John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 138:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 138



A Psalm of David. This psalm is generally thought to have been written by David upon his being advanced to the throne; on account of which he praises the Lord, who had supported him under many exercises, and had made good his promise to him, at least in part; and he firmly believed the accomplishment of the rest, that he would perfect what concerned him, Ps 138:8. It seems as if this psalm was composed between his being king over Judah and over all Israel. Though Theodoret understands the psalm as a thanksgiving of the Jews upon their return from Babylon, which David prophesied of. The Syriac version calls it a thanksgiving with a prophecy; as indeed it is a prophecy of the Messiah's kingdom, and of the calling of the Gentiles in the latter day, as appears from Ps 138:4.



Ver. 1. I will praise thee with my whole heart,.... Cordially and sincerely, in the uprightness and integrity of his heart; which denotes not the perfection of his service, but the sincerity of it; his heart was in it, and his whole heart; all the powers and faculties of his soul were engaged in it, being deeply sensible of the great favours and high honours bestowed upon him; and though the object of praise, to whom he was obliged for them, is not so fully expressed; yet is easily understood to be Jehovah, the Being of beings, the Father of mercies, even Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, and especially the Messiah; see

Ps 111:1;



before the gods will I sing praise unto thee; before the princes, as Jarchi; before the kings, as the Syriac version; with which agrees

Ps 119:46; and who would join therein, Ps 138:4; or before the judges, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or civil magistrates, who are sometimes called gods, Ps 82:1; and they are the powers ordained of God, and represent him on earth; or the sanhedrim, as the Midrash; or before the gods of the Gentiles, those fictitious deities, above whom Jehovah is; and over whom the psalmist triumphs, having conquered the nations where they were worshipped; and therefore in their presence, and notwithstanding them, or in opposition to them, praised the Lord; see Ps 18:49; or rather before the ark, the symbol of the presence of the true God; or, as Gussetius {l} interprets it, "before thee, O God, will I sing praise"; or I will sing praise to thee, the Son the Messiah, one divine Person before another; the Son before God the Father, and it may be added before God the Holy Spirit, the two other divine Persons; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions, render it, "before the angels", who are sometimes called gods, Ps 8:5; and who attend the assemblies of the saints and churches of Christ, 1Co 11:10.



{l} Comment. Ebr. p. 50.





Psalms 138:2



Ver. 2. I will worship towards thy holy temple,.... Not the temple at Jerusalem, which was not yet built, though, when it was, the Jews in their devotions at a distance looked towards it, 1Ki 8:38; but rather the tabernacle of Moses, in which was the ark, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe; and over that the mercy seat and cherubim, between which Jehovah dwelt; and this being a type of Christ's human nature, which was perfectly holy, and is called by himself a temple, and is the true tabernacle God pitched, and not man, Joh 2:19; he may be designed, and to him, as Mediator, should we look, and with him deal in all our devotions for acceptance with God; see Jon 2:4; unless heaven itself is meant, which is the palace of Jehovah, the habitation of his holiness, his temple where he dwells, Ps 11:4;



and praise thy name, for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth; which may primarily regard the goodness and grace of God in promising David the kingdom, and his faithfulness in making good the promise, and for both which he was under obligation to praise the name of the Lord; and holds good with respect to all other promises: and it may also signify the free favour and love of God to his people, which is from everlasting, is the source of all blessings, and is better than life; and the faithfulness of God to himself, his perfections, purposes and promises, council and covenant: it may be rendered, "for thy grace, and for thy truth" {m}, which both come by Christ, Joh 1:17; grace may intend both the doctrine of grace, the Gospel of the grace of God preached by Christ, and the blessings of grace which come through him; as justification, pardon, adoption, sanctification, and eternal life, which are all of grace, and by Christ: and truth also may signify the word of truth, or solid substantial blessings, in distinction from typical ones; or the good things that come by Christ our High Priest, of which the law was only a shadow; and these are all of them things the name of the Lord is to be praised for;



for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name; or "above every name of thine" {n}; which Aben Ezra interprets of the glorious name Jehovah; the word God spake to Moses, the name in which he made himself known to him, and to the Israelites, he had not to their fathers, Ex 3:14; but rather it is to be understood of God's word of promise, and his faithfulness in fulfilling it; which, though not a greater attribute than any other, yet is made more known and more illustrious than the rest; and particularly may regard the promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of the blessings of grace by him; Jarchi interprets it particularly of the pardon of sin. It may with propriety be applied to Christ, the essential Word, that was made flesh, and dwelt among men; whom God has highly exalted, and not only given him a name above every name of men on earth, but also above any particular name or attribute of his: or however he has magnified him "according" {o} to every name of his, it being his will that men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; or "with" {p} every name along with each of them; or "besides" {q} every name; for all these senses the word will bear. Some render them, as Ben Melech, "thou hast magnified above all things thy name" and "thy word"; or, as others, "thy name [by] thy word" {r}; see Ps 8:1; The Targum is,



"the words of thy praise above all thy name;''



or "over all thy name": everything by which he has made himself known in creation and providence; "thou hast magnified thy word", all being done according to the word said in himself, his decrees and purposes; or declared in his word and promises, whereby he has glorified it.



{m} So Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {n} Kmv lk le "super omne nomen tuum", Cocceius, Michaelis. {o} "Secundum omne nomen tuum", Gejerus. {p} "Cum toto nomine tuo", Junius & Tremellius. {q} "Vel praeter omne nomen tuum", Piscator. {r} "Nomen tuum sermone tuo"; so some in Piscator.





Psalms 138:3



Ver. 3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me,.... When in distress through Saul's persecution, he cried to the Lord, and he immediately answered him, and delivered him out of his troubles; and such immediate answers of prayer are to be remembered with thankfulness: see Ps 18:6;



[and] strengthenedst me [with] strength in my soul; put him good heart and spirit, when before ready to faint; strengthened his heart and grace in it, particularly faith, and drew it forth into lively act and exercise so that he sunk not under the weight of affliction and trouble, but was filled with courage to withstand his enemies, and with strength to do the will and work of God; this is to be understood of inward spiritual strength; see Eph 3:16.





Psalms 138:4



Ver. 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord,.... Or "let [them] confess", or "praise thee" {s}; a wish or prayer. Not only the kings known to David, as Kimchi limits it; or that lived in his days, as Hiram and others; but in the latter day, when they shall come to Zion, the church, and be nursing fathers to it, and shall serve and worship the King Messiah, Isa 49:23;



when they hear the words of thy mouth; either the promises of it fulfilled not only with respect to David; but the Messiah, and his church and people, in the latter day, even the glorious things spoken thereof: or the doctrines of the Gospel, which are the words of his mouth, and more desirable than thousands of gold and silver; and which, when kings shall hear so as to understand, they will praise the Lord for them; see Isa 52:15. The Targum is,



"the words of thy praise.''



{s} Kwdwy "confiteantur tibi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus.





Psalms 138:5



Ver. 5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord,.... Which are all mercy and truth; ways of pleasantness, and paths of peace: so the eunuch went on his way, and in the ways of the Lord rejoicing, Ac 8:39; Or, "they shall sing of the ways of the Lord" {t}; of the excellency, pleasure, and usefulness of them;



for great [is] the glory of the Lord; shown in the works of creation; more especially in the person of Christ, and in the glorious work of redemption and salvation by him; and of which there will be a great display throughout the earth in the latter day, by means of the Gospel, the great spread of it, and the multitude of persons converted by it; which will make the ways of the Lord still more pleasant; see Isa 6:3.



{t} hwhy ykrdb "de viis Jehovae", Piscator, Schmidt; so some in Vatablus.





Psalms 138:6



Ver. 6. Though the Lord [be] high,.... Above all the earth, and all the nations of it, and the highest of men in it; above the heavens, and the angels there, who are his creatures and at his command; above all the blessings and praises of his saints: the perfect knowledge of him is so high as not to be attained; and his thoughts and ways are higher than ours, as the heavens are higher than the earth; he is indeed the most High, higher than the highest; see Ps 113:4. According to Arama, here begins the song,



"the kings of the earth shall sing in the ways of the Lord?''



yet hath he respect unto the lowly; for good, as the Targum; that are low in their own eyes, humbled under a sense of sin, convinced, of the insufficiency of their own righteousness to justify them, and made to submit to the righteousness of Christ; ascribe the whole of their salvation to the free grace of God; patiently and quietly bear every afflictive providence; think the worst of themselves, and the best of others; and, being the followers of the lowly Jesus, learn of him, imitate him, and become like unto him: these the Lord has a gracious respect unto; he looks upon them with a look of love; he has respect to their persons in Christ, and to their sacrifices for his sake, which are those of a broken and contrite heart; he regards their prayers, though low and destitute, and gives more grace unto them; yea, he condescends to dwell with them, and in due time highly exalts them; see

Isa 57:15. David may have in view his own low state and condition as a shepherd, in which he was when the Lord took him, and raised him to the throne of Israel;



but the proud he knoweth afar off; the Targum adds,



"to destroy them:''



such who are proud of themselves and what they have; of their wisdom and knowledge, of their strength or beauty, of their wealth and riches; or of their righteousness and holiness; of the purity and goodness of their hearts, and power of their free will, they vainly think themselves possessed of; and despise others below them in these things, or the practice of them: these the Lord takes notice of, and looks upon them at a distance with scorn and contempt; nor will he admit them to nearness to him, nay, opposes himself to them, and sooner or later abases them; see Pr 3:34. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it, "high things he knoweth afar off"; things too high for creatures, that are out of their reach; he sees and knows all persons and things, whether in heaven or in earth. Others render them, "and the high One knoweth afar off" {u}; knows the lowly, owns and acknowledges them for his own; takes care of them, provides for them, and protects them: and then the sense is the same with the preceding clause.



{u} So Pagninus; "quamvis", Junius & Tremellius.





