PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — Psalms
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 746,590 words · 1615 reading sections
Psalms 140:9
Psalms 140:9 Ver. 9. [As for] the head of those that compass me about, let the, mischief of their own lips cover them. Meaning either their natural head, put for their whole persons; and the sense is, let the mischief they have contrived for others fall upon themselves; see Eze 9:10 Ps 7:16; or some principal person, …
351 wordsSECTION 1502Psalms 140:10
Psalms 140:10 Ver. 10. Let burning coals fall upon them,.... From heaven, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, by way of explanation; alluding to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from thence: and may design both the terrible judgments of God in this life, and everlasting burnings in hell; so Jarchi interpr…
232 wordsSECTION 1503Psalms 140:11
Psalms 140:11 Ver. 11. Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth,.... One that sets his mouth against the heavens, and speaks evil of God; of his being, perfections, purposes, and providences: whose tongue walks through the earth, and speaks evil of all men, even of dignities; and especially of the saints of…
353 wordsSECTION 1504Psalms 140:12
Psalms 140:12 Ver. 12. I know,.... Here is a double reading: the "Keri", or marginal reading, is, "thou knowest"; an appeal of the psalmist to God, who knew the thoughts of the wicked concerning him, and their devices against him; as Kimchi: but the Scripture reading is, I know; expressing his full persuasion and assu…
159 wordsSECTION 1505Psalms 140:13
Psalms 140:13 Ver. 13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name,.... The same with the poor and the afflicted; who, though traduced by men, and evil spoken of and ill used by them, are righteous in the sight of God; being justified by the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to them, and received by f…
328 wordsSECTION 1506Psalms 141:1
Psalms 141:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 141 A Psalm of David. This psalm was written about the same time, and upon the same occasion, as that going before and what follows after; even when David was persecuted by Saul, and when he was in great danger of his enemies, and snares were laid for his life. Ver. 1. Lord, I cry …
206 wordsSECTION 1507Psalms 141:2
Psalms 141:2 Ver. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense,.... Which was offered every morning on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, Ex 30:1; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer; which being offered on the altar Christ, which sanctifies every gift, a…
413 wordsSECTION 1508Psalms 141:3
Psalms 141:3 Ver. 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth,.... While praying, as Jarchi and Kimchi; that he might not utter any rash, unguarded, and unbecoming word; but take and use the words which God gives, even the taught words of the Holy Ghost; or lest, being under affliction and oppression, he should speak unad…
206 wordsSECTION 1509Psalms 141:4
Psalms 141:4 Ver. 4. Incline not my heart to [any] evil thing,.... Or "evil word" {z}, as the Targum; since out of the abundance of that the mouth speaketh, Mt 12:34; or to any sinful thing, to the commission of any evil action: not that God ever inclines men's hearts to sin by any physical influence, it being what is…
408 wordsSECTION 1510Psalms 141:5
Psalms 141:5 Ver. 5. Let the righteous smite me, [it shall be] a kindness,.... Or, "smite me in kindness" {a}. In love; in a loving and friendly manner, which makes reproofs the more agreeable and effectual. Not the righteous God, as Arama; though he does sometimes smite his people for their sins, Isa 57:17; that is, …
482 wordsSECTION 1511Psalms 141:6
Psalms 141:6 Ver. 6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places,.... The judges of David's adversaries, the workers of iniquity; meaning Saul, Abner, &c. Arama refers this to Saul and his sons being slain on the mountains of Gilboa, 1Sa 31:1; which might be here prophetically spoken of. Or, as it is by some rend…
480 wordsSECTION 1512Psalms 141:7
Psalms 141:7 Ver. 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,.... Into which they were not suffered to be put, but lay unburied; or from whence they were dug up, and lay scattered about; which is to be understood of such of David's friends as fell into the hands of Saul and his men, and were slain: perhaps it may…
243 wordsSECTION 1513Psalms 141:8
Psalms 141:8 Ver. 8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord,.... Not only the eyes of his body, lifted up to God in prayer, this being a prayer gesture, Joh 11:41; but the eyes of his mind, or understanding, especially the eyes of faith and love; for it is expressive of his affection to God, his holy confidence i…
325 wordsSECTION 1514Psalms 141:9
Psalms 141:9 Ver. 9. Keep me from the snare [which] they have laid for me,.... Either Saul, who gave him a wife to be a snare to him, and set men to watch his house and take him; or the Ziphites, who proposed to Saul to deliver him into his hands; see 1Sa 18:21. and the gins of the workers of iniquity; the transgress…
124 wordsSECTION 1515Psalms 141:10
Psalms 141:10 Ver. 10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets,.... Which they have laid for others, as they very often do; see Ps 7:15; or "into his net" {k}, either Saul into his own net, and others with him, so Kimchi and Ben Melech; or the wicked into the net which God has laid for them; see Eze 12:13; whilst tha…
