04.08. Chapter 8
Psalms 61:1-8 "THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I."
Neginah implies that the Psalm was intended for singing to instruments. It was evidently composed while the tabernacle was standing (Psalms 61:4); and after David had received the promise of the everlasting kingdom (Psalms 61:6-7). Yet he was manifestly passing through a time of great distress; and Delitzsch is, therefore, probably right in fixing its date at the time of Absalom’s rebellion, and in heading it, "Prayer and Thanksgiving of an expelled king on his way back to his throne." It is a precious gem.
Psalms 61:1. My prayer.-How earnest it is!-my cry!
Psalms 61:2. The end of the earth is any place of extreme sorrow or depression; it is equivalent to the uttermost of which Hebrews 7:25 speaks. We are never really far off from God; but, owing to depression, and physical weakness, and the oppression of our foes, we may feel ourselves to be so. But we are never too far off to cry to Him. My Rock!-What rock is this, save the Rock of Ages, cleft for us? And yet we cannot climb up into its clefts: we need the hand of Divine grace to lift us thither, and keep us there. "I will put thee" (Exodus 33:22).
Psalms 61:3. A shelter! ... a strong tower!-What God has been, He will be.
Psalms 61:4. In Thy tabernacle forever.-If permitted to return. David purposed to abide forever in the sacred shrine. But everywhere God pitches a pavilion for us. These are the outspread wings of the shechinah (Psalms 36:7). Ah, what a heritage is here! (Ephesians 1:3).
Psalms 61:6-7. His years as many generations.-Words which can only be fulfilled in their entire wealth of meaning in the King of kings.
Psalms 61:8. I will sing praise (Psalms 5:3; Php 4:6).
Psalms 62:1-12 "MY SOUL WAITETH UPON GOD!" This is the "only" Psalm (see Psalms 62:2, Psalms 62:4-6). It consists of three strophes, each of which begins with that word only or surely, ach in the Hebrew (Psalms 62:1-4; Psalms 62:5-8; Psalms 62:9-12). The first two divisions (Psalms 62:1-4; Psalms 62:5-8) close with "Selah." This Psalm was probably composed during the time of Absalom’s rebellion; and it resembles Psalms 39:1-13 in being dedicated to Jeduthun (1 Chronicles 25:1-3); and that Psalm also gives the Hebrew word ach four times: it is there translated surely and verily.
Psalms 62:1. Only my soul waiteth, or "is silent unto."-There are times when words fail us, and when the soul mutely waits for God’s salvation. Silence is often golden eloquence, and God can understand it. Moreover waiting on God stills the soul.
Psalms 62:2, Psalms 62:6. I shall not be moved.-The movement is only on the surface of the life, while the great deeps of the soul are at rest (Acts 20:24).
Psalms 62:3. How long?-It is probably David who was the bowing wall and tottering fence (see R.V.). One thrust, and his enemies think he will be at their feet.
Psalms 62:5. My expectation.-It is well for us if we have learned to look away from all creature-help to God alone.
Psalms 62:6. My rock! my salvation!-What a loving accumulation of endearing titles for God! The man of fifty catches up the imagery of earlier years, and ransacks memory to supply fit names for this Almighty Friend. And all that God is, is mine.
Psalms 62:8. At all times, means on dark as well as bright days. When the heart is charged with sorrow or sin, what a relief it is to open the sluice gates, and pour all out toward God!
Psalms 62:9. Lighter than vanity (see R.V.): They go up as the lighter scale, lighter than vanity, i.e., a breath. How often have we looked for help from men and money in vain!-but God has never failed us.
Psalms 62:10. Oppression ... robbery.-The men of high degree oppress; the men of low degree are fraudulent: but the evil deeds of both are seen and known of Jehovah. The increase of riches has its dangers: it generally means the increase of temptations.
Psalms 62:11-12. Power and Mercy are the two pillars on which the Temple of His justice rests.
Psalms 62:12. God is neither unseeing nor unmindful (Psalms 10:14; Hebrews 6:10).
