04.05. Chapter 5
Psalm XXXI "IN THE SECRET OF THY PRESENCE." In Psalms 31:9-18 we have a picture of unusual grief. Some have thought the Psalm was written during the Sauline persecutions; but it is more likely that it dated from the rebellion of Absalom. It alternates from depths of despondency to heights of sublime trust; and well befits the experiences of any who walk in the darkness and have no light (Isaiah 50:10).
Psalms 31:1. In Thee do I trust.-God’s answer to his people’s trust is guaranteed by his righteousness (Joel 2:26) .
Psalms 31:2. A house of defence.-Hidden with Christ in God, the believer, apparently defenceless, lives, walks, and has his being, within an impregnable defence. You go into the day, enclosed in God, just as God’s life is enclosed in you.
Psalms 31:3-4. Pull me out of the net!-When we are wholly given up to God, our cause is his, and the honour of his name is at stake (Joshua 7:9). God’s pulls are sometimes rather sharp.
Psalms 31:5. Into Thine hand!-The last words of Stephen, Polycarp, Bernard, Huss, Luther, Melancthon, and of many more, and, above all, of our Lord (Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). The Psalter was our Saviour’s prayer-book. This is a suitable petition for every morning, ere we go forth to the day’s war and work. What a claim we have on God! He must keep what we commit, because we are his by redemption, and because his truth cannot fail (2 Timothy 1:12).
Psalms 31:7. I will be glad and rejoice!-Faith will find material for her songs in the darkest days. God can recognize us though our beauty has vanished and our friends hardly know us (Job 2:12).
Psalms 31:9. Mine eye is consumed with grief.-This and the following verses tell a sad tale. There is a special disease of the eyes brought on by excessive weeping; and we all know how the digestion and the health are affected by mental emotion. Yet, amid all, the believer realizes that each moment of suffering is allotted by the dear hand of God. Not one unkind thing can be said or done, unless by his permission. The Refiner sits beside the crucible, his watch in hand, his other hand on the patient’s pulse. "My times are in thy hand."
Psalms 31:10. My strength faileth.-Sin may be committed in the heat of passion; but it lays up for itself bitter memories, and involves sorrowful consequences, which eat into the soul.
Psalms 31:11. A fear to mine acquaintance.-The inmates of the same house avoided him, and those who met him in the streets without lied from him.
Psalms 31:14-18. Thou art my God.-What a change there is in the spirit of our life, when we look from men and things to God! Do not look at God through circumstances; but at circumstances through the environing presence of God, as through a golden haze. The times of our Lord’s life were in his Father’s hands, as ours are in his (Psalms 31:15; John 2:4; John 7:6, John 7:8, John 7:30; John 8:20). Who will dread the averted faces of friends or foes, if only God’s face shines? But we cannot expect it to shine unless, as his servants, we are where He would have us be, and doing his will (Psalms 31:16). "Grievous" thing are hard ones (Psalms 31:18).
Psalms 31:19. How great is Thy goodness!-As God hath laid up ore in the earth, so that man must dig for it-so hath God laid up unsearchable riches of goodness in Christ, and all spiritual blessings (Romans 11:33). But we must first know what they are, und then take them (Proverbs 2:1-5).
Psalms 31:20. In the secret of Thy presence.-What a compensation for slandered saints! Perhaps we never know that hiding until we have lusted the proud hatred and contempt of man. Do you know the royal withdrawing room? God’s pavilion is sound-tight; the strife of tongues cannot invade.
Psalms 31:21. His marvellous kindness.-Was this Mahanaim? (2 Samuel 17:27).
Psalms 31:22. In my haste.-It is a mistake to speak in haste.
Psalms 31:23-24. Oh, love the Lord!--Oh for love, that we may cast it at His feet, who is so infinitely lovable! And out of love shall spring hope, strength, and courage.
Psalms 32:1-11 "THOU FORGAVEST!"
David evidently wrote this Psalm (Romans 4:6-8). It gives more minutely the story of his experience after his great sin (comp. Psalms 51:1-19). Maschil means to give instruction. This Psalm was one of Luther’s favorites.
