PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Psalms
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 746,590 words · 1615 reading sections
Psalms 57:1
Psalms 57:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 57 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Some think the words "Altaschith" are the beginning of a song, to the tune of which this was set, as Aben Ezra; others, that they are taken from De 9:26; they signifying "destroy not" {g}; oth…
860 wordsSECTION 602Psalms 57:2
Psalms 57:2 Ver. 2. I will cry unto God most high,.... To remember him in his low estate, and who is higher than the highest, than Saul and his mighty men with him. This epithet David no doubt made use of, to encourage his faith in the Lord, who is above all, and can do all things; as follows; unto God that performet…
236 wordsSECTION 603Psalms 57:3
Psalms 57:3 Ver. 3. He shall send from heaven, and save me,.... His angel, as the Targum adds; or his angels, as Kimchi; who are ministering spirits, sent forth by him, to encamp about his people, and guard them, as they did Jacob when in fear of Esau, Ge 32:1; or to deliver them out of trouble, as Peter when in priso…
338 wordsSECTION 604Psalms 57:4
Psalms 57:4 Ver. 4. My soul [is] among lions,.... Not literally understood; though such there might be in the wildernesses where he sometimes was; but figuratively, men comparable to lions, for their stoutness, courage, strength, fierceness, and cruelty; meaning not his own men, as some think, who were fierce, and of …
446 wordsSECTION 605Psalms 57:5
Psalms 57:5 Ver. 5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,.... That is, show thyself to be God, that sittest in the heavens, and art higher than they, by saving me, and disappointing mine enemies; that I, and those that are with me, may magnify the Lord and exalt his name together. The Targum is, "be thou exalted…
187 wordsSECTION 606Psalms 57:6
Psalms 57:6 Ver. 6. They have prepared a net for my steps,.... They laid snares for him, as the fowler does for the bird, in order to take him. It denotes the insidious ways used by Saul and his men to get David into their hands; so the Pharisees consulted together how they might entangle Christ in his talk, Mt 22:15;…
266 wordsSECTION 607Psalms 57:7
Psalms 57:7 Ver. 7. My heart is fixed, O God,.... Firm and sure, trusting in the Lord, believing that he should be saved by him out of his troubles; see Ps 101:1. So, in a spiritual sense, a heart fixed and established, or that is firm and sure, is one that is assured of its salvation by Christ, rooted and grounded in…
311 wordsSECTION 608Psalms 57:8
Psalms 57:8 Ver. 8. Awake up, my glory,.... Meaning his soul, whom Jacob calls his honour, Ge 49:6; it being the most honourable, glorious, and excellent part of man; is the breath of God, of his immediate production; is a spirit incorporeal and immortal; is possessed of glorious powers and faculties; had the image of…
480 wordsSECTION 609Psalms 57:9
Psalms 57:9 Ver. 9. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people,.... Either among the people of Israel, as Aben Ezra, when each of the tribes meet together; and so it denotes the public manner in which he would praise God for his salvation: or among the Gentiles, as the following clause shows; I will sing unto thee …
444 wordsSECTION 610Psalms 58:1
Psalms 58:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 58 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. According to the Syriac version, this psalm was written when Saul threatened the priests, because they did not show him where David was, when they knew it. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that the title "Altaschith" refers to David's not d…
659 wordsSECTION 611Psalms 58:2
Psalms 58:2 Ver. 2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness,.... So far were they from speaking righteousness, and judging uprightly. The heart of man is wickedness itself; it is desperately wicked, and is the shop in which all wickedness is wrought; for sinful acts are committed there as well as by the tongue and hand, as f…
187 wordsSECTION 612Psalms 58:3
Psalms 58:3 Ver. 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb,.... Which original corruption of nature accounts for all the wickedness done by men: they are conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity, and are transgressors from the womb; they are alienated from God, and from that godly life which is agreeable to him, and he re…
