1._O Jehovah! I have cried unto thee_. From such an exordium and manner of praying, it is evident that David was laboring under no small trial, as he repeats his requests, and insists upon receiving help. Without venturing to say anything definite upon the point, we would not disapprove of the conje... [ Continue Reading ]
In the second verse the allusion is evidently to the legal ceremonies. (235) At that time the prayers of God’s people were according to his own appointment sanctified through the offering up of incense and sacrifices, and David depended upon this promise. (236) As to the conjecture some have made, t... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Set a watch, O Jehovah! upon my mouth_. As David was liable to be hurt at the unbridled and unprincipled rage of his enemies, so as to be tempted to act in a manner that might not be justifiable, he prays for divine direction, and not that he might be kept back from manual violence merely, but th... [ Continue Reading ]
5._Let the righteous smite me_, _etc_. While Satan tempts the wicked by his allurements, they, at the same time, deceive one another by flattery, which leads David to declare, that he would much rather be awakened to his duty by the severe rod of reproof, than be seduced through pleasing falsehoods.... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Their judges have been thrown down upon stony places _(240) Almost all interpreters agree, that the tense of the verb should be changed from the preterit to the future, and then resolve it into the optative —_let them be thrown down_. It appears to me that the sense of David would be made very pl... [ Continue Reading ]
7._As one who breaketh_, _etc_. Here David complains that his enemies were not satisfied with inflicting upon him one death — death of a common description — but must first mangle him, and those associated with him, and then cast them into the grave. The common robber on the highway throws the body... [ Continue Reading ]
8._Because to thee, O Jehovah _! _etc_. If we reflect upon what was comprehended under the previous figure of their bones being broken, his praying in such circumstances is just as if the torn fragments of a mangled corpse should cry unto God. This may give us some idea of the heroical courage of Da... [ Continue Reading ]
9._Keep me_, _etc_. He owns himself to be shut up in the snares of his enemies, unless set free by a higher hand. In praying to God under the straits to which he was reduced, he proves what a high estimate he formed of what his mercy could effect, as elsewhere he says, that the issues from death bel... [ Continue Reading ]