This is a thanksgiving almost like Psalm xlvi. For the Psalmist praises God, and magnifies and extols his works, because he had so marvellously defended the city of Jerusalem against the neighbouring nations, and against kings and tyrants; and because he had often delivered it when besieged by the most bitter and the most powerful enemies; while those enemies themselves were driven back in a wonderful manner, and put to open shame; and because he had saved it from infinite perils and destructions, in defiance of the very gates of hell; and had preserved the city, the temple, the word, and the worship of God.
But, more especially, David is here celebrating the truth of God;—that God faithfully fulfils his promise; ‘According to thy name, (saith he) so is thy glory, and so are thy works unto the ends of the earth:’ that is, according as thou hast promised us, “I will be your God,” and accordingly as we have believed that word, so hast thou given us to experience the fulfilment of it;—thou hast been with us, and delivered and defended us; our city and our temple stand in the midst of enemies, as if in the midst of flames, preserved and unhurt.
We sing this Psalm, because God is pleased to preserve his church and gospel against the roaring and hatred of kings and princes; who cease not from attacking them by violence and craft with all their might: and yet, they shall perish and be confounded, and covered with shame, while the gospel shall remain as it was before, unhurt and unhindered.
PSALM XLIX.
An earnest persuasion to build the faith of resurrection, not on worldly power, but on God.—Worldly prosperity is not to be admired.
To the chief Musician. A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.
Both low and high, rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
I will incline mine ear to a parable; I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.
None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.
(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.)
That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations: they call their lands after their own names.
Nevertheless, man being in honour, abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning: and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me. Selah.
Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.
For, when he dieth, he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him.
Though, while he lived, he blessed his soul: (and men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself.)
He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
This is a Psalm that instructs us unto faith, and teaches us to trust in God against that great god of this world, who is called Mammon. David here gives a long and striking introduction to the Psalm, that he may excite and wholly arrest our attention. He here sharply rebukes all who trust in the riches and wealth of this world; concerning whom Christ also severely says, “Woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation.” Luke vi. 24.
“The love of money, (saith Paul,) is the root of all evil;” and yet the whole world leave the true God and worship this idol; and are actuated more and more with the furious desire of getting wealth. All men, from the least to the greatest, except those that fear God, are in pursuit of money. Hence it is, that all the prophets exclaim, “For from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness,” Jeremiah vi. 13. And hence also have arisen all those proverbs and trite sayings of the poets among the Greeks and Latins. ‘All things give way to money,’—‘money is the first thing to be sought after; virtue is a secondary consideration.’
But all such admirers of, and slaves to riches are pointed at and exposed in this Psalm; as are also all those who trust in their wealth, nothing of which they can take with them when they die. And here also true faith is highly extolled; by which we trust in God, who can deliver us from death, and give us eternal life and salvation. And death is the time when not only gold, but all creatures put together, cannot save and deliver a man!
PSALM L.
The majesty of God in the church.—His order to gather saints.—The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies, but in sincerity of obedience.
A Psalm of Asaph.
The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most high.
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother: thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
This Psalm teaches us, in the teeth of all hypocrites and all the worship of hypocrites, what is true worship, and which are acceptable sacrifices in the sight of God. For hypocrites consider their works, and merits, and sacrifices as of such high value, that they think GOD ought to acknowledge the benefit of their services; and they imagine that he has need of them. Whereas, on the contrary, the Holy Spirit declares with a loud voice by the prophets, what the true worship of God is; namely, that of the First Commandment: which is, to worship God, and adore him; and to acknowledge that we receive all things from his hand, and that all glory is due to him!
Observe, therefore,—there is here clearly expressed, in the plainest words, what is the highest worship of God; and what sacrifice is the most acceptable to him. And we are here briefly told, that the true way and road to God is, to call upon him in the day of trouble, and give him thanks for the infinite benefits which we receive from him; (as the last verse here sings;) for this is truly to “pay our vows unto God, and to offer unto him thanksgiving,” (as the 14th verse saith.) These are not those foolish monastic vows, and the like; but that highest of all vows, which the Decalogue and the First Commandment require; where it saith, “To-day have ye vowed unto the Lord your God: he will be your God:” that is, ye are made the people of God, that ye may have him for your God; and that ye may truly believe in him, call upon him, and cleave unto him alone. Of this those foolish hypocrites and self-imagined saints know nothing whatever.