342 wordsSECTION 613Psalms 58:4
Psalms 58:4 Ver. 4. Their poison [is] like the poison of a serpent,.... Either their "wrath" and fury, as the word {x} may be rendered, against God, his people, and even one another, is like that of a serpent when irritated and provoked; or their mischievous and devouring words are like the poison of asps under their …
317 wordsSECTION 614Psalms 58:5
Psalms 58:5 Ver. 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,.... Or "that use enchantments", to enchant serpents, by muttering certain words, or by magical songs; by which means it is said that they have been drawn out of their holes, or caused to fly, or have become stupefied, and have lost their poison, and …
476 wordsSECTION 615Psalms 58:6
Psalms 58:6 Ver. 6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth,.... From the description of the wicked, the psalmist passes to imprecations on his enemies; whom he represents as cruel and bloodthirsty, and as being stronger than he; and therefore he applies to God, who could, as he sometimes did, smite his enemies on th…
188 wordsSECTION 616Psalms 58:7
Psalms 58:7 Ver. 7. Let them melt away as waters [which] run continually,.... Let them be disheartened, and their courage fail them, and let there be no spirit left in them, Jos 7:5; or let them be unstable as water that is continually running, ever upon the flux and motion; let them never be settled, but always chang…
356 wordsSECTION 617Psalms 58:8
Psalms 58:8 Ver. 8. As a snail [which] melteth, let [everyone of them] pass away,.... As a snail when it comes out of its shell liquefies, drops its moisture, and with it makes a "path", from whence it has its name lwlbv, in the Hebrew language; and so the Targum here, "as the snail moistens its way;'' which moistne…
261 wordsSECTION 618Psalms 58:9
Psalms 58:9 Ver. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns,.... Which is soon done; for as dry thorns make a great blaze, so they give a quick heat; the pots soon feel them, or the water in them soon receives heat from them. From imprecations the psalmist proceeds to prophesy, and foretells the sudden destruction of wic…
366 wordsSECTION 619Psalms 58:10
Psalms 58:10 Ver. 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance,.... Before imprecated and foretold; the punishment inflicted by the Lord, to whom vengeance belongs, in a way of vindictive wrath; for what befalls the wicked in an afflictive way is in wrath, and as a vengeance upon them: and as the judgme…
227 wordsSECTION 620Psalms 58:11
Psalms 58:11 Ver. 11. So that a man shall say,.... Any man, and every man, especially, that is observing, wise, and knowing; he shall conclude, from such a dispensation of things, from God's dealing with the wicked after this manner: verily, [there is] a reward for the righteous; or "fruit" {k} for them: they have th…
425 wordsSECTION 621Psalms 59:1
Psalms 59:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 59 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. The history of Saul's sending messengers to watch the house of David, and to kill him when he rose in the morning, is in 1Sa 19:11; which was the occasion of his writing th…
428 wordsSECTION 622Psalms 59:2
Psalms 59:2 Ver. 2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,.... See Gill on "Ps 6:8"; and save me from bloody men; such as Saul sent to kill David, as appears from the title of the psalm; and such as were concerned in the death of Christ; and such, are the enemies of God's people, the followers of the man of sin. Th…
102 wordsSECTION 623Psalms 59:3
Psalms 59:3 Ver. 3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul,.... As the men did that watched his house, when Saul sent to kill him; so the Jews sought and lay in wait to take away the life of Christ; and very often was it the case of the Apostle Paul, that he was in danger of his life, through the lying in wait of the J…
487 wordsSECTION 624Psalms 59:4
Psalms 59:4 Ver. 4. They run and prepare themselves without [my] fault,.... Or, "without sin [in me]"; or "without punishment [in them]"; so the same word is rendered, 1Sa 28:10. "They run", in an hostile manner, "against me", as the Syriac version adds; or like dogs up and down, about the city, to find him and kill h…
