Psalms 32:8

I will instruct thee,.... Or "cause thee to understand" (q). These are by many thought to be the words of the Lord, who gives to a man an understanding of spiritual things; he instructs by his

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

This and the next verse are the words, either, 1. Of God; whom David brings in as returning this answer to his prayers, and the profession of his trust in God. Or rather, 2. Of David himself; who having received singular favours from God, and having declared what the godly would do upon that occasion, , he now undertakes to instruct the wicked what they should do; which he doth, partly to express his thankfulness to God for delivering himself, and his, zeal to advance the honour and service of God in the world; partly, as an act of justice, that he might make some amends to those whom he had injured, and provoke them to repentance, whom by his sins he had scandalized, and either drawn to sin, or encouraged and hardened in sin, which he was obliged and did promise to do upon this or the like occasion, ; and partly, for the discharge of his office and duty, as he was both a king and a prophet, and a good man; in all which capacities he was obliged to endeavour the conversion and salvation of sinners. Thee; thee, O sinner, whosoever thou art, who hast no understanding, but art a wicked man, as the two following verses explain it. He speaks this to the generality of impenitent sinners, as the next verse shows, which begins in the plural number, Be not ye, &c.; only he expresseth it here singularly, as appealing and applying himself particularly to the conscience of every individual person, which he thought the most effectual way of proceeding, as he had found in himself, when Nathan applied his indefinite discourse to him, saying, Thou art the man. In the way which thou shalt go, i.e. in which thou oughtest to walk; the future tense oft noting a man’ s duty, as . I will guide thee with mine eye; I will lend thee the eyes of my mind. Or, I will be to thee instead of eyes, as the phrase is, , to advise, and direct, and caution thee; which I am able to do, not only by those gifts and graces which God hath given me, but also from my own experience. I will guide thee as the rider doth his horse, to which the person to be guided is compared, ; or as a master doth his scholar; or as a guide doth him who knoweth not the right way. Or the words may be thus rendered, I will give thee counsel, mine eye shall be upon thee, as it is more fully expressed, 40:4, i.e. I will watch over thee, and instruct or admonish thee, as I have occasion.

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.Ver. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee, &c.] No disgrace is it then for great men to be teachers of others. Here we have a prince preacher; such as was also Solomon, George prince of Anhalt, and others. I will guide thee with mine eye] i.e. With my careful inspection and oversight; I will see that thou profit in godliness. The Chaldee hath it, I will counsel thee, and set mine eye upon thee for good. Thus Christ counselled Peter with his eye, Luke 22:61. Ministers must watch over their people, and see that all go right. Hence they are called seers, superintendents, bishops.

(8) I will guide thee with mine eye.—The Hebrew may be rendered either “I will advise—with mine eye upon thee,” or “I will fix mine eye upon thee,” which is the translation by the LXX., and to be preferred. This verse changes so abruptly to the first person that it is better, with most of the old interpreters and, among moderns, with Ewald, Hitzig, and Reuss, to suppose them the words of deliverance that sound so sweet in the psalmist’s ears.

Verse 8. I will instruct thee] These are probably the Lord's words to David. Seeing thou art now sensible of the mercy thou hast received from me, and art purposing to live to my glory, I will give thee all the assistance requisite. I will become thy Instructor, "and will teach thee," in all occurrences, "the way thou shouldst go." I will keep mine eyes upon thee, and thou shalt keep thine upon me: as I go, thou must follow me; and I will continually watch for thy good.

8. Who is the speaker? The Psalmist or God? Most commentators suppose that it is the Psalmist, who now assumes the part of teacher, as in Psalms 34:11, and fulfils the promise of Psa 51:13. But surely it must be God who speaks in answer to the Psalmist’s profession of trust. Would any human teacher venture to say, I will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee, as the last line must be rendered with R.V.? For the ever-wakeful ‘eye’ of God’s loving Providence see Psalms 33:18; Psalms 34:15; Jeremiah 24:6. The view that God is the speaker is confirmed by the parallels in Psalms 25:8; Psalms 25:12; Psalms 16:7; Psalms 73:24; and it avoids the abruptness of the transition from Psalms 32:7 to Psalms 32:8, and the awkwardness of the change to the plural in Psalms 32:9, which the other explanation involves.

I will instruct thee - Many interpreters have understood this to refer to God - as if he were now introduced as speaking, and as saying that he would be the guide of those who thus submitted to him,

8. I will instruct thee—The current of modern criticism supposes David to be here speaking.