Psa 68:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF DAVID. A PSALM. A SONG”. The early part of the psalm (vv 1-18?), a sustained reminiscence of Israel’s wilderness journey; poss in part a psalm of Moses, surviving from those early days. The concluding vv (vv 26-35) seem to ref Hezekiah: and, less certainly, so also do vv 20-23 (cp the concluding vv of Psa 69). Yet vv 24,25 are most appropriate to the occasion of David’s bringing of the ark to Zion (Psa 24; 30; 2Sa 6; 1Ch 15). Prob David saw his bringing of the Ark to Zion as the culminating processional of the long pilgrimage of the Ark, the token of God’s presence in Israel, all the way from Sinai to Jerusalem. The protracted journey is at last concluded — or, more precisely, will be concluded with the fulfillment of this typical history when the Glory of the Lord in Christ re-enters the Holy City (Eze 43:2,3; Zec 14:4; Act 1:10,11).

MESSIANIC: Allusions, in the early part of the psalm, to Israel in the wilderness have often been read as foreshadowing a “march of the saints” from Sinai into the Holy Land. This is a mistake. To be faithful to the prototype, that march in the LD would have to begin in Egypt. The New Israel belongs to Jerusalem. It is natural Israel that has its beginnings in Egypt and Sinai: cp the allegory in Gal 4:22-31. However, several LD passages speak of a renewed bondage for Jews in Egypt (Isa 19:18-20; 11:11-16; Deu 28:68; Joe 3:19). Nevertheless, there is also much of value here with ref to the New Israel in their present life, as a wilderness journey to a Land of Promise. This is a very familiar idea, frequently used in the NT (eg Rev 7:9-17; 1Co 10:1-11). And Paul’s exposition of v 18 in Eph 4:8-10 is along these lines.

V 1: Quoting Num 10:35, which was “when the ark set forward” in the wilderness, moving on from one encampment to the next.

MAY GOD ARISE: (NT) “Arise” has to do with resurrection; sw “cumi” in “Talitha cumi” (Mar 5:41). “Destroy (unloose, take down) this tabernacle, and in three days (cp Num 10:33,34!) I will raise it up” (Joh 2:19).

Psa 68:2

BEFORE THE FIRE: Prob the idea is “before the fire of God”, suggesting the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness.

Psa 68:4

EXTOL HIM WHO RIDES ON THE CLOUDS: Allusion to Exo 24:10. But a much better reading is: ‘in the deserts’ (RSV mg, NIV mg: the Heb is “arabah”; cp Eur 2:550). The word “arabah” is translated “desert” 9 times, “plain” 42 times, and “wilderness” 5 times. Nowhere else is it translated “heavens”. The KJV translators may have been influenced (or confused!) by v 33, where a completely different word (shamayim) is rightly rendered “heavens”.

EXTOL HIM: May be “cast up a highway”… for Him (RSV mg) — cp Isa 40:3,4; 49:11; 57:14: 62:10.

HIS NAME IS THE LORD: JAH (or YAH) is the shortened form of the Covenant Name. Its first occurrence is Exo 15:2.

Psa 68:5

Vv 5,6: Vivid memories of Egyptian oppression, and Egyptian deliverance.

FATHERLESS… WIDOWS: (NT) See Joh 14:18, where “comfortless” is lit “orphans”. Also cp with the parable of the importunate widow (Luk 18:3,7,8,15,16). See also Jam 1:26,27.

Psa 68:6

GOD SETS THE LONELY IN FAMILIES: Lit, “in a house (Heb beth)”. There are no lonely ones in this well-knit community of family groups encamped beneath the standards of the houses of their fathers. (NT) Heb “beth” = house. In general, those who have left families for the Truth’s sake will receive “an hundredfold” even now, and greater things yet in the age to come (Mar 10:29,30). More specifically, Christ is the “solitary” one — Heb yachid, which describes an only child! Translated “darling” in Psa 22:20; 35:17, and used of Isaac (typ Christ) in Gen 22:2,12,16. So Christ, the only-begotten Son (Psa 2:7) — who dies childless (Isa 53:8) — would yet live to “see his seed” (Isa 53:10; Psa 22:30): a spiritual family or house (Heb beth) of believers (Heb 3:6; 1Pe 2:5; Eph 2:19).

HE LEADS FORTH THE PRISONERS WITH SINGING: (NT) Ref resurrection, ie Isa 49:9; Zec 9:11,12?

BUT THE REBELLIOUS LIVE IN A SUN-SCORCHED LAND: The unworthy generation of Israelites which perished in the wilderness.

(NT) Heb 3:16 is a clear allusion to this: “Who were they who heard and rebelled? (sw LXX ‘rebellious’): Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?” And the LXX for this v (“dwell in tombs”) — though not the Heb text — is echoed in Mar 5:3: Legion dwelling in the tombs. This demoniac is a remarkable figure of “provocative”/ “rebellious” Israel in LD: miraculously healed, “clothed”, and — its mind renewed — brought into fellowship with Christ.

Psa 68:7

A clear picture of the Ark of God leading the Israelite march through the desert (Exo 13:21).

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 68:8

The outstanding theophany: Exo 19:18. In general, earthquakes accompany awesome manifestations of God: Eze 38:20; Zec 14:4; Joe 3:16; Amo 9:1,5; Jer 4:24; Psa 77:18; 114:7; Isa 2:10-22; Rev 6:12; 11:19; 16:18.

(NT) A clear implication that the Law was to be superseded. Also, note that the march of Israel required that they leave Sinai, which typ the Law. In a different figure, Isa 51:6 has the same idea — as does Heb 8:13.

Psa 68:9

ABUNDANT SHOWERS: May mean manna from heaven (one of the “gifts for men” of v 18). Or it may mean simply a lit refreshing downpour (cp Jdg 5:4: “The heavens also dropped” of v 8 may be “poured down rain” — as RSV mg).

Psa 68:10

Should be: “Thy living ones (the Cherubim of the Ark) have dwelt in it” (ie among the people of Israel, God’s inheritance: v 9).

FROM YOUR BOUNTY, O GOD, YOU PROVIDED FOR THE POOR: “All God’s gifts are prepared gifts laid up in store for wants foreseen. He anticipates our needs; and out of the fulness which He has treasured up in Christ Jesus, He provides of His goodness for the poor. You may trust Him for all the necessities that can occur, for He has infallibly foreknown every one of them. He can say of us in all conditions, ‘I knew that thou wouldst be this and that.’ A man goes a journey across the desert, and when he has made a day’s advance, and pitched his tent, he discovers that he wants many comforts and necessaries which he has not brought in his baggage. ‘Ah!’ says he, ‘I did not foresee this: if I had this journey to go again, I should bring these things with me, so necessary to my comfort.’ But God has marked with prescient eye all the requirements of His poor wandering children, and when those needs occur, supplies are ready. It is goodness which He has prepared for the poor in heart, goodness and goodness only. ‘My grace is sufficient for thee.’ [2Co 12:9] ‘As thy days, so shall thy strength be’ [Deu 33:25]” (CHS).

Psa 68:11

Vv 11-18: A poetic description of the early victories in the wilderness.

THE LORD ANNOUNCED THE WORD: As in other instances of directing the Israelites in battle (Num 31:1,2; Jos 10:8).

GREAT WAS THE COMPANY OF THOSE WHO PROCLAIMED IT: The one word equivalent to “those that proclaimed it” is feminine: it describes the women who celebrate the victory, as in Exo 15:20,21; 1Sa 18:6; Jdg 4.

Psa 68:13

AMONG THE CAMPFIRES: Or “the pots” (AV). The RV has: “among the sheepfolds”. JT: “prostrate among the cattle pens” (Eur 1:180). Prob // to the sarcastic ref to the inept Reuben in Jdg 5:16, who would not or could not come forward to help his brethren in their sore trial. Reuben had been faithful in the early fight for the Land (Jos 22:1-6); they then had much silver and gold (Jos 22:7,8). But, in later days, apparently corrupted by prosperity, this tribe did not help.

V 13 is a real problem passage (note all the italics in the AV!). Various guesses have been made: (a) Israel enjoying plunder and prosperity. (b) The enemy in flight. (c) A manifestation of the Shekinah Glory. (d) Trophies seized from the enemy. (e) Women displaying their finery.

But whichever it is (and the first seems most likely, because of the prob // to Jdg 5:16), why should the figure of silver and gold be used? Suggestion: The phrase about lying among the sheepfolds recalls the desire of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle with their flocks and herds east of Jordan. This was granted — provided they first played their part in the campaign to conquer Canaan. That achieved, they were free to make their way in peace (with the wings of a dove?) back to Trans-Jordan. And they went loaded with a handsome share of the plunder of the campaign — hence the silver and gold.

THE WINGS OF MY DOVE ARE SHEATHED WITH SILVER, ITS FEATHERS WITH SHINING GOLD: “A bird found in Damascus, whose feathers, all except the wings, are literally as yellow as gold; they are very small, and kept in cages. I have often had them in my house, but their note was so very sad that I could not endure it” (LB 271). Or: “The rock dove because the metallic luster on its neck would gleam like gold in sunshine, and the soft grayish-white feathers beneath the wings as he would see the bird above him in flight would appear silver-like” (Stratton-Porter).

Psa 68:14

THE ALMIGHTY: El Shaddai (as in Psa 91:1) — a divine title which, in its context, often suggests fruitfulness and prosperity (Gen 17:1; 28:3,4; 35:11-13; 43:14; 48:3,4; 49:25; Num 24:4,7; Rth 1:20,21). Used extensively in Job, where the idea of the wrath and judgment of the Lord is prominent — and in such fashion it is used here (cp also Isa 13:6; Joe 1:15). The derivation of Shaddai has been disputed: (1) a word meaning “to be powerful”; (2) the word for “breasts” — implying of course fertility; or (3) a verb meaning “to destroy”. All these have some Biblical basis.

SNOW: Snow water (which sym God’s righteousness and mercy and blessings) “crystallized”, so as to be seen and admired!

ZALMON: Salmon — poss Zalmonah (Num 33:41)? — could have been the site of a great battle fought against the Arabs of that territory. The “snow” may suggest the whiteness of stripped carcasses, or bleached bones, or even perhaps the white robes of the fallen Bedouin soldiers. The slaughter of these kings and chieftains was so great that the appearance of the battlefield, strewn with their dead bodies, was like a snow-covered landscape.

Psa 68:15

‘The mountain of Bashan (ie Hermon) is a great mountain, a mountain of summits is the mount of Bashan.’ Bashan, a territory east of Jordan, generally appears in Scripture as indicative of that which is mighty and rich, and which exalts itself against the things of God (Isa 2:11-14; Eze 27:3-7; 39:18; Mic 7:14; Nah 1:4; Zec 11:2; Amo 4:1).

“With this boldly formed mass of rock so gloomily majestic, giving the impression of antiquity and invincibility, when compared with the ranges on the other side of unstable porous limestone and softer formations, more particularly with Zion, it [ie the black volcanic mass of Bashan] is an emblem of the world and its powers standing over against the people of God as a threatening and seemingly invincible colossus” (KD).

Psa 68:16

Nevertheless, in God’s eyes the mighty peaks of Hermon or Bashan cannot begin to cp with “the mountain which God hath desired to dwell in” (AV). The Almighty declares His intention to dwell in Zion for ever. This selection of Zion was evidently intimated to David at the time of the great promise of 2Sa 7 (see also Psa 132:11-14). It is rather surprising that the history does not include this detail, but abundant other refs and allusions (both before and after David’s time) to Zion support this premise.

WHY GAZE IN ENVY?: “Leap” (AV) is wrong; should be: “Why look ye askance — why do ye envy (RSV) — Oh ye high mountains?” A poetic way of expressing the fears of the surrounding nations when Israel came into the Land and, much more, when David became king in Jerusalem (2Sa 8). God has often chosen “little things” (David himself, for example: 1Sa 16:11; 18:18) to confound the mighty (1Co 1:28)!

WHERE THE LORD HIMSELF WILL DWELL FOREVER: Therefore this part of the psalm cannot poss apply (as has been attempted) to Sinai (cp “Jerusalem” in v 29; “Salem” in Psa 76:2,4). Note the marked ct in Heb 12:18-29 between Sinai and Zion.

Psa 68:17

Lit: “The chariot of God is… thousands of angels”, with ref to the Cherubim Chariot of the Lord in Eze 1; Zec 6; 2Ki 6:17; etc. But why “twenty” thousands? The word “ribbothayim” may be rendered “twice ten thousand” (RSV). Since “ten thousand” is often used to sym a large undefined number (Psa 3:6n; 1Co 4:15; 14:19; 1Sa 29:5), then “twice” such a number is undoubtedly intended to convey a number of almost unimaginable magnitude.

Again, like the RSV: The Lord came FROM Sinai INTO the holy place (ie Jerusalem). This is a description of happenings in Zion, not (as some mistakenly suppose) in Sinai!

(NT) The cherubim-chariot of the Lord, who comes with a multitude of angels: Mat 16:27; 24:30,31; 25:31; Mar 8:38; 1Th 4:16; 2Th 1:9,10.

Judgment at Sinai?: The context is altogether concerning Zion! It was most likely written to memorialize David’s bringing of the ark to Zion at last. This was the culmination of an important phase in the Divine purpose which began with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, proceeded to the giving of the Law at Sinai, and languished for several generations while the ark rested uneasily at a number of temporary locations. Now it was at last coming to its foreordained dwelling place. With this background we now consider vv 15-17: The “hill of God” is Zion (v 15), “the hill which God desires to dwell in… for ever” (v 16). These three vv contain two comparisons: (a) Zion is now (in David’s eye, and — prophetically — in the kingdom age) like the hills of Bashan (v 15), meaning majestic and towering and invincible. This is another way of saying that, when God dwells in Zion and His king (David or Christ) reigns there, Zion will be “lifted up”, first to rival and then to surpass the “mountains” (ie kingdoms) of the Gentiles (Isa 2:2; Psa 48:2). (b) Secondly, God is among the angels and the chariots (cherubim) there in Zion, like he was previously in Sinai (v 17). Zion is now (David’s day, and again of course with prophetic implications) like Sinai was — the scene of God’s glorious fiery manifestation. With this understanding, v 17 may now be read, with no real modification: “Yahweh is among them (the cherubim and angels), as (He had been) in Sinai, (but now) in the holy place [mount Zion!].” That this is the proper reading is borne out by such vv as v 24 (where “sanctuary” would be Zion) and v 29 (temple at Jerusalem), and — for that matter — the whole of the psalm. So, if Psa 68:17 proves anything in the matter of the location of the judgment seat, it proves that Zion and not Sinai will be the site! (Further, see Lesson, Judgment seat at Jerusalem.)