Psalms 138:7



Ver. 7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble,.... Trouble attends the best of men; both outward and inward trouble, from sin, Satan, and the world; yea, they are in the midst of it, surrounded with it; and it is a way in which they walk through this world, and enter the kingdom of heaven; it is continued unto them; it is a long walk, and yet will have an end; see Ps 23:4;



thou wilt revive me; preserve his life amidst all his troubles, support him under them, make him cheerful and fearless; revive his work of grace in him, quicken him to the lively exercise of grace, and fervent discharge of duty: this the Lord does by his gracious presence, by the discoveries of his love, and by the application of precious promises;



thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies; to stop and restrain it; which he can easily do, when most violent and outrageous, Ps 76:10. Or, "against the nose of mine enemies" {w}; strike them on the nose, as men do unruly horses to stop them: or give a slap on their face with the left hand, as Arama observes, the right being after mentioned;



and thy right hand shall save me; for that has saving strength in it,

Ps 20:6. This may be understood of Christ, who is not only the man of his right hand, but is the right hand of his righteousness; by whom he saves his people with a spiritual and eternal salvation, as well as with a temporal one, Isa 41:10.



{w} ybya Pa le "super nasum inimicorum meorum", Montanus, Tigurine version; so Gussetius; "in faciem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.





Psalms 138:8



Ver. 8. The Lord will perfect [that which] concerneth me,.... Or "will", or "may the Lord perform for me" {x}: all things in providence; all that he had appointed for him, that would be for his good and his own glory, Ps 57:2; and particularly what concerned him as a king. He had made him king over the house of Judah; he had begun to fulfil his promise concerning the kingdom; and he would perfect it, by setting him over all the tribes of Israel. Also he believed he would perfect what concerned him as a saint, even the good work of grace upon his heart; which is but a begun work, is imperfect, is gradually carried on, and will be completed; God is able to do it, and none can hinder him; he has promised to do it, and he is faithful who will do it; and his glory is concerned in it; and it may be depended on it will be finished; he is a rock, and his work is perfect; see Php 1:6;



thy mercy, O Lord, [endureth] for ever; a phrase often used by the psalmist, with which his heart was affected; and here used, both as an argument by which he concluded God would perfect his begun work, and as an encouragement to make the following request:



forsake not the works of thine own hands; as are all the works of providence and grace: the work of grace upon the heart may be expressed in the plural number, because of the several branches of it; which are all so many works, as the work of faith, labour, of love, &c. 1Th 1:3; and which is the Lord's handiwork; and a curious work it is, a new creation work, a work of almighty power; and which he will never cease from, or be remiss in, as the word {y} signifies, until he has accomplished it, 2Th 1:11. It is a prayer of faith, and may be most confidently believed: and some indeed render it as an expression of faith, "thou wilt not forsake the works of thine hands" {z}; David himself was the work of God's hands, as Kimchi observes, as a creature, as a king, and as a saint; and so are all the people of God,

Isa 45:11; and whom he will never leave nor forsake; for they are his church, his chosen, his children, his portion and inheritance,

Ps 94:14.



{x} ydeb rmgy "perficiet pro me", Montanus, Musculus; "perficiat pro me", Junius & Tremellius. {y} Prt la "ne dimittas", Pagninus, Montanus. {z} "Non deseres", Musculus, Piscator.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 139:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 139



To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, when he lay under the reproach and calumnies of men, who laid false things to his charge; things he was not conscious of either in the time of Saul's persecution of him, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him: and herein he appeals to the heart searching and rein trying God for his innocence; and, when settled on his throne, delivered it to the master of music, to make use of it on proper occasions. According to the Syriac title of the psalm, the occasion of it was Shimei, the son of Gera, reproaching and cursing him as a bloody man, 2Sa 16:5. Theodoret takes it to be a prophecy of Josiah, and supposes that he is represented as speaking throughout the psalm. Aben Ezra observes, that this is the most glorious and excellent psalm in all the book: a very excellent one it is: but whether the most excellent, it is hard to say. It treats of some of the most glorious of the divine perfections; omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Arama says, the argument of it is God's particular knowledge of men, and his providence over their affairs.



Ver. 1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known [me]. The omniscience of God reaches to all persons and things; but the psalmist only takes notice of it as respecting himself. God knows all men in general, and whatever belongs to them; he knows his own people in a special manner; and he knows their particular persons, as David and others: and this knowledge of God is considered after the manner of men, as if it was the fruit of search, to denote the exquisiteness of it; as a judge searches out a cause, a physician the nature of a disease, a philosopher the reason of things; who many times, after all their inquiries, fail in their knowledge; but the Lord never does: his elect lie in the ruins of the fall, and among the men of the world; he searches them out and finds them; for be knows where they are, and the time of finding them, and can distinguish them in a crowd of men from others, and notwithstanding the sad case they are in, and separates them from them; and he searches into them, into their most inward part, and knows them infinitely better than their nearest relations, friends and acquaintance do; he knows that of them and in them, which none but they themselves know; their thoughts, and the sin that dwells in them: yea, he knows more of them and in them than they themselves, Jer 17:9. And he knows them after another manner than he does other men: there are some whom in a sense he knows not; but these he knows, as he did David, so as to approve of, love and delight in, Mt 7:23.





Psalms 139:2



Ver. 2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,.... Here the psalmist proceeds to observe the particular circumstances and actions of his life, which were known to God; as his "downsitting", either to take rest, as weary persons do. Schultens {a} explains it of the quiet rest in sleep; this the Lord knew when he betook himself to it, and to whose care he committed himself and family; under whose protection he laid himself down, and on whom he depended for safety, Ps 4:8. Or, since lying down to sleep is afterwards mentioned, this may respect sitting down at table to eat and drink; when the Lord knows whether men use the creatures aright, or abuse them; whether they receive their food with thankfulness, and eat and drink to the glory of God: or else this downsitting was to read the word of God, and meditate upon it; so the Targum paraphrases it,



"my sitting down to study the law.''



When men do this, the Lord knows whether in reading they understand what they read, or read attentively and with affection; whether it is to their comfort and edification, and for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness; whether their meditation on it is sweet, and is attended with profit and pleasure. "Uprising" may respect either rising from bed, when the Lord knows whether the heart is still with him, Ps 139:18; what sense is had of the divine protection and sustentation, and what thankfulness there is for the mercies of the night past; and whether the voice of prayer and praise is directed to him in the morning, as it should be, Ps 3:5; or else rising from the table, when the Lord knows whether a man's table has been his snare, and with what thankfulness he rises from it for the favours he has received. The Targum interprets this of rising up to go to war; which David did, in the name and strength, and by the direction, of the Lord;



thou understandest my thought afar off; God knows not only his own thoughts, but the thoughts of men, which none but themselves know; by this Christ appears to be truly God, the omniscient God, being a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, Mt 9:3 Heb 4:12. God knows what thoughts his people have of him, and of his lovingkindness in Christ; what thoughts they have of Christ himself, his person, offices, and grace; what thoughts they have of themselves, their state, and condition: he knows all their vain thoughts, and complains of them, and which also they hate; and all their good thoughts, for they come from him. And he knows them "afar off", or "of old" {b}, even before they are; so Aben Ezra interprets it, a long time past, and compares it with Jer 31:3; where the same word is rendered "of old": God knows the thoughts of his people, as well as his own, from all eternity; see Isa 25:1; as he knew what they would say and do, so what they would think; he knows thoughts that are past long ago, and forgotten by men, or were unobserved when thought; how else should he bring them into judgment? or though he is afar off in the highest heavens, yet he sees into the hearts of men, and is privy to all their thoughts.



{a} Animadv. Philol. p. 181. {b} qwxrm "q. d. dum illa longe abest", Piscator; "longe ante quam incidat in animum meum", Gejerus, & Campensis in Ibid.





Psalms 139:3



Ver. 3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down,.... The Targum adds,



"to study in the law.''



His walk in the daytime, and every step he took, and his lying down at night. It denotes his perfect knowledge of all his actions, day and night; he surrounds every path of man, that they cannot escape his knowledge. Or, "thou winnowest", as some render the word {c}; he distinguishes actions; he discerns and separates the good from the bad, or the goodness of an action from the evil and imperfection of it, as in winnowing the wheat is separated from the chaff. Or, "thou measurest my squaring" {d}; all his dimensions, his length and breadth, as he lay down in his bed;



and art acquainted [with] all my ways; the whole of his life and conversation, all his works and doings: God knows all the evil ways and works of his people; he takes notice of them, and chastises for them; and all their good works, and approves and accepts of them; he knows from what principles of faith and love they spring, in what manner they are performed, and with what views, aims, and ends; see Re 2:2 Ps 1:6.



{c} tyrz "ventilasti", Pagninus, Montanus; so Tigurine version and Ainsworth. {d} yebr "quadraturam meam spithama mensurasti", Gussetius, p. 775. "spithama metiris", Cocceius.





Psalms 139:4



Ver. 4. For [there is] not a word in my tongue,.... Expressed by it or upon it, just ready to be spoken; or, as the Targum,



"when there is no word in my tongue:''



so Aben Ezra,



"before it was perfect in my tongue:''



before it is formed there; while it is in the mind, and not expressed, and even before that;



[but], lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether; the whole of it, from whence it springs; the reason of it, what is designed, or the ends to be answered by it. The Lord knows the good words of his people, which they speak to him in prayer, even before and while they are speaking them; and what they say to one another in private conversation,

Isa 65:24. See an instance of words known by Christ before spoken, in Lu 19:31.





Psalms 139:5



Ver. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before,.... Art on every side of me, all around me, like one besieged in a strait place; so that there is nothing I can think, say, or do, but what is known unto thee. The two Kimchis, father and son, render the word, "thou hast formed me": and interpret it of the formation of his body, of which, in

Ps 139:14; see Job 10:8 but it denotes how God compasses men with his presence and providence, so that nothing escapes his knowledge;



and laid thine hand upon me; not his afflicting hand, which sometimes presses hard; though the Targum thus paraphrases it,



"and stirred against me the stroke of thine hand:''



but rather his hand of power and providence, to preserve, protect, and defend him. Or it signifies that he was so near to him that his hand was upon him, and he was perfectly known; as anything is that is before a man, and he has his hand upon.





Psalms 139:6



Ver. 6. [Such] knowledge [is] too wonderful for me,.... Meaning either the knowledge of himself, such as God had of him, which was vastly superior to what he had of himself; and especially the knowledge of other persons and things, whether visible or invisible, in heaven, earth, or hell; things past, present, and to come; or else the manner in which God knew all this was amazing to him, and quite impenetrable by him; that he did know him, his thoughts, his words and actions, and so those of all others, was easy of belief; but how he should know all this was past his conception, and struck him with the profoundest admiration;



it is high; sublime, out of his reach, beyond his comprehension;



I cannot [attain] unto it; neither to such knowledge, nor to comprehend what it is in God; and how he should have it, and in what manner he exercises it. Kimchi, Jarchi, and Aben Ezra, connect the words with the following, as if the matter of his wonder and astonishment was the omnipresence of God, or where he should find a place to flee from him.





