Psalm 54

A prayer of a just man under persecution from_ the wicked. It agrees to Christ persecuted by the Jews, and betrayed by Judas.

1 Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication:

2 Be attentive to me, and hear me. Lam grieved in my exercise; and am troubled,

3 At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me.

4 My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen upon me.

5 Fear and trembling are come upon me; and darkness hath covered me.

6 And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest?

7 Lo, I have gone far off flying away; and I abode in the wilderness.

8 I waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit, and a storm.

9 Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues; for I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.

10 Day and might shall iniquity surround it upon its walls: and in the midst thereof are labour,

11 And injustice. And usury and deceit have not departed from its streets.

12 For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it. And ifhe that hated me had spoken great things against me: I would perhaps have hidden myself from him.

13 But thou aman of one mind, my guide, and my familiar.

14 Who didst take sweet meats together with me: in the house of God we walked with consent

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

15 Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell. For there is wickednegs in their dwellings: in the midst of them.

16 But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me.

17 Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare; and he shall hear my voice.

18 He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me: for among many they were with me.

19 God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God:

20 He hath stretched forth his hand to repay. ‘lhey have defiled his covenant:

21 They are divided by the wrath of his

. countenance; and his heart hath drawn near. His words are smoother than oil,.and the same are darts.

22 Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever.

23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days: but I will trust in thee, O Lord.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “‘ Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication :”

David begins with a preface to arrest the benevolence of the Judge, and asks for akind and patient hearing, saying, “ Hear, O God, my prayer;” and for fear the prayer, or the person offering it, may not be agreeable, he recommends both, and first the prayer, saying, “‘ And despise not my supplication ;” that is, my humble and suppliant prayer, for such is the force of the word in Hebrew.

2 “ Be attentive to me, and hear me. in my exercise ; and am troubled,”

He now refers to the person praying, “* Be attentive to me, and hear me.” Look on me in your mercy, listen to me patiently. It is possible that he repeats the same prayer three times, in reference to the Trinity ; directing his “ prayer,” to the Father; his “* supplication,” to the Son; and the person praying, to the Holy Ghost. The same prayer is repeated three times, to shew his earnestness, as Christ did when he prayed in the garden, and as the Apostle Paul thrice asked of the Lord. ‘“ J am grieved in my exercise, and am troubled.” He now tells us why he prays. He was persecuted fiercely by his enemies, which saddened and dejected him ; and he longed to be freed from such persecution, and therefore, in exercising, or turning the thing in his mind, he was

“ troubled” and confounded, not only for the present, but for the future, because,

3 ‘ At the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me.”

** The voice of the enemy” threatening, vowing vengeance, and ‘the tribulation of the sinner,” the troubles they vowed to inflict on me, also grieved and troubled me. ‘‘ The voice of the enemy” may refer to Saul or Absalom, as regards David ; Caiphas and Annas, as regards Christ ; or any persecutor, in regard of the just. “ Yor they have cast iniquities upon me.” To'shew his fears were not groundless, “‘ they,” his enemies, “ cast iniquities” upon me; falsely accused me, reproached, abused me; “ And in wrath they were troublesome to me;” such was the anger they got into against me, that they did not confine themselves to abusive language, but even sought to inflict personal injury.

4 “ My heart ts troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen upon me.”

Having said in the second verse that he was “troubled,” he now explains how he was troubled ; it was in his heart, in the inmost recesses of it ; and assigns a reason for it, saying, “ The fear of death as fallen upon me;” nothing enters into the heart of man so deep, or upsets him so much, as the fear of death at the door; as was the case with David, when, with lamentations, he fled from Absalom; and with Christ, when he trembled in the garden, and fell into the bloody sweat, recorded in Mat. xxvi.

5 ‘* Fear and trembling are come upon me; and darkness hath covered me.”