Psa 68:18

This v looks back to an important development in Israel’s experience in the wilderness: Moses led captivity captive, ie, the captives of Egypt were now become God’s captives, on whom He “inflicts” His gifts instead of hard bondage. The same idiom occurs (according to AG) in Deut 21:10-13 (“has taken them captive” = “has led captivity captive”) — where the women captives of vanquished people are delivered into a much more pleasant “captivity”!

YOU RECEIVED GIFTS FROM MEN: The gifts of Holy Spirit wisdom which were distributed to Moses’ seventy helpers: Num 11:24,25 — where “the Lord came down” in the person of the Angel of the Covenant (Exo 23:20-25). “Coming down” is a well-recognized Bible idiom for a theophany (Gen 11:5; 18:21; Exo 3:7,8; 19:11,18,20; 34:5; Psa 19:8; Isa 64:1), and “you ascended on high” indicates the end of the theophany.

GIFTS FROM MEN: The gifts for men, both received and given (Heb “laqach” is ambiguous) may also ref to the Levites — a gift from God to Israel, and a gift to God from Israel (Num 17:6; 8:9-10; cp 3:5-10).

EVEN FROM THE REBELLIOUS: Also prob alludes to the unconventional Eldad and Medad, who did not join the others before the sanctuary, but stayed in the midst of the common people, and prophesied there. On this, Moses’ level-headed comment was: “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets” (Num 11:29). David doubtless saw the aptness of all this to the occasion when, having brought the Ark to Zion, he was able to organize a full service of praise to God through the “prophesying” of Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest (1Ch 25). Hence the insertion of this v at this point.

THAT YOU, O LORD GOD, MIGHT DWELL THERE: “Dwell” = Heb “shaken”, from whence is derived the “Shekinah” Glory.

(NT) Jesus, who ascended on high after his resurrection, will in due time receive gifts for men (lit, ‘for the man’: ie the one perfect man, his ecclesia: Eph 4:13); and then he will come in blessing to lead his captivity captive (ie save his Israel for a more benign form of bondage), that the Lord God (in the person of His Son) might dwell among them. But, as Paul pointedly argues, the ascension implies that first there be a “descent” into the lower parts — ie, the depths of the earth, or the grave. The first triumph must be preceded by a sharing and fellowship with human weakness — leading, inevitably, to his death.

Psa 68:19

Vv 19,20: The blessings of Christ’s kingdom — esp the last phrase: The “issues (escape, or goings forth: sw vv 6,7) from death” (v 20) ref, of course, to the resurrection to everlasting life!

V 19: (NT) God as the bearer of His people (Isa 46:1-4; 63:9). Specifically, Christ as the burden-bearer of our “sins” (Isa 53:4-6, 8,10-12; 1Pe 2:22-25; Mat 8:17).

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 68:20

ESCAPE FROM DEATH: The “exodus”, or departure, from Egypt, the Land of Death (see Psa 49, eg)!

Psa 68:21

THE HAIRY CROWNS: Identification of the individual referred to is decidedly difficult, and depends a good deal on the dating of this half of the psalm. Is this a Nazarite not truly devoted? The following have been suggested: a. Korah: Num 16:1. b. Uzzah: 2Sa 6:6,7. c. Absalom: 2Sa 14:15,16; 15:7,8; 18:9. d. Rabshakeh, a renegade Jew: Psa 66:7, notes.

(NT) Here is the other side of the coin: judgment for those who have persisted in willful trespass, and hard discipline for those who (as in Psa 2) are unwilling to accept divine authority. See also v 23. Wounding the head (Heb rosh) of his enemies is, obviously, the fulfillment of Gen 3:15 (see also Num 24:17, RSV; 1Sa 17). The hairy scalp recalls the heathen practice of leaving the locks unshorn as a vow: soldiers would not cut their hair until they returned victorious from battle.

Psa 68:22

Ref to the time of David is difficult. But bringing up out of the sea easily recalls the times of Moses and Joshua (Psa 66:6; Isa 63:11 — cp Heb 13:20). And in Hezekiah’s day there was a massive captivity who were almost immed returned to their homeland: Isa 27:13; 35:8,10. Isa 11:11,12,16 had a fulfillment at that time.

(NT) This foreshadows a re-occupying of the Land by Israel, as in Joshua’s day (cp Mic 7:15, RV; Eze 20:33-44), when the authority of Jesus/Joshua is asserted.

Psa 68:23

THAT YOU MAY PLUNGE YOUR FEET IN THE BLOOD OF YOUR FOES: Another allusion in Isa 63 — vv 3,4. Similar graphic figures for exercising dominion in Psa 58:10; 110:5; Isa 63:3,4; Rev 19:13.

WHILE THE TONGUES OF YOUR DOGS HAVE THEIR SHARE: Dog = keleb; cp the military exploits of the Gentile “dog” Caleb himself (Jos 14:6-15). Also, this phrase suggests the fate of Ahab and Jezebel (1Ki 21:19; 22:38; 2Ki 9:26). Consider Eur 3:22, on the fate of the Apocalyptic “Jezebel”.

Psa 68:24

Vv 24,25: David’s bringing the Ark in procession to Zion. Yet something appropriate to these words must have happened also in Hezekiah’s reformation after the cleansing of the temple.

(NT) It was several hundred years after Joshua that David eventually brought the Ark of God in triumph to the mountain He had chosen (v 16). Fulfillment under Jesus will hardly take so long!

Psa 68:25

THE MAIDENS PLAYING TAMBOURINES: Celebrating a triumph over the enemy (eg Exo 15:20,21; 1Sa 18:6).

MAIDENS: The “damsels” (almah) are the “virgins” esp dedicated to the service of the Lord in the tabernacle: cp Jephthah’s daughter in Jdg 11:37; Hannah in Luk 2:36; the spiritual “virgins” in Rev 14:4. Note also Exo 38:8; 1Sa 2:22; Lam 1:4.

Psa 68:26

IN THE ASSEMBLY OF ISRAEL: The NIV assumes an emendation here. But the KJV’s “from the fountain of Israel” is poss an allusion to the life-saving water brought into Jerusalem via Hezekiah’s conduit (cp Psa 46:4n).

Psa 68:27

In this impressive processional v, why the mention of these four tribes specifically, and omission of all the rest?

LITTLE… BENJAMIN… JUDAH: The boundary between these two tribes went right through the middle of Jerusalem (Jos 15:8,63; Deu 33:12).

LITTLE BENJAMIN: (NT) Is this Paul (Phil 3:5)? His name means “the little one”. “Benjamin, the least of them (1Co 15:9!) in the lead” (RSV).

ZEBULUN… NAPHTALI: Prominent in the response to Hezekiah’s appeal to keep Passover at Jerusalem. (This is the primary ref of Isa 9:1.)

(NT) Most of the apostles came from Galilee (Isa 9:1; Mat 4:15,16).

Psa 68:28

“Thy God hath commanded” His angels (v 17; Psa 133:3n; Lev 25:21).

SHOW US YOUR STRENGTH, O GOD, AS YOU HAVE DONE BEFORE: The periods of both David (2Sa 8) and Hezekiah (2Ch 32) were times of exceptional divine deliverances for Israel.

Psa 68:29

Vv 29-32: (NT) In the Kingdom, the great ingathering of the Gentiles: cp Psa 72:10; 45:12; Isa 60:6,7; 45:14. The Temple, and the King, established at Jerusalem: Isa 2:2-4; 24:23; 56:7; Joe 3:17; Zec 8:3; 14:16. The initial fulfillment of “Ethiopia shall… stretch out her hands unto God” is, of course, Act 8:26-39, and what — we may assume — was the immediate and thorough preaching to his countrymen once the eunuch reached home!

BECAUSE OF YOUR TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM: Phrases like this seem to be esp appropriate to Hezekiah’s day: 2Ch 32:23. And so also v 30.

KINGS WILL BRING YOU GIFTS: An indirect way of saying “pay tribute” (1Ki 4:21; 2Ki 17:4; Psa 72:10; etc).

Psa 68:30

THE BEAST AMONG THE REEDS: That is, the crocodile of Egypt (the land of reeds: Isa 19:6; 36:6), and the bull of Assyrian temple reliefs. Both such “wild beasts” were (and would be) rebuked by the Lord!

THE CALVES OF THE NATIONS: With hardly an exception this common word “am” ref to the tribes of Israel. So the calves are Jeroboam’s false “cherubim” which he introduced to wean the people away from loyalty to the temple at Jerusalem (1Ki 12:26-33; 2Ch 13:8).

HUMBLED, MAY IT BRING BARS OF SILVER: These are the tokens of a people who acknowledge themselves to be redeemed by God and glad to be numbered in His family (Exo 30:12,13).

Psa 68:31

ENVOYS WILL COME FROM EGYPT; CUSH…: This did not happen in the time of Moses or of David. But in Hezekiah’s days, yes! (2Ch 32:23; Isa 18:7; 19:23-25; 11:16; Psa 87:4 — a Hezekiah psalm).

The stretching out of hands unto God implies prayer: Psa 28:2; 44:20; 88:9; 134:2; 141:2; 143:6; 1Ki 8:22.

Psa 68:32

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 68:33

The great theophany at Sinai. Hence a “mighty voice”: Exo 24:10; 19:19; see also Psa 29:1,3; 77:18.

Psa 68:34

MAJESTY: “Excellency” (AV). “Gaavah” sig “rising” or “lightning”. The LXX word (megaloprepous) appears in the NT only in 2Pe 1:17 — describing the brightness of the Transfiguration.

Psa 68:35

YOU ARE AWESOME, O GOD, IN YOUR SANCTUARY: This (“holy places” in AV) is an intensive plural ref to the very presence of God, in the one supreme holy place.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. TO THE TUNE OF ‘LILIES’ “: “Shoshannim” (AV) means Lilies, and has been traditionally associated in Israel with the Passover (see Psa 44). Certainly the psalm begins with allusions to the first Passover deliverance. But the Hezekiah deliverance from Assyrian invasion also took place at Passover (Psa 44n). It is, furthermore, entirely poss that the 2nd Coming of the Lord will also occur at Passover. So there is no lack of relevance of this significant subtitle.

Psa 69:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF DAVID”.

See Lesson, Psalms, “Messianic” sin?

CONTEXT: Absalom’s rebellion (many links with 2Sa 15; 16). The LXX adds also a most unusual phrase which prob means: “On behalf of the alienated ones.” Can be read either with ref to the rebels, estranged from their king, or re those who shared David’s plight and all who continued to give him loyalty — even in desperately trying circumstances. The rebellion sprang directly, although after an appreciable lapse of time, from the Bathsheba/Uriah episode: esp vv 5,10,19.

Vv 1-3: (NT) Insights into the psychology of Jesus when faced with cynical skepticism, bitter opposition, and the prospect of intense suffering. These vv (and others in this psalm) do not describe what might be called the Lord’s normal reaction to these situations, but rather the occasional sense of futility and defeat from which even he was not immune. These words, along with vv 14-20, should be applied to Gethsemane. For the close // between David and Christ, see WGos 730-732.

Psa 69:2

I HAVE COME INTO THE DEEP WATERS: Insurmountable adversities (cp Psa 40:2; 18:4,16; 32:6; 42:7; Jon 2:3). Or an eloquent figure for tears (v 3)?

Psa 69:3

David was a very sick man at this time (cp Psa 41:3,8). So not just another expanded metaphor.

MY EYES FAIL: (NT) The verb, in the LXX, sw Luk 22:32: “But I [Jesus] have prayed for you [Peter], that your faith may not fail.” And in v 2 “engulf” is sw (LXX) as in Mat 14:30: “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid: and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me.” In both places, Peter! The disciple was being like his Lord.

LOOKING FOR MY GOD: (NT) So there is not utter hopelessness. But there is the problem of this seeming abandonment, as in Psa 22:1n.

Psa 69:4

THOSE WHO HATE ME WITHOUT REASON: True of all but a handful of the rebels. They were his enemies wrongfully.

(NT) This is quoted in Joh 15:25: it is the perfect conclusion to a very somber warning (Joh 15:18-25) by the Lord Jesus to his disciples that they would inherit the hatred and persecution which had followed him. The repeated emphasis in these eight vv must have been a shock to the disciples, turned to more intense reality when within an hour or two they all forsook him and fled.

OUTNUMBER THE HAIRS OF MY HEAD: Describes the rapid and numerous growth of the rebellion: 2Sa 15:12,13. An indirect allusion to Absalom himself, with his seemingly narcissistic regard for his hair (2Sa 14:26)?

MANY ARE MY ENEMIES: David had allowed them to become mighty, by acting the part of a doting father and treating the young Absalom far too lightly, and by giving Ahithophel high honor and nearly as much power as the king himself.

WITHOUT CAUSE: (NT) Lit true of Christ, the one against whom no cause could be rightly brought: Joh 8:46; 4:34; 14:30; 15:10; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1Pe 2:22; 2Co 5:21.

THOSE WHO SEEK TO DESTROY ME: (NT) This intention began with Herod the Great in Mat 2:13, and it intensified in the persons of Christ’s numerous enemies throughout his ministry.

I AM FORCED TO RESTORE WHAT I DID NOT STEAL: An allusion to the sending back of the ark at the time of David’s flight from Jerusalem (2Sa 15:24,27)?

(NT) Fellowship with God was lost by the first Adam, but restored by the last Adam: “the just for the unjust” (1Pe 3:18). The LXX uses sw as in Phi 2:6, where four separate phrases allude to Adam. On a moral level, this is the foundation for Christ’s teachings — ie Mat 5:40,41.

Psa 69:5

MY FOLLY… MY GUILT: David, and all the nation also, saw all these afflictions as a direct retribution for his own sins, esp re Bathsheba and Uriah. Certainly, then, these sins were not hidden from God. The words for “guilt” (asham) links with the word for trespass-offering (Lev 5:2-6, etc), and implies the usurping of the rights of others. The Greek for “transgressions” in the LXX implies notes out of tune — an apt figure for a musician like David to use about his own faults.

(NT) Christ had neither folly nor sins, in the ordinary sense, although “folly” may sig the basic perversity of all human nature — to which he was heir along with the rest of us. So this v could be read as meaning that his enemies attributed foolishness and sins to him. But this explanation will hardly hold in Psa 38:4,5; 40:12; 41:4; and Mic 7:9. The better explanation is to see such passages as ref to the “sin” of Christ’s nature (Psa 6; 38; 40:12n; Psa 41; 51). The LXX for sins means “sounding wrong notes, being out of tune”. This might be applied to the ministry of Jesus, at least as it was perceived by the leaders of the nation: for them, certainly, Jesus was “out of tune”! (See Lesson, Psalms, “Messianic” sin?)