PSALM LI.
David prayeth for remission of sins, whereof he maketh a deep confession.—He prayeth for sanctification.—God delighteth not in sacrifice but in sincerity.—He prayeth for the church.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
O LORD, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
This, among all the Psalms, is a signal and golden one. It contains experiences and feelings truly Davidical; and teaches us what sin is, what the origin of sin is, and how great and awful an evil the fall of Adam was. And also, (which is an excellent part of it indeed,) it shows us how we obtain the remission of sins. For in this Psalm, we have it clearly expressed, that sin is a great and innate evil, and an awful depravation and corruption of nature, in all the powers both of soul and body. Unless, therefore, we are born again by faith in Christ, and are renewed in spirit and made new creatures of God, the sense of the loss of God and of eternal life and salvation is so heavy a burthen, and the power of sin and the sting of death so great, that the conscience is shaken with unspeakable distress and terror; and the anguish that takes hold on it drinks up the very marrow, and bruises and breaks the very inmost bones, until the word of grace and of the Spirit again raises us up and refreshes us; as David here says, “That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”
But in hearts that are purified and renewed by the Spirit, there is a new light shining; there are new motions and spiritual affections; a sure rest and peace of conscience; a true and full assurance of salvation; a fervent and lively joy of spirit; a rejoicing in God and a peace with him; a heart full of thanksgiving, and a patience under afflictions. Hence those that fear God, those that are born again, if they are at a point concerning the good will of God towards them, are those who can rightly teach and instruct others unto godliness. “Then (says David) will I teach transgressors thy ways;” then will I teach them to call upon and praise the name of the Lord, and to give thanks unto him; and in a word, to worship and adore God truly and aright, to bear patiently the cross and afflictions, and to offer great and glorious sacrifices; (for that is the way in which he here expresses himself, calling “a broken and a contrite heart” the favourite sacrifice of God;) for that is the highest and most excellent worship of God: and he rejects, in plain words, all sacrifices which are offered by hypocrites without that sacrifice; which sacrifices of theirs they consider to be the highest acts of worship.
In concluding the Psalm, David begs of God that he would be pleased to build and preserve the city of Jerusalem; that is, the place of the word and the true worship of God. In the same manner, we ought also to pray. “Do good unto Zion, O Lord:” that is, ‘O Lord, thou seest the virulent hatred of hypocrites: Do thou, O Lord, preserve the true church, and the true worship of God in it;’ that is, the worship of the First Commandment. Confound all those who boast of their good works and sacrifices, and who neglect faith towards God, and trample under foot the First Commandment. But preserve and comfort those who adore thee in truth, serve thee, and sacrifice unto thee in the spirit.
PSALM LII.
David, condemning the spitefulness of Doeg, prophesieth his destruction.—The righteous shall rejoice at it.—David, upon his confidence in God’s mercy, giveth thanks.
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.
Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Thou lovest evil more than good, and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
God shall likewise destroy thee for ever: he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
The righteous also shall see, and fear and shall laugh at him:
Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
This is a Psalm of consolation; and the title of it shows plainly what are its contents. David is here complaining of Doeg who betrayed him, and who was the cause of much hurt and bloodshed. 1 Sam. xxii.
This Doeg furnishes a type of all those betrayers and blood-shedding hypocrites who are in the halls of kings and princes; and who lyingly, and with hatred, traduce the word of God and the doctrine of truth: of which stamp there are now numbers rising up on every side, who irritate and urge on kings and princes to slay the sincere ministers of the word: such as those in our time, who kill many good men on account of the sacraments and marriage, and make no end of shedding the blood of God’s Abels.