A repetition of the same idea, and a sort of summary of the whole thing. Fear got a hold of his soul, tremor of his body, and the gloom of grief enveloped the entire man; for, as joy exhilarates and expands the heart, so also sorrow contracts and confines it, and thus darkens it up; for which reason persons in grief fly to a dark chamber, hide themselves therein, and close the windows.

6 ‘ And I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest 2”

Snch are the expressions of the just, sighing for their heavenly country, where alone true rest is to be had; as if he said, Oh! that I could fly to the highest mountains of the heavenly Jerusalem, in imitation of the dove who escapes the bird of prey by soaring above him. The just man is, with great propriety, compared to a dove, harmless, prolific, innocent, conquering by flight instead of by resistance ; and so with the just man, who flies from temptation, instead of wrestling with it.

7 “Lo, Ihave gone far off flying away ; and I abode gn the wilderness.”

Words most applicable to David, who, in his flight from Saul, and afterwards from Absalom, betook himself to the desert; as if he said, As I cannot, like a dove, ascend to a place of real rest, 1 did my

utmost, for “Ihave gone afar off, flying away ;” which is applicable to every just man in trouble, who, when he cannot get back to his own country, removes himself internally as far as he can from the tumult of the world, betakes himself to the solitude of his heart and conscience, where, alone, in conference with God, he finds rest to some extent.

8 “ T waited for him that hath saved me from pusillanimity of spirit, and a storm.”

In that solitude ‘ J waited for him,” that is, for his help, ‘‘ that hath saved me,” as he often did before, ‘‘from pusillanimity of spirit and a storm;” that is, from great temptation, with little strength to go through it. Two things are united to shew the more than ordinary necessity for the help of God. If we have small temptations to encounter, with little strength of mind, or great temptations, with much strength of mind, the contest will not be so unequal; but if one with little strength of mind has to encounter great temptations, they cannot possibly bear up against them. Such, he says, is his case now; and he prays to God to increase his strength, or else to lessen the temptation, or, which is preferable, to do both.

9 ** Cast down, O Lord, and divide their tongues ; for T have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city,”

Having hoped for salvation through the Lord, he now prays to him to baflle the designs of his enemies. “* Cast down.” Uurl my enemies into the abyss ; for such is the force of the word in Hebrew; and he says how he wishes that to be done, by “ dividing their tongues ;” by causing such dissension among

them, that they shall have no unity of purpose, and |

thus embarrass each other, as really happened to his enemies; for, after the taking of the city, when various plans for capturing David were suggested to Absalom, he was so infatuated by God as not to adopt the advice of Achitophel, but preferred another; and the consequence was that the expedition failed, and the most of them miserably perished ; and thus, by division of tongues, they were ruined. ‘ For I have seen imquity and contradiction in the city.” Words quite applicable to David, who had witnessed a most villanous conspiracy against his person, and most palpable rebellion (called contradiction here, because they contradicted David when they chose Absalom as king,) in the city. These words are applicable to Christ, as well as to every innocent person who suffers unjust persecution and contradiction from the citizens of Babylon; that is, from the votaries of pleasure, who always persecute and hate those who are not of the world, but live in it as if they were foreigners and strangers.

10 “ Day and night shall iniquity surround it upon its walls : and in the midst thereof are labour,

11 “ And injustice. And usury and decett have not departed from its streets.”

He proceeds in describing the wickedness of the city, from wh‘ch he had suffered so much persecution,

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

and most expressively says, that iniquity, like an armed soldiery, had so got possession of its walls, that it was impossible for justice to enter.» “ Day and night,” that is, at all hours, “ shall iniquity surround it upon its walls.” Vice, like a guard of soldiers on its walls, will surround it; “And in the midst thereof are labour and injustice ;” inside the city the poor were oppressed with “labour” by the “ injustice” of the rich, who ground them down, and lorded it over them with impunity. ‘“ And usury and deceit have not departed from its streets.” The oppression was partly open, for they required enormous usury in the streets; and partly private, for they harassed and circumyen‘ed the poor by various “ deceits.” Such was the state of things in David’s time, at Jerusalem; infinitely worse in the days of our Saviour; and are quite applicable nowadays to Babylon; that is, to the lovers of this world, in whom the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life absolutely rule.

