--- title: "Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah" author: "Adam Clarke" languages: [en] shelf: "Commentaries" section: 687 of 914 url: https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/687/ cite: "Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah, section 687. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/687/" --- # Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible · Volume 1: Genesis to Jeremiah *Adam Clarke* Clarke's learned notes on the Hebrew and Greek, verse by verse, from Genesis to Revelation: volume 1 of 2. ## 687. Psalms · 141 of 159 Source: https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/687/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/adam-clarke-commentary-volume-1-genesis-to-jeremiah/687/#p-N ### Verse 6 [¶1] My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace - A restless, barbarous, warlike, and marauding people. ### Verse 7 [¶3] I am for peace - We love to be quiet and peaceable; but they are continually engaged in excursions of rapine and plunder. It is evident that the psalmist refers to a people like the Scenitae or wandering Arabs, who live constantly in tents, and subsist by robbery; plundering and carrying away all that they can seize. The poor captives wished them to cultivate the arts of peace, and live quietly; but they would hear of nothing but their old manner of life. ### Introduction [¶5] The resolution of a godly man, [Psa 121:1], [Psa 121:2]. The safety and prosperity of such, as they and theirs shall be under the continual protection of God, [Psa 121:3-8]. [¶6] This appears to be a prayer of the Jews in their captivity, who are solicitous for their restoration. It is in the form of a dialogue. [Psa 121:1], [Psa 121:2]. The person who worships God speaks the two first verses, "I will lift up mine eyes-my help cometh," - [Psa 121:1], [Psa 121:2]. [Psa 121:3]. The ministering priest answers him, "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved." "He that keepeth thee will not slumber," [Psa 121:3]. [¶7] To which the worshipper answers, that he knows that "he who keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep," [Psa 121:4]; but he seems to express a doubt whether he shall be an object of the Divine attention. [Psa 121:5] etc. The priest resumes; and, to the conclusion of the Psalm, gives him the most positive assurances of God's favor and protection. ### Verse 1 [¶9] Unto the hills - Jerusalem was built upon a mountain; and Judea was a mountainous country; and the Jews, in their several dispersions, turned towards Jerusalem when they offered up their prayers to God. ### Verse 2 [¶11] My help cometh from the Lord - There is no help for me but in my God; and I expect it from no other quarter. ### Verse 3 [¶13] He will not suffer thy foot to be moved - The foundation, God's infinite power and goodness, on which thou standest, cannot be moved; and whilst thou standest on this basis, thy foot cannot be moved. ### Verse 4 [¶15] He that keepeth Israel - The Divine Being represents himself as a watchman, who takes care of the city and its inhabitants during the night-watches; and who is never overtaken with slumbering or sleepiness. There is a thought in the Antigone of Sophocles, that seems the counterpart of this of the psalmist, Ταν σαν, Ζευ, δυναμιν τις ανδρων Ὑπερβασια κατασχοι, Ταν ουθ' ὑπνος αἱ - ρει ποθ' ὁ παντογηρως, Ακαματοι τε θεων Μηνες; [¶16] Antig. ver. 613, Edit. Johnson. [¶17] Shall men below control great Jove above,Whose eyes by all-subduing sleep [¶18] Are never closed, as feeble mortals' are;But still their watchful vigil keep [¶19] Through the long circle of th' eternal year? [¶20] Franklin. ### Verse 6 [¶22] The sun shall not smite thee by day - Thus expressed by the Chaldee: "The morning spectres shall not smite thee by day, during the government of the sun; nor the nocturnal spectres by night, during the government of the moon." I believe the psalmist simply means, they shall not be injured by heat nor cold; by a sun-stroke by day, nor a frost-bite by night. ### Verse 7 [¶24] The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil - Spiritual and corporeal, natural and moral. [¶25] He shall preserve thy soul - Take care of thy life, and take care of thy soul. ### Verse 8 [¶27] Thy going out and thy coming in - Night and day - in all thy business and undertakings; and this through the whole course of thy life: for evermore. ### Introduction [¶29] The satisfaction of a gracious soul in the use of God's ordinances, [Psa 122:1], [Psa 122:2]. Description of the internal governmentof Jerusalem, [Psa 122:3-5]. Prayers for its peace and prosperity, [Psa 122:6-9]. [¶30] In the preceding Psalms we find the poor captives crying to God for deliverance; here they are returning thanks that they find they are permitted to return to their own land and to the ordinances of their God. ### Verse 1 [¶32] I was glad when they said - When Cyrus published an edict for their return, the very first object of their thanksgiving was the kindness of God in permitting them to return to his ordinances. ### Verse 2 [¶34] Our feet shad stand - For seventy years we have been exiled from our own land; our heart was in Jerusalem, but our feet were in Chaldea. Now God has turned our captivity, and our feet shall shortly stand within the gates of Jerusalem. What a transition from misery to happiness! and what a subject for rejoicing! ### Verse 3 [¶36] Jerusalem - compact together - It is now well rebuilt, every part contributing to the strength of the whole. It is also a state of great political and spiritual union. It is the center of union to all the tribes, for each tribe has an equal interest in that God who is worshipped there. ### Verse 4 [¶38] The testimony of Israel - There is the ark, where the presence of God is manifested; there is the holy of holies; and there all the tribes assembled to worship Jehovah. He no doubt alludes to the assembling of the tribes annually at each of the three grand national festivals. ### Verse 5 [¶40] There are set thrones of judgment - There were the public courts, and thither the people went to obtain justice; and while the thrones of the house of David were there, they had justice. ### Verse 6 [¶42] Pray for the peace of Jerusalem - שלום shalom signifies both peace and prosperity. Let her unanimity never be disturbed; let her prosperity ever be on the increase! [¶43] They shall prosper that love thee - In the peace and prosperity of the city, they shall find their peace and their prosperity; and even on this ground they should love the city, and labor to promote its best interests. There is a remarkable alliteration in this verse, the letter ש shin frequently recurring. שאלו שלום ירושלם ישליו אהביך [¶44] Shaalu shelom yerushalam yishlayu ohabeycha. "Ask ye the prosperity of Jerusalem; they shall be quiet that love thee."