251 wordsSECTION 625Psalms 59:5
Psalms 59:5 Ver. 5. Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts,.... Of the armies in heaven, the angels, and of all the inhabitants of the earth; who are all under him, and at his dispose, and can do among them and with them whatsoever he pleases; the God of Israel; of the people of Israel, literally understood; and mystica…
421 wordsSECTION 626Psalms 59:6
Psalms 59:6 Ver. 6. They return at evening,.... It was at evening Saul sent messengers to watch David's house, that they might take him in the morning; but missing him, perhaps after a fruitless search for him all the day, returned at evening to watch his house again; or they might come, and go and return the first ev…
675 wordsSECTION 627Psalms 59:7
Psalms 59:7 Ver. 7. Behold, they belch out with their mouth,.... Bark like dogs, so Aben Ezra; or "bubble out" {u}, as a fountain bubbles out with water; so they cast out their wickedness in great abundance; see Jer 6:7; the phrase denotes the abundance of evil things and wicked speeches that came out of their mouths,…
370 wordsSECTION 628Psalms 59:8
Psalms 59:8 Ver. 8. But thou, O Lord, shall laugh at them,.... Disappoint their counsels, hinder them from performing their enterprise; send them back with shame and confusion, and expose them to the laughter and derision of others; as Saul's messengers were, when instead of David they found an image in the bed, with …
151 wordsSECTION 629Psalms 59:9
Psalms 59:9 Ver. 9. [Because of] his strength will I wait upon thee,.... Either because of the strength of Saul, who was stronger than David, he determined to wait upon the Lord for salvation and deliverance from him; or because of the strength of the Lord, which he expected from him, and therefore would wait upon him…
2,009 wordsSECTION 630Psalms 60:1
Psalms 60:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 60 To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim, and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of Salt twelve thousand. The words "shushaneduth" are thought, by Aben Ezra, to be the beginning of a song…
1,492 wordsSECTION 631Psalms 60:2
Psalms 60:2 Ver. 2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it,.... As is frequently done by an earthquake; which, whatever natural causes there may be of it, is always to be ascribed to God. The ancient Heathens {m} were of opinion that all earthquakes were of God. This respects not the whole earth, but…
151 wordsSECTION 632Psalms 60:3
Psalms 60:3 Ver. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things,.... As to have their city and temple burial, multitudes of them slain, and the rest carried captive, and put into the hands of cruel lords and hard masters, and made a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all places; and all this done to a people that were the …
164 wordsSECTION 633Psalms 60:4
Psalms 60:4 Ver. 4. Thou hast given a banner,.... The word on is, by Jarchi, taken to signify "temptation" or "trial" {o}; and he interprets it of many troubles which they had, that they might be tried by them, whether they would stand in the fear of God, and so considers these words as a continuation of the account o…
424 wordsSECTION 634Psalms 60:5
Psalms 60:5 Ver. 5. That thy beloved may be delivered,.... Some think that these words express the effect or end of the banner being displayed; but because of the word "Selah" at the end of Ps 60:4, which makes so full a stop; rather they are to be considered in construction with the following clause. By the Lord's "b…
473 wordsSECTION 635Psalms 60:6
Psalms 60:6 Ver. 6. God hath spoken in his holiness,.... Or "in his holy place" {q}; in heaven, the habitation of his holiness and of his glory; or "in the house of the sanctuary", as the Targum: in the tabernacle, in the holy place by Urim and Thummim; and in the most holy place by his sacred oracle, from between the…
539 wordsSECTION 636Psalms 60:7
Psalms 60:7 Ver. 7. Gilead [is] mine,.... This is particularly mentioned, because over this Abner made Ishbosheth king, 2Sa 2:9; and is the place to which the Jews shall be brought in the latter day, when converted, Zec 10:10; It was a country that abounded with pastures fit for feeding cattle, Nu 32:1, and may point …
