This
psalm we met with before, in the history of David's life, 2 Sam. xxii. That
was the first edition of it; here we have it revived, altered a little, and
fitted for the service of the church. It is David's thanksgiving for the
many deliverances God had wrought for him; these he desired always to
preserve fresh in his own memory and to diffuse and entail the knowledge of
them. It is an admirable composition. The poetry is very fine, the images
are bold, the expressions lofty, and every word is proper and significant;
but the piety far exceeds the poetry. Holy faith, and love, and joy, and
praise, and hope, are here lively, active, and upon the wing. I. He triumphs
in God, ver. 1-3. II. He magnifies the deliverances God had wrought for him,
ver. 4-19. III. He takes the comfort of his integrity, which God had thereby
cleared up, ver. 20-28. IV. He gives to God the glory of all his
achievements, ver. 29-42. V. He encourages himself with the expectation of
what God would further do for him and his, ver. 43-50.
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David's Triumphs in God; Devout Confidence.
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To the chief musician, A psalm of David, the
servant of the LORD, who spake unto
the LORD
the words of this song in the day that the LORD
delivered him from the hand of all his enemies.
1
I will love thee, O LORD,
my strength. 2 The LORD
is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength,
in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and
my high tower. 3 I will call upon the LORD,
who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine
enemies. 4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of
ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me
about: the snares of death prevented me. 6 In my distress I
called upon the LORD,
and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came
before him, even into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook
and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken,
because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his
nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by
it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was
under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea,
he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his
secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and
thick clouds of the skies. 12 At the brightness that was
before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of
fire. 13 The LORD
also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones
and coals of fire. 14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered
them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15 Then
the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were
discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. 16 He sent from
above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 17 He
delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they
were too strong for me. 18 They prevented me in the day of my
calamity: but the LORD
was my stay. 19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he
delivered me, because he delighted in me.
The title gives us the
occasion of penning this psalm; we had it before (2 Sam. xxii. 1), only here
we are told that the psalm was delivered to the chief musician, or
precentor, in the temple-songs. Note, The private compositions of good men,
designed by them for their own use, may be serviceable to the public, that
others may not only borrow light from their candle, but heat from their
fire. Examples sometimes teach better than rules. And David is here called the
servant of the Lord, as Moses was, not only as every good man is God's
servant, but because, with his sceptre, with his sword, and with his pen, he
greatly promoted the interests of God's kingdom in Israel. It was more his
honour that he was a servant of the Lord than that he was king of a great
kingdom; and so he himself accounted it (Ps. cxvi. 16): O Lord! truly I
am thy servant. In these verses,
I. He triumphs in God and
his relation to him. The first words of the psalm, I will love thee, O
Lord! my strength, are here prefixed as the scope and contents of the
whole. Love to God is the first and great commandment of the law, because it
is the principle of all our acceptable praise and obedience; and this use we
should make of all the mercies God bestows upon us, our hearts should
thereby be enlarged in love to him. This he requires and will accept; and we
are very ungrateful if we grudge him so poor a return. An interest in the
person loved is the lover's delight; this string therefore he touches, and
on this he harps with much pleasure (v. 2): "The Lord
Jehovah is my God; and then he is my rock, my fortress, all
that I need and can desire in my present distress." For there is that
in God which is suited to all the exigencies and occasions of his people
that trust in him. "He is my rock, and strength, and fortress;"
that is, 1. "I have found him so in the greatest dangers and
difficulties." 2. "I have chosen him to be so, disclaiming all
others, and depending upon him alone to protect me." Those that truly
love God may thus triumph in him as theirs, and may with confidence call
upon him, v. 3. This further use we should make of our deliverances,
we must not only love God the better, but love prayer the better--call
upon him as long as we live, especially in time of trouble, with an
assurance that so we shall be saved; for thus it is written, Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, Acts ii. 21.
II. He sets himself to
magnify the deliverances God had wrought for him, that he might be the more
affected in his returns of praise. It is good for us to observe all the
circumstances of a mercy, which magnify the power of God and his goodness to
us in it.