Psa 69:6

THOSE WHO HOPE IN YOU… THOSE WHO SEEK YOU: David’s godly friends and faithful bodyguard, many of whom were converts to the faith of Israel from pagan origins (2Sa 15:15-21). Hence the allusion to the Lord God of hosts or armies (Heb “tzvaoth”, translated “Almighty”). In the inevitable struggle David would surely need the hosts of the Lord on his side. He was concerned lest those who maintained loyalty to the Lord’s anointed be engulfed in his ruin. He could have added that the honor of God Himself was being involved (2Sa 12:14).

Psa 69:7

FOR I ENDURE SCORN FOR YOUR SAKE: Cp Jer 15:15. Here is the converse of v 6, which is also true. Was David’s great zeal for God one of the reasons Ahithophel set himself against him (v 9; Psa 55:13,14)? The LXX for “endure scorn” is almost identical with Heb 13:13, where “go forth unto him” echoes the action of the faithful Zadok and Abiathar. Also in Heb, “without the camp” hints at (1) Absalom’s undermining work outside the gate of the city (2Sa 15:2; cp v 12 here), and (2) Mahanaim (lit, “the two camps”), where David fled (2Sa 17:27).

FOR YOUR SAKE: (NT) See Act 5:41.

SHAME COVERS MY FACE: Alludes to 2Sa 15:30, when “David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered.” Was this done because of the leprosy that afflicted David at this time (cp Lev 13:45)?

Psa 69:8

A STRANGER TO MY BROTHERS: So David was ostracized because of his evil disease, or for the reason in v 9a (cp Psa 31:11). Note how v 9 begins with “For”. Thus v 8 could also ref to the failure of the tribe of Judah to support him against the rebels (2Sa 19:14,42).

(NT) (1) The failure of Christ’s own brethren in the flesh to support him: Mar 3:21,31,32; Mat 4:13; 10:36; Joh 7:3-5; Deu 33:9. (2) Differently, and more generally, the rejection of Christ by the whole nation of his fellow-Jews: Joh 1:11; 8:48; 9:29; 18:40; 19:15; Isa 53:3; Luk 4:23,24,28,29.

MY MOTHER’S CHILDREN: (NT) A remarkable — and indirect — hint of the virgin birth of Jesus: for he could not call his brethren his Father’s children. And a useful detail to counter Catholic insistence on the perpetual virginity of Mary: the men named in Mat 13:55, and the women alluded to in v 56, were not just foster-brothers and sisters of the Lord — they were his true half-brothers and sisters!

Psa 69:9

ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE CONSUMES ME: Language of the burnt offering, wholly consumed on the altar. David was wholly involved with the honor of God and the intensive preparations for His temple (1Ch 28:11-19), and was undoubtedly concerned that this rebellion would deal that project a serious setback. (For the same figure of speech in general, cp Jer 20:9 — a fire in the bones!)

(NT) An apt prophecy of how the Lord’s ministry began — in the enthusiastic cleansing of his Father’s house (Joh 2:11,17). The “for”, linking with v 8, suggests that this was the reason (or one of the reasons) for Jesus’ early alienation from his family. “Consumes me” suggests a burnt offering (Lev 1:9).

“Stick with it! Whatever it is that you want to do, stick with it! Don’t just drift, and flutter, and complain. Discipline yourself to keep your mind and effort on the job in hand. That’s the only way that anything has ever been accomplished. For this, you must have incentive: powerful driving incentive. The slave’s incentive is the task master’s lash. It keeps him very attentive to what he is doing. Natural incentives range from terror of that which is bad to strong desire for that which is pleasant and desirable. Our incentive must rise higher than this. Our driving incentive, like a fire in our bones, must be intense love of and zeal for God, developed by long study and meditation upon His glorious Word and works” (GVG).

The words (quoted in Joh 2:17) point to a burnt-offering, the fire of God consuming (and destroying) the sacrifice utterly. Not, of course, these animal sacrifices, but this one all-sufficient offering (Psa 69:31). So the sacrificial animals were driven out of the temple by a Jesus ablaze with a mighty indignation against hypocrites who had turned holy worship into cold formality and base gain.

The leaders of the nation could never forgive Jesus for this first public act of his ministry. From that day on, his own violent death was inevitable. The Passover lamb was to be “roasted with fire, his head with his legs” (Exo 12:9). At this first Passover of his ministry, this Passover lamb, consumed with burning indignation on his Father’s behalf, prepared the way for the last Passover, three years later.

THE INSULTS OF THOSE WHO INSULT YOU FALL ON ME: Of which Shimei was prob but one outstanding example (2Sa 16:5-13).

(NT) Cp Psa 109:25. Offending God, they now turn upon His Son likewise. So also in Rom 15:1-7, where the context emphasizes that those who are hostile to Christ will gladly turn against his disciples also. But also, here, those that are an offence to God are an offence to His Son also. Note the lesson of Mat 25:40,45.

“Reproach is a bitter thing to bear, but when suffered for the name of Christ, it has promise of great sweetness for the day that is even now at the door” (RR). In the context of the psalm, behavior which was essentially a reproach against God, or an offence to Him, had the same effect on David and on Christ. As with v 4 (= Joh 15:25), what was valid for the Master is valid also for disciples — certainly this attitude to fellow-disciples, even when the way of life they follow is not such as to command approval. This is the carryover of the context from Rom 14. This principle applies both ways: Those who took lightly their loyalty to God also took lightly their loyalty to His king; and those whose lack of spirituality was offensive in God’s sight, were also a provocation to His Son. How often he must have muzzled his indignation. And so also it must be in the life of sincere disciples: many things which they observe in their fellow-believers which are unpleasing to God, must (contrary to all human nature) be borne patiently for fellowship’s sake.

Psa 69:10

WHEN I WEEP AND FAST: Sneers at David’s intense repentance for his sins; and sneers at his joy in the Lord also (2Sa 6:20). “The fast of my soul” seems to allude to a recent Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29).

WHEN I WEEP: (NT) The tears of Christ in the Psalms: Psa 6:6; 39:12; 42:3; 56:8; 116:8. When he wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (Joh 11:35,36), or over the inevitable fate of the city which he loved (Luk 19:41), they laughed at Christ for it. Were there other occasions?

AND FAST: Mat 17:21. The Day of Atonement (Lev 16:31)?

Psa 69:11

WHEN I PUT On SACKCLOTH: David certainly had faults, but he was nonetheless a man without pride. Yet instead of imitation, there was only mockery from his observers.

PEOPLE MAKE SPORT OF ME: As his sin had been a cause for sarcasm and taunts, and even blasphemy — so also men made jokes about his repentance and the sincerity thereof.

(NT) See Luk 4:23; 23:35. Also, Deu 28:37; Jer 24:9; Psa 44:14.

Psa 69:12

THOSE WHO SIT AT THE GATE: Absalom (2Sa 15:2). The gate — like the market-place — was the scene of assembly, where people (often influential people) decided important matters in a public forum: Gen 23:10; 34:20; 1Sa 4:18; Job 29:7; Psa 127:5; Pro 1:21; etc.

(NT) “In the temple, in Solomon’s porch” (Joh 10:23). Cp Peter’s experience at the “gate” of the high priest’s house (Joh 18:15-18,25-27).

THE SONG OF THE DRUNKARDS: The “low life” of the city, boozily singing David’s temple psalms in a ribald and demeaning manner.

(NT) This v takes in the highest (Psa 102:8) and the lowest in the Land: the rulers and the scum of the city. What a picture — the elite of the palaces plotting his eminent demise, and the men of the taverns singing bawdy songs about him! Ct Luk 2:13,18, where mighty angels and lowly shepherds worship him. Isa 28:9 continues the idea with ref to the disciples. (Note how vv 10-12 here add details in the Psalmist’s Life of Christ, in addition to what the gospels record.)

Psa 69:13

I PRAY TO YOU, O LORD, IN THE TIME OF YOUR FAVOR: This word (“favor” = Heb “ratzon”) sometimes describes an acceptable sacrifice; another allusion to the Day of Atonement? See v 10; cp. 2Sa 17:27-29, with its hints of harvest-time and the Feast of Tabernacles.

YOUR GREAT LOVE: Common ref to God’s covenants of promise. The way events were going against David, how could 2Sa 7:12-16 ever be fulfilled? That promise evidently remained the anchor of the king’s faith, no matter what trials he found himself in.

Psa 69:14

Vv 14-20: (NT) This is Gethsemane: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Mat 26:39,42; Mar 14:36; Luk 22:42).

Psa 69:16

TURN TO ME: Implies a consciousness that God’s face was turned away: cp vv 17a,18a. Of all David’s hardships at this time, this was certainly the worst.

Psa 69:17

FACE (of God): In Psalms, always ref God’s presence in ark/tabernacle/temple: see VL, Psalms, God’s face.

Psa 69:18

REDEEM: The Heb “ga’al” implies a near kinsman. The true Redeemer must be near kin to David and to God, the other party to the reconciliation!

(NT) Notice Psa 110:1 and the use Jesus makes of it in the NT: the Messiah would be, at one time, both Son of David and Son of God! How could David know that the promised Redeemer would need to have the Almighty as a Goel, a near-kinsman, to redeem him? This is what the language implies.

Psa 69:19

SCORNED, DISGRACED AND SHAMED: (NT) A terrible trio of words. “Of all forms of death devised by perverted humanity, crucifixion is outstanding in its shamefulness. Socrates drank hemlock with dignity. King Charles I was kingly even as he laid his head on the block. Many an aristo[crat] was able to meet ‘Madame Guillotine’ with customary imperturbability and elegance. But the long lingering humiliation of crucifixion has no parallel” (WGos 720). Cp also Isa 50:6; Heb 6:6; 12:2.

ALL MY ENEMIES ARE BEFORE YOU: God could read their souls even as He knew David’s so intimately. Or, more explicitly, this is an allusion to 2Sa 15:2,12 — the rebels going through the motions of keeping a feast to the Lord.

(NT) Not only in the sense that God knew all about them, but also in the more specific sense that they were priests ministering at Passover in the sanctuary of the Lord!

Psa 69:20

SCORN HAS BROKEN MY HEART: In the Bible “heart” does not describe the emotions, but the mind and the will. This suggests, therefore, that David at this time lacked all spirit of resistance (2Sa 15:14; 16:11).

I LOOKED FOR SYMPATHY… FOR COMFORTERS, BUT I FOUND NONE: He had men who were loyal, but not a comforting optimist among them! David now saw “dark gray” as “black”!

Psa 69:21

Being a sick man, he has no appetite at all for his food and drink; and he sees this as symbolic of how the rebels have turned all the pleasures of life into bitterness.

GALL IN MY FOOD: “Gall for my meat” (AV). “Gall” = rosh (cp Psa 68:21?), lit, “head”, ie of the poppy, a stupefying and even poisonous narcotic (Deu 29:18; Hos 10:4). Figuratively, it stands for anything that is extremely bitter — the sting of a serpent, for example (sw in Deu 32:32,33; Job 20:16). The Talmud says that a group of kind women sought to fulfill Pro 31:6 by providing doped drink to men being crucified. Such a drink was offered to Jesus, but, having tasted it, he refused to drink (Mat 27:34). Why? (a) In Gethsemane he had learned afresh that the “cup” of suffering on behalf of others must not be avoided — and so the cup that would blot out the pain must be declined; (b) Jer 23:15 says that God would appoint gall and wormwood for false prophets. Eagle eyes watched to see if Jesus drank the gall (poppy) drink, and had he done so his enemies would have been quick to proclaim this Jesus of Nazareth a false prophet, so designated by God!

VINEGAR FOR MY THIRST: This Jesus does drink (Joh 19:29), because it was not narcotic. Thus, this v 21 is not a true //: these are two very different drinks. In its fulfillment this v covers the beginning and the end of the crucifixion.

Psa 69:22

Vv 22-28: It is true that most of these imprecations can be read as futures, declarations of what will happen: “Their table will become a snare… their eyes will be darkened…”; but this does not affect the emphatic imperatives in vv 24a, 27a, or the problem of similar passages in other psalms.

MAY THE TABLE SET BEFORE THEM BECOME A SNARE: Their table is either the altar at which they worship (Mal 1:7,8,12; Eze 44:16; 23:41), or their festive meal at Passover or Tabernacles. The word for “retribution” (“welfare”: AV) suggests peace offerings (their holy meal). A man’s table is usually his “sanctuary”, the safest and most comfortable place he knows. But, in this case, David prays that the place (and the situation) of his enemies where they naturally feel the most protected will prove treacherous to them.

(NT) Now means both altar and Passover meal table, for the two were closely related. Is it coincidence that the AD 70 siege of Jerusalem began at Passover? For the last phrase, RSV mg has: “Let their security (ie that in which they trust) be a trap.” Their sacrificial system had now lost its effectiveness (vv 30,31). It trapped them now in an old way that could not give life. All this sounds a stern warning for believers today: For us, the “table” of the Lord can become a “snare” also, if we are lulled into thinking that mere attendance at, and participation in, the memorial feast is sufficient. So Paul warns, “Let a man examine himself, and so (and only so) let him eat” (1Co 11:28,29).

V 22 is quoted in Rom 11:9,10: Paul’s application of the psalm’s imprecations is more extreme than would be expected. Here he does not comment on the aggressive hostility of Judaists to faith in Jesus, but rather on “the spirit of slumber” — the sheer lack of spiritual perception — afflicting the nation of Israel. The consequence is the same as in David’s time — sin meets with corresponding retribution: they are given a spirit of slumber, and their “table” (their altar) becomes “a snare and a trap”. Instead of leading them to Christ, the altar and the sacrifices thereon become a hindrance and even a fatal obsession and delusion — and thus those very sacrifices led them further and further away from the One to whom they pointed.

Psa 69:23

Poss David is, in effect, saying: ‘Bring upon them the kind of afflictions which Thou hast brought upon me so deservedly.’

MAY THEIR EYES BE DARKENED: The covering of the head (ie 2Sa 15:30). (NT) Mat 13:13-15; Joh 12:39,40. The judgment of Isa 6:9,10 on a stubborn and rebellious nation.

“Make their loins continually to shake” (AV). This has been true of Israel during the time when “cast off” by God: cp Jer 30:6.