Psalms 63:1-11 "MY SOUL THIRSTETH!" This is said to have been from the third century the morning song of the Church. The superscription tells us that it was written in the wilderness of Judah. But the word "king" (Psalms 63:11) forbids our supposing that the Psalm was penned during the Sauline persecution. It was probably written amid the events recorded in 2 Samuel 15:23-28; 2 Samuel 16:2; 2 Samuel 17:16. This "wilderness" stretched southwards from Jericho on the western shore of the Dead Sea. In the Psalm there are noticeable references to the life of the soul. My soul thirsteth; my soul longeth; my soul shall be satisfied; my soul followeth hard after Thee (Psalms 3:1, Psalms 63:5, Psalms 63:8).
Psalms 63:1. Early will I seek Thee!-This should be the cry of each of us in the dawn of life, and of each day: "In a dry and weary land" (R.V.). How weary and sad is life without God! Though we have all, yet if He be not there, our soul is athirst and weary (John 4:13-14).
Psalms 63:2. To see ... as I have seen Thee!-As the Psalmist trod sadly over the burning sand, and crossed the dry torrent-beds, it seemed a picture of his state of soul; and he contrasted the present with the happy past, when he had had similar desires, which were then slaked by the vision of the Divine power and glory.
Psalms 63:3. Thy loving-kindness is better than life.-Already a sense of the love of God breaks on his soul, as a tropical rain on the parched earth; and he becomes assured of speedy satisfaction.
Psalms 63:5. As with marrow and fatness.-God not only gives us necessaries but dainties.
Psalms 63:6. In the night-watches.-Many of David’s most rapturous experiences of God seem to have been at night. In all these Psalms there is imagery borrowed from the night-watch in the camp.
Psalms 63:8. Thy right hand upholdeth.-The hand of God ever supports the soul in its pursuit of Him (Php 3:12).
Psalms 63:9. Those that seek my soul.-Perhaps there is an allusion here to Numbers 16:31-32.
Psalms 63:10. A portion for foxes.-Absalom’s army was badly routed, and many of the slain must have fed the jackals which roamed the forest (2 Samuel 18:6-8).
Psalms 63:11. Shall rejoice in God.-"By Him," refers of course, not to the king, but to God.
Psalms 64:1-10 THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED. This Psalm probably dates from the Sauline persecutions. The slanders of the tongue, specially mentioned, are very characteristic of that period. There are two strophes: prayer for preservation (Psalms 64:1-6), and assurance of Divine vindication (Psalms 64:7-10).
Psalms 64:1-5. Hide me from ... the wicked!-What a marvellous picture is given here of the whole range of calumny! Insult, sarcasm, slander, inuendos, tale-bearing, and suspicion are rife enough in our society, and even in Christian society. How fond are we all of hearing and spreading reports of which we have not taken the trouble to ascertain the truth! Sometimes it is a look, or a gesture, or a shrug of the shoulders; but it may be enough to ruin a man’s reputation.
Psalms 64:6. They search out iniquities.-If this search is always on foot, how careful and circumspect should we be! (1 Corinthians 10:32).
Psalms 64:7-9. All men shall fear.-God relieves us of the necessity of fighting for ourselves. Whilst the wicked are bending their bows against us (Psalms 64:3), God’s arrow is flying from an unsuspected quarter against them. Curses come home to roost (Psalms 64:8).
Psalms 64:10. The righteous: the upright.-The Psalm began with the singular ("my voice": "hide me!") and ends with the plural. Our experiences enrich the whole Church. And those who trust shall have abundant cause for rejoicing and praise.
Psalms 65:1-13 THE RIVER OF GOD. This joyous hymn was probably composed for use in the sanctuary on the occasion of one of the great annual festivals. It expressly dwells on the Divine bounty in the fertility of the earth (Leviticus 23:9-14). There is a marvelous blending of nature and grace in its entire texture, which makes it one of the most beautiful of all sacred lyrics.
There are three divisions. We are transported successively to the Courts of the Lord’s house (Psalms 65:1-4); to the shore of the sea, where rockbound coasts resist the fury of the waves (Psalms 65:5-8); and to the pasture-lands and cornfields of Canaan (Psalms 65:9-13)
Psalms 65:1. For Thee is the silence of praise is the literal reading. Such praise as is too great and deep for tumultuous expressions, and so arrests the fever of the soul. It has been said, "The most intense feeling is the most calm, being condensed by repression."
Psalms 65:2. Unto Thee shall all flesh come!-By the word flesh the Psalmist would call attention to our weakness and need as men (Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:15
Psalms 65:3. Words of iniquities (marg.).-This prevailing may be because they act more masterfully, or because they excite deeper contrition. The Hebrew word capher translated cover implies, "to cover with the atonement." And the pronoun, Thou, is emphatic, intimating that God, and God alone, could do this.
