Verse 14. "Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest
mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hands," etc. This
should be a terror to the wicked, to think that whatsoever they
do, they do it in the sight of him that shall judge
them, and call them to a strict account for every thought
conceived against his majesty; and therefore, it should make them
afraid to sin; because that when they burn with lust, and toil
with hatred, when they scorn the just and wrong the innocent,
they do all this, not only in conspectu Dei , within the
compass of God's sight, but also in sinu divinitatis, in
the bosom of that Deity, who, though he suffered them for a time
to run on, like "a wild ass used to in the wilderness," yet he
will find them out at the last, and then cut them off and destroy
them. And as this is terror unto the wicked, so it may be a
comfort unto the godly to think that he who should hear their
prayers and send them help, is so near unto them; and it should
move them to rely still upon him, because we are sure of his
presence wherever we are. G. Williams, 1636.
Verse 14. "The poor committeth himself unto thee."
The awkwardness of our hearts to suffer comes much from distrust.
An unbelieving soul treads upon the promise as a man upon ice; at
first going upon it he is full of fears and tumultuous thoughts
lest it should crack. Now, daily resignation of thy heart, as it
will give thee an occasion of conversing more with the thoughts
of God's power, faithfulness, and other of his attributes (for
want of familiarity with which, jealousies arise in our hearts
when put to any great plunge), so also it will furnish thee with
many experiences of the reality both of his attributes and
promises; which, though they need not any testimony from sense,
to gain them credit with us, yet so much are we made of sense, so
childish and weak is our faith, that we find our hearts much
helped by those experiences we have had, to rely on him for the
future. Look, therefore, carefully to this; every morning leave
thyself and ways in God's hand, as the phrase is. Psalm 10:14.
And at night look again how well God hath looked to his trust,
and sleep not till thou hast affected thy heart with his
faithfulness, and laid a stronger charge on thy heart to trust
itself again in God's keeping in the night. And when any breach
is made, and seeming loss befalls thee in any enjoyment, which
thou hast by faith insured of thy God, observe how God fills up
that breach, and makes up that loss to thee; and rest not till
thou hast fully vindicated the good name of God to thy own heart.
Be sure thou lettest no discontent or dissatisfaction lie upon
thy spirit at God's dealings; but chide thy heart for it, as
David did his. Psalm 42. And thus doing, with God's blessing,
thou shalt keep thy faith in breath for a longer race, when
called to run it. William Gurnall.
Verse 14. "Thou art the helper of the fatherless."
God doth exercise a more special province over men, as clothed
with miserable circumstances; and therefore among his other
titles this is one, to be a "helper of the fatherless." It
is the argument the church used to express her return to God;
Hosea 14:3, "For in thee the fatherless find mercy." Now what
greater comfort is there than this, that there is one presides in
the world who is so wise he cannot be mistaken, so faithful he
cannot deceive, so pitiful he cannot neglect his people, and so
powerful that he can make stones even to be turned into bread if
he please! . . . . . . God doth not govern the world only by his
will as an absolute monarch, but by his wisdom and goodness as a
tender father. It is not his greatest pleasure to show his
sovereign power, or his inconceivable wisdom, but his immense
goodness, to which he makes the other attributes subservient.
Stephen Charnock.
Verse 14. "Thou hast seen it," etc. If God did not
see our ways, we might sin and go unpunished; but foreasmuch as
he seeth them with purer eyes than to behold iniquity and approve
it, he is engaged both in justice and honour to punish all that
iniquity of our ways which he seeth or beholdeth. David makes
this the very design of God's superintendency over the ways of
men: "Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and
spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself
unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless." Thus the
psalmist represents the Lord as having taken a view or survey of
the ways of men. "Thou hast seen." What hath God seen?
Even all that wickedness and oppression of the poor spoken of in
the former part of the Psalm, as also the blasphemy of the wicked
against himself (verse 13), "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn
God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it."
What saith the psalmist concerning God, to this vain, confident
man? "Thou," saith he, "beholdest mischief and
spite;" but to what purpose? the next words tell us that—
"to requite it with thy hand." As thou hast seen what
mischief they have done spitefully, so in due time thou wilt
requite it righteously. The Lord is not a bare spectator, he is
both a rewarder and an avenger. Therefore, from the ground of
this truth, that the Lord seeth all our ways, and counteth all
our steps, we, as the prophet exhorts (Isaiah 3:10, 11), may "say
to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall
eat the fruit of their doings." We may also say, "Woe unto the
wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands
shall be given him." Only idols which have eyes and see not, have
hands and strike not. Joseph Caryl.