Psa 69:24

POUR OUT YOUR WRATH: (NT) Psa 79:6; Isa 42:25; Jer 10:25; Lam 2:4; 4:11; Eze 7:8; 9:8; Hos 5:10; Zep 3:8. But one day this will be matched by a different sort of outpouring: ie of the Spirit of grace (Zec 12:10) and of cleansing (Zec 13:1).

LET YOUR FIERCE ANGER OVERTAKE THEM: (NT) An anger already foretold (sw Deu 28:15,45).

Psa 69:25

MAY THEIR PLACE BE DESERTED: (NT) Cp the “desolation” of Dan 9:27. Jesus alluded to this place in Mat 23:38 — “Your house is left unto you desolate” — soon after his 2nd cleansing of the temple (v 9 here). (Note the eloquent and sarcastic “your” — not “my” or “our” — of this verse; and cp it with the two-fold “their” of Psa 69:25!) Christ’s invective in the Olivet prophecy matches the imprecations here. So Israel lost its “place” (the Temple) and its “tents” (the scattered synagogues)!

Peter changed the pronoun to “his”, and applied the words (along with Psa 109:8) to Judas (Act 1:20) — as prototype of those bringing about the condemnation of Jesus. If these words apply esp to Judas, they imply that he had ambitions about his own material prosperity, since habitation = palace!

LET THERE BE NO ONE TO DWELL IN THEIR TENTS: The time of the Feast of Tabernacles (cp 2Sa 16:22).

(NT) The emphasis here is on “dwell”, with security or permanence. This describes, not Judas, but the awful insecurity of cast-off Israel over the long centuries.

Psa 69:27

“Add iniquity unto their iniquity” (AV). Heb “avon” = ‘punishment for iniquity’ (see AV mg). This suggests: ‘Add deserved punishment to their iniquity’, a reading which makes more sense. The punishment duly happened (2Sa 18:14,15). Yet David could hardly have meant these imprecations (and v 28) for his own son, but rather for evil men like Ahithophel and Shimei who sought to make use of his ambition and folly. “Add iniquity to their iniquity” (AV) is either immoral or meaningless. But adding corresponding punishment to their iniquity makes perfect sense. “His blood be upon us, and on our children” (Matt 27:25).

Psa 69:28

MAY THEY BE BLOTTED OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE: (NT) Moses’ prayer (Exo 32:32) means, in effect: ‘If You blot them out of thy book (because of apostasy), then blot me out of it also.’ This v looks back to that incident but reverses the prayer: ‘Blot them out — they are utterly unworthy.’ Rev 3:5 clearly has both passages in mind. Note there the ct with Exo 32:25: Aaron (representing the Law) exposed their nakedness, or sin. Moses (representing the Saviour) sought their forgiveness. Luk 10:20 is another, less obvious, allusion to this v. For the Lord’s “book” in general, see Psa 56:8r.

Psa 69:30

Vv 30-36: This paragraph presents the fewest difficulties when read as an appendage to the psalm added in the time of Hezekiah (cp Psa 68:28-35; 51:18,19; 20:7-9). At v 30 there is a perceptible change in both style and subject. The direct address to God (as in v 29 and earlier) is now abandoned.

V 30: Hezekiah’s gladness at being able to worship in the temple after recovery from his leprosy (Isa 38:20).

SONG: Heb “shir”; play on “ox” (v 31) (Heb “showr”). “In the wordplay the psalmist illustrates the interchangeability of the sacrificial animal [v 31] and the offering of s song of thanks. Small wonder that the language of cultic activity is carried over to the offering of prayers and songs, in order to explain their function” (Seybold).

Psa 69:31

MORE THAN AN OX, MORE THAN A BULL: (NT) No comparison can be made between this sacrifice of the Lamb of God and all the temple sacrifices ever offered (Heb 9:11-14; 10:1-14). This is reality; they were all nothing but elaborate “shadows”. Cp also Rom 12:1. // Psa 50:13,14; 51:15-17; 141:2; 40:6-10.

A BULL WITH ITS HORNS AND HOOFS: A whole burnt offering: cp Exo 12:9.

Psa 69:32

YOU WHO SEEK GOD: By going to Jerusalem for Passover, where they found safety in the only city not captured by the Assyrians.

Psa 69:33

THE LORD HEARS THE NEEDY: The ready response of God to Hezekiah’s prayers, first for his own health (Isa 38:2-19), and then for deliverance from the Assyrian invaders (Isa 37:15-20).

AND DOES NOT DESPISE HIS CAPTIVE PEOPLE: (1) The righteous king Hezekiah shut up because of his evil disease; (2) The people besieged in Jerusalem; and (3) The 200,150 captives (according to the Taylor Prism) taken by Sennacherib (Mic 4:10; Psa 79:11; Psa 137; Isa 5:13; 6:12; Amo 9:9,11).

Psa 69:34

HEAVEN… EARTH… SEAS: (1) The destroying angel (Isa 37:36); (2) The Land saved from the invader; and (3) The surrounding nations who first helped the Assyrians and then humbly marveled at the might of God (2Ch 32:23).

Psa 69:35

FOR GOD WILL SAVE ZION: V 32n. The mighty deliverance of Isa 37:36.

AND REBUILD THE CITIES OF JUDAH: Sennacherib destroyed 46 of the “fenced cities” of Judah (2Ki 18:13; Taylor prism). After this, there would naturally be an era of busy rebuilding — this seems to have occurred in the astonishing year of Jubilee described by Isaiah in Isa 61:4,5. Every detail of this v is appropriate to Hezekiah’s time, and inappropriate to the time of Absalom’s rebellion — when Zion was taken over intact by rebels, and no cities needed to be rebuilt.

Psa 69:36

THE CHILDREN OF HIS SERVANTS: Hezekiah had no son until two to three years after his recovery and the Assyrian overthrow (cp 2Ki 20:6 with 2Ki 21:1).

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC.”

Psa 54:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A MASKIL OF DAVID. WHEN THE ZIPHITES HAD GONE TO SAUL AND SAID, ‘IS NOT DAVID HIDING AMONG US?’.” See Lesson, Psalms, “Maschil”. Keilah (1Sa 23) and the Ziphites (1Sa 26) were in the same barren wilderness east of Hebron, called Ziph (Jos 15:55; 1Sa 23:14,15,19; 26:1,2).

Background: 1Sa 23: David saved Keilah (men of his own tribe) from the Philistines, but then found himself, with his men, in a walled town. To Saul this was a splendid opportunity to capture or kill David — it was so much easier than hunting him in the open wilderness. And the men of Keilah, mindful of what had happened at Nob (1Sa 22:18,19), were disposed to seek Saul’s friendship by betraying David to him (1Sa 23:7). Divine counsel by Urim and Thummim saved the situation (vv 9-12). David had no desire to be encircled, because the last thing he wanted was to have to fight against “the Lord’s anointed”. And so (directed by divine counsel?) he cleared out. What helps to explain the attitude of the men of Keilah is the fact that they were Calebites, as also were the men of Ziph (1Ch 4:16,19). Their disreputable link with Nabal (see 1Sa 25) evidently counted for more than their honorable descent from the courageous and faithful Caleb. The men of Ziph likewise attempted a betrayal (1Sa 23:19); had it not been for the providence of God (1Sa 23:27) they would have succeeded.

BY YOUR MIGHT: Undoubtedly included the encouragement offered by the beloved Jonathan, during this great trial (1Sa 23:16-18).

Psa 54:2

HEAR MY PRAYER: (NT) Jesus in Gethsemane?

Psa 54:3

STRANGERS ARE ATTACKING ME: Men of David’s own tribe behaving as “strangers”! (For this word sarim some mss substitute zedim, “proud ones”, which requires the change of only one letter in the Heb. Thus the RSV and NEB: “insolent men”. This change is suggested by Psa 86:14, but seems unnecessary — since “strangers” yields a very reasonable meaning.)

(NT) Both Gentiles and Jewish men of power were glad to collaborate against the Son of God. A common theme in the Psalms: see notes, Psa 2 — pointing forward to Act 4:25-28.

RUTHLESS MEN SEEK MY LIFE: Saul and his retainers, men like Doeg.

MEN WITHOUT REGARD FOR GOD: The words clearly imply that as men of Israel they should have done so. This, above all else, was the great flaw in Saul’s character. “The fool hath said in his heart [not in so many words], There is no God” (Psa 53:1). Saul had become a practical, if not a professing, “atheist”! He even uses the names of God (1Sa 23:7,21), but such speech is empty and meaningless. On Saul’s lips, Holy Names are dry and lifeless and even contemptible.

(NT) A biting indictment of men who were the chief priests! Yet it is totally, devastatingly accurate.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 54:4

SURELY GOD IS MY HELP: The open sign of this was the presence of high priest Abiathar with the ephod (1Sa 23:9-12,14,16).

THE LORD IS THE ONE WHO SUSTAINS ME: “The LORD is with them that uphold my soul” (AV). David’s 600 fellow-outlaws (1Sa 23:13), as well as Jonathan (vv 16-18) and Abiathar the son of Ahimelech (v 6).

(NT) The disciples who “continued with me in my temptations” (Luk 22:28).

Psa 54:5

LET EVIL RECOIL ON THOSE WHO SLANDER ME: David knew that this had been pronounced through Samuel: 1Sa 15:28,29. But he knew also, and he always showed by his own actions, that to God alone belonged vengeance (1Sa 24:6,12; 26:8-11,18,19,23,24; Deu 32:35; Rom 12:19).

IN YOUR FAITHFULNESS DESTROY THEM: “Cut them off in thy truth” (AV). The word commonly refers to God’s covenants of promise, as already implied in 1Sa 16:13.

Psa 54:6

I WILL SACRIFICE A FREEWILL OFFERING TO YOU: Is it poss, also, that — having Abiathar with him — David offered sacrifice at a makeshift altar in the wilderness? For a “freewill offering” see Exo 25:2; 35:29; Lev 7:11-18; Num 15:1-10 — as distinguished from an offering which one is bound to pay, as by law.

(NT) One offering of limitless benefit, which opened the way for God’s “free” gift of righteousness by grace (Rom 3:24; 5:18,21; 6:23).

Psa 54:7

This v was prob added, very fittingly, in later days when David became king in Jerusalem, and when he appointed this Psa for worship at the sanctuary there.

FOR HE HAS DELIVERED ME FROM ALL MY TROUBLES: True in a limited sense of David. But completely and utterly true of Jesus.

MY EYES HAVE LOOKED IN TRIUMPH ON MY FOES: “Mine eyes hath seen (‘his desire’ is in italics!) upon mine enemies.” Jesus the Judge, not Jesus the Avenger. ‘I have looked upon my enemies.’ Not so much in triumph as in solemn resignation: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them (cp v 14), bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luk 19:27).

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS”: “Neginoth” (Psa 3, 5, 53, 54, 60 — “Neginah”, singular, Psa 66, 75; Hab 3:19; Isa 38:20). “Neginoth” sig “to strike”, as upon a musical instrument, or in affliction. Trials of affliction are for the development of godly character; so saints sing in the Philippian jail.

Psa 55:1

CONTEXT: When and where did David write this psalm? Maybe the first 8 vv were written in Jerusalem, while the conspiracy of Absalom was seething toward its boiling point. Vv 9-21, in flight or in exile. And the last two vv when he was brought back, as he reflected on the deliverance wrought by God.

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A MASKIL OF DAVID.” See Lesson, Psalms, “Maschil”.

Psa 55:2

Cp the figure of a mourning dove in Nah 2:7. “The reference is to the turtle-dove… Their low, sad plaint may be heard all day long at certain seasons in the olive-groves” (LB 269).

(NT) “Strong crying and tears” (Heb 5:7). The very words of the LXX are used in Joh 13:21 (“Jesus… was troubled in spirit”) and Mat 26:37 (Jesus “began to be sorrowful and very heavy”).

Psa 55:3

THEY BRING DOWN SUFFERING UPON ME AND REVILE ME IN THEIR ANGER: Shimei: 2Sa 16:7,8,13.

Psa 55:4

The extreme form of this language (and v 5) suggests a sick man unable to cope with a bad situation. It was because of David’s sore illness that Absalom was able to gain a foothold in the affections of the people (2Sa 15:1-7). Note David’s weeping: 2Sa 15:30, and see Psa 41 notes. “The atmosphere of the palace is heavy with foreboding” (NPH).

Psa 55:5

(NT) Jesus in Gethsemane.

Psa 55:6

There is no inclination to stand and fight, but only to get away, at almost any cost (vv 7,8). This answers well to David’s attitude at the time of Absalom’s rebellion.

(NT) Vv 6,7: Do these verses express a longing in Christ that the Holy Spirit would guide him away from existing stress and strain to a life of quiet reflection? The nearest approach to this would be the last times spent at Bethany (Mat 21:17) or the all-too-brief moments on the mount of Olives (Luk 21:37).

I WOULD FLY AWAY AND BE AT REST: As Elijah did (1Ki 19:3-9), and as Jeremiah longed to do (Jer 9:2).

Psa 55:7

The first object of David’s flight was to get away from the city, and into open country: 2Sa 15:17 (“far away” = mer’chov), 2Sa 15:28; 17:16.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 55:8

(NT) This happened to the disciples, more than once, through the prayers and presence of their Master: (1) Mat 8:23-27; Mar 4:36-41; Luk 8:22-25; and (2) Mat 14:22-33; Mar 6:45-56; Joh 6:15-21.

I WOULD HURRY: See 2Sa 15:14. There is almost a suggestion of panic about David’s words in this phase of the flight.

Psa 55:9

CONFOUND THEIR SPEECH: As at Babel (sw Gen 10:25; 11:7). Cp the Jewish scattering to all nations. This is precisely what happened. Counsels were divided. Hushai, surely inspired on this occasion, won the battle of wits: 2Sa 17:1-14.

(NT) But in the condemnation of Jesus this did not happen. Instead, Sanhedrin and Herod and Caiaphas and at last Pilate — all the leaders — were unanimous against him (Mic 7:3). Yet even then, the specially instructed witnesses (Psa 35:11) could not agree together (Mar 14:56).

VIOLENCE AND STRIFE IN THE CITY: Cp v 10b. Here is an added detail about the revolution. It is just what was likely to happen.

(NT) Violence and strife in the city suggests the possibility of riots in Jerusalem because of Jesus.

Psa 55:11

Justice and good administration become the first casualties in a civil war.

Psa 55:13

Every phrase here is appropriate to Ahithophel, David’s chief counselor: 2Sa 15:12,31; 16:23; 17:1-3. See Psa 41:9 also.

(NT) Cp Mar 14:10, where Judas is called “the one of the twelve”. Was he so called because he was the traitor? Or because he was the one of truly outstanding ability and promise?

