4 5 In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: Neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: will I direct] Better, as R.V., will I order. The word means to arrange, and is used of setting in order the pieces of wood (Gen. xxii. 9; Lev. i. 7), or the parts of the sacrifice (Lev. i. 8), upon the altar. One of the first duties of the priests in the morning was to prepare the wood for the morning sacrifice, which was offered at sunrise (Lev. vi. 12; Num. xxviii. 4). Hence some commentators think that the Psalmist intends to compare his daily morning prayer to the daily morning sacrifice. Cp. cxli. 2. But the word 'order' has no exclusive or even predominant sacrificial reference; and we should probably rather compare the expressions to order one's words' or 'one's cause' in Job xxxii. 14, xxiii. 4, and the more closely parallel use of the word without an object in Job xxxiii. 5, xxxvii. 19. and will look up] Rather, as R.V., will keep watch, for an answer, like a sentinel on the look out (2 Sam. xviii. 24). Cp. Micah vii. 7 ; Hab. ii. I. 4-6. The ground of the Psalmist's confident expectation of an answer is the holiness of God, who will tolerate no evil. Comp. the ideal of an earthly king's court in Ps. ci. 4. a God] El, not Elohim. If the fundamental idea of this name for God is that of power, its use here is significant. Power without goodness is the fetishistic conception of deity, to which human nature is prone (1. 21). neither shall evil dwell with thee] Rather, as R.V. marg., with the LXX, Vulg. and Jerome, The evil man shall not sojourn with thee. He cannot be (so to speak) God's guest, and enjoy the hospitality and protection which Oriental custom prescribes. See on xv. I, and cp. lxi. 4. To sinners the divine holiness is a consuming fire which they cannot endure (Is. xxxiii. 14). 5, 6. Various classes of evil doers. The foolish, or rather the arrogant, a word denoting boastful blustering presumption rather than folly; cp. lxxiii. 3, lxxv. 4: workers of iniquity, the standing expression in the Psalms for those who make a practice of what is morally worthless (cp. John iii. 20, v. 29); those 'that speak lies' (for leasing see on iv. 2); cp. lviii. 3, vii. 14: men of bloodshed and deceit, who do not shrink from murder and that by treachery, in fact the Shimeis and Doegs and Ahithophels and Joabs of David's time. shall not stand in thy sight] This may simply mean that they cannot impose upon God. He passes judgement on their hollow pretensions (cp. i. 5), and they shrink away condemned. But the idea is 1 Attractive but questionable is Lagarde's explanation of the name El as 'the Being to Whom man turns,' the aim and end of all human longing and effort. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: The LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: 6 7 And in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine 8 enemies; probably rather of courtiers standing in the presence of a monarch. Cp. Prov. xxii. 29; Ps. ci. 7; and the picture of the heavenly council in Job i. 6, ii. 1. will abhor] Abhorreth; a strong word: abominates, as something wholly unnatural and detestable. 7-9. In sharp contrast to the banishment of the wicked from God's presence is the Psalmist's freedom of access. He prays for the special guidance needed by one who is surrounded by insidious enemies. 7. I will come &c.] Better, as R.V., following the order of the original: in the multitude [or, abundance] of thy lovingkindness will I come into thy house. Cp. lxix. 13, 16, cvi. 7, 45. The wicked are excluded from Jehovah's presence by their own act; the godly man is admitted to it by Jehovah's grace. Note the contrast between "the multitude of thy lovingkindness," and "the multitude of their transgressions," v. 10. and in thy fear] Omit and. Fear, reverent awe, is the right spirit for approach to a holy God. Cp. ii. 11; Heb. xii. 28, 29. will I worship] The Heb. word means to prostrate one's self, the Oriental attitude of reverence to a superior or supplication (Gen. xviii. 2); hence in general, of the corresponding disposition of mind, to worship. The Psalmist worships facing the sanctuary which was the outward sign of Jehovah's presence among His people. Or is the heavenly temple meant? (1 Kings viii. 22). 8. The prayer for guidance which is the main object and central thought of the Psalm. Lead me...in thy righteousness] i.e. because Thou art righteous. A comparison of xxiii. 3; Prov. viii. 20; xii. 28; might incline us to understand the meaning to be, 'Lead me in the path of right conduct which Thou hast marked out for me:' but the true parallels are xxxi. 1, lxxi. 2, cxix. 40, cxliii. I, 11; which shew clearly that God's own righteousness is meant. One element of that righteousness is faithfulness to His saints in the fulfilment of covenant promises, and to this the Psalmist appeals. because of mine enemies] A peculiar word found only in xxvii. 11, liv. 5, lvi. 2, lix. 10. Render, as in PV. margin, them that lie in wait for me, like fowlers (Jer. v. 26, R.V.), or a leopard for its prey (Hos. xiii. 7). He prays that he may be preserved from falling into their snares. Make thy way straight before my face. 9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is very wickedness; Their throat is an open sepulchre; They flatter with their tongue. 10 Destroy thou them, O God; Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: make thy way straight] Or, as P.B.V. and R.V., plain. The word means both level and straight. The godly man's life is a path marked out for him by God (xvii. 5, lxxiii. 24, lxxxvi. 11). He prays that it may be such that he may be in no danger of stumbling or losing his way. Bring us not into temptation.' 9. The reason for the Psalmist's special need of guidance is the treacherous character of his enemies. There is no stedfastness, nothing upon which he can depend, in their talk: their inmost heart is bent on destruction (lit. is destructions, or perhaps, as R.V. marg., a yawning gulf): their throat, the instrument of speech (cxv. 7, cxlix. 6), threatens death like an open grave, though their words are so smooth and specious. 