Psalms 109:1

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; HOLD NOT THY PEACE, O GOD OF MY PRAISE - (cf. .) Thou hast heretofore given me continual reason to praise thee; do not now withhold thy word of power in my behalf (cf. ; ), that I may again have cause to praise thee (cf. ; ; ; ). As the enemy's "mouth" and "tongue" "speak against me" () for my destruction, so "hold n...

1_O God of my praise! be not silent _In these words, which may be considered as an introduction to the psalm, David declares that he neither could find nor would desire any other than God to stand forward in vindication of the integrity of his heart. For in denominating him _the God of his praise, _he intrusts to him the vindication of his innocence, in the face of the calumnies by which he was all but universally assailed. Some are of opinion that this clause is to be understood as referring to David’s having actually declared that he himself was the publisher of God’s praises; but the scope of the passage is opposed to such an interpretation; for we find David appealing to the judgment of God against the unjust and cruel hatred to which he was subjected in the world. There is in the words an implied contrast, because, when calumny is rampant, innocence is duly and properly estimated by...

6-20 The Lord Jesus may speak here as a Judge, denouncing sentence on some of his enemies, to warn others. When men reject the salvation of Christ, even their prayers are numbered among their sins. See what hurries some to shameful deaths, and brings the families and estates of others to ruin; makes them and theirs despicable and hateful, and brings poverty, shame, and misery upon their posterity: it is sin, that mischievous, destructive thing. And what will be the effect of the sentence, "Go, ye cursed," upon the bodies and souls of the wicked! How it will affect the senses of the body, and the powers of the soul, with pain, anguish, horror, and despair! Think on these things, sinners, tremble and repent....

PSALM CIX _The psalmist speaks against his inveterate enemies_, 1-5. _He prays against them, and denounces God's judgments_, 6-15. _The reason on which this is grounded_, 16-20. _He prays for his own safety and salvation, using many arguments_ _to induce God to have mercy upon him_, 21-31. NOTES ON PSALMS CIX The _title_ of this Psalm, _To the chief Musician, A Psalm of_ _David_, has already often occurred, and on it the _Versions_ offer nothing new. The _Syriac_ says it is "a Psalm of David, when the people, without his knowledge, made _Absalom_ king; on which account he was slain: but to us (C

HOLD NOT THY PEACE - That is, Speak for my defense - as if God had looked with unconcern on the wrongs which were done to him. See the notes at Psalms 83:1. O GOD OF MY PRAISE - The God whom I praise; whom I worship and adore. It implies that he was accustomed to praise him, and desired still to praise him. He sought that God would interpose now that he might have new occasion for praise....

EXPOSITION THE title of this psalm—"To the chief musician, a psalm of David"—is thought to be not inappropriate. We may have here David's own appeal to God against his persecutors, and especially against a chief persecutor, who may be Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or Shimei. The psalm opens with mingled complaint and prayer. The adversaries are spoken of in the plural (Psalms 109:2). They have abused and maligned the writer, have returned evil for the good that he has sought to do them, and given him hatred for his love (Psalms 109:5). The psalmist, in return, utters against them, or rather against his chief persecutor, a series of male dictions (Psalms 109:6) which constitute a stand

HOLD NOT THY PEACE,.... Or be not as a deaf or dumb man, or like one that turns a deaf ear and will give no answer; so the Lord seems to his people when he does not give an immediate answer to their prayers, and does not arise to help them; he seems to have forsaken them, and to stand at a distance from them; nor does he avenge them of their enemies; it is the Messiah, as man, that puts up this petition, and it agrees with Psalms 22:2. O GOD OF MY PRAISE; worthy of all praise, because of the perfections of his nature, and for the mercies he bestows; and is and ought to be the constant object of the praise of his people, and was the object of the praise of Christ; see Psalms 22:22, who praised him for his wonderful formation as man, having such a holy human nature, so suitable to his divine

PSALM 109-113 Psalms 109 Christ in Humiliation _ 1. Despised and rejected (Psalms 109:1)_ 2. The rejectors and their fate (Psalms 109:6) 3. The Christ in His sorrow (Psalms 109:21) The five Psalms which are next grouped together belong to the most interesting in the whole collection. They give a marvellous prophecy concerning Christ, His rejection, exaltation and coming glory. In Psalms 109:1 we see Him rejected. In Psalms 110:

CIX. A PSALM OF CURSING. This Ps. is further than anything else in the whole Psalter from the spirit of Christianity. It falls into three parts: Psalms 109:1. The Psalmist's distress in persecution; Psalms 109:6. Bitter curses against his foes; in Psalms 109:21 he recurs to his suffering but is confident of final deliverance. Note that in Psalms 109:6 he does not merely assert that God will punish. Had he done so, he would have felt his pain of body and soul much softened. As it is, he is in utter wretchedness, and curses his foes in the anguish of his spirit. No doubt he regards his enemies as utterly wicked. But we do not

TITLE.. PSALM. Hebrew. _mizmor._ App-65. OF DAVID. See note on Psalms 108:1 (Title). GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ App-4. OF. Genitive of Relation: i.e. Whom. praise. Compare Deuteronomy 10:21....