his zeal when using this prayer; and all of us, since we are so weak on our
legs through Adam's fall, had need use it every hour of the day. If a
perfect father fell, how shall an imperfect son dare to boast? "In thy
paths." Forsaking Satan's paths, he prayed to be upheld in God's paths.
We cannot keep from evil without keeping to good. If the bushel be not
full of wheat, it may soon be once more full of chaff. In all the appointed
ordinances and duties of our most holy faith, may the Lord enable us to run
through his upholding grace! "That my footsteps slip not." What! slip in
God's ways? Yes, the road is good, but our feet are evil, and therefore
slip, even on the King's highway. Who wonders if carnal men slide and fall
in ways of their own choosing, which like the vale of Siddim, are full of
deadly slime-pits? One may trip over an ordinance as well as over a
temptation. Jesus Christ himself is a stumbling-block to some, and the
doctrines of grace have been the occasion of offence to many. Grace alone
can hold up our goings in the paths of truth.
Verse 6. "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God." Thou
hast always heard me, O my Lord, and therefore I have the utmost confidence
in again approaching thine altar. Experience is a blessed teacher. He who
has tried the faithfulness of God in hours of need, has great boldness in
laying his case before the throne. The well of Bethlehem, from which we
drew such cooling draughts in years gone by, our souls long for still; nor
will we leave it for the broken cisterns of earth. "Incline thine ear unto
me, and hear my speech." Stoop out of heaven and put thine ear to my
mouth; give me thine ear all to myself, as men do when they lean over to
catch every word from their friend. The Psalmist here comes back to his
first prayer, and thus sets us an example of pressing our suit again and
again, until we have a full assurance that we have succeeded.
Verse 7. "Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness." Marvellous in its
antiquity, its distinguishing character, its faithfulness, its immutability,
and above all, marvellous in the wonders which it works. That marvellous
grace which has redeemed us with the precious blood of God's only begotten,
is here invoked to come to the rescue. That grace is sometimes hidden; the
text says, "Shew it." Present enjoyments of divine love are matchless
cordials to support fainting hearts. Believer, what a prayer is this!
Consider it well. O Lord, shew thy marvellous lovingkindness; shew it to my
intellect, and remove my ignorance; shew it to my heart, and revive my
gratitude; shew it to my faith, and renew my confidence; shew it to my
experience, and deliver me from all my fears. The original word here used
is the same which in Psalm 4:3 is rendered set apart, and it has the force
of, Distinguish thy mercies, set them out, and set apart the choicest to be
bestowed upon me in this hour of my severest affliction. "O thou that
savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that
rise up against them." The title here given to our gracious God is
eminently consolatory. He is the God of salvation; it is his present and
perpetual habit to save believers; he puts forth his best and most glorious
strength, using his right hand of wisdom and might, to save all those, of
whatsoever rank or class, who trust themselves with him. Happy faith thus
to secure the omnipotent protection of heaven! Blessed God, to be thus
gracious to unworthy mortals, when they have but grace to rely upon thee!
The right hand of God is interposed between the saints and all harm; God is
never at a loss for means; his own bare hand is enough. He works without
tools as well as with them.
Verse 8. "Keep me as the apple of the eye." No part of the body more
precious, more tender, and more carefully guarded than the eye; and of the
eye, no portion more peculiarly to be protected than the central apple, the
pupil, or as the Hebrew calls it, "the daughter of the eye." The all-wise
Creator has placed the eye in a well-protected position; it stands
surrounded by projecting bones like Jerusalem encircled by mountains.
Moreover, its great Author has surrounded it with many tunics of inward
covering, besides the hedge of the eyebrows, the curtain of the eyelids, and
the fence of the eyelashes; and, in addition to this, he has given to every
man so high a value for his eyes, and so quick an apprehension of danger,
that no member of the body is more faithfully cared for than the organ of
sight. Thus, Lord, keep thou me, for I trust I am one with Jesus, and so a
member of his mystical body. "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings."
Even as the parent bird completely shields her brood from evil, and
meanwhile cherishes them with the warmth of her own heart, by covering them
with her wings, so do thou with me, most condescending God, for I am thine
offspring, and thou hast a parent's love in perfection. This last clause is
in the Hebrew in the future tense, as if to show that what the writer had
asked for but a moment before he was now sure would be granted to him.
Confident expectations should keep pace with earnest supplication.
Verse 9. "From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who
compass me about." The foes from whom David sought to be rescued were
wicked men. It is hopeful for us when our enemies are God's enemies.
They were deadly enemies, whom nothing but his death would satisfy. The
foes of a believer's soul are mortal foes most emphatically, for they who
war against our faith aim at the very life of our life. Deadly sins are
deadly enemies, and what sin is there which hath not death in its bowels?
These foes oppressed David, they laid his spirit waste, as invading armies
ravage a country, or as wild beasts desolate a land. He likens himself to a
besieged city, and complains that his foes compass him about. It may well
quicken our business upward, when all around us, every road, is blockaded by
deadly foes. This is our daily position, for all around us dangers and sins
are lurking. O God, do thou protect us from them all.
Verse 10. "They are inclosed in their own fat." Luxury and gluttony
beget vainglorious fatness of heart, which shuts up its gates against all
compassionate emotions and reasonable judgments. The old proverb says that
full bellies make empty skulls, and it is yet more true that they frequently
make empty hearts. The rankest weeds grow out of the fattest soil. Riches
and self-indulgence are the fuel upon which some sins feed their flames.