Psalms 32:1-2. Blessed is the man!-We never realize the blessedness of forgiveness so sweetly as when we have known the burden of unforgiven sin. The word is plural, "Oh, the blessednesses!" Transgression is passing over a boundary. Sin is the missing of a mark. Iniquity is what is turned out of its proper course and perverted. The first must be forgiven, i.e., borne away (John 1:29). The second must be covered, i.e., hidden from sight (Revelation 3:18). The third must not be imputed (2 Corinthians 5:19). All these things are true of each believer in Jesus. And in such, forgiveness begets guilelessness.
Psalms 32:3-5. I acknowledged my sin.-For some time after his sin, the tempter so gagged David that he strove to hide it. Ah, how bitter was his anguish then! He was silent in confession, but not in grief. Under the remorse of conscience he suffered as if the combined agonies of ague and fever had smitten his physical strength, and laid him low. At last he could stand it no longer; but confessed, and experienced the joy of God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). There is no cure for the soul like the heartfelt confession of sin.
Psalms 32:6-7. For this shall everyone ... pray.-Godly people should take courage at the Lord’s deliverances to their fellows. Godliness is Godlikeness. Do you resemble your Father? (Ephesians 5:1). There are times when He seems especially near-nearer than the floods of great waters. Oh to be God-enclosed, God-encompassed! Then deliverances, with linked hands, shall encircle us with songs.
Psalms 32:8. I will instruct thee!-Three precious promises-for instruction, teaching, and guidance. "Though the vision tarry, wait for it" (Habakkuk 2:3). If the cloud still broods over the Holy Place, do not strike your tents (Numbers 9:15-23). Throw on God the responsibility of making his way plain. It is not that God will indicate our duty by the slight movement of the eye, but that He will watch us so as to stop us taking a wrong turn, or making a false step.
Psalms 32:9. The bit and bridle.-The R.V. gives a more accurate rendering of the original. With the bit and bridle the animal needs to be governed and restrained: we should be actuated by love.
Psalms 32:10-11. Be glad in the Lord!-Compassed just now with songs; and here with mercy. When one asked Haydn why his church music was so cheerful, he said, "I cannot make it otherwise: I write as I feel. When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen." (Php 4:4).
Psalms 33:1-22 "REJOICE IN THE LORD!" This Psalm incites to PRAISE. Let us note the subjects enumerated for this holy exercise. Surely it shall not be long ere, touching one of them, our soul shall kindle.
Psalms 33:1. Praise is comely.-We cannot rejoice in ourselves, but we may in the Lord. Such an exercise is eminently befitting to those who owe to Him all they are and all they hope for.
Psalms 33:2. With harp; with psaltery.-Sweet-toned instruments and the voice of song will often stir the lethargic soul.
Psalms 33:3. Sing a new song!-New hearts may use the old words, but ever with fresh emotion.
Psalms 33:4. The word of the Lord, and his works.-Think of his words of promise and of teaching; and of his marvellous works in creation. Recall his works. Surely in some of these there is food for song. Muse; and the fire must burn (Psalms 39:3).
Psalms 33:5. The earth is full.-His goodness is always passing before us (Exodus 33:19). The evil of the world is due to the devil’s intrusion upon God’s work" (Matthew 13:28) .
Psalms 33:6-9. He spake, and it was done.-ln a few words of marvellous power the great work of creation is here recapitulated (Genesis 1:1-31).
Psalms 33:10-15. The counsel of the Lord.-God’s providential government. We may know the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18; Titus 2:14), and drink in the blessedness of Psalms 33:12
Psalms 33:16-19. No king saved by a host.-We may not be possessed of a host, or of much strength, or of horses: we may be humble and despised: and yet we need not regret the absence of all these earthly things. They do not really avail in the day of battle. God’s unslumbering eye sees our need; and if we only dare to trust in Him, He will deliver us from death and famine.
Psalms 33:20-22. Our soul waiteth.-Let us patiently tarry our Lord’s leisure, and occupy ourselves as we do so with glad songs of praise for what He is going to do. Trust is certain to bear fruit in joy. The grave must lead to the songs of the resurrection morning. And we may well begin to rejoice in the prospect of joy, and to praise for the praise which we shall be shortly offering.
