04.07. Chapter 7
Psalms 51:1-19 "A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART."
There is no doubt as to the occasion or the authorship of this Psalm. It abounds with references to 2 Samuel 11:1-27 and 2 Samuel 12:1-31. It is remarkable that such a confession should have been handed to the chief musician; but surely the publicity thus given to it has been a means of grace to all earnest worshippers in every age of the world. The repentance was as public as the guilt; and many a sin-stained penitent has trodden these well-worn steps, which bear the marks of pilgrims of all nations and lands.
What a story it is! "This saint of nearly fifty years of age-bound to God by ties which he rapturously felt and acknowledged, whose words have been the very breath of devotion for every devout heart-forgets his longings after righteousness; flings away the joys of Divine communion; darkens his soul; ends his prosperity; brings down upon his head for all his remaining years a cataract of calamites; and makes his name and his religion a target for the barbed sarcasms of each succeeding generation of scoffers. As man; as king; as soldier-he is found wanting. Why should we dwell on the wretched story, except that it teaches, as no other page in the history of God’s Church does, that the alchemy of Divine love can extract sweet perfumes of penitence and praise out of the filth of sin?" *
*Dr. Maclaren
Psalms 51:1. Thy loving-kindness ... Thy tender mercies.-Our only pleas for forgiveness are in God’s loving kindness, and in the multitude of his tender mercies. It is only as we believe in these that we dare look at our sins. Nor can we ever forget that though the blood of Jesus did not purchase the love and mercy of God, yet it is only through his oblation and sacrifice that that love is able to have free scope in pursuing its tender office of redemption.
Psalms 51:2. Cleanse me from my sin!-The plural transgressions (Psalms 51:1) is here replaced by the singular sin, because all the successive crimes which had accumulated about his soul were branches from a common trunk. Mark these successive terms: transgression, the violation of law; iniquity, crookedness from the straight line of rectitude; sin, missing the mark.
Psalms 51:3. I acknowledge.-However much God loves the penitent, and desires to forgive him, He dares not pardon until distinct confession has been made. Till then sin is like the fabled spirit of a murdered and unburied corpse-it is ever before the eye of the soul.
Psalms 51:4. Against Thee have I sinned.-Every sin against man is still more a sin against God.
Psalms 51:5. I was shapen in iniquity.-This was not said to extenuate, but to show how inveterate was the evil, needing infinite help and love.
Psalms 51:7. Purge me ... wash me!-How many are the expressions employed! Blot out, as from a record. Wash, as foul stains which must be rubbed and beaten out. Cleanse, as a leper: for whom the sprig of hyssop was always used (Leviticus 14:4-9).
Psalms 51:8. Make me to hear joy!-How gloriously bold to ask for restoration to JOY (Psalms 51:12). Let us claim the music and dancing, as well as the best robe.
Psalms 51:10-12. A constant spirit (marg.).-This is what we need to guard against future outbreaks-a constant spirit (marg.); God’s Holy Spirit; and a willing spirit (R.V., marg.).
Psalms 51:13. I will teach transgressors.-There is no such preacher as he who has been newly-forgiven. The forgiven Peter was the appointed preacher at Pentecost.
Psalms 51:15. Open Thou my lips!-When God opens the lips, the devil and fear cannot shut them.
Psalms 51:16-17. Thou desirest not sacrifice.-Ceremonialism cannot free us from taint (Hebrews 9:9-16). God’s fire descends on broken hearts.
Psalms 51:18-19. Do good unto Zion!-When we are right with God, our sympathies and prayers overflow the narrow confines of selfish interest, and pour themselves out for the entire Church.
Psalms 52:1-9 THE DOOM OF THE EVIL DOER. The superscription fixes the occasion on which this Psalm was composed (1 Samuel 22:1-23). It was at first suggested by Doeg’s treachery; but it also had reference to Saul himself, to whom alone many of the allusions of the Psalm are applicable. And in after days this Psalm of David’s wanderings was given to the chief musician for public use, because it contains, under the husk of a passing circumstance, the kernel of eternal truth.