12 “ For if my enemy had reviled me, I would verr’y have borne with it. And ifhe that hated me had spoken . great things against me: I would perhaps have hidden myself from him.

13 “ But thou aman-of one mind, my guide, and my familiar.

14 “‘ Who didst take sweet meats together with me: in the house of God we walked with consent.”

Having complained of the whole city and people in general, he now complains of one traitor in particular, who seems to be Achitophel, if we apply the Psalm to David ; Judas, if to Christ ; and any false friend, if we apply it to man in general. “ For if my enemy,” any avowed one, “had reviled me, I would verily have borne with it;” it would be only what I should expect. ‘“* And if he that hated ;” if such avowed enemy were to abuse, calumniate, and reproach me, “ I would, perhaps, have hidden myself from him,” to see would his anger cool in my — absence, and to remove the occasion of his abuse. But I could not hide myself from you, nor could I dream of your betraying me, for you seemed to be ‘a man of one mind” with me, my most intimate friend, having only one heart, one soul with me; you were also ‘‘my guide,” my principal counsellor, whose advice [ always followed; for such was Achitophel, of whom we read in 2 Kings xvi., “* Lhat the counsel he gave in those days, was as if a man should consult God.” As regards Judas, he is called a “ guide,” having been appointed by Christ, with the other Apos'les, over the people, according to Psalm xliv., “ Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.” He was also ‘his familiar,” and “ took sweet meats with him,’ as is well known; and the meats are called sweet, because agreeable company makes them so. ‘By “sweet meats,” St. Augustine says, the

• blessed Eucharist is meant, the sweetest of al lmeats,

and possessing the flavour and virtue ofall. Finally, he was not only of one mind, and his guide and

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

familiar, but of the same opinion in regard of the sacred ceremonies; for “ In the house of God we walked with consent.” There was no dissension between us in regard of anything connected with the worship of God.

15 “‘ Let death come upon them, and let them go down alive into hell. For there is wickedness in their dwellings, in the midst of them.”

An imprecation, or rather a prophecy, in the shape of an imprecation, of the punishment that was justly inflicted on Dathan and Abiron, who, for their sedition and rebellion, were swallowed up alive, they went “down alive into hell,” and so did many of those who followed Absalom in his rebellion against David, when, as we read in 2 Kings xvi., “* There were many more of the people whom the forest consumed, than whom the sword devoured that day.” The same came to passin the siege of Jerusalem, when they dropped with hunger in the streets, or flung themselves from the walls ; and the same happens to many sinners, who either close their eyes against the truth, or if they see it, still prefer remaining in a state in which they cannot possibly be saved. ‘* Lor there ts wickedness in their dwellings, in the midst of them.” <A reason assigned for so severe an imprecation. Those who prefer so wicked a life, will be justly swallowed up alive, and will undergo everlasting punishment, “* For there is wickedness in their dwellings,’ and dwellings that are not empty, but ‘an the midst of them;” that is, at the very time they were fully inhabited.

16 “* But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me.

17 “* Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare ; and he shail hear my voice.”

He foretells the death of his enemies, and his own safety, “ But I have cried to God” with an earnest prayer, ‘and he will save me” in the danger with which I am beset; and, thenceforward I will ery to him, not once, but twice, thrice ; I will cry to him “ at evening, morning, and noon,” in telling and announcing my own misfortunes, and the mercies of the Lord, and “ he shall hear my voice.” The practice of praying three times in the day was an usual one, as we read in Daniel vi., perhaps in honour of the Most Holy Trinity, a mystery not unknown to the prophets. He says, ‘* Hvening, morning, and noon,’ rather than, morning, noon, and evening, because their festivals began in the evening, and were celebrated, according to Leviticus xxiii, from evening to evening, and, therefore, evening was the first, a practice still observed by the Church, that begins the office with the first vespers,

18 “ He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me; for among many they were with me.”