Against the furious cruelty of these men, therefore, this Psalm comforts the godly; and promises them, that such shall not go unpunished, but shall fall under those awful curses mentioned in Deut. xxviii:—that they shall be rooted out of the earth; that their houses shall be destroyed; and that they shall lose both their bodies and their estates; but, that those who fear God shall be preserved; that they shall remain in the house of the Lord; and that they shall persevere in teaching and hearing the word of God, in defiance of the devil and all the wicked.
PSALM LIII.
David describeth the corruption of a natural man.—He convinceth the wicked by the light of their own conscience.—He glorieth in the salvation of God.
To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil. A Psalm of David.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Every one of them is gone back; they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.
There were they in great fear where no fear was; for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
This Psalm is a prophecy like that of Psalm xiv; and it is a Psalm of instruction. The two Psalms are of the same purport, and contain almost the same words and expressions. In a word, they both cut at hypocrites and self-justifiers, who persecute the sound doctrine and its preachers; and at the close they give a prophetic declaration concerning the gospel, and the kingdom of Christ which should proceed out of Zion.
PSALM LIV.
David, complaining of the Ziphims, prayeth for salvation.—Upon his confidence in God’s help he promiseth sacrifice.
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us.
Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.
Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
Behold, God is mine helper: the LORD is with them that uphold my soul.
He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
I will freely sacrifice unto thee; I will praise thy name, O LORD, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble; and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
This is a fervent prayer against the persecutors of the word, who lay plots against the lives of the good, and those that fear God, for the word of God’s sake; just like king Saul and the people of Ziph, who lay in wait for the life of David, on account of the name and word of God, by which Saul was to be dethroned and David made king in his stead. David, therefore, prays, that the vengeance of God might overtake such cruelty and malice.
PSALM LV.
David in his prayer complaineth of his fearful case.—He prayeth against his enemies, of whose wickedness and treachery he complaineth.—He comforteth himself in God’s preservation of him, and confusion of his enemies.
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil. A Psalm of David.
Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
My heart is sore pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest.
Lo then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
Destroy, O LORD, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
For it was not an enemy that reproached me: then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him;
But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice.
He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
God shall hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him; he hath broken his covenant.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
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.
This Psalm is a prayer: and although it may in the 10th and 11th verses, be understood of Christ himself, praying against his betrayer Judas, when he says, “If it had been mine enemy that reproached me,” &c. yet, it is manifest to me, that it is a general prayer of the godly against all the craft of insidious and deceitful men, and against the artful Italian flattery of some persons, who are friends as far as their tongue goes, but who have one thing on their tongue and another in their heart, and consider craft and dissimulation in all things to be the highest wisdom; as if they could deceive God also!
They know how to promise, and do promise all things to your face: so that David justly describes them thus, “Their words are smoother than oil:” but when you have turned your back, they blacken your character; and their mouth is more destructive than arrows and coals of fire; and their tongue is a sharp sword, and a drawn dagger. And this is what David complains of in verse 12;—that they deceive effectually with their countenance, their look, and their eyes, and cover, under these fox-like arts, Satanic bitterness and virulence. They eat and drink with you, and pretend to be your friends and intimates, (as Judas did with Christ;) they keep holy days and go to the house of God with you.
This is the reason, therefore, that David so utterly execrates them, and says, “Let them be taken out of the way suddenly, and let them descend into hell alive.” For virulent, outside-show hypocrites, like these, distress the hearts of those that fear God in a manner that is beyond description.
This very judgment which David threatens in this Psalm we see executed, in our day, upon many tyrants and originators of sects; who are taken off in a moment. For this execration is prophetic; foretelling the end of all hypocrites, who will not listen to those that admonish them in a godly manner, nor regard their advice; as it is expressed in verse 19, “But they (says David) will not regard; they are not changed; nor will they fear God; they go on in their course, till they are taken out of the way suddenly.”
PSALM LVI.
David, praying to God in confidence of his word, complaineth of his enemies.—He professeth his confidence in God’s word, and promiseth to praise him.
