Psalms 63:11

But the king shall rejoice in God,.... Not Saul, as R. Obadiah; as if David wished him well, and that he might have reason to rejoice in God, though he sought his hurt; which sense is rejected by

But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. But the king shall rejoice in God.

The king; I, who am already anointed king, and who shall be actually king, when these mine enemies are fallen by the sword. He speaks of himself in the third person, either out of modesty or out of prudence, because it was ambiguous, and might be understood either of himself or of Saul, whereby, he might avoid the envy of the expression, if this Psalm was composed before he was king. That sweareth by him; either, 1. By the king; by whom they sometimes did swear, as . But they did also swear by some other persons, of eminent place and authority, though under the king, as 20:3. Nor is it likely that the psalmist would justify those kinds of oaths; this practice of swearing by one’ s name being accounted a part of that worship which is proper to God, both in the Old and New Testament. If this were meant of the king, it might better be rendered, that sweareth it, (for so the particle beth is sometimes used) him, as subjects used to swear homage to their prince. So the sense is, all those that shall own me for their king. Or, 2. By God, who was last mentioned, that sweareth by the name of God, to wit, in truth, and judgment, and righteousness, as it is expressed, , i.e. every sincere servant and worshipper of God; swearing being oft put for the whole worship of God, whereof it is a considerable part, and swearers by God for worshippers of him, as 45:23, compared with . Shall glory; shall rejoice in my deliverance and exaltation, both for their respect to the honour and service of God, which I shall advance, and for the benefits which all good men and the whole kingdom shall feel by my government; whereas in Saul’ s time the vilest men were exalted, and good men oppressed and persecuted, and the whole kingdom groaned under his tyranny. That speak lies; that now make it their business to invent or spread lying and slanderous reports concerning me and others of God’ s people. Shall be stopped; I shall severely restrain and punish such wicked practices.

Psalms 63:11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.Ver. 11. But the king shall rejoice in God] i.e. I shall, who am anointed and appointed king after Saul, and therefore doubt not to speak thus of myself, as if I were king already. Wicked men praesumendo sperant, et sperando pereunt, hope groundlessly, and perish by their presumption; but true believers trust God upon his bare word, and that against sense in things invisible, and against reason in things incredible, and according to their faith so is it unto them. Every one that sweareth by him shall glory] By whom? not by the king (though the Egyptians did so of old, and the Spaniards to this day, in the pride of their monarchs, swear by the life of their king), but by God, the sole and proper object of an oath; for to swear by his name in due manner is a special piece of his service, and is here put for the whole. So, then, every one that sincerely serveth God shall be glad and thankful to God that David reigneth; for now παντακαλωςεσται (as the raven is said to have crouped from the Capitol when Augustus came to the empire), all shall go well with them, according to their own heart’ s desires (Dio). But the mouth of them that speak lies] A fault whereof Saul’ s courtiers were deeply guilty. Some take this for a general description of all graceless and godless persons, who are liars habitually at least; as godly men are right swearers, and fearers of God’ s name. Shall be stopped] Either with shame and confusion, or with death, as was Saul’ s and his flatters’ . Saunders’ s foul mouth was stopped with famine (as hath been above noted), that had uttered so many blasphemies against God, and so many lies against men.

(11) Sweareth by him.—This is explained as meaning, “swear allegiance to him as the king,” on the analogy of Zep 1:5. And this suits the context. On the other hand, the natural way to understand the phrase, “swear by” or “in him,” is to refer it to the only oath allowed to the Israelite,” by the name of Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 6:13; Isaiah 65:16; comp. Amos 8:14), in which case we must explain by Deuteronomy 10:20-21, “Swear by his (Jehovah’s) name; He is thy praise.” Those who are loyal to Jehovah, who appeal to Him in all troubles, will find this promise true, “They shall glory,” while the unfaithful and false, not daring to make the solemn appeal, will have their mouth stopped. (Comp. Romans 3:19.)

Verse 11. But the king shall rejoice] David shall come to the kingdom according to the promise of God. Or, if it refer to the captivity, the blood royal shall be preserved in and by Zerubbabel till the Messiah come, who shall be David's spiritual successor in the kingdom for ever. That sweareth by him] It was customary to swear by the life of the king. The Egyptians swore by the life of Pharaoh; and Joseph conforms to this custom, as may be seen in the book of Genesis, Genesis 42:15-16. See also 1 Samuel 1:26; 1 Samuel 17:55, and Judith 11:7. But here it may refer to GOD. He is THE KING, and swearing by his name signifies binding themselves by his authority, acknowledging his supremacy, and devoting themselves to his glory and service alone. The Chaldee has: "And the King shall rejoice במימר אלהא bemeymar Eloha, in the WORD of God;" or, in the WORD GOD; Meymar, WORD, being taken here substantially, as in many other places, by the Targumist. The mouth of them that speak lies] The mouth of those who acknowledge lying vanities, that worship false gods, shall be stopped. All false religions shall be destroyed by the prevalence of the truth. For he, CHRIST, shall reign till all his enemies are put under his feet. "Thy kingdom come, and hell's o'erpower: and to thy sceptre all subdue." Amen and Amen. ANALYSIS OF THE SIXTY-THIRD PSALM The contents are, - I. David's ardent desire to be in the assembly of the saints, Psalms 63:1. And the reasons on which this desire was founded, Psalms 63:2-5. II. That though absent from God's ordinances, yet he forgot not his Maker, Psalms 63:6-8. III. A double prophecy. 1. What should befall his enemies, Psalms 63:9-10. And, 2. What should come to himself, Psalms 63:11. I. 1. In the first part he states his confidence in God, as the foundation of his desires, contemplations, meditations, invocations, and consolations: "O God, thou art my God," Psalms 63:1. 2. Then he expresses his fervent desire and ardent affection. 1. "Early will I seek thee." THEE, not other things. 2. "My soul thirsteth for thee," c. There is no doubt that he wanted many things in this barren thirsty land but of this he does not complain, but of his want of God in the sanctuary. And so he expresses himself in the following verse: He was about to see the power and glory of God in the sanctuary, as he had formerly done. He gives the reason of this: "Because thy loving-kindness is better than life," Psalms 63:3. To see thy goodness in the use of thy ordinances, I count far beyond all the blessings of life; and could I again be admitted there, these effects would follow: - 1. Praise: "My lips shall praise," c., Psalms 63:4. 2. Invocation and prayer: "I will lift up my hands," c., Psalms 63:4. 3. The satisfaction he should receive from these: "My mouth shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness," &c., Psalms 63:5.

11. But the king] The connexion is unintelligible unless the king is identified with the Psalmist, whose enemies are destroyed. Cp. Psalms 61:6 ff. that sweareth by him] Grammatically ‘him’ may refer to the king or to God, but usage decides that God is meant. Cp. Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; Isaiah 65:16. Those who invoke His Name as the attestation of their oaths are His loyal worshippers; they share the triumph of the king who is His representative. but the mouth &c.] For the mouth &c. Those who ‘speak lies’ are those who rebel against God and His king, deluding men by false promises to join an undertaking which is false in its principle and aim. See Psalms 4:2, note; Psalms 62:4. They are all completely silenced. Cp. the similar ending of Psalms 64. St Paul may have had the phrase in mind in Romans 3:19. The context shews how familiar the Psalms were to him.

But the king shall rejoice in God - This passage, as was remarked in the Introduction to the psalm, shows that this psalm could not have been composed in the time of Saul, since the title king was not then given to David.

11. But… king— “King,” according to the date given to the psalm, cannot here mean David, who never assumed that title during the life of Saul, though afterwards he thus spoke of himself in the third