Of the authorship of this psalm, and the occasion on which it was composed, nothing can now be ascertained with certainty. The common opinion has been that it is a psalm of David, and that it was composed when his troubles with Saul ceased, and when he was recognized as king. Some, however, have ref... [ Continue Reading ]
O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD ... - Let others unite with me in giving thanks to the Lord; let them see, from what has occurred in my case, what occasion there is for praise. Every instance of a particular favor shown to anyone is to others an occasion for praise, inasmuch as it is an illustration of... [ Continue Reading ]
LET ISRAEL NOW SAY ... - The Hebrew people; the people of God. They have now, in my case, a new illustration of the mercy of God which ought to animate them, and to encourage their hearts. Compare Psalms 115:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THE HOUSE OF AARON NOW SAY ... - Compare Psalms 115:10. The ministers of religion. They are appointed to serve God; to lead in his worship; to defend his truth; to keep up faith in the truth of religion. They are, therefore, interested in my case, and may derive from it a new proof of the mercif... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THEM NOW THAT FEAR THE LORD SAY ... - Compare Psalms 115:11. All that worship God are interested in what God has done for me. It is a manifestation of the divine character which should cheer them. They are called, therefore, to unite with the author of the psalm in praise and thanksgiving, not m... [ Continue Reading ]
I CALLED UPON THE LORD IN DISTRESS - Margin, as in Hebrew, “out of distress.” In the very midst of trouble he called upon the Lord; his voice was heard, as it were, coming from the depth of his sorrows. See the notes at Psalms 18:6. THE LORD ANSWERED ME - That is, he heard my prayers, and delivered... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD IS ON MY SIDE - Margin, as in Hebrew,” for me.” The Lord is with me. He is my helper. He defends my cause. I WILL NOT FEAR - I have nothing to be afraid of. God is more mighty than any or all of my foes, and he can deliver me from them all. Compare Psalms 56:4, Psalms 56:9,Psalms 56:11. WH... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD TAKETH MY PART WITH THEM THAT HELP ME - The psalmist had friends. There were those who stood by him. He relied, indeed, on their aid, but not on their aid without God. He felt that even their help was valuable to him only as God was with them. There was direct dependence on God in reference... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN - This is stated apparently as the result of his own experience. He had found people weak and faithless; he had not so found God. Compare Psalms 40:4; Psalms 62:8. Literally, “Good is it to trust in Yahweh more than to confide in man.”... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS BETTER ... THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN PRINCES - Even in the most mighty of the human race; in those who of all people may be supposed to have the most ability to aid us; in those whose favor is often sought more than the favor of God. Princes are only men; often as faithless and deceitful as ot... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL NATIONS COMPASSED ME ABOUT - They surrounded me; they hemmed me in on every side, so that I seemed to have no chance to escape. It would seem from this that the psalm was composed by someone who was at the head of the government, and whose government had been attacked by surrounding nations. Thi... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT; YEA, THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT ... - The sentiment and the language of the previous verse are here repeated, as if to give force to what he had said, or to deepen the impression. His own mind dwelt upon it, and the events to which he referred came so vividly to his recollectio... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY COMPASSED ME ABOUT LIKE BEES - (a) As thick or numerous as bees; (b) armed as bees - or, their weapons might be compared to the stings of bees. THEY ARE QUENCHED AS THE FIRE OF THORNS - The Septuagint and the Vulgate render this, “They burn as the fire of thorns.” The connection would seem t... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST THRUST SORE AT ME THAT I MIGHT FALL - literally, “Thrusting thou hast thrust at me.” This is the Hebrew mode of expressing intensity, repetition, or emphasis. The meaning is, that they had made a deadly thrust at him; that they had repeated the blows; that they had come with a fierce deter... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND SONG - He is the source of strength to me; and he is the subject of my praise. There is no ground of praise in myself for anything that I have done, but all is due to him. AND IS BECOME MY SALVATION - He has saved me. I live because he preserved me. So we shall be saved... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VOICE OF REJOICING AND SALVATION - Rejoicing for salvation; song, praise, thanksgiving. Luther renders this beautifully; “They sing with joy for victory in the houses of the righteous.” IS IN THE TABERNACLES OF THE RIGHTEOUS - The tents of the righteous; their dwellings. That is, (a) it is a f... [ Continue Reading ]
I SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE - Evidently the psalmist had apprehended that he would die; or, he had felt that he was in imminent danger of dying. In this language he seems, as in Psalms 118:13, to go back again to the scenes referred to in the psalm. He lives them over again. He describes the feelings... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH CHASTENED ME SORE - Hebrew, “The Lord has chastened - has chastened me.” See the notes at Psalms 118:13. The psalmist had been greatly afflicted, and he now looked upon his affliction in the light of a fatherly chastisement or correction. It had been a severe trial, and he was not inse... [ Continue Reading ]
OPEN TO ME THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS ... - The gates of the house devoted to a righteous God; the gates of a house where the principles of righteousness are strengthened, and where the just emotions of the heart may be expressed in the language of praise. Compare the notes at Isaiah 26:2. The langu... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS GATE OF THE LORD - This gate dedicated to the service of the Lord; that belongs to the house of the Lord. INTO WHICH THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL ENTER - Through which the righteous pass. That is, It is for such persons, and all who come with a purpose to serve and worship God should be permitted to pa... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL PRAISE THEE - Within thy courts. FOR THOU HAST HEARD ME, AND ART BECOME MY SALVATION - See Psalms 118:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REFUSED - See the notes at Matthew 21:42. Compare Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7. This is an allusion to a building, as if a stone should be cast away by workmen as unfit to be worked into the edifice. The figure would then be applicable to anyone who, for any purpos... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING - Margin, as in Hebrew, “This is from the Lord.” That is, It is to be traced to the Lord alone. It is not the result of human wisdom or power. The deliverance from danger - the raising up from the low condition - the change by which he who was rejected was restored to his ri... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS THE DAY WHICH THE LORD HATH MADE - As if it were a new day, made for this very occasion; a day which the writer of the psalm did not expect to see, and which seemed therefore to have been created out of the ordinary course, and added to the other days. He was in danger of death; his days wer... [ Continue Reading ]
SAVE NOW, I BESEECH THEE, O LORD ... - The word save here seems to be used in the general sense of imploring the divine interposition and mercy. It is a part of the word which in the New Testament is rendered “Hosanna” - save now Matthew 21:9 - and is the language which the multitudes employed when... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED BE HE THAT COMETH IN THE NAME OF THE LORD - See the notes at Matthew 21:9. This is the language of those who had charge of the sanctuary, addressing him who came in the name of the Lord to present his thank-offering. It is the language of welcome; the assurance that his offering would be acc... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD IS THE LORD - Still the language of the priests in their official capacity. The meaning here seems to be “God is Yahweh;” or, Jehovah is the true God. It is an utterance of the priesthood in regard to the great truth which they were appointed specifically to maintain - that Yahweh is the true Go... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU ART MY GOD, AND I WILL PRAISE THEE - This is the language of the author of the psalm - his solemn profession before the sanctuary and the altar; his response to the priesthood. In Psalms 118:27, they had declared that “Jehovah alone was God;” to this he now replies, that he acknowledges, it; he... [ Continue Reading ]
O GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD ... - The psalm closes, as it began, with an exhortation to praise God. In the beginning of the psalm, it was a general exhortation; here it is an exhortation founded on the course of thought in the psalm, or as a proper conclusion from what had been referred to in the ps... [ Continue Reading ]