To the chief Musician upon Jonathelem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: he fighting daily oppresseth me.
Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
In God I will praise his word; in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
In God I will praise his word; in the LORD will I praise his word.
In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.
Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
For thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
This is a fervent prayer; in which David complains of Saul and the men of his party, because he was obliged to flee out of the land to the Philistines. So bitterly and hostilely did Saul and the men of his conspiracy persecute David, and plot against his life, that he could be in safety no where. He encourages and supports himself, however, with a constant and undaunted faith. ‘I will glory (says he) in the word of God: for I have a command, a declaration, and a promise of God in my favour: he has declared that Saul shall be dethroned, and that I shall be king. I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Let them gainsay: let Saul and the Saulites oppose and fight against me. Let them say, and say again, that I shall not be king. If God be for me what can man do against me?’
We ought also to pray, after the manner of this Psalm, against tyrants; who unceasingly persecute the word of God and us, and will never suffer us to be at rest. We, however, have that strong and Davidical consolation,—that the word of God is for us, though they unceasingly attack that in us, and corrupt, pervert, and reproach it; crying out that we are heretics; and arrogating to themselves only, the appellation of the church.
PSALM LVII.
David in prayer fleeing unto God, complaineth of his dangerous case.—He encourageth himself to praise God.
To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusted in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery and harp; I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people; I will sing unto thee among the nations:
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, let thy glory be above all the earth.
This Psalm is a prayer; in which David again complains concerning Saul, and those around him; on account of whose plots and snares, he was compelled to flee into a cave. It is nearly of the same purport as the Psalm preceding.
We ought to make use of this Psalm also against tyrants, and against sycophants, and certain powerful ones, about the palaces of kings and princes; who persecute us on account of the word and name of God, and persecute our doctrine also; interpreting every thing that we do in the worst sense; and traducing and hating all that fear God.
And David here paints forth the cruelty of these characters; “Their teeth (says he) are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” Thanks be to God therefore, that he does not forsake his people, but makes their enemies fall into the pit which they themselves have made; so that they are utterly subverted and taken in their own craftiness!
PSALM LVIII.
David reproveth wicked judges, describeth the nature of the wicked, devoteth them to God’s judgments, whereat the righteous shall rejoice.
To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David.
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD.
Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living and in his wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
So that a man shall say, verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
This is a Psalm of consolation against those hardened heretics, and enthusiastic spirits, who pertinaciously defend their own errors, and stop their ears; and who are so blinded and taken captive, that they can hear no one; but pursue, with headlong precipitation, their own designs, and rush on to the accomplishment of them, like a horse at full speed. And these, as if they would devour the godly, cease not to threaten them in the most terrifying manner.—David, however, here makes use of five beautiful similitudes: under which, he represents their vain attempts, and shows, that those very plots which they lay for others, fall upon their own heads.
1. The sudden inundation with which they make their attack, rushes with such violence and roaring, that it seems as if it would tear up and carry away every thing before it: and yet it flows by, and suddenly disappears!
2. Their arrow, fixed on the bow, threatens certain destruction: but, in a moment, the bow and arrows are broken together, and the deadly weapon accomplishes nothing!
3. The snail puts forth his horns from his shell, as if he were just going to do some deadly and mighty injury: but those horns prove to be soft and ineffectual; they do nothing: nor have the power of doing any hurt whatever.
4. An imperfect conception, disengaged by abortion, makes the womb of the mother to extend, as if there were a perfect conception, and as if something great would at length come forth: but before it is brought forth, it perishes, and never sees the sun.
5. You may see a branch of buck-thorn, (which is the most prickly kind of thorn,) filled with young sharp points and prickles, and seeming as if it would one day tear many in pieces at once, and maim persons on every side of it; but, before the prickles are fully ripe and strong, the whole bush is, perhaps, cut down by the woodman, and he burns it in the fire, and reduces it to ashes!
So, just according to these similitudes, those enemies of God and truth, plan, plot, and breathe out dreadful things; but like a mighty flame, where there is no more fuel left to feed it, their fury ends in nothing!