Psalms 52:1-4. THE TRAITOR’S SIN.-How safe are those who are entrenched in the favor of God! All else may pass, but that remains indestructibly the same. What terrible power there is in the tongue! (James 3:4-11). A sharp razor, working deceitfully, will probably injure the hand that holds it.
Psalms 52:5-7. THE TRAITOR’S FATE.-"Shall take thee away, and pluck thee," etc.; literally, "shall seize thee, and hurl thee away homeless (tentless, comp. Jeremiah 10:20). The outstanding idea is rejection of the impenitent by the Holy One. This is the inevitable doom of sin. And one cannot but rejoice that the world has been so ordered as that wickedness meets its reward even here. The 7th verse contains the reflections of the righteous.
Psalms 52:8. CONTRAST TO THE TRAITOR’S END--It is thought by some that Nob, where the tragedy took place, was situated on the Mount of Olives. If so, this allusion would be very appropriate. "As the olives grew all around the humble forest sanctuary, and were in some sort hallowed by the shrine which they encompassed, so the soul grows and is safe in loving fellowship with God." What a contrast between trusting in the abundance of riches, and in the mercy of God! The former take to themselves wings; the latter is forever (Psalms 52:1). Oh to be among God’s evergreens, drawing our supplies by roots struck deep down into Him, and trusting Him whatever betide!
Psalms 52:9. The Psalmist’s soul sings itself clear, and he determines to entrust his cause to God, and patiently await his vindication.
Psalms 53:1-6 WITHOUT GOD. A revision of Psalms 14:1-7. Twice is ATHEISM denounced in the Psalter. Line must be on line, precept on precept. Mahalath is "sickness." Does not this Psalm lay bare the hereditary tendency of the heart of man to forsake God? In Psalms 14:1-7. Elohim is thrice used, Jehovah four times; here, Elohim is used throughout. There are some other differences:- Psalms 14:1-7 Psalms 52:1-9 (1) Abominable works. (1) Abominable iniquity.
(3) Gone aside. (3) Gone back.
(5) God is in the generation of the righteous. (5) God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee
It is as if every effort were made to find more forcible expressions to describe the sin and the doom of those who deny God.
Psalms 53:1. THE SEAT OF ATHEISM.-It is not in the head, but in the heart. And men keep on boasting of it, in the hope of making themselves believe it, and in order to keep their courage up.
Psalms 53:2. THE ATTITUDE OF ATHEISM.-Its eyes are downward; if they were lifted for a moment, they would see God looking down.
Psalms 53:3. THE UNIVERSALITY OF PRACTICAL ATHEISM.-Let each beware (Hebrews 3:13).
Psalms 53:2-3. THE EVIL EFFECTS OF ATHEISM.-On the understanding and affection, so that corruption is bred through the entire nature (Romans 3:10. Romans 3:17).
Psalms 53:4. THE CRUELTY OF ATHEISM.-Who eat up my people. He who has no care for God is not likely to have much care for man. The prayerless man is an atheist in heart: "he calls not upon the Lord."
Psalms 53:5. THE CAUSELESS FEARS OF ATHEISM.-How often have the enemies of God been seized with inexplicable panic! (Proverbs 28:1; 2 Kings 7:6-7.).
Psalms 53:6. THE DIVINE ANSWER TO THE ATHEIST.-Even now the existence of God’s ancient people is a marvellous reply to the taunts of his foes: but how dumb and silenced they will be when they see Israel restored as a nation, and when the saints shall possess the earth! Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! This is a prayer which befits every instance of depressed spiritual life.
Psalms 54:1-7 "GOD IS MY HELPER."
We are led by the superscription to 1 Samuel 23:19. The Psalm is short, as if compressed by the intensity of David’s need. Psalms 54:1-3 contain a prayer for deliverance; Psalms 54:4-7 contain expression of confidence and praise. In the first he invokes the name of God; in the second he extols it. His trust throughout is in EI, the Strong. The Ziphites are described as strangers (Psalms 54:3), though men of Judah like himself; because they were possessed of a spirit so contrary and alien to his own. It is rather beautiful to see how David refuses to say all the hard things which he might have said about Saul, and deals with those who enticed him into evil courses, as though he would cloke the sins of the Lord’s anointed King.
