Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin (continued)
JOHN CALVIN
is set in opposition to a double or deceitful heart. It is as if the prophet had said, that those who are without dissimulation, and who offer to God a pure heart, yield themselves truly to Him. When it is added, that I may not be put to shame, it is intimated, that such shall be the undoubted issue as to all the proud, who, disdaining the grace of God, lean upon their own strength; and as to all hypocrites, who, for a time, parade themselves in gay colors. The amount, then, is, that unless God govern us by his Spirit, and keep us in the performance of our duty, so that our hearts may be sound in his statutes, although our shame may be hidden for a time, yea, although all men should praise us, and hold us in admiration, yet we cannot avoid falling, at length, into dishonor and ignominy.
Psalm 119:81-88
כ81. My soul hath fainted for thy salvation: I hope in thy word.כ 82. My eyes have waxed dim in looking for thy promise, and I say, When wilt thou comfort me?כ83. For I have been as a bottle in the smoke; and yet I have not forgotten thy statutes.כ84. How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on my persecutors?כ85. The proud have digged pits for me, which thing is not according to thy law.כ86. All thy commandments are truth; they persecute we deceitfully; therefore help thou me.כ87. They have almost consumed me upon the earth; yet I have not forsaken thy statutes.כ88. Quicken me according to thy goodness; and I will keep the testimony of thy mouth.
81. My soul hath fainted for thy salvation. The Psalmist intimates that, although worn out with continual grief, and perceiving no issue to his calamities, yet trouble and weariness had not produced such a discouraging effect upon his mind, as to prevent him from always reposing with confidence in God. To bring out the meaning the more distinctly, we must begin at the second clause, which is obviously added by way of exposition. There he affirms that he trusts in God; and this is the foundation of all. But, intending to express the invincible constancy of his trust, he tells us that he patiently endured all the distresses, under which others succumb. We see some embracing with great eagerness the promises of God; but their ardor, within a short time, vanishes; or, at least, is quenched by adversity. It was far otherwise with David. The verb,כלהkalah, which signifies to faint, or to be consumed, seems, indeed, at first sight, to convey a different meaning. But the prophet, in this passage, as in other places, by fainting means that patience, which those who are deprived of all strength, and who seem to be already dead, continue to cherish, and which inspires their hearts with secret groanings, and such as cannot be uttered. This fainting, then, is opposed to the delicacy of those who cannot suffer a long delay.
82 My eyes have waxed dim in looking for thy word This verse is very similar to the preceding, — transforming to the eyes what had been said