He tells us in what respect he will be heard by God. “ He shall redeem my soul in peace.” He will restore peace to it in spite of those “ that draw near

to me,” coming to close quarters to fight with me. “ For among many they were with me;’ my aggressors were most numerous, and I was singlehanded. This I consider the best interpretation of this most difficult passage.

19 “*God shall hear, and the Eternal shall humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God :”

I that am most unjustly oppressed, will be heard by him, ‘who ts eternal,” and he will humble them. For there is no change with them, they have become hardened, and quite impenitent of their crimes. “ They have not feared God; they rather feared men, and, therefore,

20 ‘** He hath stretched forth his hand to repay. They have defiled his covenant :”

To give them their deserts : and justly, “ Wor they have defiled his covenant’ by their scandalous lives, by not living up to the covenant God gave them, and therefore,

21 “ They are divided by the wrath of his countenance ; and his heart hath drawn near. His words are smoother than otl, and the same are darts.”

They are scattered and dispersed in God’s anger, “ And his heart hath drawn near” to punish and chastise them. ‘ His words are smoother than oil, and the same are darts.’ He now reverts to the malice of the principal traitor, Achitophel, in regard of David; and Judas in respect to Christ. ‘* His words are smoother than otl;” apparently soft, kind, smooth, and yet his language does not consist of words, but of darts; delighting the ear, but wounding the heart; such are all detractions, indelicate language, and all false pretences of the betrayer.

22 Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shal! sustain thee ; he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever,”

In the end of the Psalm the prophet consoles himself and all in similar circumstances, and exhorts them to put their whole confidence in God, who is most undoubtedly solicitous for his servants and friends, as St. Peter reminds us in his | Hpistle v., ‘‘ Casting all your solicitude upon him, for he hath care of you,” and is copiously explained by Chiist himself, in the 6th chapter of Matthew, and in various o’her places; which passages are not to be understood as an encouragement to lead a life of idleness, and take no trouble about the world, but that we should not be oyver-solicitous about the world, or depend more on our own strength and industry than on the providence and mercy of God. ‘‘ Cast thy care,” you that fear God, “upon the Lord;” leave to divine providence what you need for your support, “ and he shall sustain thee.” He will provide you with all necessaries, blessing your labours and prospering your work ; and will not only “ sustain” and support you, but will defend you from your enemies, And, though he may sometimes “ suffer the just to waver,” whether by want of the necessaries of life, or by the persecution of the wicked, it will not be “for ever.”

These trials will not be of long duration, because God will not suffer the just to be always buffeted by the waves of affliction; for everlasting affliction belongs to the wicked alone, as the following verse expresses.

23 “+ But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.”

You, O Lord, in your capacity of Judge, will consign them to the pit of death, from which they will never rise. It is called the pit of destruction, for those who fall therein are perpetually dying ; for they live always in punishment, that they may be always dying, and never find that death they so ardently long for. ‘ Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.” Not only will those men of blood be cast into “the pot of destruction” hereafter, but even in this life will their days be shortened, for it is only just that those who take away a life should lose their own. So God says, Gen. ix., ‘* Whosoever shall shed man’s blood, his blood shall be shed;” and the Lord himself said, ** For all that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Now, all these testimonies ia this Psa'm, as well as those in Genesis and the Gospel, do not go to prove that all manner of persons who take life away shall lose their own; but those only who take it away unjustly, and especially, those who lie in ambush to do so, for such are, properly speaking, the “bloody and deceitful men.” Again, he does not imply that all who waylay and kill will perish by the sword; but that, generally speaking, they will be

