_David prayeth for his own safety, and his enemies' confusion: he complaineth of their wrongful dealing, whereby God is incited against them._ _A Psalm_ of David. _TITLE._ לדוד _LEDAVID._— This Psalm is thought to have been composed by David when he was persecuted by Saul; whose forces, which were... [ Continue Reading ]
LET THEM BE CONFOUNDED, &C.— _They shall blush and be ashamed—They shall be turned back,_ &c. We should render in the future all the following verses; which our translation puts in the optative mood, and consequently gives them too much the appearance of an imprecatory and revengeful spirit. See the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND LET THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CHASE THEM— _And an angel of the Lord driving: i.e._ a very violent wind. _He maketh his angels wind,_ &c. Mudge.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH WITHOUT CAUSE, &C.— _Without provocation he hath digged a pit for my life._ Saul seems to be pointed at in this clause, by the change of the plural number into the singular. Compare 1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 18:21 and 1 Samuel 19:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL MY BONES SHALL SAY— These are figuratively represented as praising God; as if he had said, "All the members of my body, as well as all the faculties of my soul, shall be affected with a deep sense of thy goodness towards me, and thereby set forth thy praise.... [ Continue Reading ]
FALSE WITNESSES DID RISE UP, &C.— _False witnesses will arise;_ so the Hebrew speaks in the future; and the verbs in the two next periods are also future; to intimate that the prophet was speaking of what was then future, in the person of _him_ against whom _false witnesses did arise;_ and who, beca... [ Continue Reading ]
TO THE SPOILING OF MY SOUL— _And attempt to rob me of my life._ Green. The Hebrew שׁכול _shekol,_ is _abortion,_ or _bereavement to my soul:_ "That I may be bereft of my soul, as a woman of an abortive child." Mudge and Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND MY PRAYER RETURNED INTO MINE OWN BOSOM— _And my prayer rested,_ or _settled in my bosom; i.e._ "I was never without a prayer for them in my breast;" for it would be odd, says Mudge, to talk of prayers _returning,_ without having mentioned any prayer at all.... [ Continue Reading ]
AS ONE THAT MOURNETH, &C.— _As a mourning mother._... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IN MINE ADVERSITY THEY REJOICED, &C.— _But in my halting they rejoiced, and gathered together; they gathered about me, crouching, when I did not know it; they rent me without ceasing:_ Psalms 35:16. _Amidst profligate common buffoons, they grinned upon me with their teeth._ These two verses expr... [ Continue Reading ]
MY DARLING— _My solitary one._ See Psalms 22:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
WINK WITH THE EYE— i.e. In derision of my misfortunes. REFLECTIONS.—The cause of God and truth has hitherto been here more or less under the cross. We have, 1. David calling upon God to plead his cause, and vindicate his injured innocence. His enemies maligned and traduced him; not satisfied with... [ Continue Reading ]