Psalms 54:1. Save me, 0 God!-A lonely, persecuted man, who has no other help, appeals from man to God, conscious of the rectitude of his cause.
Psalms 54:3. They have not set God before them.-Not to have God before our eyes is to have them full of self-estimate, or of measurements after the standards of other men, uncorrected by thoughts of the claims of God’s Holiness, Power, and Purity.
Psalms 54:4. Behold, God is my Helper!-What faith is here! Hardly had the prayer ascended than the soul is aware of the gracious answer. Note this present tense: "God is mine helper." The eye sees nothing; but faith knows that the mountain is full of horses and chariots of fire. Saul sought David every day; but God delivered him not into Saul’s hand. "The Lord is on my side" (Psalms 118:6; Romans 8:31).
Psalms 54:6. With willinghood will I sacrifice; or, "with free-will gift" (Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:29). When God has saved us, let us yield ourselves to Him, as the woman in the Gospel yielded her alabaster box.
Psalms 54:7. He hath delivered me!-When we pray in faith, we have the petition which we asked (1 John 5:15). And when our enemies are punished we have no feeling of vindictive satisfaction, but are thankful that God has vindicated his name and his truth.
Psalms 55:1-23 OH FOR WINGS LIKE A DOVE! The groundwork of this Psalm was suggested by Absalom’s rebellion and Ahithophel’s treachery (2 Samuel 15:12). But the Spirit leads out the Psalmist beyond the immediate occasion to depict the sufferings of our Lord at the hand of Judas. And the whole Church has fellowship with those sufferings, in the days of treacherous foes and false friends.
It may be divided thus: Psalms 55:1-2, The cry of the soul; Psalms 55:3-8, A description of desperate need; Psalms 55:9-11, The sin of the city; Psalms 55:12-15, Psalms 55:19-21, A partcularization of the plottings and deceit of a former friend; Psalms 55:16-18, Expressions of trust in God; Psalms 55:22-23, Exhortations to others, founded on personal experience.
Psalms 55:4-5. My heart is sore pained.-How aptly do these words describe those deeply convicted of sin!
Psalms 55:6. Oh that I had wings like a dove!-The dove is swift in its flight; and it ever hides before a storm. What a picture of timid innocence! How often do we suppose that we should find rest in changed circumstances! But the restless heart would be restless everywhere. The words of Jesus are the true answer to this cry for rest (Matthew 11:23, and Hebrews 4:3).
Psalms 55:12-14. Thou ... mine acquaintance!-Our Lord, who bore his other sorrows in silence, exclaimed against the treachery of Judas, as if this were the drop which made His cup overflow.
Psalms 55:15. Quick, i.e., alive, like Korah (Numbers 16:1-50). Very different was the spirit of the old dispensation to that of Christ (Matthew 5:43-45; Matthew 26:52; Luke 23:34).
Psalms 55:17. Evening, morning, and noon.-Referring to the habit of the pious Jew (Daniel 6:10, Daniel 6:13). If we need to eat for physical strength thrice each day, do we not need to pray as often? But though we have our fixed times, no time is unreasonable. God’s courts of appeal never rise, or close their doors.
Psalms 55:22. Thy burden, as the margin (R.V.) suggests, is that which God has given thee to carry. "He cast it on thee: now cast it back on Him." We cannot do God’s work in the world, so long as we stoop under burdens which impede our energies; therefore hand over all, and let no burden be brought into the inner city to disturb its Sabbath-keeping (Nehemiah 13:19).