10-12. As he calls to mind their malice he can no longer refrain, but breaks out into urgent prayer that sentence may be passed upon them as guilty of high treason against God; that so, in the triumph of the right, the godly may rejoice in God's favour and protection. On such prayers see Introduction, p. lxxxviii ff. 10. Destroy thou them, O God] R.V., Hold them guilty; punish them; for it is by visible failure and disaster that their condemnation is to be made known. let them fall by their own counsels] Let their own machinations recoil on their heads and bring them to ruin. Cp. 2 Sam. xv. 31. Better so than as margin, fall from, i.e. fail in, their counsels. Cp. lxiv. 8. cast them out] As no longer worthy to dwell in the land: or, thrust them down from the position which they occupy. Cp. lxii. 4; xxxvi. 12. for they have rebelled against thee] Rebellion against the king was in a special way rebellion against Jehovah, whose representative he was. But it may refer quite generally to their defiance of divine authority, and their persecution of God's servant. 11. We may render more exactly: So shall all those that take refuge in thee rejoice, They shall ever shout for joy while thou protectest them, And they that love thy name shall exult in thee. Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: With favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. The punishment of the wicked according to their deeds is an occasion for the universal rejoicing of the godly. Not only do they sympathise with their fellow-saint in his deliverance, but they see in it a vindication of Jehovah's righteous government, and an assurance that those who have put themselves under His protection will not find their confidence misplaced. that love thy_name] Cp. lxix. 36, cxix. 132. The Name of Jehovah' is the compendious expression for His character and attributes as He has revealed them to men. See Oehler's O.T. Theology, § 56. Needs must those who love Him as He has revealed Himself rejoice when He proves Himself true to His promises. defendest them] Protectest, or shelterest them; in Thy secret pavilion (xxvii. 5, xxxi. 20); or, under Thy outspread wings (xci. 4). 12. The R.V. follows the Massoretic punctuation in transferring LORD to the second half of the verse: O LORD, thou wilt compass him with favour as with a shield. a shield] A buckler, or large shield to protect the whole body. Cp. xxxv. 2, xci. 4; 1 Sam. xvii. 7. From Kings x. 16, 17 it would seem that the 'buckler' (A.V. 'target') was about double the size of the 'shield.' PSALM VI. The Psalmist has been suffering from severe and long-continued sickness, which has brought him to the brink of the grave. The most bitter part of his trial is that he feels it to be a token of God's displeasure; and malicious enemies aggravate his suffering by taunting him with being forsaken by God. This is the natural view of the Psalmist's situation. Many however think that the attacks of enemies are his chief and primary ground of complaint, though these have wrought upon him until mental anxiety has produced actual sickness. But it is plain from vv. 1-3 that he is suffering from a direct divine visitation, and that the persecution of which he complains (v. 7) is a consequence and aggravation of it. Suffering and misfortune were popularly regarded (as we learn from the Book of Job) as evidences of commensurate guilt on the part of the sufferer. Hence when the godly suffered, he became a butt for the scornful taunts of the godless. Cp. Ps. xli. The title assigns the Psalm to David. Some, wrongly supposing that the hostility of enemies is the chief ground of complaint, would refer it to the time when he was persecuted by Saul: others think that this and some other Psalms were the outcome of a dangerous illness from which he suffered in the interval between his sin with Bathsheba and Absalom's rebellion. The fact is that here, as in many other Psalms, there is little or nothing to fix the author or even the period to 12 which the Psalm belongs. This however is clear, that the Psalm is the record of a personal experience, not the utterance of the nation in a time of calamity, personified as a sick and persecuted sufferer. Comp. Ps. xxx, which is a corresponding thanksgiving. This Psalm is the first of the seven known from ancient times in the Christian Church as 'the Penitential Psalms' (vi, xxxii, xxxviii, li, cii, cxxx, cxliii). They are all prescribed for use on Ash Wednesday, the 51st in the Commination Service, and the remaining six as Proper Psalms. The Psalm falls into three divisions: i. ii. The cry of anguish for relief in suffering, 1-3. iii. Triumphant assurance of answered prayer and restoration to God's favour, 8-10. To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. 6 O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. 2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. The title should be rendered as in R.V., For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set to the Sheminith (or, the eighth). See Introd. pp. xxi, xxiv f. 1-3. The Psalmist pleads for mercy, deprecating the severity of God's visitation. 1. The emphasis in the original lies on the words not in Thine anger, neither in Thy hot displeasure. The Psalmist pleads that his present suffering exceeds the measure of loving correction (Job v. 17; Prov. iii. 11, 12; Jer. x. 24; Rev. iii. 19). He can only interpret it as a sign that the wrath of God is resting upon him. Perhaps, like Job, he can detect no special sin to account for it. At least it is noteworthy that the Psalm contains no explicit confession of sin, and in this respect it is a remarkable contrast to the kindred Ps. xxxviii, which opens with the same words. 2. Have mercy upon me] Be gracious unto me. See note on iv. I. I am weak] R. V., I am withered away, retaining the primary meaning of the word. Cp. Nah. i. 4, where it is rendered languisheth. heal me] So Jeremiah prays (xvii. 14), combining this petition with that of v. 4. Cp. Job v. 18; Ps. xxx. 2; xli. 4; cxlvii. 3. for my bones are vexed] Even the solid framework of the body, the seat of its strength and solidity, is racked and shaken well nigh to dissolution. Cp. xxii. 14. 'The bones,' in the language of Hebrew poetry, denote the whole physical organism of the living man, as being the fundamental part of it. Hence they are the seat of health (Prov. xvi. 24), or of pain, as here. In some passages, 'the bones' come to be identified with the man himself, as a living agent. Cp. xxxv. 10. On the word 'vexed,' see note on ii. 5. |