PSALM XVII.

A Prayer of David.

[Expositors generally agree in referring Psalm xvii. to the period of Saul's persecution of David; but what the particular occasion was is not easily determined. On the grounds of his own uprightness (vers. 1-5), of God's former mercies (6, 7), and of the wickedness of his foes (8-12), David prays for salvation (13, 14), which he confidently expects (15).]

1 HEAR the right, O LORD, Attend unto my cry,

Give ear unto my prayer,

That goeth not out of feigned lips.

2 Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; Let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. 3 Thou hast proved mine heart;

Thou hast visited me in the night;

Thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing;

I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4 Concerning the works of men,

By the word of thy lips

I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer 5 Hold up my goings in thy paths,

That my footsteps slip not.

6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.

7 Show thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand Them which put their trust in thee From those that rise up against them. 8 Keep me as the apple of the eye,

Psalm xvii., ver. 1. Hear the right, O Lord. In the matters here referred to, David was conscious of uprightness, and especially of freedom from guile.

Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth. That is, Let it come forth to the view of others; so that my character may be vindicated.

Ver. 3. I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. Or, 'My mouth shall not exceed my

thoughts;' i. e., thou shalt find no discrepancy between my words and thoughts.

Ver. 4. The works of men. Their sinful courses. See Hos. vi. 7.

Ver. 5. That my footsteps slip not. Or (continuing ver. 4), 'My steps have laid hold of thy paths; my feet have not swerved.' Comp. Job xxiii. 11.

Ver. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye. Rather, 'the pupil of the

Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

9 From the wicked that oppress me,

From my deadly enemies, who compass me about. 10 They are inclosed in their own fat:

With their mouth they speak proudly.

11 They have now compassed us in our steps:

They have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; 12 Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey,

And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Arise, O LORD,

Disappoint him, cast him down:

Deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: 14 From men, which are thy hand, O LORD,

From men of the world, which have their portion in
this life,

And whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure :
They are full of children,

And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

PSALM XVIII.

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,

[As we learn from 2 Sam. xxii., this most sublime and beautiful ode was probably written by David towards the close of his reign. It is a solemn and grateful retrospect of the deliverances and mercies of a most eventful life. It is one of the most regular of the inspired poems, and consists of five parts: i. (vers. 1-3), a short introduction of praise to Jehovah; ii. (4—19), a sublime description of God's power in delivering his servant; iii. (20-27), a brief central portion, announcing the great principle of the Divine government, illustrated in the history of David as well as of others, namely, the administration of mercy with a due regard to the claims of righteousness; iv. (28-45), a more particular exhibition of this in David's personal experience; and v. (46-50), a short summary, in which he prophetically anticipates the promised Seed'-the everlasting King of Israel. 'Saul' is mentioned in the title to this psalm, not as the last of David's enemies, but rather as the chief of them.]

1 I WILL love thee, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

My buckler, and the horn of my salvation,

And my high tower.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised : So shall I be saved from mine enemies.

4

The sorrows of death compassed me,

And the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: The snares of death prevented me.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried unto my God:

He heard my voice out of his temple,

And my cry came before him, even into his ears.

Psalm xviii., ver. 4. Sorrows. Or, 'cords;' either bonds or snares. The expressions in vers. 4-16 are highly poetical; representing the urgent distress of David's situation (comp. Jonah ii. 3); and then describing the nature and efficacy of the Divine interposition, its promp

titude, energy, majesty, and triumphant success. The images employed seem to be partly those of a thunderstorm, and partly those of an earthquake. Comp. Psa. civ. 6-8.

Ver. 5. Prevented me; that is, 'were beforehand with me,' like a net or snare; and so in ver. 18.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken,
Because he was wroth.

8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured:

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: And darkness was under his feet.

10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly:

Yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place;

His pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

12 At the brightness that was before him His thick clouds passed,

Hail stones and coals of fire.

13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Highest gave his voice;

Hail stones and coals of fire.

14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
And he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen,

And the foundations of the world were discovered
At thy rebuke, O LORD,

At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

16 He sent from above, he took me,

He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from them which hated me:

For they were too strong for me.

18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: But the LORD was my stay.

Ver. 8. There went up a smoke, etc. Representing God's wrath.

Ver. 10. He rode upon a cherub. The cherubim are supposed to be either attendants (angelic or redeemed, see Rev. iv. 7-9) upon God, or symbols of His presence. See Gen. iii. 24. They are introduced in connection with remarkable displays of His mercy or power

(see Exod. xxv. 18, 22; Psa. lxxx. 1; xcix. 1), and are generally accompanied with a sword-like flame or a bright cloud (Ezek. i. 4, 13). This description of Jehovah borne on a cherub, signifies that he was coming in all his Divine majesty.

Ver. 16. Many waters. Those mentioned in ver. 4, on which see note.

19 He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

20

The LORD rewarded me according to my righte

ousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD,

And have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all his judgments were before me,

And I did not put away his statutes from me.

23 I was also upright before him,

And I kept myself from mine iniquity.

24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me According to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; With an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; 26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;

And with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward. 27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people;

28

But wilt bring down high looks.

For thou wilt light my candle:

The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by thee I have run through a troop: And by my God have I leaped over a wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect:

Ver. 19. He brought me forth also into a large place. As confinement or pressure is a common figure for distress, so relief from such distress is often represented as a coming forth into an open place. See Psa. xxxi. 8; cxviii. 5.

Ver. 20. David here shows the connection between personal holiness and the enjoyment of Divine favour. His claim was, as other psalms show, not to perfect sinlessness, but to a conscience void of offence,' especially with respect to the accusations of his enemies. See note on Psa. xvii. 1.

Vers. 25, 26. This is an emphatic mode of saying that God's dealings with men correspond to their characters and behaviour; and is parallel to Matt. vii. 2; Gal. vi. 8.

Ver. 28. Candle. Or, 'lamp.' A lamp lighted in the house is a common Hebrew figure for prosperity, as its extinction is for distress. See Job xviii. 5, 6; xxi. 17; Prov. xxiv. 20.

Ver. 29. Over a wall. Referring to the walls of cities. Both clauses of ver. 29 are descriptive of the military triumphs which the Divine assistance enabled him to achieve.