_BE MERCIFUL UNTO ME, O GOD, BE MERCIFUL UNTO ME: FOR MY SOUL TRUSTETH IN THEE: YEA, IN THE SHADOW OF THY WINGS WILL I MAKE MY REFUGE, UNTIL THESE CALAMITIES BE OVERPAST._ Psalms 57:1.-Cry for mercy; joyful anticipation of deliverance from enemies (Psalms 57:1); praise for it, and for the foes' ent... [ Continue Reading ]
_I WILL CRY UNTO GOD MOST HIGH; UNTO GOD THAT PERFORMETH ALL THINGS FOR ME._ I will cry unto God. The cry to God naturally follows soul-trust in God (Psalms 57:1). MOST HIGH - `The Most High' will lift us on high when, being sunken low, we "cry" to Him. Formidable enemies are nothingness when 'th... [ Continue Reading ]
_HE SHALL SEND FROM HEAVEN, AND SAVE ME FROM THE REPROACH OF HIM THAT WOULD SWALLOW ME UP. SELAH. GOD SHALL SEND FORTH HIS MERCY AND HIS TRUTH._ He shall send from heaven. What "He shall send" follows in the next clause. HIS MERCY AND HIS TRUTH - (cf. Psalms 18:16; Psalms 43:3; Psalms 144:7). "Fr... [ Continue Reading ]
_MY SOUL IS AMONG LIONS: AND I LIE EVEN AMONG THEM THAT ARE SET ON FIRE, EVEN THE SONS OF MEN, WHOSE TEETH ARE SPEARS AND ARROWS, AND THEIR TONGUE A SHARP SWORD._ My soul is among lions; and I lie even among them that are set on fire. The point in common between the two images - "lions," and "them... [ Continue Reading ]
_BE THOU EXALTED, O GOD, ABOVE THE HEAVENS; LET THY GLORY BE ABOVE ALL THE EARTH._ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth - praise for the deliverance anticipated, in the strong assurance of faith. Let men see (not merely a prayer, but a prophecy, that men s... [ Continue Reading ]
_THEY HAVE PREPARED A NET FOR MY STEPS; MY SOUL IS BOWED DOWN: THEY HAVE DIGGED A PIT BEFORE ME, INTO THE MIDST WHEREOF THEY ARE FALLEN THEMSELVES. SELAH._ They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down - rather, as the Hebrew verb is transitive, and the enemies are the subject in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_MY HEART IS FIXED, O GOD, MY HEART IS FIXED: I WILL SING AND GIVE PRAISE._ -Determination to praise God. Verse 7. MY HEART IS FIXED, O GOD, MY HEART IS FIXED - literally, prepared, established. The repetition emphasizes the steadfastness of his confidence of deliverance and the fixity of his resol... [ Continue Reading ]
_BE THOU EXALTED, O GOD, ABOVE THE HEAVENS: LET THY GLORY BE ABOVE ALL THE EARTH._ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ... The conclusion of the second strophe reverts to the same praise for deliverance as its commencement. The repetition of praise is the sure path to the divine help.... [ Continue Reading ]