Psalms 34:1-22 "THIS POOR MAN CRIED." The event which this Psalm celebrates is recorded in 1 Samuel 21:1-15. The association with Achish was not a very creditable incident. David, however, realizes the goodness of God, in spite of his own failures and mistakes. The Psalm clearly falls into two divisions, the first ending at Psalms 34:10. In the original, the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Psalms 34:1. At all times ... continually.-It is a sign of great grace to bless always, in dark times as well as in bright.
Psalms 34:3. Let us exalt His name!-We learn from 1 Samuel 22:9-11, who they were to whom David spoke. "Birds," says Trapp, "when they come to a full heap of corn, will chirp, and call in their fellows." Charity is no churl.
Psalms 34:4-6. This poor man cried.-Whilst feigning madness, his soul was going up in prayer: we can never turn our faces to God to be disappointed.
Psalms 34:7. The Angel of the Lord.--Compare Acts 12:6-10.
Psalms 34:8. Oh, taste and see.-Some experiences must be realized before they can be understood. And even then they cannot be expressed: the rapture is unspeakable. But however rich the provision of God’s goodness, it will avail nothing until we open eye and mouth.
Psalms 34:10. They that seek ... shall not want.-"We will leave thee nothing," said plundering soldiers to a widow, "to put in thee or on thee." "I care not," said she: "I shall not want as long as God is in the heavens." Columba spent his last afternoon in transcribing this Psalm, saying when he reached this verse, "I will stop here. The following verse will better suit my successor."
Psalms 34:11-14. Hearken unto me!-The purport of this exhortation is well summed up by Peter in his First Epistle (1 Peter 3:10). We need not fret to defend ourselves, or answer false accusations: let us refrain our lips, and go on doing what is right and good. So shall we find our needs supplied, our enemies silenced, and our soul redeemed.
Psalms 34:15. The righteous.-Those who stand before God accepted in the Righteous One, and in whose hearts his Spirit is working righteousness.
Psalms 34:17. Delivereth them.-Not kept from it, hut delivered out of it (2 Corinthians 1:10).
Psalms 34:18. The Lord is nigh.-You may not realize it, oh broken-hearted sufferer, but the great Gardener passes by those who are standing erect, to stoop over thee, beaten down by the storm and trailing on the ground. He comes where He is most needed.
Psalms 34:20. He keepeth all his bones.-The literal fulfilment of these words must be sought in John 19:36. But there is a sense in which the integrity of our bodily health is due to the perpetual exercise of God’s care.
Psalms 34:22. The Lord redeemeth.-All through these latter verses it is good to note the present tenses of our God’s deliverances.
Psalms 35:1-28 "WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE?" This psalm dates from the Sauline persecution; or else from the disturbed state of the kingdom in David’s later days. Each of the three divisions into which the Psalm naturally falls ends with praise (Psalms 35:9, Psalms 35:18, Psalms 35:28).
Continually in this Psalm we meet with imprecations on the wicked. The spirit of the New Testament teaches us a higher law, the law of love and forgiveness (Luke 9:55-56). But perhaps it is better to read these verses as predictions: thus, "Let them be confounded," would read, "They will be confounded." Much of it could be only true in its deepest sense, when uttered by the Messiah: rejected by Pharisee and Scribe; unconscious of any personal hatred; and only prompted by an absorbing passion for the vindication of the righteousness of God.
Psalms 35:3. I am thy salvation.-What a thrill passes through the soul, when God whispers this assurance-"I am thy salvation!" God Himself is even more to us than what He has done. He is in us; around us; for us: and He is our salvation. .
Psalms 35:5. The Angel of the Lord.-This is He who appeared to Abraham, and accompanied the wilderness-march. How awful that He should be wrath and pursue!
Psalms 35:7. Their net in a pit.-"The pit-net was a pit covered over by the hunter with a net and with twigs, to ensure the fall and capture of a wild beast."
Psalms 35:9-10. My soul shall be joyful.-We are apt enough to pray, and not always so careful to return thanks. "Who is like unto Thee?" is a snatch from the song at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:11).
Psalms 35:11. They laid to my charge.-"They ask me of things that I know not" (R.V.). The idea being that his enemies sought to elicit by questions some ground for accusation (Mark 14:55; Luke 11:53; John 18:19).