Psalms 139:7



Ver. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit?.... Or, "from thy wind?" which some interpret literally, the wind being God's creature; which he brings out of his treasures, and holds in his fists, and disposes of as he pleases; this takes its circuit through all the points of the heavens, and blows everywhere, more or less. Rather God himself is meant, who is a Spirit, Joh 4:24 not a body, or consisting of corporeal parts, which are only ascribed to him in a figurative sense; and who has something analogous to spirit, being simple and uncompounded, invisible, incorruptible, immaterial, and immortal; but is different from all other spirits, being uncreated, eternal, infinite, and immense; so that there is no going from him, as to be out of his sight; nor to any place out of his reach, nor from his wrath and justice, nor so as to escape his righteous judgment. It may signify his all-conscious mind, his all-comprehending understanding and knowledge, which reaches to all persons, places, and things; compare Isa 40:13; with Ro 11:34; though it seems best of all to understand it of the third Person, the blessed Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and the Son; and who is possessed of the same perfections, of omniscience, omnipresence, and immensity, as they are; who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and pervades them all; and is the Maker of all men, and is present with them to uphold their souls in life, and there is no going from him; particularly he is in all believers, and dwells with them; nor do they desire to go from him, but deprecate his departure from them;



or whither shall I flee from thy presence? which is everywhere, for God's presence is omnipresence; his powerful presence and providence are with all his creatures, to support and uphold them in being; he is not far from, but near to them; in him they live, move, and have their being: and so there is no fleeing from him or that; and as to his gracious presence, which is with all his people, in all places at the same time; they do not desire to flee from it, but always to have it; and are concerned for it, if at any time it is removed from them, as to their apprehension of it. Or, "from thy face" {e}; that is, from Christ, who is the face of Jehovah; the image of the invisible God, the express image of his person, in whom all the perfections of God are displayed; and such a likeness, that he that has seen the one has seen the other; he is the Angel of his face or presence, and who always appears before him, and in whom he is seen. Now there is no fleeing from him, for he is everywhere; where God is, his face is: and a sensible sinner desires to flee to him, and not from him; for there is no other refuge to flee unto for life and salvation but to him; and gracious souls desire to be always with him now, and hope to be for ever with him hereafter; they seek him, the face of God, now, and expect to see it more clearly in the world to come.



{e} Kynpm "a facie tua", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.





Psalms 139:8



Ver. 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou [art] there,.... No man hath ascended or can ascend to heaven of himself; it is an hyperbolical expression, as are those that follow; none but Christ has ascended to heaven by his own power, who descended from it; saints hope to go there at death, and, when they do, they find God there; that is his habitation, his throne is there, yea, that is his throne; here he keeps court and has his attendants, and here he will be seen and enjoyed by his people to all eternity;



if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou [art there]; which, if understood of the place of the damned, is a place of torment, and a very unfit one to make a bed in, being a lake burning with fire and brimstone; and where the smoke of their torment ascends for ever, and they have no rest day nor night; their worm never dies, and their fire is not quenched; and even here God is: hell is not only naked before him, and all its inhabitants in his view; but he is here in his powerful presence, keeping the devils in chains of darkness; turning wicked men daily into it, pouring out his wrath upon them, placing and continuing an unpassable gulf between them and happy souls: though rather this is to be understood of the grave, in which sense the word is often used; and so Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and Arama, interpret it of the lowest parts of the earth, as opposed to heaven; the grave is a bed to the saints, where they lie down and rest, and sleep till the resurrection morn, Job 14:12; and here the Lord is watching over and keeping their dust, and will raise it up again at the last day. The Targum is,



"there is thy Word.''





Psalms 139:9



Ver. 9. [If] I take the wings of the morning,.... And fly as swift as the morning light to the east, to the extremity of it, as Ben Melech; as far as he could go that way, as swiftly as the wings of the morning could carry him thither; so the morning is represented by the Heathens as having wings {f}; or as the rays of the rising sun, called wings for the swiftness of them, Mal 4:2;



[and] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; in the most distant isles of it, in the farthest parts of the world, the sea being supposed the boundary of it: or "in the uttermost parts of the west" {g}, as opposed to the morning light and rising sun, which appear in the east; and the sea is often in Scripture put for the west, the Mediterranean sea being to the west of the land of Palestine; and could he go from east to west in a moment, as the above writer observes, there would God be. The Heathens represent Jupiter, their supreme god, as having three eyes, because he reigns in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth {h}.



{f} Vid. Cuperi Apotheos. Homeri, p. 177. {g} My tyrxab "in novissimo occidentis", Pagninus. {h} Pausan. Corinthiaca, sive l. 2. p. 129.





Psalms 139:10



Ver. 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me,.... For he could not get there with all the assistance of the wings of the morning, could they be had, without the leadings of divine Providence; and when there, being a good man, should experience the leadings of divine grace; let the people of God be where they will, he heads them as a parent his child, teaching him to go; and as a shepherd his flock, into green pastures, and to fountains of living water; he leads to himself, and to his Son by his Spirit; into communion and fellowship with them, and to a participation of all blessings grace; guides them with his counsel, and directs all their ways and going;



and thy right hand shall hold me; the Lord lays hold on his people, and apprehends them for himself, and claims his interest in them; he holds them in his ways, that they slip and fall not; he upholds them with the right hand of his righteousness, and they are safe; and he holds them from going into or on in wrong ways to their hurt.





Psalms 139:11



Ver. 11. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me,.... The darkness of a cloud or of the night, so that my actions shall not be seen; that is, if I entertain such a thought in my mind, that what I do in the dark will escape the sight and knowledge of God, and so be emboldened to commit it;



even the night shall be light about me; and make all my works manifest, as light does.





Psalms 139:12



Ver. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,.... Any thing that is done by men in it; or "darkeneth not from thee" {i}, or causeth such darkness as to hinder the sight of any action committed. The Targum is,



"from thy Word;''



see Heb 4:12;



but the night shineth as the day; or "enlightens as the day" {k}, gives as much light with respect to God as the day does;



the darkness and the light [are] both alike [to thee]; as is the one, so is the other: the day gives him no more light than the night, and the night no more darkness than the day; he sees as well, as clearly and distinctly, in the one as in the other. The psalmist expresses the same thing in different words three or four times, as Kimchi observes, to show that so the Lord is, that thus it is with him; he has as clear a discerning of all things done in the darkest night as at bright noon day; see Job 34:21.



{i} Kmm Kyvxy al "non obscurabit a te", Montanus; "non obtenebrant", Gejerus; so Michaelis. {k} ryay "illustrat", Junius & Tremellius; "illuminabit", Gejerus Michaelis; so Ainsworth.





Psalms 139:13



Ver. 13. For thou hast possessed my reins,.... His thoughts and counsels, the reins being the seat of instruction and counsel; hence God is called the trier of the reins, and searcher of the hearts of the children of men; he is the possessor or master of their most secret thoughts, and thoroughly knows them; see Ps 7:9; they are also the seat of the affections, which are naturally sinful and inordinate, and set upon carnal and earthly things; but the Lord possesses and engrosses the affections of his people in the best sense, Ps 73:25; moreover the reins are the seat of lust, the bed in which it is conceived and brought forth, and God knows the first motions of it there; and that the imagination of the thought of man's heart is evil continually, Ge 6:5;



thou hast covered me in my mother's womb; with the secundine, or afterbirth, in which he carefully wrapped him, a proof of his knowledge of him, and care for him in the womb; or with skin and flesh he covered his bones with as they grew there; see Job 10:11; or the sense is, he protected and defended him in his embryo state, and when ripe for birth took him out from thence, and held him up ever since, Ps 22:9; he had his eye on him when no other eye could see him, not even his mother that bare him, and before ever he himself saw light. The Targum is,



"thou hast founded me in my mother's womb.''





Psalms 139:14



Ver. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made,.... the formation of man is not of himself, nor of his parents, but of God, and is very wonderful in all its parts; it has been matter of astonishment to many Heathens, as Galen and others, who have, with any carefulness, examined the structure and texture of the human body, the exact symmetry and just proportion of all its parts, their position and usefulness; holy every bone, muscle, artery, nerve and fibre, are nicely framed and placed to answer their designed end; particularly the eye and ear, the exquisite make of them for sight and sound, have filled the most diligent inquirers into nature with amazement and wonder, and are a full proof of the wisdom and knowledge of God; see

Ps 94:9; no man has cause to reproach his parents, nor blame the Former of all things for making him thus, but on the contrary should praise the Lord, as David did, who has given him life and breath, and all things; or own and confess {l}, as the word may be rendered, that he is in various surprising instances a wonder of nature; see

Isa 45:9. R. Moses in Aben Ezra thinks David is speaking of the first father, or the first Adam; who was wonderfully made of the dust of the earth, and had a living soul breathed into him; was made after the image of God, holy and upright: but rather he speaks of Christ, the second Adam, his antitype, who as man is a creature of God's make, and was wonderfully made, even of a virgin, without the use and knowledge of man; is the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, the tabernacle which God pitched and not man; was produced by the power of the Holy Ghost, was born without sin, which no man is, and united personally to the Son of God, and is the great mystery of godliness; and his name is justly called Wonderful, Isa 9:6. Cocceius interprets this passage of God's separating act of David, and so of others in election; which is a wonderful setting apart of than for himself, as the word is used Ps 4:3; it is the effect of amazing love, and to be ascribed to the sovereignty of God, and the unsearchable riches of his grace; but this seems not to be intended here, though it is a marvellous act, as all the works of God are, as follows; rather, since the word may be rendered, "I am wonderfully separated" {m}, it may be interpreted of his being separated in his mother's womb from the rest of the mass and matter of her blood, and formed from thence; which was done in a secret, unknown, and marvellous way and manner;



marvellous [are] thy works; of creation, providence, sustentation of all creatures, the government of the world, the redemption of mankind, the work of grace and conversion, the perseverance of the saints, and their eternal salvation;



and [that] my soul knoweth right well: having diligently sought them out, and having such a distinct knowledge of them as to be capable of talking of them, and of showing them to others, and pointing out the wonders, beauties, and excellencies of them; see Ps 111:2; however, he well and perfectly knew, or knew so much of them that they were very wonderful and amazing: some connect the word rendered "right well", which signifies "greatly", or "exceedingly", not with his knowledge, but with the marvellous works known; and take the sense to be, that he knew them to be greatly or exceedingly wonderful; so R. Moses in Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech.