1. The more imminent and
threatening the danger was out of which we were delivered the greater is the
mercy of the deliverance. David now remembered how the forces of his enemies
poured in upon him, which he calls the floods of Belial, shoals of
the children of Belial, likely to overpower him with numbers. They
surrounded him, compassed him about; they surprised him, and by that
means were very near seizing him; their snares prevented him, and, when
without were fightings, within were fears and sorrows, v. 4, 5. His
spirit was overwhelmed, and he looked upon himself as a lost man; see Ps.
cxvi. 3.
2. The more earnest we
have been with God for deliverance, and the more direct answer it is to our
prayers, the more we are obliged to be thankful. David's deliverances were
so, v. 6. David was found a praying man, and God was found a
prayer-hearing God. If we pray as he did, we shall speed as he did. Though
distress drive us to prayer, God will not therefore be deaf to us; nay,
being a God of pity, he will be the more ready to succour us.
3. The more wonderful
God's appearances are in any deliverance the greater it is: such were the
deliverances wrought for David, in which God's manifestation of his presence
and glorious attributes is most magnificently described, v. 7,
&c. Little appeared of man, but much of God, in these deliverances. (1.)
He appeared a God of almighty power; for he made the earth shake and
tremble, and moved even the foundations of the hills (v. 7),
as of old at Mount Sinai. When the men of the earth were struck with fear,
then the earth might be said to tremble; when the great men of the
earth were put into confusion, then the hills moved. (2.) He showed his
anger and displeasure against the enemies and persecutors of his people: He
was wroth, v. 7. His wrath smoked, it burned, it was fire, it was
devouring fire (v. 8), and coals were kindled by it. Those
that by their own sins make themselves as coals (that is, fuel) to this fire
will be consumed by it. He that ordains his arrows against the persecutors
sends them forth when he pleases, and they are sure to hit the mark and do
execution; for those arrows are lightnings, v. 14. (3.) He showed his
readiness to plead his people's cause and work deliverance for them; for he
rode upon a cherub and did fly, for the maintaining of right and the
relieving of his distressed servants, v. 10. No opposition, no
obstruction, can be given to him who rides upon the wings of the wind,
who rides on the heavens, for the help of his people, and, in his
excellency, on the skies. (4.) He showed his condescension, in taking
cognizance of David's case: He bowed the heavens and came down (v.
9), did not send an angel, but came himself, as one afflicted in the
afflictions of his people. (5.) He wrapped himself in darkness, and yet
commanded light to shine out of darkness for his people, Isa. xlv. 15. He is
a God that hideth himself; for he made darkness his pavilion, v.
11. his glory is invisible, his counsels are unsearchable, and his
proceedings unaccountable, and so, as to us, clouds and darkness are round
about him; we know not the way that he takes, even when he is coming towards
us in ways of mercy; but, when his designs are secret, they are kind; for,
though he hide himself, he is the God of Israel, the Saviour. And, at his
brightness, the thick clouds pass (v. 12), comfort returns, the
face of affairs is changed, and that which was gloomy and threatening
becomes serene and pleasant.
4. The greater the
difficulties are that lie in the way of deliverance the more glorious the
deliverance is. For the rescuing of David, the waters were to be divided
till the very channels were seen; the earth was to be cloven till the very
foundations of it were discovered, v. 15. There were waters deep and
many, waters out of which he was to be drawn (v. 16), as Moses, who
had his name from being drawn out of the water literally, as David was
figuratively. His enemies were strong, and they hated him; had he been left
to himself, they would have been too strong for him, v. 17. And they
were too quick for him; for they prevented him in the day of his
calamity, v. 18. But, in the midst of his troubles, the Lord was
his stay, so that he did not sink. Note, God will not only deliver his
people out of their troubles in due time, but he will sustain them and bear
them up under their troubles in the mean time.
5. That which especially
magnified the deliverance was that his comfort was the fruit of it and God's
favour was the root and fountain of it. (1.) It was an introduction to his
preferment, v. 19. "He brought me forth also out of my straits
into a large place, where I had room, not only to turn, but to thrive
in." (2.) It was a token of God's favour to him, and that made it
doubly sweet: "He delivered me because he delighted in me, not
for my merit, but for his own grace and good-will." Compare this with 2
Sam. xv. 26, If he thus say, I have no delight in thee, here I am. We
owe our salvation, that great deliverance, to the delight God had in the Son
of David, in whom he has declared himself to be well pleased.
