God — The God of Jacob, of whom they said, he did not see, nor regard them, shall cut them off — And they shall find themselves mistaken in their false views and expectations of impunity, to their sorrow; he shall cut them off out of the land of the living; shall cut them off from any fellowship with himself, and so shall make them completely miserable; and their pomp and power shall stand them in no stead.

23. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity—The iniquity of their own devising. “He shall return that mischief on them which they designed to bring on others, and by making their sins their scourges and certain ruin, manifest his fatherly care over his obedient and faithful servants.”— Hammond.