A MAN LIKE MYSELF: Heb enosh might imply a man who had been promoted from a much inferior social level, to talk with the king on level terms. (NT) LXX has the sw in Phi 2:20.

MY COMPANION: “My guide” (AV). Ct 2Sa 17:1-3. (NT) See the ironic way in which Peter used the same word about Judas, “guide” to the Lord’s enemies, who came to arrest him (Act 1:16)!

MY CLOSE FRIEND: “Mine acquaintance” (AV). This is not a strong enough term. Rather, “one who knew me intimately”. Yet did David not reflect that he was being treated by Ahithophel precisely as he had dealt with Uriah — one of his staunchest friends (2Sa 23:39)? USC 157-161 gives the reason for the linking together of these two seemingly disparate events: Bathsheba was almost certainly Uriah’s granddaughter!

(NT) Cp “Friend” in Mat 26:50.

Psa 55:14

WE WALKED… AT THE HOUSE OF GOD: “We walked unto the house of God in company” (AV). Cp Psa 42:4. Was it David’s intense religious enthusiasm which set worldly-wise Ahithophel against him? Keeping up appearances would be a considerable strain on the man. “In company” = homonoia in LXX, sig complete unanimity! (“Ahithophel” may mean “brother of prayer” or “brother of folly”!)

Psa 55:15

What a ct with the preceding verse!

LET DEATH TAKE MY ENEMIES BY SURPRISE: “Let death seize on them” (AV). Ahithophel committed suicide (2Sa 17:23), and Absalom was stabbed to death, cast into a pit, and buried under a heap of stones (2Sa 18:14,17).

LET THEM GO DOWN ALIVE TO THE GRAVE: This is a direct allusion to the end of Korah and his fellow-rebels (Num 16:30-33). Cp also v 9: Swallow up (RV mg) — another allusion to the same incident. See Pro 29:1.

Psa 55:16

Cp 2Sa 15:31.

Psa 55:17

EVENING, MORNING AND NOON: Like Daniel prayed (Dan 6:10). The Law of Moses said: Evening and morning (cp Exo 30:7,8: the daily offerings). In Psa 119:164, seven times in a day.

EVENING: Gethsemane: “Let this cup pass from me.”

MORNING: “Father, forgive them: they know not what they do.”

NOON: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” etc.

Psa 55:18

MANY OPPOSE ME: “Many with me” (AV). In conflict with me (cp Psa 56:2)? Or, many on my side? If the latter, cp 2Ki 6:16,17 and esp Mat 26:53.

Psa 55:19

See Lesson, Selah.

MEN WHO NEVER CHANGE THEIR WAYS: “Because they have no changes” (AV). That is, no changes of mind, no reformation, no repentance — as the complacent Moab in Jer 48:11. This expresses the same mentality as 2 Pet 3:4-6: ‘God shows us no open miracle, therefore He is a God who does not interfere.’ The modern mentality exactly!

Psa 55:21

An admirable description of the deceitful scheming of both Ahithophel and Absalom (2Sa 15:5,6). Cp the lips of the strange woman in Pro 5:3,4.

Psa 55:22

“Cast on the Lord that which He hath given thee.” Jesus himself did this: Joh 17:11; Psa 22:10; 37:5. 1Pe 5:7 quotes the LXX, as a sequel to “Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand.” Read with the emphasis, we have: ‘And he shall sustain (keep in, measure, support, maintain) YOU, as well as your burden.’

CARES: “Burden” (AV). Notice that “burden” here (Heb “yahab”) is “gift” in the mg: The “gift” of God to us is a life of cares and burdens, so that we might learn to trust in Him alone (v 23)! “Come unto me, all ye who (are)… heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28,29).

“Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place to do for Him that which He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy He will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in intruding upon His province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God’s hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counselor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the ‘broken cistern’ instead of to the ‘fountain;’ a sin which was laid against Israel of old (Jer 2:32). Anxiety makes us doubt God’s lovingkindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon Him, and are ‘careful for nothing’ because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him, and strengthen us against much temptation. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee’ ” (GVG).

Psa 55:23

THE PIT OF CORRUPTION; BLOODTHIRSTY AND DECEITFUL MEN WILL NOT LIVE OUT HALF THEIR DAYS: Almost lit true of Absalom, cast into a pit (2Sa 18:17), his life cut off in his prime. Did David know that he was pronouncing the doom of his own son whom he so much idolized?

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. TO THE TUNE OF ‘A DOVE ON DISTANT OAKS'”: “Jonah-elem-rechokim” (AV). It is the “elem” to which some uncertainty attaches, for there is only one parallel passage (Isa 1:29). The LXX, as an alternative, translated “elem” as “gods”. Accepting the common translations, in lieu of any reasonable alternative, there is reinforcement from a number of details in the psalm: v 2: “I mourn” — ie like a dove; v 6: “wings like a dove”; v 7: “far off” = Heb “rechok”.

Psa 56:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF DAVID. A MIKTAM. WHEN THE PHILISTINES HAD SEIZED HIM IN GATH”. “Michtam” sig “to cut, engrave (Jer 2:22), or write (Exo 17:14)”, and hence to remember. The 6 “michtam” psalms are thus “memorial” psalms, of a very personal nature, having the hope of resurrection as a common theme (Psa 16:10,11; 56:13; 57:3; 58:10,11; 59:16; 60:5,12).

MEN HOTLY PURSUE ME… THEY PRESS THEIR ATTACK: Saul’s hunt for David at this time must have been much more intense than the history suggests. The fact that he thrust himself into such a hostile environment as the Philistine court of Goliath’s hometown (1Sa 21:12) tells a story of low morale verging on panic (see also in Psa 34). From the moment of his arrival at the court of Achish, David was subject to suspicion and incessant scrutiny (v 2).

(NT) Times in the experiences of Jesus when human weakness in the face of fierce opposition, and danger from implacable enemies, had an intensely depressing effect on his spirit. It was crucial to the divine purpose that Jesus was “tempted in all points like as we are” (Heb 4:15).

PURSUE: As in Psa 57:3. “Shaaph” sig to pant, desire, or thirst for blood — as a wild beast of prey (Job 5:5; Isa 42:14; Amo 2:7). The cognate verb “shuph”, however, may sig to bruise or crush with the foot (as in the well-known Gen 3:15). Hence the LXX and RSV have “trample on”.

Psa 56:2

PURSUE: As in v 1n; Psa 57:3.

IN THEIR PRIDE: AV has “O thou most High”. From Heb “marom”. Not the usual title (ie Elyon), thus suggesting slight emendation: “Appear on high”, or “proudly” (RV, RSV).

Psa 56:3

AFRAID… TRUST: At Gath, David betrayed a strange mixture of desperate fear, self-reliance, and trust in God, expressed in this psalm and in Psa 34.

Psa 56:4

I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT CAN MORTAL MAN DO TO ME?: Quoted in Psa 118:6, and that in turn is quoted in Heb 13:6. Like David, the Christian Jews in the first century were narrowly watched by their enemies among their fellow countrymen, and their words and actions made the excuse for reprisals (vv 5,6). Like David, they were finally forced to flee their homeland.

Psa 56:5

THEY TWIST MY WORDS: (NT) Deliberate dishonest misrepresentation of all the words of an adversary (cp 2Pe 3:16) is the universal ploy of politicians and all such. “They stretch his (Jesus’) testimony about himself upon the ‘rack’, forcing upon it a false meaning and wrong inferences” (KD).

Psa 56:6

THEY WATCH MY STEPS: (NT) Deliberate attempts on the life of Jesus (at least 15 separate times (WBS 2-5). And it may confidently be presumed that other efforts of this sort do not even get a mention in the gospels. For “my steps” read (lit) my heel, with reference to Gen 3:15.

Psa 56:7

ON NO ACCOUNT LET THEM ESCAPE: “Shall they escape by iniquity?” (AV). Wicked but clever men often manage to array law and authority on their side, as a cloak for their malice. Thus the “many” of v 2 and the “people” here!

BRING DOWN THE NATIONS: (NT) The words are difficult, for the Heb word ‘am’ is that which hundreds of times refers to Israel. Can this be an abbreviation for the rulers of Israel? — meaning (1) Saul and Doeg, David’s enemies, and (2) the chief priests and Herod, set on destroying Jesus. Yet it stands true that because of the rejection of Jesus, the people of Israel were cast off, for two millennia.

Psa 56:8

RECORD MY LAMENT: “Thou tellest my wanderings” (AV). Wanderings (nodh: Gen 4:16) and bottle (n’odh): a play on words. Tellest (saphar) and book (sepher): another word-play. When the complete list of David’s wanderings is compiled from 1Sa 21–30 it makes an impressive catalogue. (NT) The almost ceaseless 3 1/2 years of preaching by Jesus, going from place to place, up and down the land of Israel, with nowhere to lay his head (Mat 8:20; Luk 9:58).

MY TEARS: Joh 11:35; Luk 19:41; Heb 5:7. Other Psalms references: Psa 6:6; 39:12; 42:3; 69:10; 116:8. All of David’s (and Xt’s) travels, even if relatively insignificant, are assuredly noted and remembered by God. For the same general idea, see Mat 10:29,30.

LIST MY TEARS ON YOUR SCROLL: “Put thou my tears into thy bottle” (AV). According to some authorities, “lachrymatories” (or tear bottles) are still found in large numbers in ancient tombs. They were apparently used to collect the tears of the mourners at the graveside, and then stored away with the body (LB 103,104). Others, however, deny any ref to such bottles, and suggest that the allusion here is to the custom of putting into bags, or small leather flasks, articles of value for safekeeping (cp Luk 12:33) (Freeman, Bible Manners and Customs 224). Thus, ‘O Lord, treasure up my tears as something of great value’. Tears and bottle come together again, quite interestingly, in the account of Mary Magdalene’s anointing of the feet of Jesus (Luk 7:37,38). From the bottle came precious ointment, but from the repentant sinner came even more precious tears. And so it is with us: the greatest gifts we can bring to our Saviour are our faith, our repentance, our devotion, our love, and even our tears.

“Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. ‘Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle,’ implies that they are caught as they flow. The supplicant, whose tears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but ‘prayer is the falling of a tear.’ Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court, and are numbered with ‘the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.’ Think not that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded. Jacob’s ladder is lofty, but our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the covenant and so climb its starry rounds. Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it. ‘He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.’ True, He regards not high looks and lofty words; He cares not for the pomp and pageantry of kings; He listens not to the swell of martial music; He regards not the triumph and pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a penitential sigh, the heart of Jehovah is open; He marks it down in the registry of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up therefrom” (CHS).

ARE THEY NOT IN YOUR RECORD?: God’s “book of remembrance”, or “book of life”: Psa 69:28: 87:6; 139:16; Mal 3:16; Exo 32:32; Dan 12:1; Isa 4:3; Eze 13:9; Phi 4:3; Luk 10:20; Heb 12:23; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 21:27; 22:19. The fig of this divine recording is related to the practice of earthly monarchs. In the court of the Heb kings was a “recorder”, and “the chronicles of the kings” was the daily record of the events of each king’s reign. Those who served the king in a special capacity or in an extraordinary manner would receive an adequate reward. But they were not necessarily rewarded at once; sometimes they seem to have waited years before their special service was finally compensated (Est 6:1-3).

Psa 56:9

MY ENEMIES WILL TURN BACK: (NT) Illustrated in Gethsemane by the cry to the Father, followed by Joh 18:6; cp also Psa 27:1,2; 35:4; 40:14).

Psa 56:11

I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT CAN MORTAL MAN DO TO ME?: …Because man can have no power at all, except it be given him by God (Joh 19:11). Also in v 4. Quoted in Psa 118:6, and that in turn is quoted in Heb 13:6. Like David, the Christian Jews in the first century were narrowly watched by their enemies among their fellow countrymen, and their words and actions made the excuse for reprisals (vv 5,6). Like David, they were finally forced to flee their homeland.

Psa 56:12

I AM UNDER VOWS TO YOU, O GOD: These vows were probably made when things were at their very worst (1Sa 21:13). “Binding upon me are thy vows” (KD; cp NEB, NIV).

(NT) But vows are to be discharged in the presence of God. Hence the immed ascension of Jesus after his resurrection (Joh 20:17).

Psa 56:13

THAT I MAY WALK BEFORE GOD IN THE LIGHT OF LIFE: Here nearly all the modern versions have: the light of life (cp Joh 8:12). For light as equivalent to life, see Pro 29:13; Psa 13:3; 36:9; Joh 1:4; 1Jo 1:5-7; 2:8; etc.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. TO THE TUNE OF ‘DO NOT DESTROY’ “: “Al taschith” (AV). The SUBSCRIPTIONion of Psa 56, 57, 58, 74. In each case the psalmist is in a tight corner and is praying for his life. This exact phrase comes in 1Sa 26:9, and tempts the expositor to read the psalm against that background. (Cp also Deu 9:26: “Destroy not thy people”; and Isa 65:8: “Destroy it — ie the cluster of grapes, or the remnant of Israel — not.”) But, beyond question, the entire tone of it fits 1Sa 21:10-15 much better.

Psa 57:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF DAVID. A MIKTAM. WHEN HE HAD FLED FROM SAUL INTO THE CAVE”. “Michtam” sig “to cut, engrave (Jer 2:22), or write (Exo 17:14)”, and hence to remember. The 6 “michtam” psalms are thus “memorial” psalms, of a very personal nature, having the hope of resurrection as a common theme (Psa 16:10,11; 56:13; 57:3; 58:10,11; 59:16; 60:5,12). A specific allusion to 1Sa 24. These words imply that David’s distressing crisis was the pursuit organized by Saul, and that it was as a desperate last resort that the hunted hero took refuge in the cave of En-gedi (cp Heb 11:38). The ensuing opportunity to slay Saul when the king came unsuspecting into the cave must have presented a powerful temptation and an intense psychological crisis. This consideration makes David’s honorable behavior in sparing Saul’s life more than ever a thing to be marveled at. Yet, crisis over, “David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt” (1Sa 24:5).

I WILL TAKE REFUGE IN THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS: The cherubim (Psa 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; 63:7; 91:1; cp also Deu 32:10,11 and Rth 2:12). Though he was hiding in a dark and outwardly forbidding cave, David’s faith kept him as close to his God as if he were in the Holy of Holies of the sanctuary. (NT) By a slight reversal of this familiar figure, Jesus becomes the mother hen under the shadow of whose wings Israel may find refuge: Mat 23:37.