176 wordsSECTION 1516Psalms 142:1
Psalms 142:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 142 Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. Of the word "maschil", See Gill on "Ps 32:1", title. This psalm is called a prayer, as some others are, the ninetieth and hundred second psalms: and was composed by David when either in the cave of Adullam, 1Sa 22:1; or rather …
291 wordsSECTION 1517Psalms 142:2
Psalms 142:2 Ver. 2. I poured out my complaint before him,.... Not a complaint of the Lord and of his providences, but of himself; of his sins, and particularly his unbelief; and also of them that persecuted and afflicted him; which he "poured" out from the abundance of his heart, and in the bitterness of his soul; de…
174 wordsSECTION 1518Psalms 142:3
Psalms 142:3 Ver. 3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,.... Ready to sink and faint under the present affliction, being attended with the hidings of God's face, and with unbelieving frames; which is sometimes the case of God's people, and with which they are as it were covered and overwhelmed, as well as with a…
239 wordsSECTION 1519Psalms 142:4
Psalms 142:4 Ver. 4. I looked on [my] right hand, and beheld,.... On the left, so Kimchi supplies it, and after him Piscator; he looked about him every way to the right and left, to see if he could get any help, or find out any way of deliverance. To this sense the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic…
405 wordsSECTION 1520Psalms 142:5
Psalms 142:5 Ver. 5. I cried unto thee, O Lord,.... Finding no help from man, he turns to the Lord, and directs his prayer to him in his distress; I said, thou [art] my refuge; as he was, from all his enemies that were in pursuit of him, and from the storm of calamities he apprehended was coming upon him: and a refug…
196 wordsSECTION 1521Psalms 142:6
Psalms 142:6 Ver. 6. Attend unto my cry,.... His prayer and supplication for help in his distress, which he desires might be hearkened unto and answered; for I am brought very low; in his spirit, in the exercise of grace, being in great affliction, and reduced to the utmost extremity, weakened, impoverished, and exha…
177 wordsSECTION 1522Psalms 142:7
Psalms 142:7 Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison,.... Not out of purgatory, to which some Popish writers wrest these words very absurdly; nor out of the prison of his body, as Joseph Ben Gorion {p}; knowing that none but God had a power of removing it from thence; but out of the cave, where he was detained as in a pri…
344 wordsSECTION 1523Psalms 143:1
Psalms 143:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 143 A Psalm of David. This psalm was composed by David when he fled from Absalom his son, according to the title of it in Apollinarius, the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; so R. Obadiah Gaon: and of the same opinion is Theodoret and others. The sense he had…
358 wordsSECTION 1524Psalms 143:2
Psalms 143:2 Ver. 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant,.... The house of judgment, as the Targum, or court of judicature; God is a Judge, and there is and will be a judgment, universal, righteous, and eternal; and there is a day fixed for it, and a judgment seat before which all must stand, and a law accord…
332 wordsSECTION 1525Psalms 143:3
Psalms 143:3 Ver. 3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul,.... Which is to be connected with Ps 143:1; and is a reason why he desires his prayer might be answered, seeing his enemy, either Saul, or Absalom his own son, persecuted him, or pursued him in order to take away his soul, or life; or Satan, the enemy and ave…
338 wordsSECTION 1526Psalms 143:4
Psalms 143:4 Ver. 4. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me,.... Covered over with grief, borne down with sorrow, ready to sink and fail; See Gill on "Ps 142:3"; my heart within me is desolate; destitute of the spirit and presence of God, and with respect to the exercise of grace, and filled with fears and misg…
124 wordsSECTION 1527Psalms 143:5
Psalms 143:5 Ver. 5. I remember the days of old,.... Former times he had read and heard of, in which the Lord appeared for his people that trusted in him; or the former part of his own life, his younger days, when the Lord delivered him from the lion and bear, and from the uncircumcised Philistine, whom he slew; and m…
221 wordsSECTION 1528Psalms 143:6
Psalms 143:6 Ver. 6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee,.... In prayer, as the Targum adds; for this is a prayer gesture, 1Ki 8:38; both hands were stretched forth, earnestly imploring help, and ready to receive and embrace every blessing bestowed with thankfulness; my soul [thirsteth] after thee as a thirsty land. A…
183 wordsSECTION 1529Psalms 143:7
Psalms 143:7 Ver. 7. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth,.... Ready to sink, swoon, and faint away, through the weight of the affliction on him, by reason of the persecution of his enemy, and for want of the divine Presence; hence the Targum renders it, "my spirit desireth thee;'' see So 5:6; and therefore e…
268 wordsSECTION 1530Psalms 143:8
Psalms 143:8 Ver. 8. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning,.... Not only externally in the ministry of the word; but internally by the Spirit, so as to feel and perceive, and have some sensible experience of it; which he desired he might have in the morning, early, speedily, by the next morning; it being …
