The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 3 — Section 26

so bitterly under any provocation. But we can clearly see that, if he did feel thUB, he did what was altogether the wisest and most hopeful thing, '\\"'hen he spoke his bad fo01ings to God rather than to men. It is generally agreed that David was the author of tbc p~alm, and that the treachery and wickedness of some individual is the cause of Da"id's extreme anger and distress. l)oeg, Cush, Shimei, and Ahithophel have been suggested. The treachery of his trusted friend Ahithophel perhaps affected David more t~an any other .wrong done to him. But Shimei was brutal in his emnity, The express10ns David uses must be judged in the light of his age. I. ACTING IN VINDICATION OF SELF :MA y BE WRONG, And acting includes speech and deed. In David's case-if tl1e association is the rebellion of Absalom-he could not act; he was helpless to defend himself. But if he had been able, it was clearly wiser not to attempt such defence. 'l'here are many forms of trouble to which men are subject which they must leave alone. Attempted vindications only make matters worse. Men often make grave mistakes through over-anxiety about self-vindication; nnd their own heat of feelicg, and the public prejudice excited, make the methods of vindication imprudent, and the results ineffective. "Avenue not yourselves." On David's side it should be urged that he did not attempt to ave;ge himself, II. APPEALING TO Gon FOB VINDICATION IS ALWAYS RIGHT. And he who goes to God may be, and should be, genuine with God; and if he does feel strongly, he should say what he feels. Illustrate by the way in which a mother encourages her boy to tell everything to her when he is in a passion. The boy tells how he hates, and wishes evil done to, the person who has injured him. The mother does not misunder- stand, and her work is to get the boy soothed and calmed. We may freely speak out our bad feelings to our Father-God. That very unreserve he uses to bring us to our right minds. We may show how wrongly we feel by what we say to God, as David did; but the saying it to God is certainly right. 'l'ake your very anger to God in prayer.-R. T. Ver. 6.-Committing our enemies to the fudgment of God. It should be borne in mind that David was not a merely private person; and that he does not write this psalm as a private person. He was a king, placed in an oilicial position, responsible to his people for the due punishment of all wrong-doers. And the treachery and wickedness of which he complains wa.s committed against him as king. sl'hie is clearly seen if the association of the psalm be with either Shimei or Ahithophel. And there is another thing. David was not an independent king. He was the anointed of Jehovah-the true king. When David had a case of unusual difficulty, one in which personal feeling was likely unduly to influence him, every way the wisest thing for him to do was to refer the matter to the supreme Sovereign, and let him decide. The psalm is to be regarded as the appeal of a vicegerent to his superior. This view relieves the psalm of its burden, because we can see that the superior will only take the representations of his subordinate into due consideration. He will be sure not to be unduly influenced by them. He will act on the eter.!\11'1 principles of righteousness. I. EVERY MAN BAB A POWER TO PUNISII. Presently David would have been able to punish these men of whom he complains. When a man wrongs us we can punish (1) by slighting him; (2) by speaking of him so as to take away his character; (3) by injurincr him in his circumstances. It is a fatal powcr--one of the most dangerous trusts ~ man ha~. Man seldom uses it well. See the uncertainty, and frequent injustice, of magistrates' decisions. Feeling guides rather than judgment. Custom tends to exaggerate sins, and so exaggerate judgments. As in the case of poaching. The Christian spirit puts strict limitation on the desire to punish. II. EvEnY :r.tAN SIIOULD LEAVE GoD To PUNISII. 'l'hat is what David does, And that is the good 6ide oi the psalm. 'l'ruP, he se~ms to prescribe what God ought to do, but that we may put down to the intensity of his. feeling. He lea:ves Go_d to punish both his own enemies and the enemies of the kmgdom. Tl.uit 1s precisely what we ought to do always. And we may be quite sure ( l) that Go_d will punish; (2) will punish jUBtly; (3) will punish efficiently; (4) will punish mercifully; (6) will vir.dicate us by the punishment.-R. T. Vers. 9, 10.-Tlte virorious feature in judgments. "Let his children be orphans, f8, 0IX. 1-31.] THE BOOK OF PSALMS. 27