{l} Kdwa "confitebor tibi", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "confiteor", Tigurine version, Cocceius, Michaelis. {m} ytalpn "tremendis modis separatus sum", Cocceius; so Gussetius, p. 676, 677.





Psalms 139:15



Ver. 15. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret,.... Or "my bone" {n}; everyone of his bones, which are the substantial parts of the body, the strength of it; and so some render it "my strength" {o}; those, though covered with skin and flesh yet, being done by the Lord himself, were not hid from him; nor the manner of their production and growth, which being done in secret is a secret to men; for they know not how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child, Ec 11:5; but God does;



[and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth; or formed in my mother's womb, as the Targum, and so Jarchi, like a curious piece of needlework or embroidery, as the word {p} signifies; and such is the contexture of the human body, and so nicely and curiously are all its parts put together, bones, muscles, arteries, veins, nerves, and fibres, as exceed the most curious piece of needlework, or the finest embroidery that ever was made by the hands of men; and all this done in the dark shop of nature, in the "ovarium", where there is no more light to work by than in the lowest parts of the earth. The same phrase is used of Christ's descent into this world, into the womb of the virgin, where his human nature was curiously wrought by the finger of the blessed Spirit, Eph 4:9.



{n} ymue "os meum", V. L. Vatablus, Gejerus, "ossa mea", Piscator; "apparatio ossium meorum", Cocceius. {o} "Robur meum", Tigurine version; "vis mea", Junius & Tremellius. {p} ytmqr "velut opere phrygio effingerer", Tigurine version; "velut acupictur sum", Grotius.





Psalms 139:16



Ver. 16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect,.... The word {q} for "substance" signifies a bottom of yarn wound up, or any rude or unformed lump; and designs that conglomerated mass of matter separated in the womb, containing all the essentials of the human frame, but not yet distinguished or reduced into any form or order; yet, even when in this state, the eyes of the Lord see it and all its parts distinctly;



and in thy book all [my members] were written: [which] in continuance were fashioned, when [as yet there was] none of them; in the book of God's eternal mind, and designs, the plan of the human body was drawn, all the parts of it described, and their form, places, and uses fixed, even when as yet not one of them was in actual being; but in due time they are all exactly formed and fashioned according to the model of them in the mind of God; who has as perfect knowledge of them beforehand as if they were written down in a book before him, Or "in thy book are written all [of them], what days they should be fashioned"; not only each of the members of the body were put down in this book, but each of the days in which they should be formed and come into order: "when" as yet there was "none of them"; none of those days, before they took place, even before all time; the Targum is,



"in the book of thy memory all my days are written, in the day the world was created, from the beginning that all creatures were created.''



{q} ymlg "informe meum", Montanus; "glomus meam", Michaelis.





Psalms 139:17



Ver. 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!.... The word {r} signifies that which is scarce and rare, and not to be attained and enjoyed; see 1Sa 3:1; the thoughts and counsels of God are impenetrable and unsearchable; he knows our thoughts, as Aben Ezra observes, but we do not know his, Ps 139:2; as well as it likewise signifies the worth and value of them; God's thoughts are infinitely beyond ours, and infinitely more valuable and more important, and are concerning our welfare and happiness: it is marvellous that God should think of us at all; it is more so that his thoughts should not be thoughts of evil, to bring that evil upon its we deserve, but thoughts of peace and reconciliation in and by his Son, in whom he was reconciling the world to himself; thoughts of salvation and eternal life, and of the way and means of bringing it about; thoughts to provide for our present supply in this world, and to lay up for us for the world to come; see Jer 29:11. It may be interpreted of the thoughts which David had of God in his meditations of him, which were sweet, precious, and comfortable to him; of his lovingkindness to him, covenant grace, precious promises, and gracious dealings with him; but the former sense seems best. The Targum is,



"to me how precious they that love thee, the righteous, O God!''



and so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it, "thy friends";



how great is the sum of them! or "the heads of them"; that is, not the chief of thy friends, but the sum of thy thoughts, these in the bulk, in the general, are not to be counted; and much less the particulars of them, these are not to be entered into or described.



{r} wrqy "difficiles", Cocceius; "quam rarae"; so some in Vatablus.





Psalms 139:18



Ver. 18. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand,...., That is, if I should attempt to do it, it would be as vain and fruitless as to attempt to count the sands upon the seashore, which are innumerable; Ps 11:5. So Pindar says {s}, that sand flies number, that is, is not to be numbered; though the Pythian oracle boastingly said {t}, I know the number of the sand, and the measures of the sea; to which Lucan {u} may have respect when he says, measure is not wanting to the ocean, nor number to the sand; hence geometricians affect to know them; so Archytas the mathematician, skilled in geometry and arithmetic, is described and derided by Horace {w} as the measurer of the earth and sea, and of the sand without number; and Archimedes wrote a book called qammithv {x}, of the number of the sand, still extant {y}, in which he proves that it is not infinite, but that if even the whole world was sand it might be numbered; but the thoughts of God are infinite;



when I wake, I am still with thee; after I have been reckoning them up all the day, and then fall asleep at night to refresh nature after such fatiguing researches; when I awake in the morning and go to it again, I am just where I was, and have got no further knowledge of God and his thoughts, and have as many to count as at first setting out, and far from coming to the end of them: or else the sense is, as I was under thine eye and care even in the womb, before I was born, so I have been ever since, and always am, whether sleeping or waking; I lay myself down and sleep in safety, and rise in the morning refreshed and healthful, and still continue the care of thy providence: it would be well if we always awaked with God in our thoughts, sensible of his favours, thankful for them, and enjoying his gracious presence; as it will be the happiness of the saints, that, when they shall awake in the resurrection morn, they shall be with God, and for ever enjoy him.



{s} Olymp. Ode 2. in fine. {t} Apud Herodot. Clio, sive l. 1. c. 47. {u} Pharsal. l. 5. v. 182. {w} Carmin. l. 1. Ode. 28. v. 1, 2. {x} Vid. Turnebi Advers. l. 26. c. 1. {y} Fabrit. Biblioth. Gr. l. 3. c. 22. s. 8.





Psalms 139:19



Ver. 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God,.... Since he is God omniscient, and knows where they are, what they have done, are doing, and design to do; and God omnipresent, at hand to lay hold upon them; and God omnipotent, to hold them and inflict due punishment on them; this is a consequence rightly drawn from the above perfections of God. Or "if thou wilt slay the wicked" {z}, then, when I awake, I shall be with thee, as Kimchi connects the words; that is, be at leisure to attend to thy works and wonders, and daily employ myself in the contemplation of them, having no wicked persons near me to molest and disturb me. The word is singular in the original text, "the wicked one"; meaning either Saul, who was David's enemy without a cause, and did very wickedly and injuriously by him, whom he might expect God in due time would take out of the world; though he did not choose to lay his hand on the Lord's anointed, when he was in his power. Jarchi interprets it of Esau, by whom he means Edom or Rome, in the Rabbinic language, that it, the Christians; if he meant no more than the Papal Christians, he may be much in the right; the man of sin, the son of perdition, the wicked one, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of his lips, may be intended, the common enemy of Christ and his cause,

Isa 11:4. Though it may design a collective body of wicked men; all the followers of antichrist, all the antichristian states, on whom the vials of God's wrath will be poured; and even all the wicked of the earth, all Christ's enemies, that would not have him to reign over them, and none but they; the justice of God will not admit of it to slay the righteous with the wicked, and the omniscience of God will distinguish the one from the other, and separate the precious from the vile;



depart from me therefore, ye bloody men; men guilty of shedding innocent blood, and therefore by the law of God should have their blood shed; such particularly are antichrist and his followers, who deserve to have blood given them to drink, because they have shed the blood of the saints, Re 16:6; these and such as these the psalmist would have no company or fellowship with, lest he should be corrupted by them, fall into sin, and partake of deserved plagues with them, Re 18:4. Some consider these as the words of God, and in connection with the former, and by way of wish, thus, "O that thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God" {a}; and wouldest say, "depart from me, ye bloody men"; which will be said to the wicked at the last day, and even to such who have made a profession of the name of Christ, Mt 7:23.



{z} ljqt Ma "si occideris", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, &c. {a} So some in Vatablus.





Psalms 139:20



Ver. 20. For they speak against thee wickedly,.... Against his being, his perfections, his purposes, his providences, his doctrines, ordinances, ministers, and people; or "they speak of thee for wickedness" {b}, they made mention of the name of God to cover their wickedness, pretending to fear God and love him, to have a reverence of him and serve him, putting on a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof;



[and] thine enemies take [thy name] in vain: either by profane swearing, or by false swearing. The Targum interprets both clauses of swearing deceitfully and vainly; or "he", that is, everyone that is "lifted up to vanity [are] thine enemies" {c}, whose hearts are lifted up to vanity, idols, riches, self-righteousness, sensual lusts and pleasures; these are the enemies of God, are estranged from him, hold friendship with the world, harbour his enemies, love what he hates, hate what he loves, and commit acts of hostility against him. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, read, "they take thy cities in vain".



{b} Or "to a mischievous purpose"; so Ainsworth. {c} Kyde awvl awvn "qui elatus est ad vanitatem, hostes tui sunt", De Dieu.





Psalms 139:21



Ver. 21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?.... Wicked men are haters of God; of his word, both law and Gospel; of his ordinances, ways, and worship; of his people, cause, and interest; and therefore good men hate them: not as men, as the creatures of God, and as their fellow creatures, whom they are taught by the Gospel to love, to do good unto, and pray for; but as haters of God, and because they are so; not their persons, but their works; and for the truth of this the omniscient God is appealed unto;



and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? as wicked men do, in their hearts, in their words, and in their actions. They rebel against God, and contend with him, which is folly and madness; and this is grieving to good men, because of their insolence and impudence, the ruin and destruction they expose themselves to, and the dishonour done to God: and this arises from their great love and strong affection for him, not being able to bear such behaviour to him; as a man is filled with grief and indignation when another rises up against his father or his friend; see Ps 119:136.