Psalms 35:12-14. But as for me.-How true this was of the Lord Jesus; weeping, praying, dying for his foes (Luke 19:41-44). When our prayers and tears cannot avail for others, they return to bless ourselves (Matthew 10:13). "Darling" is soul (17).
Psalms 35:20. The Quiet in the Land.-This was the title adopted by holy men in Germany through long and dark days; and is beautifully significant of the course of those whose life is hidden with Christ in God.
Psalms 35:22. This Thou hast seen.-What a striking contrast between God’s seeing, and the seeing of the previous verse, directed towards the fall and destruction of the persecuted one!
Psalms 35:24. Judge me, 0 Lord!-It is a comfort to appeal from the judgments of men to the bar of God; and to claim his interposition and vindication-which must come, though years pass on without an answer.
Psalms 35:28. My tongue shall speak of Thy praise!-What might not life be, if this were our resolution! Such is the spirit of heaven: of its inhabitants it is said, "they rest not day and night" (Revelation 4:8).
Psalms 36:1-12 "THY LOVING-KINDNESS." By the inscription we are specially led to think of SERVICE in connection with this Psalm. The Lord’s service is indeed blessed, and it constitutes perfect freedom. Christ’s household servants all become nobles.
CONTRASTED SERVICE (Psalms 36:1-4).-When there is "no fear of God before the eyes," a man is free to "flatter himself in his own eyes." It is a terrible thing when a man becomes headstrong in wickedness, and abhors not evil. THE MASTER’S CHARACTER (Psalms 36:5-8).-All natural symbols fail to set forth the glories of Nature’s Lord. We cannot scale his heights, or plumb his depths, or see his last star. His loving-kindness is precious (1 Peter 2:7). If you want men to leave other refuges, so as to shelter under the wings of God, begin to talk of His love: that will draw them (Psalms 36:8). Those who thirst for creature-delights have yet to learn something of the meaning of this abundant satisfaction (John 10:10). God gives sorrow by cupfuls, and pleasures by riverfuls. The Hebrew word for Pleasures is "Eden."
Psalms 36:9. In Thy light shall we see light.-The deepest teachings of the Apostle John lie folded in this marvellous verse, as the forest in the acorn (John 1:1-16; 1 John 1:1-7). THE SERVANT"S PRAYER (Psalms 36:10-12).-Set thy loving-kindness abroach, so that we may drink, and drink again; start the flow, that it may be like some fountain of oil, which, the more it is drawn upon, the more it yields. The man who knows God is "upright in heart"; and vice versa. But the servants of sin incur irrevocable ruin, while the servants of God stand in their integrity, unmoved (Isaiah 54:17).
Psalms 37:1-40 "FRET NOT THYSELF!"
Written by David in his old age (Psalms 37:25), this Psalm contains his mature experience. Like Psalms 25:1-22; Psalms 34:1-22; Psalms 119:1-176, and some others, it is, in its arrangement, an acrostic of an alphabetical character. It deals with the great problem of the prosperity of the wicked, as contrasted with the afflictions of the righteous; and shows that these afflictions are only temporary, and that, if we can trust and wait, we shall see that God will mete out their deserts to all. This Psalm is a protest against querulous complaint, and has in all ages been peculiarly dear to the troubled believer. It is exquisitely paraphrased by Gerhardt’s noble hymn, "Commit thou all thy griefs." Psalms 37:5 was frequently quoted by Dr. Livingstone.
Psalms 37:1. Fret not.-This key-note is thrice repeated (Psalms 37:1, Psalms 37:7-8). It might be translated "Do not worry."
Psalms 37:5. Roll thy way upon the Lord (marg.): see also for same Hebrew word Psalms 22:8, "trusted"; Proverbs 16:3, "commit."-True religion is summed up in two words, SUBMIT and COMMIT.
Psalms 37:7. Rest in the Lord! (marg., Be Silent!)-The Rhone rids itself of silt as it passes through the still waters of Geneva’s lake. It is so much easier to act than to be still.