293 wordsSECTION 637Psalms 60:8
Psalms 60:8 Ver. 8. Moab [is] my washpot,.... To wash hands and feet in: and so the Syriac version, "and Moab the washing of my feet"; a vessel for low and mean service, and so denotes the servile subjection of the Moabites to David; see 2Sa 8:2; and as the words may be rendered, "the pot of my washing" {r}. Great num…
1,801 wordsSECTION 638Psalms 61:1
Psalms 61:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 61 To the chief Musician upon Neginah, [A Psalm] of David. "Neginah" is either the beginning of a song, as Aben Ezra; or the musical note or tune of one: or rather the name of a musical instrument, which was touched by the hand, or with a quill or bow. It is the singular of "neginoth…
326 wordsSECTION 639Psalms 61:2
Psalms 61:2 Ver. 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,.... Where he now was, as is observed on the title, See Gill on "Ps 61:1": though he was distant from his own house, and from the house of God, he did not restrain prayer before him, but continued to cry unto him, and determined to do so; and as the pe…
622 wordsSECTION 640Psalms 61:3
Psalms 61:3 Ver. 3. For thou hast been a shelter for me,.... Or "refuge" {y}, from avenging justice; a hiding place and covert from the storms and tempests of divine wrath; a shadow and a screen from the heat of Satan's fiery darts, and the blast of his terrible temptations, Isa 25:4; [and] a strong tower from the en…
110 wordsSECTION 641Psalms 61:4
Psalms 61:4 Ver. 4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever,.... Under the protection of the Lord, as in a shepherd's tent, or as in one belonging to a general of an army, where are fulness and safety; See Gill on "Ps 27:5"; or else the tabernacle of the congregation is meant; the house of God, the place of divine and…
193 wordsSECTION 642Psalms 61:5
Psalms 61:5 Ver. 5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows,.... Or "my prayers", as the Septuagint and other versions. Vows are so called, because it was usual to make vows in trouble, when prayer was made to the Lord for help and deliverance, Ps 66:13. This is a reason why the psalmist was encouraged to put his trust in…
472 wordsSECTION 643Psalms 61:6
Psalms 61:6 Ver. 6. Thou wilt prolong the King's life,.... Or "add days to the days of the King" {a}. Meaning either himself, who, though his life was in danger by fighting with the Syrians and Edomites, or rather through the conspiracy of his son; yet was assured that he should yet live many years more, and especiall…
241 wordsSECTION 644Psalms 61:7
Psalms 61:7 Ver. 7. He shall abide before God for ever,.... Or "sit" {b}; or "may he sit". Being raised from the dead he was received up to heaven into the presence of God, and sat down at his right hand; where he abides for ever, a Priest upon his throne, having an unchangeable priesthood, Heb 7:24; and prepare merc…
370 wordsSECTION 645Psalms 61:8
Psalms 61:8 Ver. 8. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever,.... Or constantly; and not only in this world, but in that to come, for the favours before mentioned; for hearing his prayers; giving him a goodly heritage; prolonging the King's life; and preparing mercy and truth to preserve him; that I may daily per…
115 wordsSECTION 646Psalms 62:1
Psalms 62:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 62 To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, [A Psalm] of David. Concerning "Jeduthun", See Gill on "Ps 39:1", title. Kimchi thinks this psalm was written concerning the captivity; and Jarchi twtdh le, concerning the decrees and judgments made against Israel by their enemies; and so some o…
333 wordsSECTION 647Psalms 62:2
Psalms 62:2 Ver. 2. He only [is] my Rock and my salvation,.... The Rock on which the church is built, and every believer; and which was David's safety, shelter, and shade, and which made him easy in his present state; and he was the author of his salvation, and the rock and strength of it, Ps 95:1; [he is] my defence…
219 wordsSECTION 648Psalms 62:3
Psalms 62:3 Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man?.... Against a good man, as the Targum; or against any Israelite, as Kimchi; or rather he means himself, a single man, a weak man, and an innocent one; which aggravated their sin, in devising his hurt, and contriving ways to take away his life, as did…