UNTIL THE DISASTER HAS PASSED: (NT) Passover language (Isa 26:20,21; Exo 12:22). The garden tomb, sprinkled with the blood of the true Passover lamb, and overshadowed by angels, was the counterpart of the dwellings of the Israelites in Egypt. The one who was inside (though already dead!) was nevertheless safe under the sheltering arms of the Almighty.

DISASTER: “Calamities” (AV) is, lit, “wickednesses”. So 1Sa 24:13: “Wickedness (not sw) proceedeth from the wicked.”

Psa 57:3

THOSE WHO HOTLY PURSUE ME: In Psa 56:1 the danger was from the Philistine warriors of Achish, king of Gath. Here, the danger is from Saul and his men.

SELAH: Might suggest the rock of the cave where he had taken refuge, or the sacrifices gladly offered at God’s altar-rock in thankfulness in later days. See Lesson, Selah.

GOD SENDS HIS LOVE AND HIS FAITHFULNESS: As in v 10 also. The phrase regularly means God’s promises (eg Psa 89:14,24; Mic 7:20; Gen 24:27; 2Sa 7:15). Here it alludes either to 1Sa 16:13 or (if inserted in later days) to 2Sa 7.

Psa 57:4

I AM IN THE MIDST OF LIONS: A figure of speech suitable to the wild wilderness where David now was.

(NT) The “lions” of the tribe of Judah: Psa 22:12,13; Pro 28:15.

I LIE AMONG RAVENOUS BEASTS: AV has “I lie even among them that are set on fire.” Had Saul’s men been setting fire to the scrub bushes in an attempt to smoke out David and his men?

ARROWS: Psa 120:4; Jer 9:8.

WHOSE TONGUES ARE SHARP SWORDS: Jam 3:6. Consider 1Sa 24:9, where David asks Saul: “Wherefore hearest thou men’s (evil) words?” Also see Psa 55:21.

Psa 57:5

From this point the tone of the Psa is different. David has come through, and now thankfully praises God.

LET YOUR GLORY BE OVER ALL THE EARTH: (NT) At crucifixion, while the whole land shuddered under an unnatural darkness, for Jesus there was the sustaining brightness of the Shekinah Glory (WGos 780-783).

Psa 57:6

THEY SPREAD A NET FOR MY FEET: (NT) As in Psa 56:6, the numerous attempts to entrap and/or arrest Jesus (cp also Job 18:8; Psa 9:15; 31:4; 140:5; Pro 1:17).

THEY DUG A PIT IN MY PATH — BUT THEY HAVE FALLEN INTO IT THEMSELVES: The destruction of city, temple, and nation followed on inevitably from the crucifixion of Jesus. See Psa 7:15n.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 57:8

AWAKE, MY SOUL!: AV has “Awake up, my glory.” That is, my tongue (Psa 16:9). David’s (and any other man’s) chief glory is to glorify God. “A well-employed tongue for praising God, and edifying others, is indeed a man’s commendation and glory above other creatures” (Dickson).

AWAKE, HARP AND LYRE!: Not at all suitable to the environment described in vv 1-4. But David is now, after his trials, settled in his capital.

I WILL AWAKEN THE DAWN: “I myself will awake early” (AV). ‘The dawn awakes other kings,’ says David, ‘but I awake the dawn!’ Unwearied earnestness in the service of God: Psa 63:1; 78:34.

(NT) The resurrection morn: Mat 28:1; Mar 16:2; Luk 24:1; Joh 20:1.

Psa 57:11

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. TO THE TUNE OF ‘DO NOT DESTROY’ “: “Al taschith” (AV). The SUBSCRIPTIONion of Psa 56, 57, 58, 74. In each case the psalmist is in a tight corner and is praying for his life. This exact phrase comes in 1Sa 26:9, and tempts the expositor to read the psalm against that background. (Cp also Deu 9:26: “Destroy not thy people”; and Isa 65:8: “Destroy it — ie the cluster of grapes, or the remnant of Israel — not.”) But, beyond question, the entire tone of it fits 1Sa 21:10-15 much better.

Psa 52:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A MASKIL OF DAVID. WHEN DOEG THE EDOMITE HAD GONE TO SAUL AND TOLD HIM: ‘DAVID HAS GONE TO THE HOUSE OF AHIMELECH’ “: See Lesson, Psalms, “Maschil”.

MASKIL: “Causing to understand”. See notes on Psa 32, title. Is this title included here because the experience it commemorates taught David a lesson about Saul and his intentions, or because there is an important truth for all to learn from the behavior and fate of Doeg? The LXX reads: sunesis, understanding: sw Col 1:9; 2:2; Eph 3:4; 2Ti 2:7.

DOEG THE EDOMITE…: When David came, in the course of his flight from Saul, to Ahimelech the high priest at Nob (1Sa 21:1-10), the presence there of Doeg, a high official at Saul’s court, spelled worse danger. Hence David’s eagerness not only for food but also for weapons and a quick departure. Later (1Sa 22:9-23), Doeg not only told Saul of the encounter at Nob but also showed a considerable willingness (ct the rest of Saul’s men: v 17) to slaughter all the priests at Nob and their families. It was one of the vilest deeds described in the OT. But Edomites were ever ready to express their spite against men of Israel, ever since the time of Esau and Jacob.

(NT) In place of David there is the Beloved Son, and in place of Doeg the men of power ruling the Jews at the time of Christ. Vv 2-4 are immed obvious in their application to these evil men. Saul and his henchman Doeg stand for Jewish priests and Roman governor (or Edomite Herod?): “Jew and Gentile… both under sin” in the matter of the death of Christ (Rom 3:10-12; Act 4:25-28; cp Psa 2:1,2, notes).

WHY DO YOU BOAST OF EVIL, YOU MIGHTY MAN?: There is a marked irony about this. Doeg, the butcher of defenseless priests, women, and children, is called “gibbor”, a great hero! (Cp the men mighty” –sw, “gibbor”! — in drinking wine in Isa 5:22.) Yet in another sense Doeg was a mighty man, for he was “chiefest of the herdmen of Saul” — not a mere shepherd in charge of other shepherds, but quite prob a high official, just as the Chief Butler and Chief Baker were top men in Pharaoh’s cabinet.

Psa 52:2

YOUR TONGUE PLOTS DESTRUCTION: 1Sa 22:9,10. The language of this and the next few verses… “mischiefs”, “deceitfully”, “evil”, “lying”, “devouring words”, “deceitful tongue”… easily suggests the serpent in Eden. Doeg is a rightful “seed of the serpent” (Mat 3:7; 12:34; 23:33). On the evil of the tongue in general, see Jam 1:26; 3:2-12; Pro 12:19; 18:21.

LIKE A SHARPENED RAZOR: A strange figure of speech. Why not “a sharp sword”? 1Sa 21:7 explains: “detained before the Lord” implies a Nazarite vow (Num 6:9,18) or the need for a priestly decision concerning leprosy or some similar disease (Lev 13:33-37), either of which would require the removal of the hair. Prob not the former, for how could an Edomite of all people be a Nazarite unto the Lord? Instead, prob some communicable disease. (Poole: “Like a man pretending only to shave off the hair… suddenly and unexpectedly cuts one’s throat.”)

YOU WHO PRACTICE DECEIT: At Nob there was no open hostility from Doeg, but David knew human nature.

Psa 52:3

FALSEHOOD: “He inquired of the Lord for him (ie, by Urim and Thummim)” (1Sa 22:10) seems to be Doeg’s invention. Is it at all likely that a divine instruction would bid David flee to the court of Achish the Philistine?

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 52:4

YOU LOVE EVERY HARMFUL WORD: “All devouring words” (AV): “words of swallowing”. Suggests Psa 5:9: “Their throat is an open sepulchre.” With such a mouth he swallows up the people of God (Psa 53:4, the same incident).

Psa 52:5

“God shall likewise destroy thee” (AV). This “likewise” is meaningless, except with ref to the “devouring” of the priests of Nob.

(NT) The complete and permanent elimination of the Jewish priesthood in the first century.

TO EVERLASTING RUIN: The fate of the wicked is eternal destruction (Psa 37:34,36,38, and refs there).

HE WILL SNATCH YOU UP AND TEAR YOU FROM YOUR TENT: The Heb is “ohel” (tent), appropriate both to the tabernacle at Nob and to the Chief of the Shepherds. With “pluck out” (sw Deu 28:63) ct v 8a: David is a green and fruitful tree, well-rooted in the Lord and not about to be plucked out!

(NT) See Mat 15:13. As Jesus spoke of the fig tree being plucked up and cast into the sea (Luk 17:6), so the Jewish nation — and esp the temple and the priesthood — would soon be overthrown (Mar 11:20-23; 13:1,2; Jud 1:12).

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 52:6

THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SEE AND FEAR: An impressive play on two nearly identical Heb words. Note the emphasis in the Law on “hear and fear” (Deu 13:11; 17:13; 19:20; 21:21).

Psa 52:7

HERE IS THE MAN WHO…TRUSTED IN HIS GREAT WEALTH: What a ct with v 8b: “I (David) trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” Doeg was assuredly a very important (and wealthy) member of Saul’s court (see on v 1).

(NT) This is the only kind of “faith” these evil men could muster. Luk 12:15-21 is an intended parabolic prophecy of the fate of these men.

Psa 52:8

AN OLIVE TREE FLOURISHING IN THE HOUSE OF GOD: A sad reminiscence by David of the sanctuary at Nob, once green and fruitful with worship of the Lord, but now decimated? A good guess is that the ancient Nob was located on the mount of Olives, on or near the later site of the garden of Gethsemane (which signifies an oil press — for olives!).

OLIVE TREE: Sym light, prosperity, peace, and joy (Jer 11:16; Hos 14:6). This alludes to an olive tree planted in the sanctuary enclosure; later it was replaced by the twin pillars of Jachin (established) and Boaz (strength) (1Ki 7:21) and was itself fashioned into a gold-covered cherub of glory (1Ki 6:23-28). The righteous will be like pillars in God’s temple (Rev 3:12). See also Psa 1:3; 92:12,13; Eze 47:12; Rev 22:1,2.

(NT) A green olive tree suggests Christ kneeling amongst the olive trees of Gethsemane. All around him was “wilderness”, but he was fully rooted in faith.

GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE: “All the flowers in God’s garden are double. There is no single mercy. You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies. It is abounding mercy. Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted; it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever. It is unfailing mercy. It will never leave thee” (CHS).

Psa 52:9

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. ACCORDING TO MAHALATH.” Mahalath means “dancings” (Song 7:1; Exo 15:20; 32:19; Jdg 11:34; 21:21), and calls to mind the song of the women in praise of David’s exploits: see 1Sa 18:6,7). This earlier incident is recalled in 1Sa 21:11, during the incident to which the title refers (1Sa 21:7-22:23). (The word “mahalath” also occurs in the subscription of Psa 87: “Mahalath-Leannoth”.)

Psa 53:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A MASKIL OF DAVID”. See Lesson, Psalms, “Maschil”.

Biblical “fools”: The rich fool (Luke 12:20). The unbelieving fool (Psa 53:1). The self-righteous fool (Pro 28:26). The scornful fool (Pro 14:9). The righteous “fool” (1Co 4:10).

HISTORICAL: Psa 53 follows a psa with an explicit historical title about Doeg the Edomite, and precedes another psa about Saul’s hunt for David the outlaw, suggests that this psa also belongs to the same period in David’s life. Phrase after phrase makes an easy link with Doeg’s betrayal of David and his vicious massacre, at Saul’s command, of the priests of Nob (1Sa 21; 22).

HEZEKIAH: In view of the likelihood of psalm revision in the days of Hezekiah, it is worthwhile also to read 14/53 against the backdrop of events in his time:

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSA 14 AND PSA 53: It is usually assumed that Psa 14 is the original. But this is not certain. It is noteworthy that Psa 53 has “Elohim” where Psa 14 has “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” (right through, according to the Sopherim). The same interesting phenomenon appears in Psa 40:13-17 (= Psa 70:1-5) and Jdg 5:4,5 (= Psa 68:7,8). But why? Bullinger guesses: A distinction between private and public use of the psalm. Waller guesses: The psalms were used at two different sanctuaries of the Lord: Gibeon (1Ki 3:4) and Zion.

THE FOOL SAYS IN HIS HEART, “THERE IS NO GOD”: “Fool” = “nabal” (1Sa 25:25). This is not “atheism” in the modern sense of the term, but in the same sense as Psa 10:4,6,11-13; 97:7: ‘God is inactive; He will take no notice; and if He does, He certainly won’t punish.’ This is precisely the attitude of many religious people today: they are willing to believe in God and follow religious observance so long as God leaves them alone and lets them run their affairs in their own way. Notice the change from “the fool” (singular: Saul?) to “they” (plural: Saul and Doeg?).

This designation, “fool”, goes for those who doubt God’s sovereignty as well as those who deny Him. Either He is sovereign, or He is not God. Therefore, when we become so preoccupied with and dismayed by circumstances and certain people that we doubt God’s ability to handle things in His own way, and in His own time, then we, too, become fools.

An atheist complained to a friend because Christians had their special holidays such as Christmas, Easter and the like and Jews celebrated their national holidays as the Passover and Yom Kippur.

“But we atheists,” he said, “have no recognized national holiday. It’s unfair discrimination.” To which his friend replied, “Why don’t you celebrate April first?”

(HEZEK) Rabshakeh’s tirade against the God of Israel: Isa 37:23,28.

THEY ARE CORRUPT: Sw Gen 6:12; Jdg 2:19. But lit this Heb word means: they have caused to destroy, with ref to Doeg and the priests of Nob in 1Sa 22:18,19. Hence the phrase: abominable works of Psa 14 (changed to the more specific “iniquity” in Psa 53:1). AV has “abominable”: Some things may be abominable to God even though they are highly esteemed by men: eg covetousness (Luk 16:15). And men’s works can be abominable even when they profess to know God: Tit 1:15,16.

(HEZEK) The enormities of the Assyrian invasion.

THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD: The worldly unscrupulousness, manifested in Saul and his minions, was even more marked in Caiaphas and the rulers of the Jews. “Good” = “chrestoteta” (LXX), suggesting “Christ-like”. Paul applies these words and vv 2b, 3 to Jew and Gentile (like Saul and Doeg), alike impervious to the gospel (Rom 3:10-12). Cp the citation of Psa 2 in Act 4:25-28, where Jews = Herod and the priests, and Gentiles = Pilate and the Roman soldiers. Ct the generation of the righteous (v 5), ie the new Israel in Christ (Rom 11:5).