Psalms 56:1-13 "PUT MY TEARS IN THY BOTTLE!" This Psalm was composed under the same circumstances as Psalms 34:1-22. Pursued by Saul, and almost in despair, David crossed the frontier, and took refuge in the city of Goliath. He was soon recognized, and resorted to the subterfuge of feigning himself mad (1 Samuel 21:1-15). All the time he was acting thus, his soul seems to have been directing its eyes towards God. His faith was not strong enough to keep him from an unworthy disguise; but still faith was there. What a strange medley are we all at the best!-feigning madness in terror, and compiling psalms in heroic trust. The Psalm falls into three strophes; Psalms 56:1-4; Psalms 56:4-11; and Psalms 56:12-13. The earlier part of each of the two former describes the writer’s danger; and the latter part in each case closes with a similar refrain (Psalms 56:4; Psalms 56:10-11). The title is very touching, as the margin (R.V.) puts it; and perhaps there is a reference to Psalms 55:6.
Psalms 56:3. I will trust.-We are reminded of 1 Samuel 21:12. It is better to say with Isaiah, "I will trust, and not be afraid" (Isaiah 12:2). See also Psalms 56:4 and Psalms 56:11.
Psalms 56:4. I will not fear.-Here for a moment the writer seems to have climbed out of the shadowed valley of fear to a mountain summit, sunlit. But in the next verse he is hurled back again. Oh to live, outside one’s own experiences, in the unchanging Person and work of Christ! All praise and trust must be in Him.
Psalms 56:8. Put my tears into Thy bottle!-No tear of the child of God falls unnoticed and forgotten. Remember how the sinner’s tears were precious to the Master, whose feet they laved (Luke 7:38, Luke 7:44). As rainbows are made of drops of water, so does God keep our tears to transmute into songs. You will meet your tears again in rainbows (Isaiah 61:7; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4).
Psalms 56:12. Thy vows are upon me, 0 God!-Vows had an important place in the Old Testament economy (Deuteronomy 23:21-23; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) : but the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:33-35) seems to exclude them from the ethics of the new dispensation; though vows are twice mentioned in the Acts (Acts 18:18; Acts 21:23): in both cases probably in connection with Nazarite consecration.
Psalms 56:13. My feet from falling!-Here is a plea for those who have been saved from the penalty of sin, that their feet may be kept from falling. Oh to walk before God so as to please Him! (Genesis 17:1-8; Psalms 36:9).
Psalms 57:1-11 THE SOUL AMONG LIONS. This is one of the choicest of the Psalms. It is dated from the cave of Adullam or the hold at Engedi. The resemblances to Psalms 7:1-17 probably point to the latter. The Psalm falls into two parts, each of which closes with a similar refrain.
Psalms 57:1. In the shadow of Thy wings.-As the hills were David’s refuge from Saul, so was God the cave of refuge for his soul-being a safe hiding-place for us all. Is there not here also a reminiscence of words once spoken to the heart of his ancestress the Moabite maiden? (Ruth 2:12; see also Deuteronomy 32:11). God’s care is like an eagle’s wing for strength, and like a hen’s for gentleness (Matthew 23:37).
Psalms 57:2. God that performeth all things for me.-Why should we not let God do "all things" for us and through us? (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Psalms 57:3. He shall send from heaven.-With this confidence, we need not fear "him that would swallow us up."
Psalms 57:4. My soul is among lions.-Delitzsch here says that, as the fugitive among those rocky fastnesses prepares himself for his night’s rest, he hears the growl of the beasts of prey from which his refuge protects him; even so did God save David from his foes.
Psalms 57:5. Be Thou exalted, 0 God!-Let us sometimes rise above our personal griefs in passionate desire for God’s glory.
Psalms 57:7. 0 God, my heart is fixed!-The steadfast and prepared heart is always in a condition of holy song. May God keep us fixed!
Psalms 57:8-9. I will awake right early! (R.V.,marg.)-If the earlier verses marked the writer’s thoughts at eventide, here is his morning’s resolution. Glory stands for soul (See also Psalms 16:9). He who lies down to sleep among lions shall yet arise to praise, and to set others praising.
Psalms 57:10. Be Thou exalted, 0 God!-Mercy and Truth had come, as he expected (Psalms 57:3; Psalms 36:5; Psalms 108:4). And, as he closes, he magnifies Him who stooping from above heaven had lifted him to heaven.