Psalms 139:22



Ver. 22. I hate them with perfect hatred,.... Heartily and really; not in word only, but in deed and in truth; "odio vatiniano", with consummate hatred: this is an answer to his own question;



I count them mine enemies; being the enemies of God: the friends of God were David's friends, as angels and good men, and God's enemies were his; their friends and enemies, were common; so closely allied and attached were they to each other, as God and all good men are.





Psalms 139:23



Ver. 23. Search me, O God, and know my heart,.... He had searched him, and knew his heart thoroughly;



try me, and know my thoughts; he had tried him, and knew every thought in him, Ps 139:1. This therefore is not said for the sake of God; who, though he is the trier of hearts, and the searcher of the reins, is indeed a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart at once, and knows immediately what is in man; and needs no testimony of him, nor to make use of any means in order to know him and what is within him: but David said this for his own sake, that God would search and make known to him what was in his heart, and try him by his word, as gold is tried in the fire; or by anything difficult and self-denying, as he tried Abraham; or by any afflictive providence; or in any way he thought fit to make him acquainted thoroughly with himself. His sense is this, that if he knew his own heart and thoughts, and the inward frame and disposition of his soul, it was as he had expressed it; that he was grieved with sinners, and hated those that hated the Lord, even with a perfect hatred, and reckoned them as his enemies; but if it was otherwise, he desired to be searched and tried thoroughly, that it might be discovered: and he might say this also on account of others, who charged him falsely with things he was not conscious of; that never entered into his thoughts, and his heart knew nothing of, and could not accuse him with; and therefore he appeals to the heart searching God, that he would so lay open things that his integrity and innocence might appear to all; see Ge 22:1.





Psalms 139:24



Ver. 24. And see if [there be any] wicked way in me,.... Not that David thought himself free from wickedness, or that there was none to be found in his heart and life; and therefore said this in a boasting way, he knew otherwise; see Ps 19:12; but he is desirous it might be thoroughly looked into and seen whether there was any such wicked way in him he was charged with; as that he had a design upon the life of Saul, and to seize his throne and kingdom, which never entered into his mind, 1Sa 24:9. Or, "any way of grief" {d}; what tended to wound and grieve his own soul, or to grieve the hearts of God's people; or to grieve the Holy Spirit of God; and which he ought to grieve for and repent of: suggesting, that upon the first conviction he was ready to relinquish any such wicked way, and express his abhorrence of it, and testify true repentance for it. Some render it, "the way of an idol" {e}; because a word from the same root signifies an idol: every carnal lust in a man's heart is an idol; and whatsoever engrosses the affections, or has more of them than God himself has, or is preferred to him, Eze 14:4. The Targum is,



"and see if the way of those that err is me;''



and lead me in the way everlasting; or, "in the way of old" {f}: the good old way, the ancient path, in which the patriarchs before and after the flood walked, Or, "in the perpetual way" {g}; the way that endures for ever; in opposition to the way of the wicked, that perishes, Ps 1:6; or in the way that leads to everlasting life, to eternal peace and rest, and endless pleasures; as opposed to the way of grief and sorrow. It designs Christ, the true and only way to eternal life, the path of faith, truth, and godliness, Mt 7:13; in which the Lord leads his people, as a father does his child, and as the shepherd his flock. The Jewish commentators, Aben Ezra and Kimchi, interpret it the way of the world; and take it to be the same with the way of all flesh, death, or the grave; which is called man's world, or home, Jos 23:14; and make the sense to be this: If thou seest any evil in me, take me out of the world; kill me at once, let me die But this seems to be foreign from the text; for the word "lead" designs a blessing or benefit, as Calvin well observes. The Targum is,



"lead me in the way of the upright of the world;''



the way in which upright men walk.



{d} bue Krd "via doloris", Montanus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth. {e} "Via idoli"; so some in Vatablus. {f} Mlwe Krdb "per viam sepiternam", Pagninus, Vatablus; "per viam antiquam", Gussetius; so Ainsworth. {g} "In via perpetua", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 140:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 140



To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm, A ben Ezra says, was composed by David before he was king; and Kimchi says, it is concerning Doeg and the Ziphites, who calumniated him to Saul; and, according to our English contents, it is a prayer of David to be delivered from Saul and Doeg. The Syriac inscription is,



"said by David, when Saul threw a javelin at him to kill him, but it struck the wall; but, spiritually, the words of him that cleaves to God, and contends with his enemies.''



R. Obadiah says, it was made at the persecution of David by Saul, which was before the kingdom of David; as the persecution (of Gog) is before the coming of the Messiah. It is indeed before his spiritual coming, but not before his coming in the flesh; and David may be very well considered in the psalm as a type of Christ, for he was particularly so in his sufferings, as well as in other things.



Ver. 1. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man,.... Either Saul; so Theodoret; or rather Doeg, according to R. Obadiah: but Jarchi interprets it of Esau; by whom he means Edom, or Rome, or rather the Christians in general. Were his sense confined to the Papists, he might be thought to be much in the right; for this is applicable enough to the man of sin, and his followers: for it may be understood collectively of a body of evil men; all men are evil by nature, their hearts, thoughts, words, works, and ways. David's enemies were evil men; and so were Christ's; as Herod, Judas in particular, and the Jews in general: and such are the enemies of God's people; the world, profane sinners, persecutors, and false teachers; and to be delivered from such is desirable, and to be prayed for, and an happiness when enjoyed; see 2Th 3:2;



preserve me from the violent man: or, "the man of violences" {h}; of a violent spirit, that breathes out slaughter and death; of a fierce countenance, of blustering words, and furious actions. Such a man was Doeg; who loved evil, and all devouring words, devised mischief, and boasted in it, Ps 52:1; and Herod, who in his wrath, being disappointed, ordered sit the infants in and about Bethlehem to be slain; and the Jews, who were violently set on the death of Christ, and vehemently desired it: and such are all violent persecutors of the church of God, who clothe themselves with the garment of violence, and drink the wine of it; and to be preserved from such is a great mercy.



{h} Myomx vyam "a viro violentiarum", Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis.





Psalms 140:2



Ver. 2. Which imagine mischiefs in [their] heart,.... This shows that not a single person barely is meant but more, as Saul's courtiers; who were secretly and continually meditating mischief against David, traducing him to Saul, and devising things to take away his life. Such were the Jews to Christ, who were always plotting to entangle him, or contriving to kill him; and so wicked men are ever devising mischief against the quiet in the land, which is very abominable to God; and rightly observed here, to prevail upon the Lord to preserve from them, Ps 2:1;



continually are they gathered together [for] war; so Saul gathered together three thousand men, and went in pursuit of David, as an enemy, to take him. So Herod and Pontius Pilate joined together, though before enemies, in the prosecution of Christ; and Jews and Gentiles gathered together against him: so the saints, being in a warfare state, have their enemies, who often combine against them, and attack them, and will not suffer them to be at rest and peace; as sin, Satan, the world, and false teachers; see Ps 120:7.





Psalms 140:3



Ver. 3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent,.... Which Kimchi says it does before it bites. Aristotle {i} observes, that the tip or extreme point of a serpent's tongue is as small as a hair, and so exceeding sharp and piercing. Arama interprets this of the sharpness and cunning of the serpent; and particularly the serpent that deceived Eve, and spake cunningly to her. "For God knoweth", &c. and may design the calumnies and detractions, which were sharp as a razor; as swords, and spears, and arrows, and as the tongue of a serpent, Ps 57:4; and the subtlety of false teachers, and deceitful workers; and the sharp and cutting words of wicked men against Christ and his people, Jude 1:15;



adder's poison is under their lips; which may signify the malignity of sin in wicked men, which comes from the old serpent the devil; is latent in men; very infectious, like poison, and deadly and incurable, but by the grace of God, and blood of Christ: and may describe particularly the mischief of the tongue, which is a little member, as the asp is a little creature; but very mischievous, full of deadly poison, which lurks in it, lies under it, and which spitting out, it stupifies and kills insensibly; as do the calumnies of wicked men, and the doctrines of false teachers; see Ro 3:13. The Targum is,



"the poison of the spider;''



though it is said {k} the spider is not venomous.



Selah; on this word, See Gill on "Ps 3:2".



{i} Hist. Animal. l. 2. c. 17. {k} Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 2. p. 800. & vol. 5. par. 1. p. 24.





Psalms 140:4



Ver. 4. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked,.... From falling into their hands, and the weight of them}; and from their laying hands on him, being men of power and authority;



preserve me from the violent man: or men, everyone of them;

See Gill on "Ps 140:1";



who have purposed to overthrow my goings: to supplant him; to cause him to stumble and fall, to his disgrace and reproach; and that they might take an advantage of him, and an occasion against him. Arama interprets it, to drive me out of the land of Israel; see 1Sa 26:1. So Christ's enemies thought to have supplanted him, and have found something against him, to accuse him of to Caesar, Mt 22:15.





Psalms 140:5



Ver. 5. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords,.... These were the Ziphites, according to Arama; see Ps 119:85; the character well agrees with the Scribes and Pharisees, who were proud boasters, and despised others, and often laid snares for Christ to take away his life; and with the enemies of the church and people of God; who, through their pride, persecute them, and are insidious, and use artful methods to ensnare them; as the fowler lays his snare for the bird, and has his cords to draw it to him when it is taken in the snare, to which the allusion is;



they have spread a net by the wayside: they waylaid him; knowing the way he would go, they lay in wait for him, to seize him at once as he went along; see Joh 18:1; the word "cords" in the preceding clause should be connected with this, and be read, "and with cords they have spread a net by the wayside": it being usual, as Jarchi observes, to fasten a long cord at the top of the net; and when the fowler sees the birds under the net, he draws the cord, and the net falls upon the fowls;



they have set gins for me; all these expressions design the insidiousness, and the private, secret, artful methods, the enemies of David, of Christ and his people, took and do take to ensnare them. Arama interprets the "snare and cords" of the watching of David's house; the "net by the wayside" of posting themselves at the gates of the city, and surrounding it; and gins of spies; see 1Sa 19:11.



Selah; on this word, See Gill on "Ps 3:2".





