Commentary on Psalms Volume 1 John Calvin
COMMENTARY ON PSALMS
been the case, for what purpose could he desire the presence of God? 536
Besides, it is not against the common and ordinary calamities of life only that he opposes the protection of God, but against those which distract and confound the minds of men with the darkness of death. For the Jewish grammarians think that,צלמותtsalmaveth, which we have translated the shadow of death, is a compound word, as if one should say deadly shade. 537
David here makes an allusion to the dark recesses or dens of wild beasts, to which when an individual approaches he is suddenly seized at his first entrance with an apprehension and fear of death. Now, since God, in the person of his only begotten Son, has exhibited himself to us as our shepherd, much more clearly than he did in old time to the fathers who lived under the Law, we do not render sufficient honor to his protecting care, if we do not lift our eyes to behold it, and keeping them fixed upon it, tread all fears and terrors under our feet. 538
Psalm 23:5-6
5. Thou wilt prepare a table before me in the presence of my persecutors: thou wilt anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah for a length of days.
5. Thou wilt prepare. These words, which are put in the future tense, here denote a continued act. David, therefore, now repeats, without a figure, what he has hitherto declared, concerning the beneficence of God, under the similitude of a shepherd. He tells us that by his liberality he is supplied with all that is necessary for the maintenance of this life. When he says, Thou preparest a table before me, he means that God furnished him with sustenance without trouble or difficulty on his part, just as if a father should stretch forth his hand to give food to his child. He enhances this benefit
"Car s'il n'y eust point en de crainte, a quel propos desireroit il la presence de Dieu?" — Fr.
"The original,,צלמות כניאis very emphatic, 'In or through the valley of death-shade.' This expression seems to denote imminent danger, (Jeremiah 2:6,) sore affliction, (Psalm 44:19,) fear and terror, (Psalm 107:10, 14; Job 24:17,) and dreadful darkness, (Job 10:21, 22.) — Morison's Commentary on the Psalms.
"Si non qu'eslevans la nos yeux et les y ayans fichez, nons foullions aux pieds craintes et espouantemens." — Fr.