Psalms 58:1-11 "LIKE THE DEAF ADDER." This Psalm is against wicked rulers. It has been suggested that it was written on account of Abner and the rest of Saul’s princes, who judged David as a rebel and outlaw, and urged Saul to pursue him. It is the fourth of the Golden Psalms. For superscription, see also Psalms 57:1-11. The divisions are very simple: a description of the evils of the unrighteous judges (Psalms 58:1-5); prayer for their overthrow (Psalms 58:6-8); the ultimate triumph of righteousness (Psalms 58:9-11).
Psalms 58:2. Ye weigh out violence (R.V.).-Weighing is always symbolical of JUSTICE; but these unrighteous judges weighed out violence rather than justice.
Psalms 58:3. They go astray as soon as born.-It is said that the young serpent will sting as swiftly and as poisonously as an older one. And certain it is that the virulence of our nature will show itself in young children. Of course, by nature, we all share the fallen nature of Adam, though, in the case of the believer, grace neutralizes its effect.
Psalms 58:4-5. Like the poison of a serpent.-The second clause may be rendered, Like a deaf adder, he stoppeth the ear. "The hearing of all the serpent tribes is very imperfect, as all are destitute of a tympanic cavity." The charmer has to reach the snake by very shrill notes of voice or flute. In the case of David’s persecutors, it was not so much their inability as their unwillingness to hear. Saul’s conscience was not dead, for he was on more than one occasion touched by David’s appeals (1 Samuel 19:6; 1 Samuel 24:17-21; 1 Samuel 26:21, 1 Samuel 26:25). But he resisted the prompting of his better self.
Psalms 58:6. Break their teeth!-This imagery is borrowed from the lion, which tears his prey with his great eye-teeth.
Psalms 58:7. Let his arrows be as if they were cut-headless, pointless, blunt, and harmless (Psalms 37:15).
Psalms 58:9. Before the contents of the pots can feel the heat of the thorns burning beneath, God will take them away: both those which have not been reached by the fire, and are therefore green, and those which are burning. The rapidity and rush of the tempest, which sweeps away all preparation for the meal, is very vivid.
Psalms 58:10-11. Sooner or later the integrity of the righteous will be vindicated: and it will be manifest that the eye of the all-seeing Judge has discerned between the false and the true. There is a great distinction between the desire for the gratification of personal vengeance, and zeal for the vindication of God’s character. Ah, what a commentary is supplied by Revelation 19:1-4!
Psalms 59:1-17 "DELIVER ME, 0 GOD!" The fifth of the Golden Psalms. Compare the title with those of Psalms 16:1-11; Psalms 56:1-13; Psalms 57:1-11; and Psalms 58:1-11. Delitzsch says, "We believe that it is most advisable to adhere to the title." The contents of this Psalm correspond to the title, and carry us naturally to 1 Samuel 19:11.
It consists of four parts, of which the first and third are very similar: the second and fourth parts also resemble each other. Compare Psalms 59:1-5 with Psalms 59:11-11: also Psalms 59:6-10 with Psalms 59:14-17.
Psalms 59:1-2. Deliver! defend! deliver! save!-Four times the persecuted man cries for help. He speaks of his enemies as workers of iniquity; men of blood; plot weavers; and insolent in their might. How often must similar cries have been wrung from the Waldenses, the Huguenots, and the Covenanters!
Psalms 59:3. Transgression rather refers to the treason with which David was charged against the king; sin as towards God. We should habitually exercise ourselves to have consciences void of offence towards God and men (Acts 24:16).
Psalms 59:4. They run and prepare themselves.-They made haste to manifest their enmity; yet their hatred was "without a cause" (Psalms 7:4; Psalms 35:7, Psalms 35:19; Psalms 109:3; Psalms 119:78, Psalms 119:161).
Psalms 59:5. Lord God of hosts, God of Israel.-Dwell on these reduplicated names for God: Jehovah, the unchanging; Elchim Sabaoth, the God of hosts, indicating the resources at his command; Elohe Israel, the God of Israel, in his covenant relations. Each is a new plea, which God cannot resist (see also Jeremiah 35:17; Jeremiah 38:17).
