_A.M. 2962. B.C. 1042._ This is a Psalm of thanksgiving for the great deliverances which God had wrought for David, composed and sung, no doubt, upon the occasion of his dedicating his house of cedar, mentioned 2 Samuel 5:11. It is penned with great strength and elegance of diction, and the sentime... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast lifted me up_ Hebrew, דליתני, _dillitani, evexisti me_, Buxtorff. Dr. Waterland renders it, _Thou hast drawn me up_, namely, out of the deep pit, or waters, to which great dangers and afflictions are frequently compared. “The verb is used, in its original meaning, to denote the reciprocat... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast healed me_ That is, delivered me from the fears and troubles of my mind, (which are often compared to diseases,) and from very dangerous distempers of my body. For the original word is used, either of the healing of bodily disorders, Psalms 103:3, or to denote the happy alteration of a pe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give thanks at the remembrance_ Or, _at the mention, of his holiness_ When you call to mind, or when others celebrate, as I do this day, the holiness of God's nature; which he manifests by his works, by his mercy and truth, his care and kindness toward his holy ones. Of the holiness of God, or of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_His anger endureth for a moment_, &c. Hebrew, רגע באפו חיים ברצונו, _regang beappo, chaiim birzono, a moment in his anger; lives in his favour._ The duration of his anger is but short; comparatively, but for a moment, but the effects of his favour substantial and durable. Commonly the afflictions w... [ Continue Reading ]
_In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved_ I thought myself past all danger of further changes. The word שׁלוי, _shalvi_, rendered _prosperity_, denotes peace and tranquillity, arising from an affluent, prosperous condition. When God had settled him quietly on the throne, he thought his troub... [ Continue Reading ]
_What profit is there in my blood_ In my violent, or immature death? What advantage will it be to thee, or thy cause and people, or to any of mankind? _When I go down to the pit_ When I die, and my body is laid in the grave; _shall the dust praise thee?_ The words, thus pointed, have a propriety and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast turned for me_, &c. Having related his prayer, he now declares the gracious answer which God gave him. _Thou hast put off my sackcloth_ Hast given me occasion to put it off, alluding to the sackcloth which they used to wear in times of mourning, and with which possibly, in an humble compl... [ Continue Reading ]
_To the end that my glory_ My soul, or rather, my tongue; for to the tongue both _singing_ and _silence_ most properly belong; _may sing praise to thee_ May bear testimony to thy truth and faithfulness, manifested in fulfilling thy promises, and may ascribe to thee the glory and praise due to thy in... [ Continue Reading ]