Psalms 37:9. Earth may be read the land: see also Psalms 37:11, Psalms 37:22, Psalms 37:29, Psalms 37:34, and Matthew 5:5.-This surely means the supply of all temporal needs as well as of spiritual blessing.
Psalms 37:12. The wicked plotteth.-Let us not fear the threatenings of our foes. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).
Psalms 37:12. The Lord knoweth.-It is enough that God knows what lies hid in each day, and guarantees a sufficiency of strength (Deuteronomy 33:25) .
Psalms 37:19. Not ashamed in the evil time.-So God cared for Jeremiah in the time of siege (Jeremiah 37:21).
Psalms 37:23. The steps ... are ordered.-Jehovah guides the steps and orders the goings. There is safety here (Psalms 37:31; Job 34:21; Psalms 17:5; Psalms 40:2; Proverbs 16:9).
Psalms 37:24. The Lord upholdeth.-The Douay version reads "The Lord putteth his hand under him."
Psalms 37:25. I have been young, and now am old.-Though this may have been David’s experience, yet it does not follow that it is universally true. But on the whole it is true. Not the blessedness of the seed of a good man (Psalms 37:26).
Psalms 37:30-31. The law of his God in his heart.-This is the portrait of the godly as to their life, and heart, and steps. Here, as in Psalms 1:1-6 and Psalms 119:1-176, the "law of the Lord" is the source of strength and safety. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart" (Psalms 119:11).
Psalms 37:34. He shall exalt thee.-The fulfilment of these promises depends on our fulfilment of the conditions of faith and waiting. Because they trust in Him (Psalms 37:40).
Psalms 37:37. The end of that man is peace.-Bishop Coverdale’s translation in the Prayer Book version is worthy of note: "Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right; for that shall bring a man peace at the last." But the Revised Version favors the ordinary reading. The day may break stormily; but the storms expend themselves ere nightfall, and the sunset is golden.
Psalms 38:1-22 "FORSAKE ME NOT!"
One of the seven penitential Psalms. It seeks to bring to God’s remembrance his apparently forgotten suppliant (see Septuagint heading). We all should have times of calling to remembrance, when we summon back the past.
Psalms 38:1. THE BURDEN OF THE PSALMIST’S PRAYER.
Psalms 38:2-8. HIS FIRST PLEA, derived from his physical and mental sufferings.-Sin’s convictions are as arrows. When God’s holy law is driven home by the Spirit, we are like hunted deer. Many images are introduced: the hunted quarry (Psalms 38:2); disease (Psalms 38:3); the waters rolling over a drowning man (Psalms 38:4); a burden which crushes the bearer to the ground (Psalms 38:4); ah, how blessed that they were not too heavy for the Sin-bearer! (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24). I am troubled might be rendered I writhe (Psalms 38:6). Mourning will soon be exchanged for singing (Psalms 40:3).
Psalms 38:9-12. HIS SECOND PLEA, derived from his ill-treatment by men. -God reads the unspoken sorrows of our hearts (Psalms 38:9). Mark the heating, palpitating heart; the failure of strength; the lack-lustre eye (Psalms 38:10). When enemies are nearest, friends are furthest: so it was with our blessed Lord (Matthew 26:56). Malice in deed, and malice in thought (Psalms 38:12).
Psalms 38:13-20. HIS THIRD PLEA, derived from his absolute dependence on God.-It is well to be deaf to calumny, and dumb in self-vindication (1 Samuel 10:27). Let God undertake your cause (Psalms 38:15). How truly might the Messiah have appropriated many of these words! (John 15:25; Matthew 26:62) .
Psalms 38:21-22. HIS CLOSING PETITIONS.-Thus, faith becomes expectant and triumphant, claiming God as its salvation.
Psalms 39:1-13 "I WAS DUMB!"
Written by David and handed to Jeduthun, who is specially mentioned as entrusted with the Psalmody (1 Chronicles 16:41-42). Psalms 37:1-40 is a calm meditation on the respective lots of righteous and wicked men: this Psalm is full of impetuous and impatient complaint, which finally works itself out, and subsides into a more submissive and plaintive tone.
IMPATIENT MURMURINGS (Psalms 39:1-6).
FAITH AND PRAYER (Psalms 39:7-13).