Psa 53:2

GOD LOOKS DOWN: Sw “looked” in Gen 18:16, where the angels begin their investigation of Sodom. This is the language of direct Divine intervention, as at the time of the Flood: Gen 6:5,12.

THE SONS OF MEN: The sons of Adam. But, because of the absence of vowel pointing in the original mss, this could as easily read: the sons of Edom, with ref to Doeg the Edomite.

TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY WHO UNDERSTAND: See Heb 4:13.

ANY WHO SEEK GOD: An ironic allusion to 1Sa 21:7, where Doeg was “detained before the Lord”, poss for some ceremonial uncleanness, but certainly not to “seek God” in any meaningful sense!

Psa 53:3

For what kind of uncleanness was Doeg detained before the Lord (1Sa 21:7)?

EVERYONE HAS TURNED AWAY: Sw Exo 32:8. The repetition of “all” suggests the experience of Noah’s day, when mankind was a lost race, except for one lone family.

CORRUPT: “Filthy” (AV): Heb “alach” = worthless, rancid, tainted, as sour milk; “stinking” (AV mg); “unprofitable” (Rom 3:12); “rotten to the core” (NEB). A word that graphically expresses character deterioration (cp idea in Isa 64:6,7).

THERE IS NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD, NOT EVEN ONE: From LXX and Rom 3:12. Could mean: “There is none that doeth good, not UNTIL One!” — ref to the extraordinary and absolutely unique “One”.

Psa 53:4

THOSE WHO DEVOUR MY PEOPLE AS MEN EAT BREAD: Similar refs in Psa 79:6,7; Pro 30:14; Lam 2:16; Jer 10:25; Mic 3:3,4. “To eat”, as the wild beast or gluttonous man does, eagerly devouring, without remorse or regret. An allusion to Doeg’s ruthless slaughter of the priests: 1Sa 22:18. The Heb could read: ‘Did they not know, those who eat up my people who eat the bread of God? They (ie my people, the priests) did not cry out.’ Thus there are historical refs to priests, shewbread (‘bread of God’), and the heathen ignorance and indifference of Doeg, in the enormity of his crime.

(NT) Cp Christ, the true priest, “devoured” by his enemies just after he ate the bread of God (at his Passover). Or, Christ (who is the bread of God: Joh 6:35, etc) complacently “devoured” by his unheeding enemies. Like a lamb led to slaughter (Isa 53:7), he “did not cry out” (AV).

Psa 53:5

THERE THEY ARE, OVERWHELMED WITH DREAD: This was the ultimate outcome of Saul’s mania for persecuting David and his friends: 1Sa 28:5. And the jealousy and hatred of God’s enemies was finally turned to great fear before the Philistines.

(HEZEK) The siege of Jerusalem and its shattering outcome: Isa 37:36.

WHERE THERE WAS NOTHING TO DREAD: Initially, Saul’s (and Doeg’s) marked lack of fear of God.

GOD SCATTERED THE BONES OF THOSE WHO ATTACKED YOU: Allusion back to Goliath (1Sa 17:54; 21:9)? The LXX has “men-pleasers”, an alternative reading of Psa 53:5. This describes the end of Saul the persecutor: 1Sa 31:9-13. (But David’s bones were kept: ct Psa 34:20!) By a very slight alteration, this last phrase would read “him that was hanged”, on the walls of Beth-shan!

FOR GOD DESPISED THEM: “Rejected” (RV); sw 1Sa 16:1: God’s rejection of Saul. This exposition indicates that this Psa 53:5 was added by David at some later time — the interval between 1Sa 22 and 1Sa 31 at least) — or even when the Psa was appointed for sanctuary use, at the time the ark was brought to Zion (2Sa 6).

Psa 53:6

OH, THAT SALVATION FOR ISRAEL WOULD COME OUT OF ZION!: Apparently a highly-inappropriate v in this psalm, but how well it describes the climax of salvation in Christ and the bringing in of his kingdom! The one who was brutally slain (see v 4) is now raised from the dead, at last to return to the scene of his death, but now in glorious triumph (cp with Isa 59:20, cited in Rom 11:26; see WIsa 512). Zion was the home of Melchizedek. Nob, the location of the sanctuary and the priests, was next to Zion (1Sa 21; Isa 10:32; cp 1Sa 17:54 with 1Sa 22:10. Is Nob to be identified with Golgotha? see Psa 8). After the murders of the priests, this sanctuary was prob left desolate until David took Jerusalem (2Sa 6). But then the memory of that gruesome slaughter might be partially erased, when God’s glorious ark was at last brought to its secure resting place.

(HEZEK) This might even be Hezekiah’s addition (like Psa 89:49-52), for assuredly Israel’s salvation did come out of Zion then, and a great captivity did return home with gladness (WHez 85,86).

SALVATION: An intensive plural: “God’s great salvation”!

WHEN GOD RESTORES THE FORTUNES OF HIS PEOPLE: Or “brings back the captivity” (cp AV). See Psa 85:1; Deu 30:3; and Isa 49.

JACOB… ISRAEL: Suggests allusion to Gen 32:24-32; 33:1, when Jacob’s fear of Esau/Edom, the fool who had no fear of God, was removed.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS”: “Neginoth” (Psa 3, 5, 53, 54, 60 — “Neginah”, singular, Psa 66, 75; Hab 3:19; Isa 38:20). “Neginoth” sig “to strike”, as upon a musical instrument, or in affliction. Trials of affliction are for the development of godly character. The Neginoth psalms, like Isa 38 itself, all seem to have allusion to more than “stringed instruments”; ie, to a smiting by hard circumstances, or by the power of God: consider Psa 3:1,2,6,7; 5:6,10; 53:1,5; 54:3; 60:1-3,6-9; 66:3,11,12; 75:4-8,10; Hab 3:5-17.

As the musician strums and plucks the strings of his instrument to produce the desired music, so the Almighty uses pressures and other circumstances to produce certain actions from (and to develop certain characteristics in) His children.

Psa 49:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF THE SONS OF KORAH. A PSALM”. “Al-muth” (“unto death”) (Psa 48:14) makes a very plausible SUPERSCRIPTIONion for Psa 49, which is indeed a meditation “Upon Death” (cp Psa 49:10,12,14,17,20).

INTRODUCTION: The exceptional emphasis in these vv can only mean that there is much more here than vague philosophical musing about the destiny of the dedicated materialist. It is a message for all to take notice of — “both high and low, rich and poor together”. “My mouth… and the (spoken) meditation of my heart (my mind)” bring a message of “wisdom” and “understanding” (v 3) concerning salvation from death (v 15; ct v 20). The one who speaks is the one who, in v 15, uses the same personal pronoun — Hezekiah himself. He “opens his saying on the harp” (v 4) — it is a claim to speak by inspiration (2Ki 3:15). This is underlined by the unexpected “I will incline mine ear to a parable” — the psalmist giving special attention to his own message, as though there is something in it beyond his normal understanding (cp 1Pe 1:10,11). Hence also the word “parable”, to emphasize the existence of a further message (a Messianic fulfillment?) beyond the more obvious meaning.

SETTING: “Woe unto Egypt!” At a time when wicked counselors were calling for reliance on Egypt — a policy doomed to failure (Isa 18:1,2; 19:1-11; 20:3,4; 30:1-7; 31:1,3; 36:6) — the author of Psa 49 (Hezekiah? or perhaps Isaiah?) protests against the foolishness of the Pharaohs. “Sons of Korah” strongly suggests a Hezekiah ref; and, remarkably, the sharp ct between v 5 and v 15, and the exposure of the futility of riches in the rest of the psalm, seem to correspond exactly to the ct in Isaiah 22 between Hezekiah (not Eliakim, as this ch is often read) in vv 20-25 and the scornful censure of Shebna and his worldly ambition (vv 15-19). Note that Shebna is a treasurer (the Heb means “intelligent”, or “knowing one”), and that he is a presumptuous political and social climber. Also, he is set on having a grandiose tomb which will proclaim his fame to all succeeding generations — but instead, he (being prob a foreigner) is to perish in foreign ignominy. Vv 11,14,16-20 are not inappropriate to such as he. Consider also the very telling ct provided by vv 5 and 15: Hezekiah is compassed about with evil both in his own person (leprosy) and in the hopeless situation created by Assyrian invasion. In all this, as it can be shown, the king is suffering for the sins of his people. Yet for his godliness he was “redeemed from the power of the grave” and “received” (v 15) into the Temple of the Lord on the third day (2Ki 20:8).

“A universal psalm, not only appealing to God’s chosen, the Jews — but an appeal to all the inhabitants of the world to cast off the fog of ignorance, and to acquaint themselves with the desirableness of seeking the true riches and wisdom of God, the only Redeemer. Internal evidence suggests that this psalm is written by the sons of Korah, to bring to light the iniquity of Korah, Dathan and Abiram when the earth opened up and swallowed them up alive, binding them in everlasting chains of darkness, where they lie, awaiting judgement at the last day: Jude 1:6” (CY).

MESSIANIC REFERENCE: A “parable” (v 4) has another meaning! The simple teaching of the psalm is this:

• All men, no matter what their accomplishments or seeming worth, are under the power of Death (vv 10,14,19).
• There is, for such men, no life hereafter (vv 12,20).
• The best that men can make of life is paltry and useless when death comes (vv 10,11,16-18).
• Nor can any man do anything to redeem any of his fellows from this kind of fate (vv 7-9). “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mar 8:37).

BUT….

• To all this there is one magnificent exception: the Man who, although compassed about with an inheritance of human sinfulness (v 5; Psa 38:4; 40:12; 51:5; etc), can look with confidence to being “redeemed from the power of the grave” (v 15). He will be “received” by God — this is the ascension of Jesus.
• A Man good enough to share the fellowship of God, and who yet experiences the horror of death, must be good enough to “redeem his brother and give to God a ransom for him” (1Pe 1:18,19). “If the wealthiest be impotent for the redemption of one soul, how precious must the blood of the Yahweh-Name be, seeing it can ransom ‘a great multitude which no man can number’! — Rev 7:9” (Eur 1:278).
• And this brother, now called “upright”, shall “have dominion in the morning” of resurrection (v 14).
• The repeated “Selah” (vv 13,15) brackets two contrasting allusions to sacrifice — the futile sacrifices of the self-centered rich (v 14), and the redeeming sacrifice of Christ (v 15).

HEAR THIS, ALL YOU PEOPLES: Because this applies to all without exception, and is of vast importance (Deu 32:1; Psa 50:1; Mic 1:2; 1Ki 22:28).

ALL WHO LIVE IN THIS WORLD: The Heb “cheled” sig “age” (Psa 17:14; 39:5; 89:47; Job 11:17), suggesting the transitory nature of man’s tenancy in this world.

Psa 49:2

LOW AND HIGH: “Sons of Adam and sons of ish”.

Psa 49:3

WISDOM… UNDERSTANDING: Intensive plurals, in Heb, implying a special wisdom and a special understanding. What this Psa says is in fact the most obvious thing in the world, but men in their folly shut their eyes to it.

Psa 49:4

A PROVERB: Or “parable” (AV). The Heb is “mashal”. Psa 78:2 and 1Co 10:1-12 (esp vv 6,11) similarly proclaim the history of Israel as a series of parables, if only men will look beyond the face-value of the story. But both there and in this psalm the lesson is too unpalatable for most. The LXX has problema (problem!), from proballo, “to shoot forth” (Luk 21:30).

MY RIDDLE: Or “dark saying” (AV). Heb “chiyad”. Lit, “knots”; “riddle” (RSV, KD) or puzzle.

Psa 49:5

WHEN WICKED DECEIVERS SURROUND ME: “When the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about” (AV). That is, the iniquity which is at my heels, coiled to strike — it is, of course, the picture of Gen 3:15: the sting of the serpent striking the heel which simultaneously bruises its head and destroys it for ever. The “bruised_” or crushed heel is obviously not so serious as the crushed head; therefore Christ lives (Rev 1:18), but the Serpent-power of Sin is doomed (Rev 20:1-3). In other words, Christ has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb 9:26; cp Heb 2:14; Rom 8:3; 1Co 15:56,57). Alternatively, “my heels” may be translated “my supplanters” (cp meaning of Jacob) or “my persecutors” (RSV).

Psa 49:6

Recalled in Mar 10:24. Cp also Mat 6:19 and 1Ti 6:17.

Psa 49:7

A RANSOM FOR HIM: That is, his bro. Lev 25:25,48 is relevant here. But “give to God” suggests Exo 30:12-16 with its emphasis on rich and poor (v 2 here) and the half shekel of the sanctuary, the kind of ransom which God specially esteems (the coin in the fish’s mouth — Mat 17:27 == ref specifically to this); cp Mat 20:28. See also 1Ti 2:6. The LXX has a specially impressive word here: exilasma, “to ransom out” (of the power of the grave: v 15).

Psa 49:8

THE RANSOM FOR A LIFE IS COSTLY, NO PAYMENT IS EVER ENOUGH: That is, this redemption cannot even be attempted by ordinary men. “Costly / precious” suggests “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot or blemish” (1Pe 1:18,19). See also Heb 10:22,29; 12:24; Mat 26:28.

Psa 49:9

AND NOT SEE DECAY: This v along with v 12 = 2Pe 2:12.

Psa 49:10

There is a definite ct here: Wise men die, yet with the hope of ultimate redemption (v 15). But the fool and the brutish person perish, with no hope at all, like the ignorant and sensual beasts (vv 12,20).

Psa 49:11

THOUGH THEY HAD NAMED LANDS AFTER THEMSELVES: Cp Gen 4:17; Exo 1:11; 2Sa 18:18. A poor sort of eternity! Ct the wanderers who “have here no continuing city” (Heb 13:14), but rather look for a city with eternal foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God (Heb 11:10).

Psa 49:12

DOES NOT ENDURE: Heb “does not lodge overnight” — ie there is no new existence for him “in the morning” of resurrection (v 14). “This night”, in the parable of the rich fool (Luk 12:20), looks back to this phrase. Cp Ecc 3:19-21; Psa 146:3,4. Man is a creature of vanity (Psa 39:4,5; 144:3,4), of the dust (Psa 103:14-16; Gen 3:19; 18:27), like the grass (Isa 40:6-8,15-17), and of no consequence in his intrinsic value (Dan 4:35; Ecc 3:18). The rabbis read this passage: “Adam being in honor, did not lodge (even) one night” — ie he sinned on the very first day, and was consequently expelled from Paradise before he could enjoy even one evening there!

HE IS LIKE THE BEAST THAT PERISH: This suggests a limited rather than a universal resurrection: cp Psa 88:5; Pro 21:16; Isa 26:14; Jer 23:39; 51:39,40,57; Hos 4:6; Oba 1:16; Dan 12:2 (“many”, not all!).