302 wordsSECTION 1531Psalms 143:9
Psalms 143:9 Ver. 9. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies,.... Either Saul and his courtiers, or Absalom and the conspirators along with him; who were many, and lively and strong, stronger than he; and therefore God only could deliver him, and to him he sought for it, and not to men; and so deliverance from spiritual…
180 wordsSECTION 1532Psalms 143:10
Psalms 143:10 Ver. 10. Teach me to do thy will,.... Revealed in the word; which saints desire a greater knowledge of in order to do it, and in which they delight; and also are desirous of being taught, and to practise submission to the will of God under afflictions; which was now the case of the psalmist; for thou [a…
327 wordsSECTION 1533Psalms 143:11
Psalms 143:11 Ver. 11. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake,.... Being like one dead, Ps 143:3; that is, revive and cheer his drooping spirit, ready to fail, being overwhelmed within him, Ps 143:4; as well as revive the work of grace in him; and quicken his soul to the exercise of grace, and discharge of duty; and …
195 wordsSECTION 1534Psalms 143:12
Psalms 143:12 Ver. 12. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,.... Which, though an act of vindictive justice, and terrible righteousness to them, would be an act of grace and mercy to him, who thereby would be delivered from them: or, "for thy grace" {b}; for the sake of it, for the honour of it, do this; those being,…
227 wordsSECTION 1535Psalms 144:1
Psalms 144:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 144 A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David; not on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, by a spirit of prophecy, as Theodoret; but on his own account, after he was come to the throne, and was king over all Israel; and was delivered from the was…
591 wordsSECTION 1536Psalms 144:2
Psalms 144:2 Ver. 2. My goodness,.... Not only good, but goodness itself; the donor of all the blessings of goodness to him; the author of all goodness in him; the provider of all goodness for him, laid up to be used hereafter. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it my mercy, properly enough; that is, the…
508 wordsSECTION 1537Psalms 144:3
Psalms 144:3 Ver. 3. Lord, what [is] man, that thou takest knowledge of him?.... Man, that is at most and best but a creature, made of the dust of the earth, is but dust and ashes; yea, a sinful creature, that drinks up iniquity like water: and yet the Lord not only knows him, as he is the omniscient God, but takes no…
390 wordsSECTION 1538Psalms 144:4
Psalms 144:4 Ver. 4. Man is like to vanity,.... Is vanity itself, in every age, state, and condition; yea, in his best estate, Ps 39:5; or, "to the breath" {h} of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour {i}; to which the life of man is compared, Jas 4:14; his days [are] as a shadow…
123 wordsSECTION 1539Psalms 144:5
Psalms 144:5 Ver. 5. Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down,.... The heavens, which the Lord has made, and where he dwells; and which are under his influence, and he can cause to incline or bow at his pleasure: and which literally may be said to bow, particularly the airy heavens, when these are filled with clouds hea…
360 wordsSECTION 1540Psalms 144:6
Psalms 144:6 Ver. 6. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them,.... The mountains, the kings and kingdoms of the earth; the enemies of David, and of Christ, and of his people; particularly the Jews, who have been scattered all over the earth by the judgments of God upon them; cast forth like lightning, which is swift, pi…
176 wordsSECTION 1541Psalms 144:7
Psalms 144:7 Ver. 7. Send thine hand from above,.... From the high heavens, as the Targum; that is, exert and display thy power in my deliverance, and in the destruction of my enemies; as follows: rid me, and deliver me out of great waters; out of great afflictions, which, for quantity and quality, are like many wate…
321 wordsSECTION 1542Psalms 144:8
Psalms 144:8 Ver. 8. Whose mouth speaketh vanity,.... Vain words, lies, flatteries, and deceit, Ps 12:2; when they speak loftily of themselves, and contemptuously of others; when they deliver out threatenings against some, and make fair promises to others; it is all vanity, and comes to nothing; and their right hand …
233 wordsSECTION 1543Psalms 144:9
Psalms 144:9 Ver. 9. I will sing a new song unto thee, O God,.... The author of his being, the Father of mercies, temporal and spiritual, and therefore to him praise is always due; a new song of praise is to be sung for new mercies; and as these are new every morning, and are renewed day by day, new songs should be su…
186 wordsSECTION 1544Psalms 144:10
Psalms 144:10 Ver. 10. [It is he] that giveth salvation to kings,.... Which is the reason of singing the new song to the Lord, or this is the matter of it. The Lord is the Preserver of men and beasts, the Saviour of all men, and especially of them that believe; who are in a spiritual sense kings and priests unto God; …
459 wordsSECTION 1545Psalms 144:11
Psalms 144:11 Ver. 11. Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children,.... This is repeated from Ps 144:7; and is done to show the vehemency and importunity of the request, and the danger David was in, and his sense of it; See Gill on "Ps 144:7"; whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [is] a righ…