Psalms 65:4. Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest.-God hath chosen Christ and all who are one with Him (Ephesians 1:4). We need to be caused, ere we can approach or dwell (John 6:44; Galatians 4:9). But in each case God is prepared to do this by the Holy Spirit: Dwell in Thy courts. What a sacred position would this be! Why, should we not seek it! "And go no more out!" (Revelation 3:12). Satisfied. Such a condition is involved in the realization of the presence of God, and when we are abiding in Him. Thy holy temple. The word "temple" was applied to the Lord’s house even before Solomon’s temple was eretced (1 Samuel 1:9; 2 Samuel 22:7).
Psalms 65:5. By terrible things in righteousness.-The terror is towards God’s foes; the answer towards his friends (2 Samuel 7:23). Ultimately all mankind shall come to acknowledge Him (Isaiah 66:16, Isaiah 66:18). Afar off upon the sea will mean not only those afloat, but those living on the seashore, in distant lands.
Psalms 65:8. The morning and evening may mean dwellers in East and West; or the mercies which characterize dawn and eve, and which lead us to new songs and joys.
Psalms 65:9. Thou visitest the earth.-Every spring is like a Divine visit. The holy soul looks through second causes to the present tenses of the I AM.
Psalms 65:10. Thou waterest the ridges.-The ridges of the ploughed fields are lowered through the plenteous rains, and fertilized to fatness.
Psalms 65:12-13. The hills rejoice; the pastures are clothed; the valleys are covered.-Let us seek an equal fertility in the life of the soul, through that river of God, which is the Holy Spirit (Revelation 22:1).
Psalms 66:1-20 "VERILY GOD HATH HEARD!"
Some of the old expositors speak of this Psalm as the Lord’s Prayer of the Old Testament. It consists of five divisions (Psalms 66:1-4, Psalms 66:5-7, Psalms 66:8-12, Psalms 66:13-15, Psalms 66:16-20), of which the second and the fifth begin in a similar manner-Come ye!.
Psalms 66:1. All ye lands!-Notice the missionary spirit which breaks through the narrow limits of Judaism. Thus are men larger than their creeds. See also Psalms 66:4.
Psalms 66:2. Make His praise glorious!-We should make our praise as worthy of its object as possible. Praise Him with a glorious hymn!
Psalms 66:3. How terrible are Thy works!.-God’s manifested power will only make his enemies yield a feigned obedience. See marg., R.V. Grace alone can change their hearts.
Psalms 66:5. Come and see!-Thus Jesus spake, and Philip (John 1:39, John 1:46).
Psalms 66:6. Through the Flood!-The Red Sea and the Jordan. Is not this always true of the Church, that God’s people are passing through obstacles which must daunt them, were it not for their Divine companion (Isaiah 43:2). Our God turns the place of trial into one of joy. "Isaiah 11:11-15 leads us to anticipate a repetition of the miracle of the divided waters."
Psalms 66:7. His eyes behold the nations.-The metaphor here is of God looking forth on men from his heavenly watch-tower with eyes that carry with them the light by which they see.
Psalms 66:10. Thou hast tried us!-"It is not known what corn will yield, till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. Grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose-leaves. The fire of affliction fetcheth it out." Satan tempts us to our fall and ruin; God tries us to show what grace He has implanted, and to strengthen them by exercise.
Psalms 66:11-12. Thou broughtest us into! ... Thou broughtest us out!-The Psalmist sees God’s will, not only in his appointments, but also in his permissions. He is said to do what He permits to be done. The imagery is of beasts, first netted; then heavily laden (the loins being the seat of strength); then driven by men who almost sit over their heads, dominating them as they choose.
Psalms 66:12. Through fire and through water.-Fire and water were used in purifying the spoils of war (Numbers 31:23). We need something more than water (Matthew 3:2). He who brings us into the trial will certainly bring us out. The wealthy place is a well-watered place (see marg.); the word is translated in Psalms 23:5, "runneth over."
Psalms 66:14. Opened lips (marg.) are probably mentioned to show that the vows were made under strong internal pressure which forced the lips open.
Psalms 66:16. Come and hear!-These words befitted the woman of Samaria, and the Gadarene demoniac (John 4:29; Mark 5:19-20); and they suggest the duty of all those who have received special help and blessing.
