_A.M. 2962. B.C. 1042._ This Psalm, being of the same kind with the former, is generally supposed to have been written on the same occasion. (See the contents of the preceding Psalm.) It was evidently written when his mind was much discomposed and disquieted with the contemplation of the prosperity... [ Continue Reading ]
_I said_ I fully resolved, &c. “The Psalm,” says Dr. Horne, “begins abruptly with the result of a meditation on the narrow, slippery, and dangerous paths of life; more especially on the extreme difficulty of restraining the tongue, amidst the continual temptations and provocations” which surround or... [ Continue Reading ]
_I was dumb with silence_ Or, _I was dumb in silence;_ two words expressing the same thing with greater force. _I held my peace even from good_ I spake not a word, either good or bad, but remained, like a dumb man, in perfect silence. I refrained even from giving God the glory, with respect to my il... [ Continue Reading ]
_My heart was hot within me_ Though I said nothing, I could not but have many affecting thoughts: and “the fire of divine charity, thus prevented from diffusing itself for the illumination and warmth of those around it, presently ascended, in a flame of devotion, toward heaven.” _While I was musing_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Lord, make me to know mine end_ The end of my life, as is evident from the following words; _and the measure of my days, what it is _ How short it is; or, how near is the period of the days of my life; _that I may know how frail I am_ Hebrew, מה חדל אני, _meh-chadeel ani, quam desinens sire, quam c... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth_ The breadth of four fingers, a certain dimension, a small one, and the measure whereof we have always about us, always before our eyes. We need no rod, no measuring-line, wherewith to take the dimension of our days, nor any skill in arithmetic where... [ Continue Reading ]
_Surely every man walketh_ Passeth the course of his life; or, goeth about busily or restlessly hither and thither, as יתהלךְ, _jithhallech_, implies, and as the next verb more plainly expresses: _In a vain show_ Hebrew, בצלם, _betzelem, in a shadow_, or _image._ The word is used only twice in the P... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now, Lord, what wait I for?_ &c. Seeing this life, and all its enjoyments, are so vain and short to all men, and especially to me, I will never expect nor seek for happiness here from these vanities. I will compose myself patiently and contentedly to bear both my own afflictions, and the prospe... [ Continue Reading ]
_Deliver me from all my transgressions_ That I may not be disappointed of my hopes of enjoying thee and thy favour, which is the chief thing I desire, pardon and deliver me from all my sins, which stand like a thick cloud between thee and me, and even fill me with fears about my condition both here... [ Continue Reading ]
_I opened not my mouth_ In the way of murmuring or repining against thee or thy providence, as I promised I would not, Psalms 39:1. For though, when I looked only to instruments, I was discomposed, and did at last speak foolishly; yet when I recollected myself, and looked up to thee, the first cause... [ Continue Reading ]
_Remove thy stroke away from me_ But though I may not, I will not, open my mouth to complain, yet I may open it to pray, that thou wouldest take off the judgment that thou hast inflicted upon me. _I am consumed_, &c. Help me, therefore, before I be utterly and irrecoverably lost. _When thou with reb... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hold not thy peace at my tears_ Joined with my prayers. _For I am a stranger_, &c. Though I be not only a native, but actually king of this land, yet, in truth, I am but a stranger and sojourner, both in regard of my very uncertain and short continuance here, where I am only on my journey to my rea... [ Continue Reading ]
_O spare me_ Hebrew, השׁע ממני, _hashang, memenni Desiste a me, desist_, or _cease from me_, that is, from afflicting me: do not destroy me; my life at best is short, and full of trouble, and thou knowest sufficient for it is the evil thereof: do not add affliction to the afflicted. _That I may reco... [ Continue Reading ]