judicially put to death, or killed in battle, or by themselves, or by some chance, which is no chance in the sight of God, but a disposition of his providence. Finally, the expression, ‘‘ shall not live out half their days,” is not to be taken in the strict sense of the words, it being only a figure of speech, to express the shortness of their lives. An objection to this passage is raised, from an expression in Psalm Ixxti., where the Psalmist complains of sinners, “ That full days shall be found in them,” to which may be stated, in reply, that the passage quoted refers to sinners not guilty of shedding blood; or to a few who are an exception to the rule that shortens the days of sinners. The prophet concludes with that most usual expression of his, “ But I will trust in thee, O Lord,” which seems to have reference to the aforesaid; thus, that I may escape from my secret enemies, as well as my avowed ones; that [ may not incur the punishment of the wicked, and fall into the pit of destruction; and that my days may not be cut short, “ Z will put my trust in thee, O Lord,” and not in my own strength.

PSALM LY. A prayer of David in danger and distress. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

trodden me under foot: all the day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me.

2 My enemies have trodden on me all the day long; for they are many that make war against me.

3 From the height of the day I shall fear: but I will trust in thee.

4 In God [| will praise my words; in God Thave put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do against me.

5 All the daylong they detested my words: all their thoughts were against me unto evil.

6 They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. As they have waited for my soul, ;

7 For nothing shalt thou save them: in thy anger thou shalt break the people in pieces. O God,

8 Ihave declared to thee my life: thou hast set my tears in thy sight, as also in thy promise.

9 Then shall my enemies be turned back. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, behold, I know thou art my God.

10 In God will I praise the word; in the Lord will I praise his speech. In God have I hoped: I will not fear what man can do to me.

11 In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to thee.

12 Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from falling: that { may please in the sight of God, in the light of the living.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “ Have mercy on me, O God, for man hath trodden me under foot : all the day long he hath afflicted me fighting against me.”

He commences with a prayer for mercy, by reason of his avowal of his misery. He was suffering a most undeserved persecution from Saul, and in seeking to avoid it, he fell into a more grievous one from the Philistines; and, during a short respite from both he was obliged to lie concealed in a cave, an exile, and a destitute. ‘‘ Have mercy on me, O Lord,” you, the only refuge of the wretched, ‘* for man hath trodden me under foot,” meaning Saul, whom he designates man, rather than Saul, to contrast him with God; as if he said, Have mercy on me, O Lord, for it is my fellow-man that afflicts me; when the earth despises me, I look up to the heavens ; when my fellow-servant persecutes me, I fly to my master, “* All the day long he hath afilicted me,” his injuries were not passing, or momentary, but they continued to be heaped on me, he never let me rest. The truth

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

of all this is apparent from 1 Kings. Nor is there any difficulty in applying this to Christ, who became man for our sake, and yet was always oppressed by man, and was afflicted from the day of his birth, to that of his burial; and after him it may refer to his Church, which is doomed to encounter persecution and trouble, even to the day of judgment. By the word ‘‘ man,” is meant, either the devil, who is called in the Gospel, “ The enemy,” or mankind wanting the Spirit of God, and, therefore, purely man, as the Apostle, 1 Cor. iii, says, “ For, whereas there is amongst you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? and immediately after, “ Are you not men?” Whence the Lord himself, Mat. xvi. says, ‘“‘ Whom do men say that the Son of Man is ?” “ But whom do you say that I am?”

2 “ My enemies have trodden on me all the day long ; Sor they are many that make war against me.”

David was persecuted, and his death sought for, not only by Saul, but by all his retainers; and the devil is helped by all his fallen angels, in his assaults on the Church.

3 “ From the height of the day I shall fear: but I will trust in thee.”

However numerous my enemies may be, I will not fear them, but “from the height of the day I shail Sear ;” that is, I will fear God’s judgments,: proceeding as they do from the most intense light, such as we have at mid-day, a light penetrating every thing, even the inmost recesses of the heart ; which fear shall be united with hope: for, though I fear the brightness of your light, I will, at the same time, “trust” in your mercy aud goodness.

put ag trust : I will not fear what flesh can do against me.