Psalms 66:17. I cried unto Him.- Scarcely had I cried, than I had reason to praise.
Psalms 66:18. If I had regarded (R.V., marg.).-Be sure that you are on God’s errands, and not on some sinful or selfish quest.
Psalms 66:20. God hath not turned away His mercy.-We have no plea in prayer, like God’s mercy.
Psalms 67:1-7 "LET THE PEOPLE PRAISE THEE!" This Psalm was probably composed, like Psalms 65:1-13, to be used at one of the great annual festivals, probably the Feast of Tabernacles. The singer goes beyond the occasion which called forth his song, and seems to include in the range of his thought those spiritual blessings which accrue to all the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Psalms 67:1-2. Cause His face to shine!-There is an allusion here to the threefold blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. When Abraham and his seed are blessed, the world is blessed through them. Similarly we may plead that God would bless his Church and people as the condition of blessing to the world. Oh for the shining of that dear face, undimmed by any cloud born of our sin and neglect!
Psalms 67:3. Let the people praise Thee!-We want crowns for the brow of Christ. Each loyal heart yearns for the exaltation of its King.
Psalms 67:4. Thou shalt judge ... and govern.-To govern is to lead or tend (see marg.). Christ shall yet be the Shepherd of mankind.
Psalms 67:6. The earth hath yielded her increase (R.V.) as if already the Millennial age had broken on the rapt gaze of the poet-prophet, and all the harmonies of nature were restored. Praise ever accompanies the fertility of the Church. Our own God. What rapture there is here! Faith lays its hand on God, and appropriates Him for itself. There is a wide difference between speaking of things and people as fair and useful, and saying of them, "These are my own." He is our own, because He has made Himself so, and has taken us to be his forever. "His every act pure blessing is."
Psalms 68:1-35 "LET GOD ARISE!" This Psalm is one of the grandest odes in existence. It was probably composed when the Ark was brought up in triumph by the united people (Psalms 68:27) from the house of Obed-edom to the newly-acquired Mount Zion (2 Samuel 6:1-23). It is evidently a processional hymn, to be sung by multitudes of white-robed priests and Levites; and we may almost mark the successive divisions of the melody as corresponding to the several stages of the march.
Whilst the Ark is being lifted to the shoulders of the Levites, a measured strain is chanted (Psalms 68:1-6); as the procession then moves forward, the march through the wilderness is recited (Psalms 68:7-14): presently Mount Zion comes in sight, and all neighboring hills are depicted as looking askance and enviously at its selection in preference to themselves (Psalms 68:15-16); the procession now begins to climb the sacred slopes of Zion amid more triumphant strains (Psalms 68:17-18): the procession is next described (Psalms 68:19-27); and from the assembled hosts, now gathered on the sacred site, the strains of triumph peal forth (Psalms 68:28-35).
Psalms 68:1. Let God arise!-These opening words were the formula used by Moses (Numbers 10:35). How strange their history! "Through the battle smoke of how many a field have they rung! On the plains of the Palatinate, from the lips of Cromwell’s Ironsides; and from the poor peasants that went to death on many a bleak moor to their rude chant;- "’Let God arise, and scattered Let all his en’mies be; And let all those that do Him hate Before His presence flee.’’’
Psalms 68:4. Cast up a highway for Him that rideth through the deserts (R.V.).-As the Ark of God once led his people through the wilderness, so now does the Word of God ever lead us through dark and difficult places.
Psalms 68:5-6. Setteth the solitary in families.-God has a special care for lonely people; and in his providence He often introduces such into the warmth and fellowship of family life (comp. John 19:26-27). He bringeth out the prisoners into prosperity (R. V.).
Psalms 68:9. A plentiful rain.-"A rain of liberalities," probably referring to the abundant gifts of every kind bestowed on the people.
Psalms 68:11. The women that publish the tidings are a great host (R.V.); an allusion to the Oriental custom of damsels celebrating a victory in song and dance. How marvellously this is being fulfilled now by the exodus of noble girls from their happy homes to publish to the heathen the Gospel of Jesus!
Psalms 68:13. Covered with silver.-The Authorised Version gives good sense, contrasting the blackening contact of a smoky caldron with the lustrous colors flashed from the dove’s wing.