Verse 14. "Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest
mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor
committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the
fatherless." Let the poor know that their God doth take care
of them, to visit their sins with rods who spoil them, seeing
they have forgotten that we are members one of another, and have
invaded the goods of their brethren; God will arm them against
themselves, and beat them with their own staves; either their own
compassing and over-reaching wits shall consume their store, or
their unthrifty posterity shall put wings upon their riches to
make them fly; or God shall not give them the blessing to take
use of their wealth, but they shall leave to such as shall be
merciful to the poor. Therefore let them follow the wise man's
counsel (Ecclesiastes 10:20), "Curse not the rich, no, not in thy
bedchamber;" let no railing and unchristian bitterness wrong a
good cause; let it be comfort enough to them that God is both
their supporter and avenger. Is it not sufficient to lay all the
storms of discontent against their oppressors, that God sees
their affliction, and cometh down to deliver and avenge them?
Edward Marbury.
Verse 14. "Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest
mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand," etc. God
considers all your works and ways, and will not you consider the
works, the ways of God? Of this be sure, whether you consider the
ways of God, his word-ways, or work-ways, of this be sure, God
will consider your ways, certainly he will; those ways of yours
which in themselves are not worth the considering or looking
upon, your sinful ways, though they are so vile, so abominable,
that if yourselves did but look upon them and consider them, you
would be utterly ashamed of them; yea, though they are an
abomination to God while he beholds them, yet he will behold and
consider them. The Lord who is of purer eyes than to behold any
the least iniquity, to approve it, will yet behold the greatest
of your iniquities, and your impurest ways to consider them.
"Thou," saith David, "beholdest mischief and spite, to
requite it:" God beholdeth the foulest, dirtiest ways of men,
their ways of oppression and unrighteousness, their ways of
intemperance and lasciviousness, their ways of wrath and
maliciousness, at once to detest, detect, and requite them. If
God thus considereth the ways of men, even those filthy and
crooked ways of men, should not men consider the holy, just, and
righteous ways of God? Joseph Caryl.
Verses 14-18. "God delights to help the poor." He
loves to take part with the best, though the weakest side.
Contrary to the course of most, who when a controversy arises use
to stand in a kind of indifferency or neutrality, till they see
which part is strongest, not which is justest. Now if there be
any consideration (besides the cause) that draws or engages God,
it is the weakness of the side. He joins with many, because they
are weak, not with any, because they are strong; therefore he is
called the helper of the friendless, and with him the
fatherless , (the orphans) find mercy . By fatherless we
are not to understand such only whose parents are dead, but any
one that is in distress; as Christ promised his disciples; "I
will not leave you orphans," that is, helpless, and (as we
translate) comfortless; though ye are as children without
a father, yet I will be a father to you. Men are often like those
clouds which dissolve into the sea; they send presents to the
rich, and assist the strong; but God sends his rain upon the dry
land, and lends his strength to those who are weak. . . . The
prophet makes this report to God of himself (Isaiah 30:4):
"Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the
needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm," etc. Joseph
Caryl.
Verse 16. "The Lord is King for ever and ever: the
heathen are perished out of his land." Such confidence and
faith must appear to the world strange and unaccountable. It is
like what his fellow citizens may be supposed to have felt (if
the story be true) toward that man of whom it is recorded, that
his powers of vision were so extraordinary, that he could
distinctly see the fleet of the Carthaginians entering the
harbour of Carthage, while he stood himself at Lilyboeum, in
Sicily. A man seeing across an ocean, and able to tell of objects
so far off! he could feast his vision on what others saw not.
Even thus does faith now stand at its Lilyboeum, and see the long
tossed fleet entering safely the desired haven, enjoying the
bliss of that still distant day, as if it were already come.
Andrew A. Bonar.
Verse 17. There is a humbling act of faith put forth in
prayer. Others style it praying in humility; give me leave to
style it praying in faith. In faith which sets the soul in the
presence of that mighty God, and by the sight of him, which faith
gives us, it is that we see our own vileness, sinfulness, and
abhor ourselves, and profess ourselves unworthy of any, much less
of those mercies we are to seek for. Thus the sight of God had
wrought in the prophet (Isaiah 6:5), "Then said I, Woe is me! for
I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips: for mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." And holy Job speaks thus