1._Incline thy ear, O Jehovah! _Neither the inscription nor the contents of this psalm enable us to conclude with certainty what dangers David here complains of; but the psalm in all probability refers to that period of his life when he was persecuted by Saul, and describes the train of thought whic... [ Continue Reading ]
2._Preserve my soul, for I am meek. _Here the Psalmist adduces two other arguments by which to stir up God to grant him succor, — his own gentleness towards his neighbors, and the trust which he reposed in God. In the first clause he may seem at first sight to make some pretensions to personal worth... [ Continue Reading ]
3_Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! _The Psalmist again betakes himself to the mercy of God. The word חנן, _chanan, _which I have rendered _have mercy, _is substantially the same as to _gratify, to do a pleasure. _It is as if he had said, I bring no merit of my own, but humbly pray for deliverance sole... [ Continue Reading ]
5_For thou, O Lord! art good and propitious. _(483) We have here a confirmation of the whole preceding doctrine, derived from the nature of God. It would avail the afflicted nothing to have recourse to him, and to lift up their desires and prayers to heaven, were they not persuaded that he is a fait... [ Continue Reading ]
6_Listen, O Jehovah! to my prayer. _From the earnest repetition of his former requests in this and the subsequent verse, it is evident that he was oppressed with no ordinary degree of grief, and also agitated with extreme anxiety, From this example, we are taught that those who, having engaged in pr... [ Continue Reading ]
8_Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord! _Here the Psalmist may be considered either as bursting forth into thanksgivings, after having obtained what he desired, or else as gathering courage and new strength for prayer. The latter opinion I am most inclined to adopt; but perhaps it may... [ Continue Reading ]
9_All nations which thou hast made shall come. _(485) If any would rather limit what is here stated to David’s present case, this view does not seem liable to any material objection. He, in fact, often enhances the Divine goodness of which he himself had experience by the like magnificent strain. It... [ Continue Reading ]
10._For thou art great, and thou alone, O God! doest wondrous things. _In this verse there is again repeated the cause which will bring all nations to worship before the Lord, namely, the discovery made of his glory by the _greatness of his works. _The contemplation of God’s glory in his works is th... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Show me thy ways, O Jehovah! _David now rises higher, praying that he may be governed by the spirit of sound understanding, in order to his living a holy life, and that he may be strengthened in his endeavors thereto by the spirit of fortitude. He tacitly contrasts _the ways of God _with all the... [ Continue Reading ]
12._I will praise thee, O Lord my God! _David engages, when he shall have experienced God to be in all respects a beneficent father, to yield to him the tribute of gratitude. He expressed in the preceding verse a desire to have his heart united to God, that he might fear him; and now he affirms it t... [ Continue Reading ]
In the 13th verse, he sets forth the reason of this, which is, because, in delivering him, God had given a singular and remarkable proof of his mercy. To place in a stronger light the greatness of this benefit, he describes the dangers from which he had been delivered, by the expression, _the lower... [ Continue Reading ]
14._O God! the proud are risen up against me. _Instead of זדים _, zedim, the proud, _some read, זרים, _zarim, strangers; _and, undoubtedly, the Scriptures often employ this word to denote barbarous cruelty, so that it is the same as if it had been said, _the cruel. _I, however, prefer following the... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And thou, O Lord! art God, merciful, ready to forgive. _By immediately passing on to the celebration of these divine attributes, he would intimate, that we have adequate strength and protection against the audacity and rage of the wicked, in the divine goodness, mercy, and faithfulness. Perhaps,... [ Continue Reading ]
16._Look to me, and have pity upon me. _Here the Psalmist makes a more distinct application to himself of what he had said concerning the divine mercy and goodness. As God is merciful, he assures himself that his welfare will be the object of the divine care. The second verb in the verse, חנן, _chan... [ Continue Reading ]
The last verse contains an additional confirmation of the statement, that he was in a manner forsaken of God. He would not have desired to be favored with some token of the divine favor, had he not been on all sides driven to despair, and had not the divine favor been hidden from him to try his pati... [ Continue Reading ]