This psalm purports to be a psalm of David, and there is no reason to doubt that it is properly attributed to him. See introduction to Psalms 138:1. At what time it was composed is, however, unknown. It contains reflections which might have occurred at any period of his life; yet it would seem most... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, THOU HAST SEARCHED ME - The word rendered searched, has a primary reference to searching the earth by boring or digging, as for water or metals. See Job 28:3. Then it means to search accurately or closely. AND KNOWN ME - As the result of that search, or that close investigation. Thou seest... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU KNOWEST MY DOWNSITTING ... - In the various circumstances of life, thou knowest me. Thou knowest me in one place as well as in another. I cannot so change my position that thou will not see me, and that thou wilt not be perfectly acquainted with all that I say, and all that I do. In every postu... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU COMPASSEST MY PATH ... - Margin, “winnowest.” The Hebrew word - זרה _zârâh_ - means properly “to scatter,” to cast loosely about - as the wind does dust; and then, to winnow - to wit, by throwing grain, when it is thrashed, up to the wind: Isaiah 30:24; Jeremiah 4:11; Ruth 3:2. Then it means... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THERE IS NOT A WORD IN MY TONGUE - All that I say; all that I have power to say; all that I am disposed at any time to say. BUT LO, O LORD, THOU KNOWEST IT ALTOGETHER - All that pertains to it. What is “said,” and what is “meant.” Merely to “hear” what is spoken does not imply necessarily a ful... [ Continue Reading ]
THOU HAST BESET ME BEHIND AND BEFORE - The word rendered “beset” - צור _tsûr_ - means properly to press; to press upon; to compress. It has reference commonly to the siege of a city, or to the pressing on of troops in war; and then it comes to mean to besiege, hem in, closely surround, so that ther... [ Continue Reading ]
SUCH KNOWLEDGE IS TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME - literally, “Wonderful knowledge away from me,” or, more than I can comprehend. It is beyond my reach; it surpasses all my powers to comprehend it. IT IS HIGH, I CANNOT ATTAIN UNTO IT - It is so exalted that I cannot grasp it; I cannot understand how it can b... [ Continue Reading ]
WHITHER SHALL I GO FROM THY SPIRIT? - Where shall I go where thy spirit is not; that is, where thou art not; where there is no God. The word “spirit” here does not refer particularly to the Holy Spirit, but to God “as” a spirit. “Whither shall I go from the all-pervading Spirit - from God, considere... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I ASCEND UP INTO HEAVEN - The word “heaven” here, in the original is in the plural number - “heavens,” - and includes all that there is above the earth - the highest worlds. IF I MAKE MY BED - Properly, “If I strew or spread my couch.” If I should seek that as the place where to lie down. IN HE... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I TAKE THE WINGS OF THE MORNING - literally, “I will take the wings of the morning.” That is, I will take this as a supposable case; I will imagine what would occur, should I be able to take to myself the wings of the morning, and endeavor to escape “by flight” from the presence of God, or go whe... [ Continue Reading ]
EVEN THERE SHALL THY HAND LEAD ME - I shall find thee there; thy hand would be upon me; I should not have gone from thy presence. AND THY RIGHT HAND SHALL HOLD ME - Still hold me; still be laid upon me. I should find myself there, as certainly as here, in thy hand; and in the same sense - either to... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I SAY, SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME - If I seek to find refuge in the darkness of the night so that God would not see me. The word rendered “cover” - שׁוף _shûph_ - means properly to snap, to gape after; then, to lie in wait for; and then, to attack, or fall upon anyone, unexpectedly. It i... [ Continue Reading ]
YEA, THE DARKNESS HIDETH NOT FROM THEE - Margin, as in Hebrew, “darkeneth not.” Darkness does not make darkness to thee. It makes things dark to us; not to him. So it is in natural darkness; so in moral darkness ness. It seems dark to us; it is not so to him. Things appear dark to us - disappointmen... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THOU HAST POSSESSED MY REINS - The word here rendered “possessed” means properly to “set upright,” to “erect,” and hence, the derivative of the verb is applied to a cane or reed, as being erect. Then the word means to found, to create, Genesis 14:19, Genesis 14:22 - as the heavens and the earth;... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL PRAISE THEE - I will not merely admire what is so great and marvelous, but I will acknowledge thee in a public manner as wise, and holy, and good: as entitled to honor, love, and gratitude. FOR I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE - The word rendered “fearfully” means properly “fearful things;... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SUBSTANCE WAS NOT HID FROM THEE - Thou didst see it; thou didst understand it altogether, when it was hidden from the eyes of man. The word “substance” is rendered in the margin, “strength” or “body.” The Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac, the Arabic, and Luther render it, “my bone,” or “... [ Continue Reading ]
THINE EYES DID SEE MY SUBSTANCE, YET BEING UNPERFECT - This whole verse is very obscure, but the “idea” in this expression clearly is, “Before I had shape or form thou didst see what I was to be.” The single word in the original translated “my substance, yet being unperfect,” is גלם _gôlem_. It occ... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW PRECIOUS ALSO ARE THY THOUGHTS UNTO ME, O GOD! - On the word “thoughts,” see the notes at Psalms 139:2. Compare Psalms 139:23. The remark is made here doubtless in view of the numberless “thoughts” involved in planning and forming a frame so wondrous, and in the care necessary to bring it to per... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I SHOULD COUNT THEM - If I could count them. THEY ARE MORE IN NUMBER THAN THE SAND - Numberless as the sand on the sea-shore. WHEN I AWAKE, I AM STILL WITH THEE - When I am lost in deep and profound meditation on this subject, and am aroused again to consciousness, I find the same thing still tr... [ Continue Reading ]
SURELY THOU WILT SLAY THE WICKED, O GOD - Compare the notes at Isaiah 11:4. The literal translation of this would be, “If thou wilt slay the wicked.” It is not easy to account for the sudden and remarkable transition or diversion of the train of thought from the main subject of the psalm, in these v... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY SPEAK AGAINST THEE WICKEDLY - This is one form or manifestation of their character as wicked people, that they speak maliciously against God. The psalmist, therefore, desired to have nothing to do with them. It is always a sufficient reason for avoiding the society, the friendship, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
DO NOT I HATE THEM, O LORD, THAT HATE THEE? - This is in the consciousness of the psalmist a proof of his own real piety, as derived from his feelings toward those who were the enemies of God. The word hate here, as applied to them, must be understood in the sense that he disapproved of their conduc... [ Continue Reading ]
I HATE THEM WITH PERFECT HATRED - With no approval whatever of their conduct; with no sympathy for the evil they do; with no words of apology for their sinful acts; with entire disapprobation. I COUNT THEM MINE ENEMIES - As they are the enemies of God, so I regard them as my enemies. I do not wish... [ Continue Reading ]
SEARCH ME, O GOD - The word “search” here is the same as in Psalms 139:1. See the notes at that verse. The psalmist had stated the fact that it is a characteristic of God that he “does” search the heart; and he here prays that God “would” exercise that power in relation to himself; that as God could... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SEE IF THERE BE ANY WICKED WAY IN ME - Margin, “way of pain,” or “grief.” The Hebrew word properly means an image, an idol Isaiah 48:5, but it also means pain, 1 Chronicles 4:9; Isaiah 14:3. The word in the form used here does not occur elsewhere. Gesenius (Lexicon) renders it here idol-worship.... [ Continue Reading ]