Psalms 68:14. White as snow.-"Salmon" means shady, dark. It was a high mountain near the Jordan. The kings were scattered, as snowflakes are driven before the wind, and melt before the sun.
Psalms 68:15. The hill of Bashan.-Bashan is the high snow-summit of Hermon. It is employed as a symbol of worldly greatness. But the lesser Zion is as great-and greater, since God is there. God does not choose the great and strong of this world (1 Corinthians 1:26).
Psalms 68:18. Gifts for men.-"Thou hast obtained spoil which Thou mayest distribute as gifts among men." Thus the Holy Spirit gives the exact sense, though not the words, in Ephesians 4:8.
Psalms 68:19. Who daily beareth our burden (R.V.) .-Either rendering (A.V. or R.V.) is delightfully suggestive.
Psalms 68:22. I will bring again my people.-Though the danger be as great as that caused by Og in Bashan, or by the passage of the Red Sea, yet will God deliver his people.
Psalms 68:27. Benjamin, with the princes of Judah.-The union of the tribes at the extreme North and South is emblematic of the union of the Church of the ascended Lord (Ephesians 4:1-32.).
Psalms 68:30. Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds (R.V.). referring to Egypt, as representing heathendom.
Psalms 68:31. Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands.-A glimpse of days not far away.
Psalms 69:1-36 IN DEEP WATERS. This is the second Psalm with this title, "Upon the lilies" (see Psalms 45:1-17.). It touches the profoundest depths of sorrow, which were only fully known and trodden by our blessed Lord. Of course, there was a primary reference to the sorrows of the Psalmist; but only in Jesus is there a full realization of much that is here expressed. Clearly, however, the maledictions with which wrong-doing is threatened had no place in Him, who from his cross asked his Father to forgive. This, like Psalms 22:1-31., is constantly applied to Christ in the New Testament. Compare 4, with John 15:25; John 15:9, with John 2:17, and Romans 15:3; Romans 15:21, with Matthew 27:34, Matthew 27:48; Matthew 27:25, with Acts 1:20.
Psalms 69:4. Without a cause.-The last clause is a proverbial way of saying, "I am held guilty of wrongs, which I have never done," as when Shimei charged David with Saul’s sins (2 Samuel 16:8).
Psalms 69:8. A stranger unto my brethren.-True of David (1 Samuel 17:28), and of our Lord (John 1:11; John 7:5).
Psalms 69:9. Reproaches are fallen upon me.-All these foregoing verses may serve to show us how deep and agonizing was the travail of the Redeemer’s soul, when He came to his own, but they received Him not, and accounted Him a winebibber and sinner.
Psalms 69:13-21. There was none to pity.-Read these verses once or twice, and think into them some of the meaning with which Jesus uttered them. It is probable that He literally died of a broken heart-this was evidenced in the blood and water of John 19:34.
Psalms 69:22-28. Let them be blotted out.-That such will be the fate of the wicked is undeniable; but though the saint foresee it, he will not desire it for selfish reasons.
Psalms 69:35. Thy holy places.-We began with "deep mire where there was no standing": we end in the abiding city of God.
Psalms 70:1-5 "I AM POOR AND NEEDY." This Psalm reminds us of Psalms 40:1-17. Indeed, it is a repetition of its closing verses. It was composed as a Psalm of remembrance, to put God in remembrance of his suffering ones. "When God seems to forget us, we must not forget to put Him in remembrance" (Isaiah 43:26; Isaiah 62:6-7, marg.).
Psalms 70:1. Make haste to deliver!-God often delays to come to our help, and tarries till the fourth watch of the morning, or the night before the execution; but He is never too late. Yet we often chafe at the delay.
Psalms 70:2-3. Put to confusion.-Wicked spirits as well as men seek after our soul; but God shall turn them backward and disappoint their designs.
Psalms 70:4. Let God be magnified.-How much better to say: "Let God be magnified," than, "Aha, Aha." The godly man boasts in God, and is only eager that his name should be exalted (Php 1:20). Let it be our one aim to do and suffer all with this one purpose-to make all men think better of the great God.
Psalms 70:5. Poor and needy.-Happy are they who have learned to glory in their infirmities, and to use them as arguments with God. There is a beautiful answer to this plea in that description of the Messiah which is given in a following Psalm (Psalms 82:4): Helper in good works; Deliverer from all the power of the adversary. The prayer closes with one further plea for urgency.