Psalms 140:6



Ver. 6. I said unto the Lord, thou [art] my God,.... He said this to the Lord himself; claimed his covenant interest in him, and expressed it in the strength of faith: and this he did when in the midst of trouble and distress; in danger of falling into the hands of evil and violent men; they imagined mischief against him; were bent on his ruin, and laid nets, snares, gins, and traps for him; when he applied to his God, who only could deliver him; and being his covenant God, he had reason to believe he would; see Ps 31:14;



hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord; the requests he put up in an humble manner for deliverance and salvation; and which he expressed vocally, and entreated they might be heard and answered; and nothing could tend more to strengthen his faith in this than that it was his own God and Father he prayed unto; see Ps 28:2; Thus Christ, in the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying; and in the midst of his troubles, and surrounded with enemies, declared his faith in God as his God, Heb 5:7.





Psalms 140:7



Ver. 7. O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,.... Temporal and spiritual, which he was able to effect; the mighty God and mighty Saviour: and this encouraged David to believe he should have deliverance; and this secured, confirmed, and established it to him; and to which he was the more induced by what experience he had had of the divine goodness to him, as follows:



thou hast covered my head in the day of battle; with the helmet of salvation, as Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and Arama observe; which, in a spiritual sense, is to a believer the hope of salvation, Eph 6:17 1Th 5:8; a defensive weapon to him; and protects him while he is engaging with his spiritual enemies in this his state of warfare, sin, Satan, and the world. Perhaps David may have respect to the divine protection of him, when he fought with Goliath. Salvation was Christ's helmet, when he engaged with all his and our enemies; even with all the powers of darkness, and obtained deliverance for us, Isa 59:16.





Psalms 140:8



Ver. 8. Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked,.... Of Doeg, as the Targum, and of other wicked men, who were desirous both of taking him, and of taking away his life: but the desires of such men are under the restraints of the Lord; nor can they fulfil them unless they have leave from him, which is here deprecated. The psalmist entreats he might not be delivered up to their will, or they have their will of him; see Ps 27:12. Jarchi interprets it of Esau, as in Ps 140:1; and it is applicable enough to antichrist and his wicked followers; who, could they have their desires, would root the Gospel, and the interest of Christ and his people, out of the world;



further not his wicked device: or, "let not his wicked device come forth" {l}, or proceed to execution, or be brought to perfection; let him be disappointed in it, that he may not be able to perform his enterprise, or execute his designs; which cannot be done without the divine permission. The Rabbins, as Jarchi and others, render it, "let not his bridle come out" {m}; the bridle out of his jaws, with which he was held by the Lord, and restrained from doing his will; let him not be left to his liberty, and freed from the restraints of divine Providence; see Isa 37:29;



[lest] they exalt themselves. Grow proud, haughty, and insolent to God and man; see De 32:27. Or, "let them not be exalted" {n}; upon the ruin of me and my friends.



Selah; on this word, See Gill on "Ps 3:2".



{l} qpt la "ne facias prodire", Vatablus; "ne sinas exire", Cocceius, Michaelis. {m} "Vel frenum ejus ne sinas exire", Cocceius. {n} wmwry "ne exaltentur", Vatablus, Gejerus.





Psalms 140:9



Ver. 9. [As for] the head of those that compass me about, let the,

mischief of their own lips cover them. Meaning either their natural head, put for their whole persons; and the sense is, let the mischief they have contrived for others fall upon themselves; see Eze 9:10 Ps 7:16; or some principal person, the head and leader of them, as the word is sometimes used, Isa 9:14; and designs either Saul, who at the head of three thousand men surrounded the hill where David and his men were; or Doeg the Edomite, who was over the servants of Saul, and accused David to him; so Kimchi: or Ahithophel, who was at the head of the conspirators against him; so the Targum paraphrases it,



"Ahithophel, the head of the sanhedrim of the disciples of wickedness.''



If we understand this clause of Christ, the antitype of David, it may design Judas; who was the guide to them that sought Jesus, and, at the head of a band of men, enclosed and took him: or if of the church and people of God, the man of sin may be intended, the pope of Rome; the head over many countries, the antichristian nations, Ps 110:6. The word is used of the gall and poison of asps, Job 20:14; and if so taken here, as Arama interprets it, it will make the sense agree with

Ps 140:3; and may be read in connection with the following clause, thus: "let the poison of those that compass me about, [even] the mischief of their lips, cover them" {o}; or the labour of them {p}: let the lies and calumnies they have so industriously spread, and took so much pains to propagate to the hurt of others, like deadly poison, cover them with shame and confusion; and the mischief they have boasted of, and gave out that they would do, let it come upon them on all sides, and utterly ruin and destroy them.



{o} So Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {p} wmytpv lme "labor labiorum eorum", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis.





Psalms 140:10



Ver. 10. Let burning coals fall upon them,.... From heaven, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, by way of explanation; alluding to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from thence: and may design both the terrible judgments of God in this life, and everlasting burnings in hell; so Jarchi interprets it of the coals of hell; see

Ps 11:6;



let them be cast into the fire; into the fire of divine wrath, and have severe punishment inflicted on them in this world; and into the fire of hell hereafter, as the Targum, which is unquenchable and everlasting; and into which all wicked men, carnal professors, the followers of antichrist, the devil and his angels, will be cast: of the phrase of casting into hell, see Mt 5:29;



into deep pits, that they rise not up again; meaning either the grave, the pit of corruption; from whence the wicked will not rise to eternal life, as the Targum adds, for though they will rise again, it will be to everlasting shame and damnation, Da 12:2; or else the pit of hell, the bottomless pit, from whence there will be no deliverance; where they must lie till the uttermost farthing is paid, and that will be for ever. Arama refers this to Korah, who was burnt and swallowed up, and rose not again in Israel.





Psalms 140:11



Ver. 11. Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth,.... One that sets his mouth against the heavens, and speaks evil of God; of his being, perfections, purposes, and providences: whose tongue walks through the earth, and speaks evil of all men, even of dignities; and especially of the saints of the most High, and of the Gospel and ways of Christ. Or, "a men of tongue" {q}; that uses his tongue in an ill way, in detractions and slanders {r}; in blaspheming God, his name and tabernacle, and those that dwell therein, as antichrist, Re 13:5; a man that calumniates with a triple tongue, so the Targum; like a serpent, whose tongue seems to be so sometimes. Kimchi applies this to Doeg, and Jarchi to Esau. The request is, that such an one might not be established in the earth; in the land of the living, as the Targum; might not increase and flourish in worldly substance, or be continued in his posterity; but be rooted out of the earth, and he and his be no more; see Ps 3:4;



evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow [him]; or "to impulsions" {s}: to drive him from evil to evil, as Kimchi. The sense is, that the evil of punishment shall hunt him, as a beast of prey is hunted; it shall closely pursue him and overtake him, and seize on him, and thrust him down to utter ruin and destruction. The Targum is,



"the injurious wicked man, let the angel of death hunt, and drive into hell.''



Of the violent man, see Ps 140:1; he who purposed to overthrow David, he was persuaded would be overthrown himself. This clause teaches us how to understand the rest; for though they are delivered out as wishes and imprecations, yet are prophetic, and are strongly expressive of the certainty of the things imprecated.



{q} Nwvl vya "vir linguae", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis. {r} So the word "tongue" is used in Cicero, "Si linguas minus facila possimus", Epist. l. 9. 2. {s} tphdml "ad impulsiones", Montanus.





Psalms 140:12



Ver. 12. I know,.... Here is a double reading: the "Keri", or marginal reading, is, "thou knowest"; an appeal of the psalmist to God, who knew the thoughts of the wicked concerning him, and their devices against him; as Kimchi: but the Scripture reading is, I know; expressing his full persuasion and assurance



that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, [and] the right of the poor; of his poor and afflicted people, that are afflicted within and without, by men and devils; and who are poor as to the things of this world, and poor in spirit, and sensible of their spiritual poverty, but rich in grace: the cause of these God will maintain against their oppressors, and right their wrongs, and avenge their injuries; this the psalmist knew, and was assured of from the word of God, from instances and examples in former times, and from his own experience, Ps 9:4.





Psalms 140:13



Ver. 13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name,.... The same with the poor and the afflicted; who, though traduced by men, and evil spoken of and ill used by them, are righteous in the sight of God; being justified by the righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to them, and received by faith, in consequence of which they live soberly and righteously: these the psalmist knew and was assured they would give thanks to the Lord, and praise his holy name, for the righteousness by which they are made righteous, and for every other blessing of grace and mercy of life; for maintaining their cause and their right, and for the ruin and destruction of their enemies; see

Re 18:20;



the upright shall dwell in thy presence; under his care and protection; in his gracious presence, enjoying the light of his countenance here; and in his glorious presence hereafter, where is fulness of joy: these upright ones are such who are upright in heart; whose hearts are right with God, sincere in his service and worship, and walk uprightly according to the rule of his word. These, as some render it, "shall sit before [him]" {t} or "in his presence": as children before a father, in whom he delights; or as disciples before a master, to be taught and instructed. The Targum is,



"shall return to pray before thee:''



and so Aben Ezra interprets it of their dwelling, or sitting before God, in the house of prayer; and Kimchi adds, by way of explanation,



"to seek thee, and know thy ways.''



Jerom reads it, "shall dwell with thy countenance or face" {u}; and understands it of dwelling with Christ, the face of God, Heb 1:3; with whom they shall dwell for evermore.



{t} wbvy "considebunt", Junius & Tremellius; "sedebunt", Cocceius; so Ainsworth and Syriac version. {u} So Sept. V. L. Arabic version, and Pagninus.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 141:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 141



A Psalm of David. This psalm was written about the same time, and upon the same occasion, as that going before and what follows after; even when David was persecuted by Saul, and when he was in great danger of his enemies, and snares were laid for his life.



Ver. 1. Lord, I cry unto thee,.... With great earnestness, importunity, and fervency, being in distress; and knowing vain was the help of man, and that none could deliver him but the Lord, and therefore continued crying unto him for help {w};



make haste unto me; which shows he was in a desperate condition; that he could not help himself, nor could any creature, only the Lord; and he was at a distance from him, as it seemed to him, and he delayed assistance; and therefore desires he would immediately draw nigh and be a present help in his time of need, and work speedy deliverance for him, his case requiring haste;



give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee; a request the psalmist frequently makes, not contenting himself with prayer, without desiring and looking for an answer to it.



{w} "Auxilium vocat, et duros conclamat agrestes", Virgil.