Psalms 39:1. I will take heed.-A tale of the fifth century tells of a plain man, who, having learned this verse, took leave of his teacher, saying he would return for more when he had mastered it, and did not return for forty-nine years, as he found it took him all that time to acquire its lessons. We need to ask God to tame what man never can (James 3:2-8).
Psalms 39:3. While I was musing.-The pent-up fire broke forth as from a volcano. Perhaps it had been better, if it had been altogether restrained (Job 1:22; Job 2:10; Job 3:1). And yet, if the lips must tell the unsupportable agony of the heart, it is better to tell it all out into the ear of God.
Psalms 39:5. My days as an hand-breadth.-Not only does he, with all his days, shrink into nothingness in contrast with God, but every man, when standing most firmly, is only "a breath" (R.V., marg.), curling up for a moment in the chill air, and gone.
Psalms 39:6. In a vain show.-What a description of the frailty and vanity of human life! "Walketh as a shadow" (R.V., marg.): i.e., the outward life and activity of men is fleeting and unsubstantial, as the shadow of a cloud on the mountain slope.
Psalms 39:7. My hope is in Thee!-David ceases from peering into dizzy depths, which well-nigh make him reel-and looks upward. This is the turning point of the Psalm. The former thoughts are repeated; but the dark clouds are shot through with light.
Psalms 39:9. I was dumb.-Dumbness not now from wrath, as in Psalms 39:2, but from trust. Thou didst it.
Psalms 39:11. When Thou . . . dost correct.-The transience of human life is now seen to be due to the sin which needs correction, much more than to any defect in God’s creative love.
Psalms 39:12. A stranger with Thee (Leviticus 25:23).- We have a constant companion. God is our fellow-pilgrim. "Life need not be lonely, if He be with us; nor its shortness sad."
Psalms 40:1-17 "LO, I COME!"
Though the primary reference be to the individual believer, yet there is One only in whom these words can find their entire fulfilment. This is put beyond all doubt by Hebrews 10:5-9.
THANKSGIVING (Psalms 40:1-3);
DECLARATION (Psalms 40:4-5);
CONSECRATION (Psalms 40:6-10);
ENTREATY (Psalms 40:11-17), unite to fill this precious Psalm with helpful thoughts and words.
Psalms 40:1. Waiting, I waited (marg.).
Psalms 40:2. A pit of roaring, a deep cavity through which roaring waters rush (Isaiah 17:12). Miry clay (Psalms 69:2).
Psalms 40:3. A new song.-May not these have been the words of Christ as He ascended out of the grave, leading the new song which only the redeemed can learn? (Revelation 14:3).
Psalms 40:5. Many are Thy wonderful works.-What wonderful works in Redemption, Adoption, Pardon, Sanctification, and Providence! God’s living thoughts of us pass our power of counting (Psalms 139:17). Here is a maze, in which, bewildered, we may soon lose ourselves.
Psalms 40:6. Sacrifice . . . Thou didst not desire.-The bloody and unbloody offerings respectively. Where these expressed a loving, obedient heart, they were gladly accepted: otherwise they were valueless (Psalms 50:5; 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6) .
Mine ears hast Thou digged (marg.) (Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17). -Thus did Jesus freely give Himself up to obedience and blood-shedding for us; and so should we give ourselves irrevocably to Him.
Psalms 40:7-8. Lo, I come!-It is blessed when God’s law is not only in the head but in the heart; and when it is there it will not be concealed (Psalms 40:10).
Psalms 40:9. In the great congregation.--We are reminded of John 17:26.
Psalms 40:10. I have not hid.-What themes are here, not only for the Lord, but for his ministers!
Psalms 40:12. Innumerable evils.--If applied to our Lord, these must be the sins of the whole world (Isaiah 53:4-6).
Psalms 40:15. Their shame.--For a reward of the shame with which they tried to load the sufferer.
Psalms 40:16. The Lord be magnified!-What a contrast in the objects of those who seek! (Psalms 40:14, Psalms 40:16).
Psalms 40:17. I am poor and needy.--The thoughts of God towards the soul (Psalms 40:5) are sweet themes of encouragement (1 Peter 5:7) . Poverty and need are not barriers to, but arguments for, the thoughts of God.