He enters at greater length into the confidence he has in God, and his reasons for it. God had long since, through Samuel, promised him the kingdom, as we read in 1 Kings xiii., where Samuel says of David, “ Lhe Lord hath sought him a man according to his own heart; and him hath the Lord commanded to be prince over his people ;” and in 1 Kings xvi., “ He anointed him in the midst of his brethren.” Such was the promise that inspired him with so much confidence, and to it he alludes, when he says, ‘‘ Li God I will praise my words;” that is, relying on God’s assistance, I will ultimately praise the promises he made me, as most faithful, when they shall have been accomplished ; and, therefore, ‘ J will not fear what flesh can do against me.” I will not fear the threats and persecutions of my enemies, who, being flesh, are weak and feeble, when compared with God, who has assured me of the kingdom. This verse can be easily referred to Christ, for the Angel, when speaking to the Virgin, said, “ Zhe Lord will give him the throne of David his father ;” and Christ could say with the greatest truth, I will not fear what flesh can do against me.

5 ‘+ All the day long they detested my words: all their thoughts were against me unto evil.”

He returns to an account of the malice of his enemies, and says, that all the time he was ainong them, they never ceased impugning all his words and actions, and seeking his death ; which is just as applicable to the Scribes and Pharisees, calamniating and plotting against our Saviour, as it is to David’s enemies.

6 * They will dwell and hide themselves: they will watch my heel. As they have waited for my soul,”

He now relates another malicious trait in his enemies. “ They will dwell and hide themselves,” while they are apparently on the best of terms with me, living as friends and companions in one house with me, they will, meanwhile, hide themselves, plotting and conspiring against me: “‘ They will watch my heel,” to trip me up, if possible, and destroy me. Such was the behaviour of Saul’s dependents towards David, and of the Jews towards Christ. Though he speaks in the future/tense, he intends the past, the Hebrew idiom allowing, in many cases, the future to be used for the past.

7 ‘* For nothing shalt thou save them: in thy anger thou shalt break the people in pieces. O God,”

Te now predicts the ruin of his enemies, God, in his justice, awarding to them what they intended for their neighbour, ‘* As they have waited for my soul,” as they privately lay in wait for me to have my life, so you, O God, “ for nothing shalt thou, save them ;” nothing will induce you to save them; but, “‘ 2n thy anger thou shalt break the people in pieces,” and pursue them to destruction. And so he did; for Saul and his troops perished in the mountains of Gelboe. The Jews had their city sacked by the Romans, and the survivors of the siege were scattered over all the world, and they will be signally punished on the day of judgment.

8 ‘I have declared to thee my life: thou hast set my tears in thy sight, as also in thy promise.”

Having discussed the punishment of his enemies, he now returns to pray for himself, saying, “ O God, I have declared to thee my life;’ I have put before you in my prayers, all my journeys, casualties, and labours, (for the Hebrew word for life comprehends so much ;) and “ Zhow hast set my tears in thy sight ;” you, most merciful and kind Father, bave not turned your face away, but you have looked upon my face with pity. ‘As also in thy promise;” a thing you could not well avoid, having promised me faithfully that you would protect me.

9 * Then shall my enemies be turned back. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, behold, I know thou art my God.”

He concludes by thanking and praising God. Pehold, he says, I have known by experience that, “in what day soever I shall call wpon thee, behold, I know thou art my God;” that is, by listening to my prayer, you will prove that you are my God.

10 “In God will I praise the word; in the Lord will I praise his speech. In God have I hoped: I will not fear what man can do to me.”

This verse has been already explained, it being nearly identical with verse 4, the difference being hardly worth explanation.

11 “In me, O God, are vows to thee, which I will pay, praises to thee.”

For all the favours conferred on him, he promises that he will discharge all the vows of praise he made while in tribulation. ‘ Jn me, O God, are vows to thee,” I have a lively recollection of them all, ‘which I will pay, praises to thee;” these vows being promises of constant hymns of praise and thanksgiving to thee for all the favours conferred on me.

12 “ Because thou hast delivered my soul from death, my feet from falling: that I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the living.”

