_A.M. 2944. B.C. 1060._ It is confessed, that David was a type of Christ, and that many Psalms, or passages in the Psalms, though properly and literally understood of David, yet had a further and mystical reference to Christ, in whom also they were accomplished. But there are some other Psalms, or... [ Continue Reading ]
_My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?_ In these words Christ, when hanging on the cross, complained, that he was deprived, for a time, of the loving presence and comforting influence of his heavenly Father: and St. Matthew and St. Mark give us the very expressions which he used, _Eli, Eli;_ or... [ Continue Reading ]
_I cry in the day-time_, &c. I continue praying night and day without intermission; _but thou hearest not_ St. Paul says, Hebrews 5:7, that _Christ was heard in that he feared._ Christ therefore here says that his Father heard him not, only to intimate that he did not exempt him from suffering the d... [ Continue Reading ]
_But thou art holy_ “But notwithstanding thou dost not answer me at present, I am persuaded that thou wilt do so, for thou art holy, good, and gracious;” _O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel_ That dwellest in the place where the praises of Israel have always been offered for mercies granted... [ Continue Reading ]
_Our fathers_, &c. That is, my fathers, according to the flesh, the Israelites; _trusted in thee, and were delivered_ Were not disappointed of that for which they prayed and hoped: but whenever they cried unto thee in their distress, thou didst send them deliverance, as by Gideon, Samson, Samuel, &c... [ Continue Reading ]
_But I am a worm, and no man_ Neglected and despised, as a mean reptile; _a reproach of men, and despised of the people_ Not only of the great men, but also of the common people. This does not so truly agree to David (who, though he was hated and persecuted by Saul and his courtiers, was honoured an... [ Continue Reading ]
_All they that see me laugh me to scorn_ Instead of pitying, or helping, they deride and insult over me: such is their inhumanity; _they shoot out the lip_ They gape with their mouths, and put forth their tongues in mockery; _they shake the head_ Another custom of scoffers. This and the next verse a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou art he_, &c. This seems to refer to the miraculous conception of Christ, who was the Son of God, in a sense in which no other man ever was, being formed, as to his human nature, by the power of God, in the womb of a pure virgin. Therefore he said, at his entrance into the world, _Sacrifice and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be not far from me_ As to affection and succour; _for trouble is near_ At hand, and ready to swallow me up; _for there is none to help_ Thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most necessary, and thou wilt have the more glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work a... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am poured out like water_ My spirits are spent and gone like water, which, once spilt, can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water. _My bones are out of joint_ I am as unable to help myself, and as full of pain, as if all my bones were disjointed. _... [ Continue Reading ]
_Dogs have compassed me_ So he calls his enemies, or rather the enemies of Christ, for their insatiable greediness, and implacable fierceness against him. The idea seems to be taken from a number of dogs encompassing a distressed deer, which they have hunted down, as is intimated in the remarks on t... [ Continue Reading ]
_I may tell all my bones_ Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. _They_ Namely, my enemies; _look and stare at me_ With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will declare thy name_ “Nothing is more common in the Psalms than these sudden transitions, and nothing more beautiful. Our Saviour here passes from the mournful view of death to the comfortable prospect of his resurrection. He intimates that, after God shall have delivered him from the power of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye that fear the Lord, praise him_ Not only for my sake, (they are the words of the risen and exalted Saviour,) but chiefly for your own benefit, received through my deliverance from death, and exaltation to God's right hand, by which I am made head over all things, for the good of my church and pe... [ Continue Reading ]
_The meek_ That is, the poor or humble, gentle and teachable, namely, believing and godly persons whose hearts the grace of God hath softened and sweetened, subduing their pride and passion, and their rebellion against God, and fierceness toward men; _shall eat and be satisfied_ Shall partake of tho... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the ends of the world_ All nations, from one end of the world to the other. So this is an evident prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of God and Christ by the gospel, and a clear proof that this Psalm immediately speaks of Christ; to whom alone this and divers other passage... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the kingdom is the Lord's_ This is added as a reason why the Gentiles should be converted, because God is not only the God and Lord of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and of all nations. And, therefore, though for a time he thought fit to confine his kingdom or visible church to Israel, yet... [ Continue Reading ]
_All they that be fat upon the earth_ It was said, Psalms 22:26, that the _meek_, the _lowly_, and _poor_ should eat and be satisfied: it is here foretold, that the fat ones of the earth; the rich and great, the nobles, princes, and kings, should be called in to partake of the feast. _And worship _... [ Continue Reading ]
_A seed shall serve him_ Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead. _It shall be accounted for a generation_ That believing seed shall be reputed, both by God and men, _the generation_, or _people of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_They shall come_ The seed last mentioned, or, _some shall come_, (for this may be indefinitely spoken,) and do the work here mentioned, namely, the apostles and ministers of the gospel shall come from Judea and Jerusalem, from whence the gospel was to go forth, to the Gentile world, to the several... [ Continue Reading ]