Psalms 69
DOYLYVer. 1. — the waters are come &c.] That is, I am almost overwhelmed with calamities. Dr. Wells.
Psalms 69:4
- — restored that &c.] The meaning is, that he was contented rather to part with his own right than to quarrel with them. Bp. Patrick.
Psalms 69:5
- O God, thou &c.] Thou, O God, who art privy to my follies, and from whom none of my sins can be concealed, Thou knowest that I never did them any injury. Travell.
Psalms 69:9
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For the zeal &c.] My zeal for thy honour and service is that which made my enemies endeavour to take away my life; and their blasphemies against Thee moved my indignation as much as if they had been against myself. So was the Lord Christ disowned by his brethren, his zeal for God’s glory deeply affected Him, and the reproaches which were levelled against God He felt as if aimed at Himself. Dr. Wells, Travell.
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They that sit in the gate; That is, vain and idle persons, that spent their time in the gates, in which there used to be a confluence of people. Roseumüller.
Psalms 69:13
- — an acceptable time.] Meaning a time which he hoped God would think the fittest to shew him favour. Bp. Patrick, Travell.
VOL. II.
— in the truth of thy salvation.] That is, according to the promises which Thou hast made of saving me. Dr. Wells.
Psalms 69:19
- — mine adversaries are all before thee.] That is, Thou knowest them thoroughly, and all their injurious and wicked devices. Poole.
Psalms 69:21
- They gave me &c.] These words, which David spake figuratively of himself, were literally fulfilled in the soldiers’ treatment of our Lord while He hung upon the cross. Green.
— gall! See the note on Deut. xxix. 18.
— vinegar to drink. Vinegar, in the East, was the ordinary refreshment of a slave, or of a wretched prisoner, rather than of a prince: and vinegar or sour wine, mixed with water, was the common drink of the Roman soldiers. Travell.
Psalms 69:22
- Let their table &c.] Their very feasts shall become a trap to them; they that eat at their table shall betray them, and their prosperity shall prove their ruin. Bp. Patrick. In addition to what has been said on the subject of imprecations, in the note upon Psalm v. 10, it may be remarked, that this and the following verses to the twenty-ninth inclusive, are strictly prophetical of
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Psalms 69:26
- — even the Lord, &c.] The “fountain of Israel” is the same with the “stock, or family of Israel.” See Isa. xliii. 1. The sense of this clause therefore is, “Bless the Lord, ye who are sprung from the stock of Israel.” Bp. Horne.
Psalms 69:27
- There is little Benjamin &c.] The literal rendering of this verse is, “There is little Benjamin their ruler, the princes of Judah their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.” In this enumeration of the tribes of Israel, that were present at the removal of the ark, four only are mentioned; Benjamin and Judah, who dwelt nearest to the city of David; Zebulun and Naphtali, who were farthest distant from it; to shew, as Dr. Chandler observes, the unanimity of the whole nation, and of all the tribes far and near, in attending this solemnity, to testify their willing acknowledgment of David for their king, and the city of David for their capital, and where all the great solemnities of religion should be performed, and their annual festivals continually celebrated. Benjamin, though the youngest tribe, is named first, and called the “ruler,” because from that tribe sprang Saul, the first king of Israel. Upon David’s accession to the crown, Judah became the royal tribe, and supported the throne by its counsels. Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of eminent learning and knowledge. See Gen. xlix. 21; Judges v. 14. Bp. Horne.
Psalms 69:28
- Thy God hath commanded thy strength:] This is an acknowledgment that all the power and strength of the kingdom of Israel was from God. Bp. Nicholson.
Psalms 69:29
- Because of thy temple &c.] David foretells, that on the establishment of the church and worship at Jerusalem, the kings of the Gentiles should come, and make their oblations at the temple of God; which happened in his days, and those of his son Solomon, as an earnest and figure of that plenary accession of the kings of the earth to the Church of Christ, which was to take place in the latter days, under the Gospel. See
Psalms 69:30
- Rebuke the company of spearmen, &c.] This verse Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
Psalms 69:33
- — send out his voice.] That is, in thunder. Green. We learn in general from this Psalm, that God has at all times displayed his power in favour of his people, by protecting them against their enemies, and showering down his mercies upon them. This He has done for the Christian church, as well as for the children of Israel: and what is said in this Psalm of the protection God vouchsafed to Zion against the assaults of the neighbouring nations, should convince us that the church shall always subsist, in spite of all the attempts of the world and the devil. Ostervald. Psalm LXIX. The application of many passages of this Psalm to our Lord, made by Himself and his Apostles, as well as the appointment of the whole by the Church to be used on Good Friday, direct us to consider it as highly prophetic of our Saviour’s sufferings; and indeed many of the expressions are such as were more literally fulfilled in Jesus Christ than in David; who, both in his sufferings and in his advancement after them to a kingdom, was an eminent type or pattern of our Saviour. Travell, Bp. Horne. David complaineth of his affliction. He prayeth for deliverance. SAVE me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.