Psalms 141:2



Ver. 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense,.... Which was offered every morning on the altar of incense, at which time the people were praying, Ex 30:1; and was an emblem of it, even of pure, holy, and fervent prayer; which being offered on the altar Christ, which sanctifies every gift, and by him the High Priest; through whom every sacrifice is acceptable unto God; and through whose blood and righteousness, and the sweet incense of his mediation and intercession, it becomes fragrant and a sweet odour to the Lord; and being directed to him, it goes upwards, is regarded by him, and continues before him as sweet incense; which is what the psalmist prays for; see Mal 1:11;



[and] the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice; the burnt sacrifice of the evening, according to Ben Melech, the lamb slain every evening; or else the minchah, as the word is; the meat, or rather the bread offering made of fine flour, with oil and frankincense on it, which went along with the former, Ex 29:38; and so the Targum,



"as the sweet gift offered in the evening.''



This only is mentioned, as being put for both the morning and the evening sacrifice; or because the incense was offered in the morning, from which it is distinguished: or it may be, as Kimchi thinks, this psalm was composed in the evening; and so the inscription in the Syriac version is,



"a psalm of David, when he meditated the evening service.''



Or because this was the last sacrifice of the day; there was no other after it, as Aben Ezra observes; and the most acceptable; to which may be added, that this was the hour for prayer, Ac 3:1. Wherefore "lifting up of [the] hands" was a prayer gesture, and a very ancient one both among Jews and Gentiles {x}; Aristotle {y} says, all men, when we pray, lift up our hands to heaven; and it is put for that itself, 1Ti 2:8; and is desired to be, like that, acceptable unto God; as it is when the heart is lifted up with the hands, and prayer is made in the name and faith of Christ.



{x} Vid. Barthii Animadv. in Claudian. ad Rufin. l. 2. v. 205. {y} De Mundo, c. 6. Vid. Plutarch. in Vita Camilli. "Sustulit ad sidera palmas", Virgil. Aeneid. 2. so Ovid. Fasti, l. 3.





Psalms 141:3



Ver. 3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth,.... While praying, as Jarchi and Kimchi; that he might not utter any rash, unguarded, and unbecoming word; but take and use the words which God gives, even the taught words of the Holy Ghost; or lest, being under affliction and oppression, he should speak unadvisedly with his lips, and utter any impatient murmuring and repining word against God; or express any fretfulness at the prosperity of the wicked, or speak evil of them; especially of Saul, the Lord's anointed, for the ill usage of him;



keep the door of my lips; which are as a door that opens and shuts: this he desires might be kept as with a bridle, especially while the wicked were before him; lest he should say anything they would use against him, and to the reproach of religion; and that no corrupt communication, or any foolish and filthy talk, or idle and unprofitable words, might proceed from them. The phrase signifies the same as the other; he was sensible of his own inability to keep a proper watch and guard over his words, as was necessary, and therefore prays the Lord to do it; see Ps 39:1.





Psalms 141:4



Ver. 4. Incline not my heart to [any] evil thing,.... Or "evil word" {z}, as the Targum; since out of the abundance of that the mouth speaketh, Mt 12:34; or to any sinful thing, to the commission of any evil action: not that God ever inclines men's hearts to sin by any physical influence, it being what is repugnant to his nature and will, and what he hates and abhors; for though he hardens the hearts of wicked men, and gives them up to the lusts of them; yet he does not move, incline, or tempt any man to sin, Jas 1:13; but he may be said to do this when he suffers them to follow their own sinful inclinations, and leaves them to be inclined by the power and prevalency of their own corruptions, and by the temptations of Satan, which is here deprecated; see Ps 119:36. So as



to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity; to join with those that make a trade of sinning; the course of whose life is evil, in their unfruitful works of darkness; and do as they do, even commit crimes the most flagitious and enormous: he seems to have respect to great persons, whose examples are very forcible and ensnaring; and therefore it requires an exertion of the powerful and efficacious grace of God, to preserve such from the influence of them, whose business is much with them;



and let me not eat of their dainties; since their table was a snare to themselves, it might be so to him; and be a means of betraying him unawares into the commission of some sins, which would be dishonourable and grieving to him: the psalmist desires not to partake with them at their table; but chose rather a meatier table and coarser fare, where he might be more free from temptation; see Pr 23:1. Or this may be understood of the dainties and sweet morsels of sin; which are like stolen waters, and bread eaten in secret, to a carnal heart: though the pleasures of it are but imaginary, and last but for a season, and therefore are avoided by a gracious man; by whom even afflictions with the people of God are preferred unto them, Heb 11:25. The Targum interprets it of the song of the house of their feasts; which is ensnaring.



{z} er rbdl "ad verbum malum", Montanus.





Psalms 141:5



Ver. 5. Let the righteous smite me, [it shall be] a kindness,.... Or, "smite me in kindness" {a}. In love; in a loving and friendly manner, which makes reproofs the more agreeable and effectual. Not the righteous God, as Arama; though he does sometimes smite his people for their sins, Isa 57:17; that is, reproves, corrects, and chastises them, and that in love and for their good; and therefore such smitings and corrections should be taken in good part by them, and received as fatherly chastisements, and as instances of his paternal care of them, and love to them; but rather righteous and good men; who, when there is occasion for it, should reprove and rebuke one another; but then it should be in a kind and tender manner, and with the spirit of meekness; and such reproofs should be as kindly received: "for faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful",

Pr 27:6. Or, "let the righteous beat me with kindness" or "goodness" {b}; with precepts of goodness, by inculcating good things into him; which he should take, as if he overwhelmed and loaded him with benefits; even though it was like striking with a hammer, as the word signifies;



and let him, reprove me; which explains what is meant by smiting;



[it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head; give no pain nor uneasiness to his head or his heart, but rather supple and heal the wounds sin reproved for has made. The Targum is,



"the oil of the anointing of the sanctuary shall not cease from my head;''



with which he was anointed king; and signifies that he should enjoy the dignity, and continue in it. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "the oil of the ungodly", or "sinners": meaning their flattering words, which, though smooth as oil, were deceitful; and therefore he deprecates them, "let not the oil of the wicked", &c. as being hurtful and pernicious;



for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities; that is, when the righteous, that smote and reproved him for his good, should be in any distress; such a grateful sense should he retain of their favour in reproving him, that he would pray for them, that they might be delivered out of it; which would show that he took it kindly at their hand. Or, "in their evils", or "against them" {c}; which some understand of the evil practices of wicked men; which the psalmist prayed against, and that he might be kept and delivered from.



{a} en eleei, Sept. "in misericordia", V. L. "benigne ac clementer", Michaelis. {b} dox "benignitate", Tigurine version; "bonitate", Gejerus; "seu praeceptis bonitatis", Gussetius, p. 212. {c} Mhytwerb "in malis eorum", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; "adversus mala eorum", Musculus, Michaelis; so some in Vatablus.





Psalms 141:6



Ver. 6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places,.... The judges of David's adversaries, the workers of iniquity; meaning Saul, Abner, &c. Arama refers this to Saul and his sons being slain on the mountains of Gilboa, 1Sa 31:1; which might be here prophetically spoken of. Or, as it is by some rendered, "when their judges are let down by the sides of the rock" {d}; or let go free, as Saul was by David more than once; when it was in the power of his hands to have taken away his life, which his principal friends urged him to do,

1Sa 24:2. Some render the words as an imprecation or wish, "let their judges be cast down" {e}; or as a prophecy, they "shall be cast dozen in stony places", or "by the sides of a rock": so the word is used of casting or throwing down, 2Ki 9:33; and may allude to the manner of punishment used in some places, by casting down from a precipice, from rocks and hills; see 2Ch 25:12. Or, "when they slip by the sides of the rock" {f}; endeavouring to get up it; as ambitious men are desirous of getting to the top of honour, power, and authority, but stand in slippery places, and often slip and fall. And when this should be the case of these judges, then should David be raised up on high; the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And then



they shall hear my words, for these are sweet: that is, the common people should hear them, and be pleased with them, who had been set against him by their judges; by which they would easily perceive that he had no enmity nor malice, nor ill design against Saul. This may respect either his very affectionate lamentation at the death of Saul and his sons, 2Sa 1:17; or what he delivered at the several times he spared the life of Saul, when he could have taken it away,

1Sa 24:9; and it is especially true of all the words which David spoke by inspiration, or the Spirit of God spake to him; particularly in his book of Psalms, concerning the Messiah, the covenant of grace, and the blessings of it; of the rich experiences of grace he had, and the several doctrines of the Gospel declared by him; which were sweet, delightful, and entertaining to those who have ears to hear such things; or whose ears are opened to hear them, so as to understand them and distinguish them; but to others not.



{d} elo ydyb wjmvn "demittentur per loca saxosa", Tigurine version; "demissi sunt in manus petrae", Montanus; "dimittunt se in lateribue petrarum", Piscator. {e} "Praecipitentur", Munster; "dejiciantur", Gejerus; "praecipites dentur", Musculus; so Kimchi. {f} "Lubricati sunt per latere petrae", Cocceius.





Psalms 141:7



Ver. 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth,.... Into which they were not suffered to be put, but lay unburied; or from whence they were dug up, and lay scattered about; which is to be understood of such of David's friends as fell into the hands of Saul and his men, and were slain: perhaps it may refer to the fourscore and five priests, and the inhabitants of Nob, slain by the order of Saul, 1Sa 22:18. Though the phrase may be only proverbial, and be expressive of the danger David and his men were in, and their sense of it, who looked upon themselves like dry bones, hopeless and helpless, and had the sentence of death in themselves, and were as it were at the mouth of the grave, on the brink of ruin;



as when one cutteth and cleaveth [wood] upon the earth: and the chips fly here and there, and are disregarded; such was their case: or as men cut and cleave the earth with the plough, and it is tore up by it, and falls on each side of it, so are we persecuted, afflicted, and distressed by our enemies, and have no mercy shown us; so the Targum,



"as a man that cuts and cleaves with ploughshares in the earth, so our members are scattered at the grave's mouth.''



The Syriac and Arabic versions understand it of the ploughshare cutting the earth.