In singing this we must
triumph in God, and trust in him: and we may apply it to Christ the Son of
David. The sorrows of death surrounded him; in his distress he prayed (Heb.
v. 7); God made the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to cleave, and
brought him out, in his resurrection, into a large place, because he
delighted in him and in his undertaking.
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Devout
Thanksgivings; Devout Confidence
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20
The LORD
rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my
hands hath he recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the
LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all his
judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from
me. 23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from
mine iniquity. 24 Therefore hath the LORD
recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of
my hands in his eyesight. 25 With the merciful thou wilt show
thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt
show thyself froward. 27 For thou wilt save the afflicted
people; but wilt bring down high looks. 28 For thou wilt light
my candle: the LORD
my God will enlighten my darkness.
Here, I. David reflects
with comfort upon his own integrity, and rejoices in the testimony of his
conscience that he had had his conversation in godly sincerity and not with
fleshly wisdom, 2 Cor. i. 12. His deliverances were an evidence of this, and
this was the great comfort of his deliverances. His enemies had
misrepresented him, and perhaps, when his troubles continued long, he began
to suspect himself; but, when God visibly took his part, he had both the
credit and the comfort of his righteousness. 1. His deliverances cleared his
innocency before men, and acquitted him from those crimes which he was
falsely accused of. This he calls rewarding him according to his
righteousness (v. 20, 24), that is, determining the controversy
between him and his enemies, according to the justice of his cause and the
cleanness of his hands, from that sedition, treason, and rebellion, with
which he was charged. He had often appealed to God concerning his innocency;
and now God had given judgment upon the appeal (as he always will) according
to equity. 2. They confirmed the testimony of his own conscience for him,
which he here reviews with a great deal of pleasure, v. 21-23. His
own heart knows, and is ready to attest it, (1.) That he had kept firmly to
his duty, and had not departed, not wickedly, not wilfully departed, from
his God. Those that forsake the ways of the Lord do, in effect, depart from
their God, and it is a wicked thing to do so. But though we are conscious to
ourselves of many a stumble, and many a false step taken, yet if we recover
ourselves by repentance, and go on in the way of our duty, it shall not be
construed into a departure, for it is not a wicked departure, from our God.
(2.) That he had kept his eye upon the rule of God's commands (v.
22): "All his judgments were before me; and I had a respect to
them all, despised none as little, disliked none as hard, but made it my
care and business to conform to them all. His statutes I did not put away
from me, out of my sight, out of my mind, but kept my eye always upon them,
and did not as those who, because they would quit the ways of the Lord,
desire not the knowledge of those ways." (3.) That he had kept himself
from his iniquity, and thereby had approved himself upright before God.
Constant care to abstain from that sin, whatever it be, which most easily
besets us, and to mortify the habit of it, will be a good evidence for us
that we are upright before God. As David's deliverances cleared his
integrity, so did the exaltation of Christ clear his, and for ever roll away
the reproach that was cast upon him; and therefore he is said to be justified
in the Spirit, 1 Tim. iii. 16.
II. He takes occasion
thence to lay down the rules of God's government and judgment, that we may
know not only what God expects from us, but what we may expect from him, v.
25, 26. 1. Those that show mercy to others (even they need mercy, and cannot
depend upon the merit, no, not of their works of mercy) shall find mercy
with God, Matt. v. 7. 2. Those that are faithful to their covenants with
God, and the relations wherein they stand to him, shall find him all that to
them which he has promised to be. Wherever God finds an upright man, he will
be found an upright God. 3. Those that serve God with a pure conscience
shall find that the words of the Lord are pure words, very sure to be
depended on and very sweet to be delighted in. 4. Those that resist God, and
walk contrary to him, shall find that he will resist them, and walk contrary
to them, Lev. xxvi. 21, 24.
III. Hence he speaks
comfort to the humble ("Thou wilt save the afflicted people,
that are wronged and bear it patiently"), terror to the proud
("Thou wilt bring down high looks, that aim high, and look with
scorn and disdain upon the poor and pious"), and encouragement to
himself--"Thou wilt light my candle, that is, thou wilt revive
and comfort my sorrowful spirit, and not leave me melancholy; thou wilt
recover me out of my troubles and restore me to peace and prosperity; thou
wilt make my honour bright, which is now eclipsed; thou wilt guide my way,
and make it plain before me, that I may avoid the snares laid for me; thou
wilt light my candle to work by, and give me an opportunity of serving thee
and the interests of thy kingdom among men."
