1. “Title of the psalm.” This psalm is inscribed “To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith.” On the meaning of the phrase “Chief Musician on Neginoth,” see the notes at the title to Psalms 4:1 : The phrase “upon Sheminith” occurs here for the first time, and modifies the meaning of the title... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, REBUKE ME NOT IN THINE ANGER - As if God was rebuking him by the affliction which he was bringing upon him. This is the point on which the attention of the psalmist is now fixed. He had been apparently contemplating his afflictions, and inquiring into their cause, and he was led to the concl... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE MERCY UPON ME, O LORD - That is, be gracious to me; or, show me compassion. This language may be used either in view of sin, of suffering, or of danger. It is a cry to God to interpose, and remove some present source of trouble, and may be employed by one who feels that he is a sinner, or by on... [ Continue Reading ]
MY SOUL IS ALSO SORE VEXED - The word “soul” here is used in the sense in which it is commonly with us, as denoting the mind. The idea is, that his sorrows were not merely those of the bodily frame. They had a deeper seat than even the bones. His mind, his soul, was full of anguish also, in view of... [ Continue Reading ]
RETURN, O LORD, DELIVER MY SOUL - As if he had departed from him, and had left him to die. The word “soul” in this place is used, as it often is, in the sense of “life,” for in the next verse he speaks of the grave to which he evidently felt he was rapidly descending. O SAVE ME - Save my life; save... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IN DEATH - In the state of the dead; in the grave. THERE IS NO REMEMBRANCE OF THEE - They who are dead do not remember thee or think of thee. The “ground” of this appeal is, that it was regarded by the psalmist as a “desirable” thing to remember God and to praise him, and that this could not be... [ Continue Reading ]
I AM WEARY WITH MY GROANING - I am exhausted or worn out with it. That is, his sorrows were so deep, and his groaning was so constant, that his strength failed. He became “faint” under the weight of his sorrows. All persons in trouble have experienced this effect - the sense of weariness or exhausti... [ Continue Reading ]
MINE EYE IS CONSUMED - The word here rendered “consumed” - עשׁשׁ _‛__âshêsh_ - means properly to fall in, to fall away, and is applied here to the “eye” as pining or wasting away from care, anxiety, and sorrow. Tears were poured forth from the eye, and it seemed to be exhausting itself in this man... [ Continue Reading ]
DEPART FROM ME, ALL YE WORKERS OF INIQUITY - Referring, by the “workers of iniquity,” to his enemies, as if they now surrounded him, and calling on them “now” to leave him, since God had heard his prayer, and they could not be successful in their purposes. This is an indirect but most emphatic way o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD HATH HEARD MY SUPPLICATION - Repeating the sentiment in the previous verse, to express his assurance and his joy. Nothing is more natural in such circumstances than to dwell on the joyous thought, and to repeat it to ourselves, that it may make its full impression. THE LORD WILL RECEIVE MY... [ Continue Reading ]
LET ALL MINE ENEMIES BE ASHAMED - Be so brought to see their folly that they shall be ashamed of their conduct. The wish is that they might be brought to see their own guilt - a wish certainly which it is right to cherish in regard to all evil-doers. AND SORE VEXED - Compare the notes at Psalms 5:10... [ Continue Reading ]