361 wordsSECTION 649Psalms 62:4
Psalms 62:4 Ver. 4. They only consult to cast [him] down from his excellency,.... Either from the excellency of God, from his greatness, and from his height, as Kimchi; or from his grace, as the Arabic version: that is, they consulted to discourage him from looking to God, his rock and fortress, and from trusting in h…
216 wordsSECTION 650Psalms 62:5
Psalms 62:5 Ver. 5. My soul, wait thou only upon God,.... Be silent and subject to him, acquiesce in his providences, rest in him patiently and quietly, wait for his salvation; See Gill on "Ps 62:1"; perhaps some new temptation might arise, and David's soul began to be uneasy and impatient; for frames are very changea…
232 wordsSECTION 651Psalms 62:6
Psalms 62:6 Ver. 6. He only [is] my rock and my salvation,.... See Gill on "Ps 62:2"; [he is] my defence; these epithets of God are repeated, to strengthen his faith and hope in him, and to encourage a patient waiting upon him; I shall not be moved; neither greatly, nor at all; his faith gets fresh strength and rigo…
80 wordsSECTION 652Psalms 62:7
Psalms 62:7 Ver. 7. In God [is] my salvation,.... Or "upon God" {h}; he that is God over all has took it upon him to save me; he is the author of salvation to me; and it is in him safe and secure, and I shall be saved in him with an everlasting salvation: and my glory; the author of all his temporal glory, honour, an…
180 wordsSECTION 653Psalms 62:8
Psalms 62:8 Ver. 8. Trust in him at all times, [ye] people,.... Of the house of Israel, as the Targum; or of God, as Aben Ezra; all that are Israelites indeed, and are the Lord's covenant people; these are exhorted and encouraged to trust in him; not in a creature, nor in any outward thing, in riches, wisdom, strength…
401 wordsSECTION 654Psalms 62:9
Psalms 62:9 Ver. 9. Surely men of low degree [are] vanity,.... Or "sons of Adam" {i}; of the earthly man; of fallen Adam; one of his immediate sons was called Hebel, "vanity"; and it is true of all his sons; but here it designs only one sort of them; such as are poor and low in the world; mean men, as the phrase is re…
559 wordsSECTION 655Psalms 62:10
Psalms 62:10 Ver. 10. Trust not in oppression,.... Either in the power of oppressing others; see Isa 30:12; or in riches gotten by oppression, which being put into a man's hand by his friend, he keeps, and will not return them; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it of mammon unlawfully obtained; mammon of unrighteousne…
862 wordsSECTION 656Psalms 63:1
Psalms 63:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 63 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. This psalm was composed by David, either when he was persecuted by Saul, and obliged to hide himself in desert places, as in the forest of Hareth, the wildernesses of Ziph, Maon, and Engedi, 1Sa 22:5; all which were in the …
620 wordsSECTION 657Psalms 63:2
Psalms 63:2 Ver. 2. To see thy power and thy glory,.... Either the ark, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it; the symbol of God's presence and glory, and which is called his strength and his glory; see Ps 78:61; or rather the Lord Christ, who is the power of God, as well as the wisdom of God; by whom he made t…
288 wordsSECTION 658Psalms 63:3
Psalms 63:3 Ver. 3. Because thy lovingkindness [is] better than life,.... For life without the love of God is nothing else than death: a man that has no share in the love of God is dead while he lives; all the enjoyments of life, health, riches, honour, friends, &c. are nothing without the love of God; the meanest tem…
220 wordsSECTION 659Psalms 63:4
Psalms 63:4 Ver. 4. Thus will I bless thee while I live,.... With his whole heart and soul, as he had sought after him, and as under a sense of his lovingkindness; and as he now praised him with his lips, so he determined to do as long as he had life and being; by proclaiming his blessedness, by ascribing blessing and…
223 wordsSECTION 660Psalms 63:5
Psalms 63:5 Ver. 5. My soul shall be satisfied as [with] marrow and fatness,.... When he should return to the house of the Lord, and partake of the provisions of it, called the fatness of his house, See Gill on "Ps 36:8". The phrase denotes the abundance of spiritual refreshment and delight in the word and ordinances,…
201 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.