10 But, thou, O LORD! be merciful unto me, And raise me up, that I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou favourest me, Because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, And settest me before thy face forever. e 13 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel From everlasting, and to everlasting! Amen, and Amen. e Job 36. 7. INTRODUCTION TO PSALMS XL, XXXII, CIII AND CIV. PSALMS OF DAVID. We have no means of knowing definitely the duration of David's sickness, but several circumstances go to make it probable that it continued several months. Its virulence and its duration were sufficient to indicate, as in the case of Job, that the hand of God was in it. The advantage taken of it by his enemies, to create, in some degree, a public sentiment against him, and cast reproach upon his name, necessarily supposes the lapse of some time. The Syrian and Ammonitish war, which at one time threatened to overthrow the entire foreign dominion of David, was not yet closed. The Hebrew army still sat around Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, in close siege; and the chances of war might yet go against him. His sickness, under all the circumstances, would naturally give occasion for opinions and factions at home, and might embolden his enemies abroad once more to rise in leagued rebellion to regain their liberty. It was a long and cheerless night of sorrow, as his Psalms written on this occasion abundantly attest. But the morning at last broke, and the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in his beams. The depth of his soul had been broken up, and the fountains of penitential grief unsealed; and the unrestrained confessions of his lips had given free utterance to the anguish of his spirit. God had witnessed the sincerity of his prayers, and had now come to his relief. The severity of his disorder abates; and, rising from his couch of woe, he puts off his sackcloth of mourning, and puts on the garments of praise. His head, once covered with ashes in token of his deep humiliation, is now anointed with costly oil. His face, once foul with weeping, is now illuminated with joy, and dignified with the calm expressions of peace and restored confidence. His voice, which anon had broken in discordant groans upon the midnight of his solitude, is once more attuned to the sweet chords of his favourite harp. As he regains his confidence in God, so does he also that of the people. His enemies retire in silence, while his friends gather around him with gladsome gratulations. If the bands of his authority had become relaxed in any measure during his chastisement, his throne now again became firmly established by the renewal of the sanction of Jehovah, the true and real Sovereign of the people. The Psalms written on this occasion, in their phraseology, imagery, sentiment, and associations of thought and circumstances, are replete with the ideas of recent pardon and of signal deliverance from great affliction. Herein they strongly and most naturally contrast with those written during his sickness and his penitence. Many portions of these Psalms have a higher and prophetic application to the Messiah, above their primary historical significance. The Holy Spirit took occasion to open the mind of the Psalmist to such analogous views of Messiah as seemed naturally suggested by the deep exercises of his soul. For instance, the passage in Psalm xl, 6, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast thou opened: [or perforated, see Exodus xxi, 1-6:] seems to have a direct historic allusion to the statements which he uttered and confessed while yet repenting, and which are recorded in Psalm li, 16 (see also page 280 of this work): "For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it: But the prophetic allusion to Messiah of Psalm xl, 6, 7, is sublimely exhibited and explained by the Apostle Paul, in Hebrews x, 5-9. Various points in the humiliation and priestly functions of Jesus Christ are, in a similar way, set forth in these Psalms, which the reader may trace through the marginal references. Psalm xl, 13 to the end, is the same as Psalm lxx. PSALM XL. ON OCCASION OF DAVID'S RECOVERY AND PARDON. David declareth his great deliverance, 1-3; the benefit of confidence in God, 4, 5; obedience the best sacrifice, 6-10; he pleadeth for entire deliverance from his afflictions and his persecutors, 11-17. T To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David. 1 'I waited patiently for the LORD; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. And set my feet upon a rock, 3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, 4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, And respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, And thy thoughts which are to us-ward: 'They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: Heb. In waiting I waited. Psa. 27. 14. *Heb. a pit of noise. a Psa. 52. 6. d Isa. 55. 8. 3 Or, none can order them unto thee. If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast thou opened: Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. 7 Then said I, "Lo! I come: In the volume of the book it is written of me. g 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God! Yea, thy law is 'within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: Lo! I have not refrained my lips, O LORD! thou knowest. 10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; 11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. 12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: So that I am not able to look up; Therefore my heart faileth me. my 13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! head: 14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together That seek after my soul to destroy it; Let them be driven backward and put to shame that 15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame That say unto me, Aha! aha! 16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: Let such as love thy salvation Say continually, The LORD be magnified! 17 But I am poor and needy; Yet the LORD thinketh upon me: k1 Peter 5. T. PSALM XXXII. ON OCCASION OF DAVID'S RECOVERY AND PARDON. Blessedness consisteth in remission of sins, 1, 2; confession alone can give relief to a guilty conscience, 3-6; uprightness and confidence in God alone bring joy and safety, 7-11. TA Psalm of David, Maschil, [i. e., A Psalm of David, giving instruction.] a 1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth 3 not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile! When I kept silence, my bones waxed old Through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah! 5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid. a Psalm 85. 2. Rom. 4, 6-8. b 2 Cor. 5. 19. • John 1. 47. d1 Sam. 5. 6, 11. Job 88. 7. Psa. 38. 2. |