Pride and fulness of bread were Sodom's twin sins. (Ezekiel 16:49.) Fed
hawks forget their masters; and the moon at its fullest is furthest from the
sun. Eglon was a notable instance that a well-fed corporation is no
security to life, when a sharp message comes from God, addressed to the
inward vitals of the body. "With their mouth they speak proudly." He who
adores himself, will have no heart to adore the Lord. Full of selfish
pleasure within his heart, the wicked man fills his mouth with boastful and
arrogant expressions. Prosperity and vanity often lodge together. Woe to
the fed ox when it bellows at its owner, the poleax is not far off.
Verse 11. "They have now compassed us in our steps." The fury of the
ungodly is aimed not at one believer alone, but at all the band; they have
compassed us. All the race of the Jews were but a morsel for Haman's
hungry revenge, and all because of one Mordecai. The prince of darkness
hates all the saints for their Master's sake. The Lord Jesus is one of the
us, and herein is our hope. He is the Breaker, and will clear a way for
us through the hosts which environ us. The hatred of the powers of evil is
continuous and energetic, for they watch every step, hoping that the time
may come when they shall catch us by surprise. If our spiritual adversaries
thus compass every step, how anxiously should we guard all our movements,
lest by any means we should be betrayed into evil! "They have set their
eyes bowing down to the earth." Trapp witily explains this metaphor by an
allusion to a bull when about to run at his victim; he lowers his head,
looks downward, and then concentrates all his force in the dash which he
makes. It most probably denotes the malicious jealousy with which the enemy
watches the steps of the righteous; as if they studied the ground on which
they trod, and searched after some wrong foot-mark to accuse them for the
past, or some stumbling-stone to cast in their future path to trip them in
days to come.
Verse 12. Lions are not more greedy, nor their ways more cunning than are
Satan and his helpers when engaged against the children of God. The blood
of souls the adversary thirsts after, and all his strength and craft are
exerted to the utmost to satisfy his detestable appetite. We are weak and
foolish like sheep; but we have a shepherd wise and strong, who knows the
old lion's wiles, and is more than a match for his force; therefore will we
not fear, but rest in safety in the fold. Let us beware, however, of our
lurking foe; and in those parts of the road where we feel most secure, let
us look about us lest, peradventure, our foe should leap upon us.
Verse 13. "Arise, O Lord." The more furious the attack, the more fervent
the Psalmist's prayer. His eye rests singly upon the Almighty, and he feels
that God has but to rise from the seat of his patience, and the work will be
performed at once. Let the lion spring upon us, if Jehovah steps between we
need no better defence. When God meets our foe face to face in battle, the
conflict will soon be over. "Disappoint him." Be beforehand with him,
outwit and outrun him. Appoint it otherwise than he has appointed, and so
disappoint him. "Cast him down." Prostrate him. Make him sink upon his
knees. Make him bow as the conquered bows before the conqueror. What a
glorious sight will it be to behold Satan prostrate beneath the foot of our
glorious Lord! Haste, glorious day! "Deliver my soul from the wicked,
which is thy sword." He recognizes the most profane and oppressive as
being under the providential rule of the King of kings, and used as a sword
in the divine hand. What can a sword do unless it be wielded by a hand? No
more could the wicked annoy us, unless the Lord permitted them so to do.
Most translators are, however, agreed that this is not the correct reading,
but that it should be as Calvin puts it, "Deliver my soul from the ungodly
man by thy sword." Thus David contrasts the sword of the Lord with human
aids and reliefs, and rests assured that he is safe enough under the
patronage of heaven.
Verse 14. Almost every word of this verse has furnished matter for
discussion to scholars, for it is very obscure. We will, therefore, rest
content with the common version, rather than distract the reader with divers
translations. "From men which are thy hand." Having styled the ungodly a
sword in his Father's hand, he now likens them to that hand itself, to set
forth his conviction that God could as easily remove their violence as a man
moves his own hand. He will never slay his child with his own hand. "From
men of the world," mere earthworms; not men of the world to come, but mere
dwellers in this narrow sphere of mortality; having no hopes or wishes
beyond the ground on which they tread. "Which have their portion in this
life." Like the prodigal, they have their portion, and are not content to
wait their Father's time. Like Passion in the "Pilgrim's Progress," they
have their best things first, and revel during their little hour. Luther
was always afraid lest he should have his portion here, and therefore
frequently gave away sums of money which had been presented to him. We
cannot have earth and heaven too for our choice and portion; wise men choose
that which will last the longest. "Whose belly thou fillest with thy hid
treasure." Their sensual appetite gets the gain which it craved for. God
gives to these swine the husks which they hunger for. A generous man does
not deny dogs their bones; and our generous God gives even his enemies
enough to fill them, if they were not so unreasonable as never to be
content. Gold and silver which are locked up in the dark treasuries of the
earth are given to the wicked liberally, and they therefore roll in all
manner of carnal delights. Every dog has his day, and they have theirs, and
a bright summer's day it seems; but ah! how soon it ends in night! "They
are full of children." This was their fondest hope, that a race from their
loins would prolong their names far down the page of history, and God has
granted them this also; so that they have all that heart can wish. What
enviable creatures they seem, but it is only seeming! "They are full of
children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes." They were
fat housekeepers, and yet leave no lean wills. Living and dying they lacked
for nothing but grace and alas! that lack spoils everything. They had a