Psalms 7:15

_HE MADE A PIT, AND DIGGED IT, AND IS FALLEN INTO THE DITCH WHICH HE MADE._ A pit - such as is prepared with branches and foliage over it, to entrap wild beasts in. How striking the righteous retribution in kind dealt by God to Saul! He had plot against David (1 Samuel 18:17), "Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him." But David was actually saved by the Philistines, and Saul was slain by the Philistines (1 Samuel 27:1; 1 Samuel 31:2. DIGGED IT - `hollowed it out,' marking the malicious care of the wicked plotter to make it as deep as possible, to entrap and kill the godly....

Here David says not only that their wicked devices were without success, but that, by the wonderful providence of God, the result was the very opposite of what had been contemplated. He sets this forth in the first place metaphorically, by employing the figure of _a pit and a ditch; _and then he expresses the same thing in simple terms without figure, declaring, that the _mischief intended for others returned upon the head of him who had devised it _There is no doubt that it was a common proverb among the Jews, He who hath digged a pit falleth into it; which they quoted when they meant to say, that wicked and crafty men are caught in the snares and traps which they have set for others, or that the contrivers of the ruin of others perish by their own devices. (126) There is a twofold use of this doctrine: the first place, however skilled in craft our enemies may be, and whatever means of...

10-17 David is confident that he shall find God his powerful Saviour. The destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion; for it is threatened, If he turn not from his evil way, let him expect it will be his ruin. But amidst the threatenings of wrath, we have a gracious offer of mercy. God gives sinners warning of their danger, and space to repent, and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish. The sinner is described, ver. Psalms 7:14, as taking more pains to ruin his soul than, if directed aright, would save it. This is true, in a sense, of all sinners. Let us look to the Saviour under all our trials. Blessed Lord, give us grace to look to thee in the path of tribulation, going before thy church and people, and marking the way by thine own spotless example. Under all the persecutions which in our lesser trials mark...

Verse Psalms 7:15. _HE MADE A PIT_] He determined the destruction of David. He laid his plans with much artifice; he executed them with zeal and diligence; and when he had, as he supposed, the grave of David digged, he fell into it himself! The metaphor is taken from pits dug in the earth, and slightly covered over with reeds, c., so as not to be discerned from the solid ground but the animal steps on them, the surface breaks, and he falls into the pit and is taken. "All the world agrees to acknowledge the equity of that sentence, which inflicts upon the _guilty_ the punishment intended by them for the innocent." - _Horne_....

HE MADE A PIT - The allusion here is undoubtedly to a method of hunting wild beasts which was common in ancient times. It consists in digging a pit-fall, and covering it over with brush and grass so as to deceive the animals, and then enclosing them and driving them into it. See the notes at Isaiah 24:17. AND DIGGED IT - And hollowed it out so as to be large enough to contain his prey, and so deep that he could not escape if he fell into it. The idea is, that the enemy here referred to had laid a secret and artful plan to destroy others. He meant that they should not be aware of his plan until the mischief came suddenly upon them. He was preparing to ruin them, and supposed that he was certain of his prey. AND IS FALLEN INTO THE DITCH WHICH HE MADE - Into the pit-fall which h

EXPOSITION THE composition of this psalm by David, asserted in the title, is generally allowed. Internal evidence seems to indicate for its date the earlier portion of David's public life—that during which he suffered persecution at the hands of Saul. There are two considerable difficulties connected with the title: (1) the meaning of "Shiggaion of David;" and (2) the determination of the identity of "Cush the Benjamite." "Shiggaion" is connected by some with the "Shigioneth" of Habakkuk 3:1, which is commonly explained to be a particular kind of tune or tunes. But the identity of the two words is uncertain, and the identity of their meaning, at an interval of nearly six centuries, is still more open to question. The meaning of "Shiggaion" has really to be _guessed _from the context; and the most proba

HE MADE A PIT AND DIGGED IT,.... That is, he digged a pit, and made it very large and capacious, to answer his purposes; AND IS FALLEN INTO THE DITCH [WHICH] HE MADE; so it is said of the Heathen, Psalms 9:15; and is exemplified in the case of Haman, who was hanged upon the gallows he had built for Mordecai. Kimchi explains this of Saul's falling upon his own sword, and dying by it, which he drew against David; phrase is proverbial, Proverbs 26:27; the sense of this and the above figurative expressions is literally and properly given in Psalms 7:16....

Psalms 7 _ 1. Confidence and prayer (Psalms 7:1)_ 2. Unjust persecution (Psalms 7:3) 3. Arise Jehovah! (Psalms 7:6) 4. God's dealings in government (Psalms 7:11) 5. Thanksgiving (Psalms 7:17) Psalms 7:1. It has been suggested that over this Psalm should be written the sentence, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” David appealed to God to judge His cause, that a rig

VII. A AND VII. B. Here two Pss. have been welded together. In Psalms 7:1; Psalms 7:12 a man hard bestead in spite of his innocence pleads his cause before God. In Psalms 7:6 Israel personified asks for justice at God's hands and begs Him to summon all nations to the great assize, that they may attest the Divine sentence which declares Israel innocent. A. PSALMS 7:1; PSALMS 7:12. The parenthesis in Psalms 7:4 is difficult. Read with slight change of MT and with support of

HE MADE A PIT, &C.— This is a proverbial mode of speech often used in Scripture: it is taken from pits which are digged and then covered with the leaves of trees, or some such unstable materials, either to make men fall into them, as in the time of war; or else wild beasts, who are hunted into them. REFLECTIONS.—1. This Psalm opens with David's professed dependance upon God. _O Lord, my God,_ in whom I have a sure interest, and who art bound to me in the tenderest relation, _in thee do I put my trust,_ at all times, and under all difficulties. _Note;_ They who continue thus to make God their refuge, can never be moved. 2. He cries to God to save him from the malice of his persecutors; strong and cruel as a lion, they threatened to tear him in pieces; and he was without help in himself, or a friend to protect him. _Note;_ When we are weak, then are we strong; the farther all human depend...