Psalms 109:24

My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. MY KNEES ARE WEAK THROUGH FASTING - not fasting from want of appetite, but the fasting which is practiced by men overwhelmed with severe sufferings (Hengstenberg). (Psalms 35:13; Psalms 69:10.) AND MY FLESH FAILETH OF FATNESS - or, 'my flesh deceives from want of oil;' i:e., the absence of the anointing oil makes my flesh unlike what it should be; it is not shining, as in its proper state. So the phrase, Matthew 6:16, "they disfigure their faces" - literally, they make their faces unseen [afanizousi ta prosoopa autoon]; i:e., not shining with oil. The Hebrew ...

24_My knees are become feeble. _Though David had the necessaries of life, yet he emaciated himself by voluntary abstinence, to which, as well as to prayer, he gave himself, and therefore we may regard this verse as expressive of his sorrow and sadness. We may also understand it as expressive of his having no relish for meat or drink, knowing, as we do, that persons who are in sorrow and sadness have no appetite for food; even life itself is burdensome to them. Should any one prefer restricting the interpretation to David’s being in want of the necessaries of life, when he hid himself in the dens of wild beasts, to escape the fury of his enemies, and was then subjected to hunger and thirst, he may do so. It appears to me, however, that by this language he intends to point out the extreme anguish which he felt, because, with death staring him in the face, he loathed all food; and this is i...

21-31 The psalmist takes God's comforts to himself, but in a very humble manner. He was troubled in mind. His body was wasted, and almost worn away. But it is better to have leanness in the body, while the soul prospers and is in health, than to have leanness in the soul, while the body is feasted. He was ridiculed and reproached by his enemies. But if God bless us, we need not care who curses us; for how can they curse whom God has not cursed; nay, whom he has blessed? He pleads God's glory, and the honour of his name. Save me, not according to my merit, for I pretend to none, but according to thy-mercy. He concludes with the joy of faith, in assurance that his present conflicts would end in triumphs. Let all that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him. Jesus, unjustly put to death, and now risen again, is an Advocate and Intercessor for his people...

Verse Psalms 109:24. _MY KNEES ARE WEAK THROUGH FASTING_] That _hunger_ is as soon felt in _weakening the knees_, as in producing an _uneasy_ _sensation in the stomach_, is known by all who have ever felt it. Writers in all countries have referred to this effect of hunger. Thus _Tryphioderus_ Il. Excid. ver 155: - Τειρομενου βαρυθειεν ατερπεΐ γουνατα λιμῳ. "Their knees might fail, by hunger's force subdued; And sink, unable to sustain their load." MERRICK. SO PLAUTUS, Curcul, act. ii., scen. 3: - Tenebr

MY KNEES ARE WEAK THROUGH FASTING - Hunger; want of food. Strength to stand is connected with firmness in the knee-joints, and hence, weakness and feebleness are denoted by the giving way of the knees. Compare Hebrews 12:12. AND MY FLESH FAILETH OF FATNESS - I am lean and weak. There is not the proper supply for my strength. The idea seems to have been that fatness (Hebrew, oil) was necessary to strength....

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

MY KNEES ARE WEAK THROUGH FASTING,..... Either voluntary or forced, through want of food or refreshment; this was verified in Christ, when he kneeled and prayed, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground; see Psalms 69:10. AND MY FLESH FAILETH OF FATNESS; or "for want of oil" k; the radical moisture of his flesh being dried up like a potsherd, Psalms 22:15. k משמן δι' ελαιον, Sept. "propter oleum", V. L. "propter defectum olei", Eth. Arab....

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

PSALMS 109 DESCRIPTIVE TITLE David, Rehearsing how His Enemies have Cursed him, Refers his Cause to Jehovah. ANALYSIS Stanza I., Psalms 109:1-5, The Psalmist Entreats Jehovah to speak up for him against his Accusers, of whose Groundless Hatred he Complains. Stanzas II.-VI., Psalms 109:6-15, He Records, at length, his Enemies-' Imprecations; and, Stanza VII., Psalms 109:16-19, Their False Accusations, regarding these as Permitted by Jehovah, In Stanzas VIII-XII., Psalms 109:21-31, the Psalmis