Psalms 59:6-7. Like a dog.-The Eastern dog is a wretched animal, prowling through the streets to feed on offal, and filling the night air with how lings, when its search for food has been in vain. Thus for several successive nights David’s foes may have gathered round his house, whispering, or pouring forth their hatred in muttered tones. Silence has settled on the houses all around, the inmates are wrapt in slumber: Who doth hear?
Psalms 59:8. Thou, 0 Lord, shalt laugh.-What a bold image! God looks down through the dark, and laughs at them in scorn (Psalms 2:4).
Psalms 59:9. 0 my Strength, I will wait upon Thee is the beautiful reading of the Revised Version.
Psalms 59:10. The God of my mercy.-It might be read, "My God shall go before me with His mercy." Here is God’s prevenient grace. He goes before the sheep which He puts forth: He marches in front to make the crooked straight, and the rough smooth (John 10:4).
Psalms 59:11-13. God ruleth unto the ends of the earth.-These imprecations arise from fear lest his people should be hardened in sin.
Psalms 59:16-17. I will sing in the morning.-There is also here an amplification of David’s former resolve (Psalms 59:9). The morning is ever breaking on the godly, succeeding the night of anxiety and peril. Let it summon us to loud songs of praise!
Psalms 60:1-12 "SAVE WITH THY RIGHT HAND!" This is a national Psalm to be taught to the people (Deuteronomy 31:19). Psalms 60:5-12 reappear in Psalms 108:1-13. As Psalms 13:1-6 was sung by the sons of Korah when the Edomites were taking advantage of David’s absence to invade the land, so this Psalm was composed after victory had been assured. Shushan-eduth means "the lily of testimony"; and may refer to the name of the tune to which this Psalm was set. Aram stands for the Syrians. The Syrians which dwelt between the two floods, Euphrates and Tigris, had become confederate with the Syrians of Zobah (2 Samuel 10:6, 2 Samuel 10:8, 2 Samuel 10:16, 2 Samuel 10:19). For the whole story, see 2 Samuel 8:1-18. The nation’s anguish (Psalms 60:1-4); the nation’s confidence in God’s word (Psalms 60:5-8); the nation’s prayer (Psalms 60:9-12).
Psalms 60:1. Thou hast been displeased.-These earlier verses have a plaintive tone, due to the great losses inflicted on the land by the Syrian invasion. Sometimes disasters fall so thick on the Church that it seems as if it were God-forsaken.
Psalms 60:4. Thou hast given a banner.-There is the more reason for claiming God’s help, because his people carry the banner of his truth. If it is trailed on the ground, great dishonor is done to his holy name.
Psalms 60:5. Thy beloved.-We are "beloved" indeed, if we are in the Beloved (Deuteronomy 33:12; Ephesians 1:6).
Psalms 60:6. I will divide .. . and mete out.-This is an allusion to God’s promise that His people should possess Canaan (Genesis 12:7, etc.) And therefore the nation rejoices in its certain victory over its foes. When we have any promise of God, we may confidently depend upon it.
Shechem and Succoth are described as contiguous in Genesis 33:17-18. As it was promised in Jacob’s days, so should it be (Genesis 28:13-15; Genesis 35:11-12). The enemy should not succeed in wresting an inch from Israel.
Psalms 60:7. Gilead is Mine!-Gilead, though lying across the Jordan, should not be dismembered. Manasseh and Ephraim, the martial tribes, and Judah, the seat of government, were welded into a strong united kingdom, and should remain so.
Psalms 60:8. Moab ... Edom ... Philistia.-The three hereditary foes of Israel had been reduced to subjection. Moab, a washing tub (2 Samuel 8:2); Edom, a slave taking care of sandals (Matthew 3:11), or the idea may be of the transference of authority (Ruth 4:7); Philistia, compelled to welcome with shouts of triumph (Psalms 108:9).
Psalms 60:9. Who will lead me?-The victor pants for new victories. The strong city is probably Petra, the famous capital of Edom, hewn in rock.
Psalms 60:11-12. Give us help!-The cry for help and the assurance of deliverance go hand in hand. Here is a motto for us in all times of opposition and difficulty.