72 wordsSECTION 1546Psalms 144:12
Psalms 144:12 Ver. 12. That our sons [may be] as plants grown up in their youth,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read, "whose sons [are as] plants", &c. as if this and what follows were a description of the families, estates, substance, and outward happiness of wicked men, the…
1,694 wordsSECTION 1547Psalms 145:1
Psalms 145:1 INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 145 David's [Psalm] of praise. This psalm is rendered by Ainsworth "a hymn of David"; and the whole book of Psalms is from hence called "the Book of Hymns"; see Eph 5:19; It seems to have been a psalm David took great delight in, and it may be that he often repeated and sung it, as …
806 wordsSECTION 1548Psalms 145:2
Psalms 145:2 Ver. 2. Every day will I bless thee,.... For new mercies had every morning; for fresh supplies of grace every day, which all come from the fulness of Christ, to whom all grace is given, and from whence it is received, and in whom all spiritual blessings are, and by whom they are bestowed; and I will prai…
167 wordsSECTION 1549Psalms 145:3
Psalms 145:3 Ver. 3. Great [is] the Lord, and greatly to be praised,.... Christ is the great God as well as our Saviour; great in all the perfections of his nature, of great wisdom, power, faithfulness, holiness, grace, and goodness; great in his person as God-man, God manifest in the flesh; great in all his offices a…
172 wordsSECTION 1550Psalms 145:4
Psalms 145:4 Ver. 4. One generation shall praise thy works to another,.... The works of providence done in one age shall be told by the father to the son with praise to the great Performer of them, and so be transmitted to the latest posterity; for in every age there are new and strange things done in Providence, the …
263 wordsSECTION 1551Psalms 145:5
Psalms 145:5 Ver. 5. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty,.... Of the majesty of the divine Person of Christ; of the honour due unto him; of the glory of him as of the only begotten of the Father, as he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person; of his glory as Mediator, and the…
158 wordsSECTION 1552Psalms 145:6
Psalms 145:6 Ver. 6. And [men] shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts,.... The terrible things of Christ, which his right hand has taught him, and his mighty power has performed; such as the destruction of a disobedient and ungodly world by a flood, to whom he preached by his Spirit in the days of Noah; the bur…
415 wordsSECTION 1553Psalms 145:7
Psalms 145:7 Ver. 7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,.... Not only his essential goodness, or the perfections of his nature; nor his providential goodness only; but his special grace and goodness to his own people in becoming their surety, in assuming their nature, in laying down his life …
427 wordsSECTION 1554Psalms 145:8
Psalms 145:8 Ver. 8. The Lord [is] gracious,.... These are the epithets of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may be truly and with great propriety said of him; he is "gracious", kind, and good, in the instances before mentioned; he is full of grace, and readily distributes it; his words are words of grace; his Gospel, and th…
311 wordsSECTION 1555Psalms 145:9
Psalms 145:9 Ver. 9. The Lord [is] good to all,.... Which is to be understood not of the general and providential goodness of God to all men, to all his creatures, and the works of his hands; but of the special goodness of Christ before mentioned, Ps 145:7; which extends to all the chosen people of God; who are all lo…
213 wordsSECTION 1556Psalms 145:10
Psalms 145:10 Ver. 10. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord,.... Not all his works or creatures in general; though these do objectively praise him, or are the cause rather of others praising him on their account: but those who are in a special manner the works of his hands, of his powerful and efficacious grace; wh…
199 wordsSECTION 1557Psalms 145:11
Psalms 145:11 Ver. 11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom,.... That is, the saints who are his special workmanship, in the celebration of his praise; and, while they are blessing him, will take particular notice, and make particular mention of his kingdom, and the glory of it; not only his kingdom of nature …
516 wordsSECTION 1558Psalms 145:12
Psalms 145:12 Ver. 12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts,.... As in Ps 145:4; the acts of his power in providence and grace; in the salvation of his people, and the destruction of their enemies; which, with others, are made known in the ministry of the word, to those who were strangers to them, to those…
143 wordsSECTION 1559Psalms 145:13
Psalms 145:13 Ver. 13. Thy kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom,.... So it is opposed to all other kingdoms and monarchies, which have had or will have an end; as the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman; with all other states which will be on the spot when this kingdom is set up in its glory, and will continue for …
397 wordsSECTION 1560Psalms 145:14
Psalms 145:14 Ver. 14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall,.... Not all that fell in Adam, as all mankind did; nor all that fall into sin, as every man does; and therefore not those that fall into hell: but this is to be understood of the subjects of Christ's kingdom, of which the psalmist is speaking; who does that whic…
276 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.