We have now a summary of all God’s favours. “ Because thou hast delivered my soul from death ;” you have saved me from Saul, or Achis, the king of the Philistines, who were bent on my ruin; “ AZy feet from falling ;” preserved me from falling into sin, notwithstanding the numerous temptations by which I was urged to destroy Saul, or to curse him; and saved me from the death of the body, as well as of the soul. ‘¢ That I may please in the sight of God, in the light of the iving;” in the light of this life, which those who are dead enjoy not; and in the light of grace, which infidels and sinners have not ; that 1 may, at length, come to the light of eternal glory enjoyed by those who alone, and properly speaking, can be classed among the living. These words are applicable to Christ, who, by his resurrection, was delivered from the death of the body, without any possibility of his ever again being subject to it, or to any suffering, and lives and reigns on the right hand of the Father, ‘in the light of the living.” Amen,

PSALM LVI. The prophet prays in his affliction, and praises God for his delivery.

1. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: for my soul trusteth in thee. And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity pass away.

2 I will cry to God the Most High, to God who hath done good to me.

3 He hath sent from heaven, and delivered

me: he hath made them a reproach that trod —

upon me. truth:

4 And he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions. I slept troubled. The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword,

God hath sent his mercy and his

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5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above all the earth.

6 They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul. They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.

7 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I wiil'sing, and rehearse a psalm.

8 Arise, O my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise early.

9 I will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing a psalm to thee among the nations.

10 For thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens; and thy truth unto the clouds.

11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM.

1 “‘ Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me: Sor my soul trusteth in thee. And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until iniquity pass away.”

David, hiding in a cave, prays to God to be delivered from Saul’s persecution; a type of Christ, who, too, concealed in a cave, as he was, while in the form of a servant, prays for the delivery of his body, the Church, from the persecution of Satan and his ministers. ‘ Have mercy on me, O God.” God of mercy, take me out of the misery I am suffering, while my life is in danger, through the persecution of Saul. “ For my soul trusteth in thee.” Whereas God promises his assistance to those that trust in him, confidence in God is the surest way to have his mercy extended to us. ‘* And in the shadow of thy wings will I hope.” Ihave not only hitherto trusted in thee, but L will persevere and continue to trust in thee as long as may be necessary, which will be ‘‘ until iniquity pass away,” until our pilgrimage here shall have an end; for so long will iniqvity be found in this world. The metaphor of “ The shadow of thy wings” is of frequent use in the Scriptures; in Psalm xvi., we have, ‘* Protect me under the shadow of thy wings;” in Psalm Isii., “And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings ;” in Psalm xe., ** Under his wings thou shalt trust ;” and our Lord himself, in Mat. xxiii., says, “* How often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not.” The meaning is, I will have as much confidence in your protection as the chickens have in that of their mother, when they gather under her wings for protection from the birds of prey; thereby conveying to us the signal love of God for his elect, and his special protection of thein.

2 “TI will ery to God the Most High, to God who hath done good to me.”

The confidence he has in God’s protection will make him “ery to God the Most High,” as being supreme julge, far and away above all other judges

COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS.

and his reason for doing so is, because he knows, from experience, the advantage of thus appealing to God; “to God who hath done good to me; who enabled me to avenge myself of my enemies, (such is the force of the Hebrew.) Saul had so surrounded @ mountain to which David had fled, that his escape seemed absolutely impossible, when God so ordered that news came to Saul of an incursion of the Philistines into his kingdom, that compelled him to withdraw his troops from the pursuit of David, to his own great disgrace and sorrow, to which he briefly alludes in the following verse.

3 “ He hath sent from heaven, and delivered me : he hath made them a reproach that trod upon me. God hath sent his mercy and his truth :

4 ‘* And he hath delivered my soul from the midst of the young lions. I slept troubled. The sons of men, whose teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.”

