Verse 42
The righteous shall see it - The wicked are as inconsiderate as they are obstinate and headstrong.
And rejoice - To have such ample proofs that God ruleth in the earth, and that none that trust in him shall be desolate.
All iniquity shall stop her mouth - God's judgments and mercies are so evident, and so distinctly marked, that atheism, infidelity, and irreligion are confounded, and the cause of error and falsehood has become hopeless. It was only the mouth that could do any thing; and that only by lies, calumnies, and blasphemies: but God closes this mouth, pours contempt upon the head and judgment upon the heart. This may also be applied to the case of the Israelttes and the Babylonians. The former, when they turned to God, became righteous; the latter were a personification of all iniquity.
Verse 43
Whoso is wise - That is, He that is wise, he that fears God, and regards the operation of his hand will observe - lay up and keep, these things. He will hide them in his heart, that he sin not against Jehovah. He will encourage himself in the Lord, because he finds that he is a never-failing spring of goodness to the righteous.
They shall understand the lovinq-kindness of the Lord - חסדי יהוה chasdey Yehovah, the exuberant goodness of Jehovah. This is his peculiar and most prominent characteristic among men; for "judgment is his strange work." What a wonderful discourse on Divine Providence, and God's management of the world, does this inimitable Psalm contain! The ignorant cannot read it without profit; and by the study of it, the wise man will become yet wiser.
Introduction
The psalmist encourages himself to praise the Lord for mercies he had received, [Psa 108:1-5]. He prays for the Divine succor, [Psa 108:6]; and encourages the people to expect their restoration, and the enjoyment of all their former privileges and possessions, [Psa 108:7-13].
This Psalm is compounded of two Psalms which we have had already under review. The [Psa 108:1], [Psa 108:2], [Psa 108:3], [Psa 108:4], and [Psa 108:5], are the same with the [Psa 57:7], [Psa 57:8], [Psa 57:9], [Psa 57:10], and [Psa 57:11] of [Psa 57:1-11] : And the [Psa 108:6], [Psa 108:7], [Psa 108:8], [Psa 108:9], [Psa 108:10], [Psa 108:11], [Psa 108:12], and [Psa 108:13], are the same with the [Psa 60:5], [Psa 60:6], [Psa 60:7], [Psa 60:8], [Psa 60:9], [Psa 60:10], [Psa 60:11], and [Psa 60:12] of [Psa 60:1-12] : The variations are few, and of little moment, and the explanation may be seen in the notes on the preceding Psalms, which need not be repeated here. That the Pssalms referred to were made by David, and were applicable to the then state of his affairs, has been the opinion of many; and it is probable that the captives in Babylon composed this out of two above, and applied it to the state of their affairs. Their captivity being now ended, or nearly at an end they look and pray for their restoration to their own land, as amply as it was possessed in the most prosperous days of David. The Syriac considers it as a prophecy of the vocation of the Gentiles. The Hebrew and all the Versions attribute it to David.
Verse 1
Even with my glory - My greatest glory shall be in publishing thy praise. Some make the glory here to mean the Lord himself; some, the Ark of the covenant; some, the Soul of the psalmist; others, his Tongue; some, the Gift of Prophecy; and some, the psalmist's Spirit or Vein of poetry. See the notes on [Psa 57:8].
Verse 3
Among the people - The Jews.
Among the nations - The Gentiles. Wherever this Psalm is sung or read, either among Jews or Gentiles, David may be said to sing praise to God.
Verse 7
God hath spoken in his holiness - בקדשו bekodsho; some think this means in his Holy One, referring to the Prophet Jeremiah, who predicted the captivity, its duration of seventy years, and the deliverance from it.
Verse 10
The strong city - The possession of the metropolis is a sure proof of the subjugation of the country.
Verse 13
Through God we shall do valiantly - From him we derive our courage, from him our strength, and by him our success. [For the Analysis, see the [Psa 57:1-11] (note) and [Psa 60:1-12] (note). Also see introduction to [Psa 108:1-13] (note)]
Introduction
The psalmist speaks against his inveterate enemies, [Psa 109:1-5]. He prays against them, and denounces God's judgments, [Psa 109:6-15]. The reason on which this is grounded, [Psa 109:16-20]. He prays for his own safety and salvation, using many arguments to induce God to have mercy upon him, [Psa 109:21-31].
The title of this Psalm, To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, has already often occurred, and on it the Versions offer nothing new. The Syriac says it is "a Psalm of David, when the people, without his knowledge, made Absalom king; on which account he was slain: but to us (Christians) he details the passion of Christ." That it contains a prophecy against Judas and the enemies of our Lord, is evident from [Act 1:20]. Probably, in its primary meaning, (for such a meaning it certainly has), it may refer to Ahithophel. The execrations in it should be rendered in the future tense, as they are mere prophetic denunciations of God's displeasure against sinners. Taken in this light, it cannot be a stumbling-block to any person. God has a right to denounce those judgments which he will inflict on the workers of iniquity. But perhaps the whole may be the execrations of David's enemies against himself. See on [Psa 109:20] (note). Ahithophel, who gave evil counsel against David, and being frustrated hanged himself, was no mean prototype of Judas the traitor; it was probably on this account that St. Peter, [Act 1:20], applied it to the case of Judas, as a prophetic declaration concerning him, or at least a subject that might be accommodated to his case.