Psalms 141:8



Ver. 8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord,.... Not only the eyes of his body, lifted up to God in prayer, this being a prayer gesture, Joh 11:41; but the eyes of his mind, or understanding, especially the eyes of faith and love; for it is expressive of his affection to God, his holy confidence in him, and humble hope and expectation of good things from him, in this his time of distress: his eyes were to him and him only, both for temporal food for himself and his men; and for spiritual food, for all supplies of grace, for wisdom and direction, for strength and assistance, for protection and deliverance;



in thee is my trust; not in himself, nor in his friends, nor in any creature, prince or potentate, but in the Lord, as the God of nature, providence, and grace; to which he was encouraged by his lovingkindness to him; by the everlasting strength in him; by what he had done for others and for him in times past; by the provisions he has made in his covenant and promises for those that trust in him, who are of all men most happy;



leave not my soul destitute; of daily food, of help and assistance, of the presence, spirit, and grace of God; or "naked" {g}, and defenceless, but let it be surrounded or protected by almighty power and grace; or "pour not out my soul" {h}, that is, unto death; suffer me not to be taken by enemies and slain; see Isa 53:12. The Targum is,



"in the Word (of the Lord) I trust, do not empty my soul,''



or "evacuate" {i} it, as Aben Ezra; that is, out of his body; for he observes, that the soul fills the body.



{g} ret la "ne nudes", Junius & Tremellius; so Piscator. {h} "Ne effandas", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus. {i} "Ne evacues", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.





Psalms 141:9



Ver. 9. Keep me from the snare [which] they have laid for me,.... Either Saul, who gave him a wife to be a snare to him, and set men to watch his house and take him; or the Ziphites, who proposed to Saul to deliver him into his hands; see 1Sa 18:21.



and the gins of the workers of iniquity; the transgressions of wicked men are snares to others, by way of example; and so are the doctrines of false teachers, and the temptations of Satan, from all which good men desire to be kept, Pr 29:6; and it is the Lord alone that keeps and preserves from them, or breaks the snare and delivers them, Ps 124:7.





Psalms 141:10



Ver. 10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets,.... Which they have laid for others, as they very often do; see Ps 7:15; or "into his net" {k}, either Saul into his own net, and others with him, so Kimchi and Ben Melech; or the wicked into the net which God has laid for them; see Eze 12:13;



whilst that I withal escape; or "whilst I together escape", or "pass over" {l}; that is, while he, together with his companions, passed over the net laid; or,



"till I pass over safe and sound,''



will all mine, as Noldius {m}; not only pass over and escape the snares of the wicked, but pass out of this world into a state of happiness and glory in another.



{k} wyrmkmb "in retiacula ejus", Pagninus, Montanus; "in retia ejus", Vatablus, Cocceius; so Ainsworth. {l} dxy "simul transeam", Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus; "una cum meis transiturus sum", Piscator. {m} Concord. Partic. Ebr. Chald. p. 363. No. 1279. so Michaelis.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Psalms 142:1



INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 142



Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave. Of the word "maschil", See Gill on "Ps 32:1", title. This psalm is called a prayer, as some others are, the ninetieth and hundred second psalms: and was composed by David when either in the cave of Adullam, 1Sa 22:1; or rather in the cave at Engedi, where he cut off Saul's skirt, 1Sa 24:3; as Jarchi and Kimchi think. The psalm represents the troubles of David, and of the Messiah his antitype, and is applicable to the church of God, or to any particular soul when in distress.



Ver. 1. I cried unto the Lord with my voice,.... With the voice of his soul, in the language of his mind, mentally, as Moses and Hannah cried unto the Lord when no voice was heard, or articulate sounds expressed, since this prayer was put up to the Lord in the cave where Saul was; though it might have been delivered before he came into it, while he and his men were at the mouth of it, which threw David into this distress; besides the cave was so large as to hold David and his six hundred men without being seen by Saul, and who could discourse together, as David and his men did, without being heard by Saul while he was in it; and so this psalm or prayer might be spoken vocally, though he was there;



with my voice unto the Lord did I make, my supplication: the same thing in other words; "crying" is explained by making "supplication", which is praying to the Lord in an humble manner for grace and mercy, and not pleading merit and worthiness.





Psalms 142:2



Ver. 2. I poured out my complaint before him,.... Not a complaint of the Lord and of his providences, but of himself; of his sins, and particularly his unbelief; and also of them that persecuted and afflicted him; which he "poured" out from the abundance of his heart, and in the bitterness of his soul; denoting the fulness of his prayer, his freedom in it, the power and fervency of it, and which he left before the Lord, and submitted to his will; see Ps 102:1, title;



I showed before him my trouble; the present trouble he was in, being pursued and surrounded by Saul and his army; not as if the Lord was ignorant of it, and did not see and observe it, but to affect his own soul with it, to exercise grace under it, and ease his burdened and distressed mind; the best of men have their troubles both within and without, and the way to be rid of them is to carry them to the Lord.





Psalms 142:3



Ver. 3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,.... Ready to sink and faint under the present affliction, being attended with the hidings of God's face, and with unbelieving frames; which is sometimes the case of God's people, and with which they are as it were covered and overwhelmed, as well as with a sense of sin, and with shame and sorrow for it; see Ps 61:2;



then thou knewest my path: the eyes of the Lord are upon all men, and he knows their goings, none of them are hid from him; and he sees and approves of the way, of the life and conversation of his people in general; and particularly observes what way they take under affliction, which is to apply to him for help and deliverance, Ps 1:6. R. Moses in Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret it of the path he walked in, which was right and not evil, for which he could appeal to God, that knows all things; it may literally intend the path David took to escape the fury of Saul, that pursued him from place to place;



in the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me; let him take which way he would, there were spies upon him, or men that were in ambush to take him; and snares were everywhere laid for him to entrap him; see Ps 140:5.





Psalms 142:4



Ver. 4. I looked on [my] right hand, and beheld,.... On the left, so Kimchi supplies it, and after him Piscator; he looked about him every way to the right and left, to see if he could get any help, or find out any way of deliverance. To this sense the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions render the words; and so Kimchi and Aben Ezra understand them: but some render them in the imperative, "look on the right hand, and behold" {n}; and consider them; either as spoken to his own soul, to stir up himself to look around him for help and relief; or as an address to God, to look and behold, as in

Ps 80:14; and R. Obadiah reads them, "look, O right hand"; O right hand of God, that does valiantly: but looking cannot properly be ascribed to the right hand; and besides it is not the Lord the psalmist is speaking to, or looking after, but men, as follows;



but [there was] no man that would know me; take notice of him, and acknowledge and own him, or show him any favour, or even own that they had any knowledge of him; which is often the case when men are in affliction and distress, their former friends, acquaintance, yea, relations, keep at a distance from them; so it was with Job, the Messiah, and others; see Job 19:13;



refuge failed me; as he could get no help from men, so there was no way open for his escape, or by which he could flee and get out of the hands and reach of his enemies; in these circumstances he was when in the cave;



no man cared for my soul; or "life" {o}; to save it, protect and defend it, that is, very few; otherwise there were some that were concerned for him, as the men that were with him, and Jonathan, Saul's son; but none of Saul's courtiers, they were not solicitous for his welfare, but on the contrary sought his life, to take it away. This is an emblem of a soul under first awakenings and convictions, inquiring the way of salvation, and where to find help, but at a lois for it in the creature.



{n} harw Nymy jybh "respice dexteram et vide", Montanus; "vel ad dexteram", Musculus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Michaelis. {o} yvpn "vitam meam", Junius & Tremellius.





Psalms 142:5



Ver. 5. I cried unto thee, O Lord,.... Finding no help from man, he turns to the Lord, and directs his prayer to him in his distress;



I said, thou [art] my refuge; as he was, from all his enemies that were in pursuit of him, and from the storm of calamities he apprehended was coming upon him: and a refuge the Lord is to all his people in time of trouble; and where they always meet with sustenance, protection, and safety; he being a strong habitation, a strong hold, a strong refuge, to which they may resort at all times; and such is Christ to all sensible sinners that flee unto him, Heb 6:18;



[and] my portion in the land of the living; and a most excellent one he is, a large, immense, and inconceivable portion; he and all his perfections, purposes, promises, and blessings, being included in it; a soul-satisfying one, and which will never be taken away nor consumed; it is a portion in the present life; it will last as long as life lasts, and continues unto death, and at death, and for evermore,

Ps 73:26.





Psalms 142:6



Ver. 6. Attend unto my cry,.... His prayer and supplication for help in his distress, which he desires might be hearkened unto and answered;



for I am brought very low; in his spirit, in the exercise of grace, being in great affliction, and reduced to the utmost extremity, weakened, impoverished, and exhausted; wanting both men and money to assist him, Ps 79:8;



deliver me from my persecutors; Saul and his men, who were in pursuit of him with great warmth and eagerness;



for they are stronger than I; more in number, and greater in strength; Saul had with him three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, ablebodied men, and expert in war; veteran troops, and in high spirits, with their king at the head of them; David had about six hundred men, and these poor mean creatures, such as were in distress, in debt, and discontented, and in want of provisions, and dispirited; see

1Sa 22:2. So the spiritual enemies of the Lord's people are stronger than they, Jer 31:11.





Psalms 142:7



Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison,.... Not out of purgatory, to which some Popish writers wrest these words very absurdly; nor out of the prison of his body, as Joseph Ben Gorion {p}; knowing that none but God had a power of removing it from thence; but out of the cave, where he was detained as in a prison, while Saul and his men were about the mouth of it; or rather out of all his straits, distresses, and difficulties, which surrounded and pressed him on all sides, as if he was in a prison;



that I may praise thy name; this release he desired not so much for his own sake, that he might be at ease and liberty, but that he might have fresh occasion to praise the Lord, and an opportunity of doing it publicly, in the assembly and congregation of the people;



the righteous shall compass me about; in a circle, like a crown, as the word {q} signifies; when delivered, they should flock to him and come about him, to see him and look at him, as a miracle of mercy, whose deliverance was marvellous; and to congratulate him upon it, and to join with him in praises unto God for it. The Targum is,



"for my sake the righteous will make to thee a crown of praise.''



And to the same purpose Jarchi,



"for my sake the righteous shall surround thee, and praise thy name.''



Aben Ezra interprets it,



"they shall glory as if the royal crown was on their heads;''



for thou shalt deal bountifully with me; in delivering him from his enemies, settling him on the throne, and bestowing upon him all the blessings of Providence and grace; see Ps 116:7; and thus the psalm is concluded with a strong expression of faith in the Lord, though in such a low estate.



{p} Hist. Heb. l. 6. c. 20. p. 610. {q} wrtky "coronabunt", Pagninus, Montanus; "vel in me tanquam eoronati triumphabunt", Cocceius.

 

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