Let those that walk in
darkness, and labour under many discouragements in singing these verses,
encourage themselves that God himself will be a light to them.
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Grateful
Remembrance of Past Deliverances; Confidence in the Divine Goodness.
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29
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a
wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word
of the LORD
is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the LORD?
or who is a rock save our God? 32 It is God that
girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 33 He
maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high
places. 34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel
is broken by mine arms. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of
thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath
made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my
feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken
them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. 38 I
have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my
feet. 39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle:
thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40
Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them
that hate me. 41 They cried, but there was none to save them:
even unto the LORD,
but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the
dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou
hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known
shall serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey
me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. 45 The
strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD
liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be
exalted. 47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the
people under me. 48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea,
thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered
me from the violent man. 49 Therefore will I give thanks unto
thee, O LORD,
among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. 50 Great
deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to
David, and to his seed for evermore.
In these verses,
I. David looks back, with
thankfulness, upon the great things which God had done for him. He had not
only wrought deliverance for him, but had given him victory and success, and
made him triumph over those who thought to triumph over him. When we set
ourselves to praise God for one mercy we must be led by that to observe the
many more with which we have been compassed about, and followed, all our
days. Many things had contributed to David's advancement, and he owns the
hand of God in them all, to teach us to do likewise, in reviewing the
several steps by which we have risen to our prosperity. 1. God had given him
all his skill and understanding in military affairs, which he was not bred
up to nor designed for, his genius leading him more to music, and poetry,
and a contemplative life: He teaches my hands to war, v. 34.
2. God had given him bodily strength to go through the business and fatigue
of war: God girded him with strength (v. 32, 39), to such a
degree that he could break even a bow of steel, v. 34. What service
God designs men for he will be sure to fit them for. 3. God had likewise
given him great swiftness, not to flee from the enemies but to fly upon them
(v. 33): He makes my feet like hinds' feet, v. 36.
"Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; but" (whereas those
that take large steps are apt to tread awry) "my feet did not
slip." He was so swift that he pursued his enemies and overtook them, v.
37. 4. God had made him very bold and daring in his enterprises, and given
him spirit proportionable to his strength. If a troop stood in his way, he
made nothing of running through them; if a wall, he made nothing of leaping
over it (v. 29); if ramparts and bulwarks, he soon mounted them, and
by divine assistance set his feet upon the high places of the enemy, v.
33. 5. God had protected him, and kept him safe, in the midst of the
greatest perils. Many a time he put his life in his hand, and yet it was
wonderfully preserved: "Thou hast given me the shield of thy
salvation (v. 35), and that has compassed me on every side. By
that I have been delivered from the strivings of the people who aimed at my
destruction (v. 43), particularly from the violent man" (v.
48), that is, Saul, who more than once threw a javelin at him. 6. God had
prospered him in his designs; he it was that made his way perfect (v.
32) and it was his right hand that held him up, v. 35. 7. God had
given him victory over his enemies, the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites,
and all that fought against Israel: those especially he means, yet not
excluding the house of Saul, which opposed his coming to the crown, and the
partisans of Absalom and Sheba, who would have deposed him. He enlarges much
upon the goodness of God to him in defeating his enemies, attributing his
victories, not to his own sword or bow, nor to the valour of his mighty men,
but to the favour of God: I pursued them (v. 37), I wounded
them (v. 38); for thou hast girded me with strength (v.
39), else I could not have done it. All the praise is ascribed to God: Thou
hast subdued them under me, v. 39. Thou hast given me their
necks (v. 40), not only to trample upon them (as Josh. x. 24),
but to cut them off. Even those who hated David whom God loved, and were
enemies to the Israel of God, in their distress cried unto the Lord: but in
vain; he answered them not. How could they expect he should when it was he
whom they fought against? And, when he disowned them (as he will all those
that act against his people), no other succours could stand them in stead: There
was none to save them, v. 41. Those whom God has abandoned are
easily vanquished: Then did I beat them small as the dust, v.
42. But those whose cause is just he avenges (v. 47), and those whom
he favours will certainly be lifted up above those that rise up against
them, v. 48. 8. God had raised him to the throne, and not only
delivered him and kept him alive, but dignified him and made him great (v.