“* He hath sent from heaven” help and assistance, “and delivered me,” when I was surrounded by the enemy’s legions, and all but killed or cavtured. ‘‘ He hath made them a reproach that trod upon me.” He disgraced Saul and his soldiers, who were abont to trample me to the dust, when they were unable to effect their purpose, by reason of their having to retire to meet the Philistines. “* God hath sent his mercy and his truth;’ his two hands, as it were, “his mercy,” to deliver me; “‘his truth,” that is, his justice, to shame and confound my enemies. “ And he hath delivered my soul,” meaning my life, “ from the midst of the young hons;” from Saul and his soldiers, fierce and ferocious as any lions. Notwithstanding this delivery, however, “J slept troubled;” for I feared the detractions and the calumnies of my enemies, “ whose teeth are weapons, and their tongue a sharp sword;” that is to say, though the impending danger from the young lious was removed, I knew I was not safe from the tongues of the detractors and calumniators, who, from a distance, could still shoot their darts at me ; and, therefore, ‘‘ J slept troubled.”

5 “ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and thy glory above all the earth.”

Having related the extent of his fear, he prays to God to manifest his glory by inflicting punishment on his impious enemies. “‘ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens.” Sit on thy highest throne for judgment. “ And thy glory above all the earth.” Let your glory be made known to all on earth, that all may understand and praise your justice.

6 * They prepared a snare for my feet; and they bowed down my soul. They dug a pit before my face, and they are fallen into it.”

He assigns a reason for calling down God’s vengeance on his enemies. For, along with many other persecutions, “ They prepared a snare for my feet,” to trap me like a wild beast, “ And they bowed down my soul.” Their persecutions and plots were

so numerous, that, from constant care and trouble, I got bent and bowed down. He then repeats the same in another metaphor. ‘ They dug a pit before my face;” right in my path, in the hope of my falling into it; “‘ And they are fallen into it;” caught in the trap themselves, as actually happened to Saul, who went into the cave of Engaddi, to answer a call of nature, in which cave David and his friends had taken refuge. They urged David that now was the time to have Saul’s life, helpless and unsuspicious of danger as he was. David declined, but Saul fell into the pit.

7 “ My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and rehearse a psalm.”

He now, in the end of the Psalm, raises his soul to God, exclaiming, “ My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready;” ready to live, ready to die, ready to rule, ready to be trampled on, ready to take anything cheerfully from your hand. “ Z will sing and rehearse a psalm;” I will praise your justice, praise your mercy in song and music.

8 ‘ Arise, O my glory; arise, psaltery and harp: I will arise early.”

Having said he would “sing and rehearse a psalm,” that he may do it properly, he now invokes, not the muses, in the style of profane writers, but the Spirit of prophecy. ‘‘ Arise my glory;” that is, that divine Spirit, through whose inspiration I have sung of the divine mysteries; ‘“* Arise psaltery and harp;” that is, my soul and my tongue; the psaltery, which yields the higher notes, representing the spirit; and the harp, which yields the lower notes, representing the tongue. “ J will arise early ;” the fittest time forcontemplation, and forchanting God’s praises.

9 “ Twill give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing a psalm to thee among the nations.”

When David did rise in the morning to sing God’s praises, he says, “ Z will give praise to thee, O Lord, among the people ;” that is, among the Jewish people; and, knowing that his Psalms would be chanted ail over the world by the gentiles, as well as the Jews, he adds, “J will sing a psalm. to thee among the nations.”

10 “* For thy mercy is magnified even to the heavens > and thy truth unto the clouds.”

The subject of his praise to all nations will be his mercy, which has become so great that it has risen up to the heavens; not that his mercy, absolutely speaking, has so risen, for being infinite, it admits of no increase but in his works; and, in like manner, ‘¢ thy truth,” which also has risen to the heavens; ‘‘ clouds” being used here to signify them, an expression used by Christ himself, who says, “ You shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

11 “ Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ; and thy glory above all the earth.”

As God’s mercy and truth reach the heavens, it is

only meet that his praise and glory should fill the heavens and the earth.