Psa 49:13

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 49:14

They are corralled, like sheep, in the grave. “Death shall feed on them” is, in the RSV, “Death shall shepherd them”, stalking behind with threatening gestures, coercing his flock on toward the dark pit. (Cp the personification of Death in Jer 9:21, as a thief climbing in the windows to carry off the living.)

Keble’s paraphrase: “Even as a flock arrayed are they For the dark grave; Death guides their way; Death is their shepherd now.”

Ct this deadly “shepherd” with Eze 37:24 (“David my servant” as the One Shepherd of Israel) and Rev 7:17 (the “Lamb”, now become a Shepherd).

THE UPRIGHT WILL RULE OVER THEM IN THE MORNING: In the time of waking up (Psa 17:15; 30:5; 90:14). Christ is the light of the morning (Psa 110:3; 2Sa 23:4; cp 2Pe 1:19; Num 24:7).

Psa 49:15

“But God!” An awesome and absolute turn-around. “One of the mountain tops of Old Testament hope” (Kidner). Yet some commentators claim that the Heb Scriptures have nothing to say about the hope of life beyond the grave!

BUT GOD WILL REDEEM MY LIFE: Or “soul” (AV). In the Bible there is no soul (nephesh) apart from the body. Then what is redeemed from the grave? The dead body (as in Psa 16:10; Num 9:6, sw), to become once again a living body.

HE WILL SURELY TAKE ME TO HIMSELF: Cp use of sw in Gen 5:24 and Psa 73:24.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 49:16

DO NOT BE OVERAWED WHEN A MAN GROWS RICH: A man of wealth is not to be feared because of his wealth. It is poss that this should read: “Do not look with envy” (as in NEB).

Psa 49:17

HIS SPLENDOR WILL NOT DESCEND WITH HIM: Some burials (eg Egyptian, or Westminster Abbey) seek to contradict this truth. But what is the good of a glory of which one has no consciousness?

Psa 49:18

WHILE HE LIVED HE COUNTED HIMSELF BLESSED: Calling himself “fortunate”, and flattering himself with ease and plenty: Luk 12:19; 16:25.

AND MEN PRAISE YOU WHEN YOU PROSPER: But the Bible’s commentary on this is Ecc 11:9.

Psa 49:20

WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING: Cp Psa 32:9, and ct v 3 here. Ignorance is an obvious characteristic of beasts (Psa 73:22), as is sensuality (Tit 1:12; 2Pe 2:12). Those believers who turned away from Christ and back to the Law of Moses are called “dogs” by Paul (Phi 3:2)!

LIKE THE BEASTS THAT PERISH: Nebuchadnezzar and his behavior and his judgment from God — to be made like the beasts of the field for seven years (Dan 4) — provides the scriptural rationale for various and sundry of the kingdoms of men to be signified by beasts, in Daniel and Revelation and elsewhere. The leaders of the nations may be ever so wise, in the wisdom of the world, in political expertise, and economics, and other disciplines besides — but if they understand not the gospel of the kingdom of God… then they are — in divine terms — beasts! They may walk upright; they may wear expensive business suits; they may be driven about in fine limousines and fly around the world in luxurious jets; they may have state-of-the-art arsenals at their disposal… but for all that, they are beasts nonetheless.

And when and if they defy the plans of Almighty God, they will perish like the beasts. Sobering thoughts.

“It is interesting that when King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of the Kingdom of Men he sees a beautiful statue made of, for the most part, precious metals (Dan 2). When God presents the vision of the same kingdoms to Daniel in Dan 7, they are deformed beasts. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!” (KT).

Psa 50:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A PSALM OF ASAPH”. Asaph was a prominent Levite appointed by David to supervise the praise of the sanctuary (1Ch 16:4,5). “The sons of Asaph” were still represented in the temple organization in the time of Hezekiah (2Ch 29:13). Another Asaph in that reign, the father of Hezekiah’s secretary of state (2Ki 18:18,26). All 12 of the Asaph psalms belong to the time of Hezekiah. But why is this one separated from the rest (73-83) by a large block of psalms of David? And why 12? Because of Hezekiah’s attempt to reunify the 12 tribes of the northern and southern kingdoms. In particular, this Psa 50 reads as an appeal to the northern tribes to resume their loyalty to Jehovah and His temple in Jerusalem.

DAY OF ATONEMENT:

• Allusions to the shining forth of the Shekinah Glory (vv 2,3).
• The assembling of all God’s people at the sanctuary in Zion (v 5).
• A day of judgment (vv 4,6). The Day of Atonement is universally regarded in Jewry as a day of judgment, as well as of forgiveness.
• Vv 8-13: All other sacrifices pale into insignificance cpd with the great sin-offering on this Day.
• Vv 16-21 express the spirit of repentance which the Day calls for.
• “The perfection of beauty” (v 2) links with Act 3:2 (the temple gate called “Beautiful”), where a highly important Day of Atonement is described: There Israel was called upon to “repent”, so that her “sins may be blotted out” when the great High Priest comes with a blessing “from the presence of the Lord” (Act 3:19-21,26) — all Day of Atonement language!

THE MIGHTY ONE, GOD, THE LORD: El Elohim Jehovah. This remarkable title of God comes in only one other passage: Jos 22:22, where it occurs twice. Jos 22 is all about an earlier poss rift in the unity of the twelve tribes. Vv 23, 26-29 there are esp important. The issue both there and here (ie in Hezekiah’s day) was loyalty to the central sanctuary of the Lord, particularly in the matter of sacrifice. This principle is developed below in vv 8-13.

Psa 50:2

FROM ZION: Not from Dan or Bethel, the former of which was now in ruins.

PERFECT IN BEAUTY: Zion is so called in Psa 48:2. Also see Act 3:2, and the very sad quotation in Lam 2:15.

GOD SHINES FORTH: An allusion to Deu 33:2, where the “saints” are mentioned again (cp v 5 here). But that is the old covenant at Sinai; this is the new covenant in Christ. This requires that Messiah be now established as King in Jerusalem; v 3 fully confirms this. Here is the OT anticipation of Mat 24:29-31; 13:49; and v 1 is matched by Mat 24:27. Cp also Psa 80:1, where the Cherubim of Divine Glory “shine forth” in a great “theophany”.

Psa 50:3

A promise of a violent divine intervention on behalf of a shattered land. It came in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army: Isa 30:30,31.

A FIRE DEVOURS BEFORE HIM, AND AROUND HIM A TEMPEST RAGES: (NT) Consider the fire in Eze 1:13, and the whirlwind in Eze 1:4. For Christ coming in divine manifestation, see also Isa 66:15,16; Psa 18:8,12,13; Jer 25:30-33; 2Th 1:7,8; Heb 12:29; 2Pe 3:3,4,7,10,12.

Psa 50:4

HEAVENS: ie the angels (Isa 37:36).

EARTH: Or Land.

THAT HE MAY JUDGE HIS PEOPLE: That He may “judge” on behalf of His people.

(NT) This is the language of Deu 30:19; 31:28. Now is Israel’s final day of accountability. This v is quoted in Heb 10:30, and v 5 here links with Heb 10:14,16 there (saints, covenant). This is doubly appropriate, for Heb is one long appeal to Jewish believers who were drifting away into disloyalty.

Psa 50:5

GATHER TO ME MY CONSECRATED ONES: “My saints (holy people)”. In this v is the divine sanction behind the great attempt of Hezekiah to unify all Israel: 2Ch 30.

WHO MADE A COVENANT WITH ME BY SACRIFICE: The covenant of Exo 24:3-8, which — apostasy notwithstanding — had not yet been disannulled.

A COVENANT: (NT) See Mat 26:28.

A COVENANT WITH ME BY SACRIFICE: (NT) “We have… now to do with… the bema, or Supreme Court, the judicial bench, styled in Rom 14:10, and 2Co 5:10, ‘the Judgment Seat of Christ’. All who have made a covenant with Yahweh by sacrifice and are in any way related to ‘the Covenants of Promise’, will be gathered (Psa 50:5) and stand before this” (Eur 3:585). That this great Judgment Seat will be in Zion is evident by a comparison of v 5 with v 2 (also see Isa 66:22,23; Psa 87:6; 133:3; Gal 4:26; Mat 25:31).

Psa 50:6

HEAVENS: Angels again (as in v 4).

PROCLAIM HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS: In the judgment on the Assyrians.

THE HEAVENS PROCLAIM HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS: (NT) “The new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (Isa 66:22; 2Pe 3:13; cp Psa 19:1).

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 50:7

Vv 7-14: Obedience and praise equated with animal sacrifice: 1Sa 15:22; Isa 1:10-20; Hos 6:6 (Mat 9:13; 12:7).

HEAR… O ISRAEL: The Shema (Deu 6:4), is unmistakable, and perfectly appropriate with ref to a people which had brought in Baal and other gods alongside Jehovah.

I AM GOD: And there is none else.

Psa 50:8

Vv 8-15: In these paragraphs, God is not rejecting sacrifices as such. Such a sweeping conclusion is impossible in the light of the abundant details in 2Ch 29; 30. What is being rejected is the way in which Israel in its self-appointed sanctuaries went on blithely offering sacrifices (“Your burnt offerings are continually before me”: v 8, RSV), while being in spirit completely estranged from Zion and Zion’s God. None of these sacrifices were worth anything in terms of real devotion; did not all these animals belong to Yahweh in the first place? (See the related exhortations in Psa 51:16,17; Pro 21:3; Mic 6:6-8; Isa 1:11-13; Jer 6:20; 7:22,23; 1Sa 15:22.)

God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:24). Services of a mechanical sort, as to outward form (whether it be Mosaic ritual and offering — or Sunday School, memorial meeting, and daily readings) will avail nothing, and are in fact abominations, if not accompanied by sincere devotion of the heart. This was why it was necessary not only for the prodigal ten tribes to return, but to return in the right spirit. The positive exhortation is summed up in vv 14,15: “Call upon me in the day of trouble”, as happened time and again in the era of the Judges. The north had already suffered terrible ravages from the Assyrians, yet even from this (humanly) irresistible force they would be delivered, and would have more cause than ever to glorify their God.

EVER: “Continually” (AV). The standard Heb word for the daily burnt offering.

Psa 50:10

THE CATTLE ON A THOUSAND HILLS: How far a wandering herd of cattle can carry our thoughts — either to envy of the man who owns them and a lust for similar power, or to a realization of the supreme power of God and His all-pervading influence in our lives.

Psa 50:11

I KNOW EVERY BIRD IN THE MOUNTAINS: Is this the source of Jesus’ words?: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Mat 10:29). Then, in Mat 10:31, Jesus reminds his followers that they are worth more than many sparrows. So… “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver YOU” (Psa 50:15)!

Psa 50:12

IF I WERE HUNGRY: Five times in Lev 21 the sacrifices are called “the bread of God”.

THE WORLD IS MINE: See Psa 24:1,4n. Their deliverance from Egypt showed God’s power over all creation and over all false “gods” (Exo 9:29). At His behest, the Israelites went into Sinai to offer “sacrifice”, and never returned. They had become themselves the “living sacrifices”!

Psa 50:14

THANK OFFERINGS: So also in v 23. Heb 13:15 refers to this, and borrows “continually” from v 8 here. We can offer acceptable praise and thanksgiving only through Christ, who is our “altar” (Heb 13:10). He is also the true sacrifice that no animal can ever be (vv 8-11 here). // Psa 51:15-17; 69:30,31; 141:2; 40:6-10; Hos 14:1,2 (Hos 14:1,2); Jer 33:11. “What God requires of us is thanksgiving and worship and joy and love for Him and intense desire to get closer to Him and to know more about Him, and please Him and serve Him with all our heart and strength. These things do not come naturally to the natural man. These are the things we must earnestly pray for” (GVG).

Psa 50:15

CALL UPON ME IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; I WILL DELIVER YOU: (NT) A specially important verse for Israel in the LD. For soon there will come such tribulation as they have never known (Jer 30:7 and context). Only a widespread repentance in which they glorify God will save them.

Psa 50:16

Vv 16-21: The “wicked” (“a larger class than is generally supposed”: Eur 1:16 — but, actually, singular here!) have no business offering any sacrifice to the Lord. Sacrifices offered in the right spirit are necessary. But so also is a life of wholesome morality, of which the wicked know nothing. All this had been lost sight of in the northern kingdom: “Thou… castest my Words (the Ten Commandments, quoted in vv 18-20) behind thee”; hence the divine reproof (v 21) administered in current tribulation. (Is the “wicked” in v 16 another ref to, and are the words of vv 16-21 another reproof of, the vainglorious Shebna? See Psa 49 again.)

Psa 50:17

CAST MY WORDS BEHIND YOU: A pointed allusion to 1Ki 14:9, to Jeroboam, whose evil took Israel into apostasy.

Psa 50:21

AND I KEPT SILENT: See Ecc 8:11.

YOU THOUGHT I WAS ALTOGETHER LIKE YOU: In its various forms, this is perhaps the most universal condemnation by God of the folly of men. The most common mistake — made by almost every man, whether “religious” or libertine, philosophical or indifferent, logical or sensual — is to think that God is like himself, and therefore to presume that God will be pleased with (or at the very least will be complacent toward) behavior which He has by His word specifically condemned. This was the grievous error of Cain — in thinking that a “sacrifice” with which he himself was pleased would naturally please God also (Pro 14:12). How many times since his day has such folly been repeated!

Psa 50:22

Vv 22,23: There were only two options — to go on “forgetting God”, and “be torn in pieces” with “none to deliver”; or to turn to Him in a spirit of (anticipatory) “thanksgiving” and with strong resolution to amend one’s ways. This latter would guarantee “the salvation of God”. In this last phrase Isaiah put his signature to the psalm. None was better qualified, either personally or by inspiration, to write this unusual psalm. Some scholars (eg Boutflower) think that Ahaz’s animosity drove Isaiah into temporary exile in the northern kingdom. What more appropriate visiting card could he leave than Psa 50? A perusal of Isa 1:2-20 reveals marked similarities to Psa 50, both in phrasing and theme — a further evidence that Isaiah wrote the psalm.

Psa 50:23

” ‘Fill every part of me with praise, let all my being speak of Thee and Thy love, O Lord, poor though I be and weak.’ And then, as by some sublime alchemy, the praise is transmuted into personal sanctification… and the command goes forth (v 5) to gather unto God His sanctified ones… and we begin to realize that this heaven-sent sanctity can encircle us all our days” (NPH).

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC”.