Verse 1
Hold not thy peace - Be not silent; arise and defend my cause.
Verse 2
The mouth of the wicked and - the deceitful are opened against me - Many persons are continually uttering calumnies against me. Thou knowest my heart and its innocence; vindicate my uprightness against these calumniators.
Verse 4
For my love they are my adversaries - In their behalf I have performed many acts of kindness, and they are my adversaries notwithstanding; this shows principles the most vicious, and hearts the most corrupt. Many of the fathers and commentators have understood the principal part of the things spoken here as referring to our Lord, and the treatment he received from the Jews; and whatever the original intention was, they may safely be applied to this case, as the [Psa 109:2], [Psa 109:3], [Psa 109:4], and [Psa 109:5] are as highly illustrative of the conduct of the Jewish rulers towards our Lord as the following verses are of the conduct of Judas; but allowing these passages to be prophetic, it is the Jewish state rather than an individual, against which these awful denunciations are made, as it seems to be represented here under the person and character of an extremely hardened and wicked man; unless we consider the curses to be those of David's enemies. See the note on [Psa 109:20] (note).
But I give myself unto prayer - ואני תפלה vaani thephillah; "And I prayer." The Chaldee: ואנא אצלי vaana atsalley, "but I pray." This gives a good sense, which is followed by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. The Syriac, "I will pray for them." This, not so correctly; as dreadful imprecations, not prayers, follow. But probably the whole ought to be interpreted according to the mode laid down, [Psa 109:20]. The translation and paraphrase in the old Psalter are very simple: -
Trans. For that thyng that thai sulde hafe lufed me, thai bakbited me; bot I prayed.
Par - That is, that sulde haf lufed me for I was godson, and thai bakbited me sayande, in Belzebub he castes oute fendes; bot I prayed for thaim.
Verse 6
Let Satan stand at his right hand - As the word שטן satan means an adversary simply, though sometimes it is used to express the evil spirit Satan, I think it best to preserve here its grammatical meaning: "Let an adversary stand at his right hand:" i.e., Let him be opposed and thwarted in all his purposes.
All the Versions have devil, or some equivocal word. The Arabic has eblees, the chief of the apostate spirits; but the name is probably corrupted from the Greek διαβολος diabolos; from which the Latin diabolus. the Italian diavolo, the Spanish diablo, the French diable, the Irish or Celtic diabal, the Dutch duivel, the German teufel, the Anglo-Saxon deofal, and the English devil, are all derived. The original, διαβολος, comes from δια βαλλειν to shoot or pierce through.
Verse 7
Let him be condemned - יצא רשע yetse rasha. "Let him come out a wicked man;" that is let his wickedness be made manifest.
Let his prayer become sin - Thus paraphrased by Calmet: "Let him be accused, convicted, and condemned, and let the defense which he brings for his justification only serve to deepen his guilt, and hasten his condemnation." I once more apprise the reader, that if these are not the words of David's enemies against himself, (see on [Psa 109:20] (note)), they are prophetic denunciations against a rebellious and apostate person or people, hardened in crime, and refusing to return to God.
Verse 8
Let another take his office - The original is פקדתו pekuddatho, which the margin translates charge, and which literally means superintendence, oversight, inspection from actual visitations. The translation in our common Version is too technical. His bishopric, following the Septuagint, επισκοπην, and Vulgate, episcopatum and has given cause to some light people to be witty, who have said, "The first bishop we read of was bishop Judas." But it would be easy to convict this witticism of blasphemy, as the word is used in many parts of the sacred writings, from Genesis downward, to signify offices and officers, appointed either by God immediately, or in the course of his providence, for the accomplishment of the most important purposes. It is applied to the patriarch Joseph, [Gen 39:4], ויפקדהו vaiyaphkidehu, he made him bishop, alias overseer; therefore it might be as wisely said, and much more correctly, "The first bishop we read of was bishop Joseph;" and many such bishops there were of God's making long before Judas was born. After all, Judas was no traitor when he was appointed to what is called his bishopric, office, or charge in the apostolate. Such witticisms as these amount to no argument, and serve no cause that is worthy of defense.
Our common Version, however, was not the first to use the word: it stands in the Anglo-Saxon "and his episcopacy let take other." The old Psalter is nearly the same; I shall give the whole verse: Fa be made his days, and his bysshopryk another take. "For Mathai was sett in stede of Judas; and his days was fa that hynged himself."
Verse 9
Let his children be fatherless, etc. - It is said that Judas was a married man, against whom this verse, as well as the preceding is supposed to be spoken; and that it was to support them that he stole from the bag in which the property of the apostles was put, and of which he was the treasurer.
Verse 10
Set his children - beg - The father having lost his office, the children must necessarily be destitute; and this is the hardest lot to which any can become subject, after having been born to the expectation of an ample fortune.