35): Thy gentleness has increased me--thy discipline and instruction;
so some. The good lessons David learned in his affliction prepared him for
the dignity and power that were intended him; and the lessening of him
helped very much to increase his greatness. God made him not only a great
conqueror, but a great ruler: Thou hast made me the head of the heathen
(v. 43); all the neighbouring nations were tributaries to him. See 2
Sam. viii. 6, 11. In all this David was a type of Christ, whom the Father
brought safely through his conflicts with the powers of darkness, and made
victorious over them, and gave to be head over all things to his church,
which is his body.
II. David looks up with
humble and reverent adorations of the divine glory and perfection. When God
had, by his providence, magnified him, he endeavours, with his praises, to
magnify God, to bless him and exalt him, v. 46. He gives honour to
him, 1. As a living God: The Lord liveth, v. 46. We had our
lives at first from, and we owe the continuance of them to, that God who has
life in himself and is therefore fitly called the living God. The
gods of the heathen were dead gods. The best friends we have among men are
dying friends. But God lives, lives for ever, and will not fail those that
trust in him, but, because he lives, they shall live also; for he is their
life. 2. As a finishing God: As for God, he is not only perfect
himself, but his way is perfect, v. 30. He is known by his
name Jehovah (Exod. vi. 3), a God performing and perfecting what he
begins in providence as well as creation, Gen. ii. 1. If it was God that
made David's way perfect (v. 32), much more is his own way so. There
is no flaw in God's works, nor any fault to be found with what he does,
Eccl. iii. 14. And what he undertakes he will go through with, whatever
difficulties lie in the way; what God begins to build he is able to finish.
3. As a faithful God: The word of the Lord is tried. "I have
tried it" (says David), "and it has not failed me." All the
saints, in all ages, have tried it, and it never failed any that trusted in
it. It is tried as silver is tried, refined from all such mixture and alloy
as lessen the value of men's words. David, in God's providences concerning
him, takes notice of the performance of his promises to him, which, as it
puts sweetness into the providence, so it puts honour upon the promise. 4.
As the protector and defender of his people. David had found him so to him:
"He is the God of my salvation (v. 46), by whose power
and grace I am and hope to be saved; but not of mine only: he is a
buckler to all those that trust in him (v. 30); he shelters and
protects them all, is both able and ready to do so." 5. As a non-such
in all this, v. 31. There is a God, and who is God save Jehovah?
That God is a rock, for the support and shelter of his faithful worshippers;
and who is a rock save our God? Thus he not only gives glory to God,
but encourages his own faith in him. Note, (1.) Whoever pretends to be
deities, it is certain that there is no God, save the Lord; all others are
counterfeits, Isa. xliv. 8; Jer. x. 10. (2.) Whoever pretends to be our
felicities, there is no rock, save our God; none that we can depend upon to
make us happy.
III. David looks forward,
with a believing hope that God would still do him good. He promises himself,
1. That his enemies should be completely subdued, and that those of them
that yet remained should be made his footstool,--that his government should
be extensive, so that even a people whom he had not known should serve him (v.
43), --that his conquests, and, consequently, his acquests, should be easy (As
soon as they hear of me they shall obey me, v. 44), --and that
his enemies should be convinced that it was to no purpose to oppose him;
even those that had retired to their fastnesses should not trust to them,
but be afraid out of their close places, having seen so much of David's
wisdom, courage, and success. Thus the Son of David, though he sees not yet
all things put under him, yet knows he shall reign till all opposing rule,
principality, and power shall be quite put down. 2. That his seed should be
forever continued in the Messiah, who, he foresaw, should come from his
loins, v. 50. He shows mercy to his anointed, his Messiah, to
David himself, the anointed of the God of Jacob in the type, and to
his seed for evermore. He saith not unto seeds, as of many, but to his seed,
as of one, that is Christ, Gal. iii. 16. It is he only that shall reign
for ever, and of the increase of whose government and peace there shall be
no end. Christ is called David, Hos. iii. 5. God has called him his
king, Ps. ii. 6. Great deliverance God does give, and will give to him,
and to his church and people, here called his seed, for evermore.
In singing these verses we
must give God the glory of the victories of Christ and his church hitherto
and of all the deliverances and advancements of the gospel kingdom, and
encourage ourselves and one another with an assurance that the church
militant will be shortly triumphant, will be eternally so.
