1. Hear the right, O Lord. He that has the worst cause makes the most noise; hence the
oppressed soul is apprehensive that its voice may be drowned, and therefore
pleads in this one verse for a hearing no less than three times. The troubled
heart craves for the ear of the great Judge, persuaded that with him to hear is
to redress. If our God could not or would not hear us, our state would be
deplorable indeed; and yet some set such small store by the mercy-seat that God
does not hear them for the simple reason that they neglect to plead. There is
more fear that we will not hear the Lord than that the Lord will not hear us. The
right. It is well if our case is good in itself and can be urged as a right
one, for right shall never be wronged by our righteous Judge; but if our suit
be marred by our infirmities, it is a great privilege that we may make mention
of the righteousness of our Lord Jesus, which always prevails on high. If my
wrongs clamor against me with great force and fury, I will pray the Lord to
hear that still louder and mightier voice of the right, and the rights of his
dear Son. Attend unto my cry. This shows the vehemence and earnestness
of the petitioner; he is no mere talker, he weeps and laments. A real, hearty,
bitter, piteous cry might almost melt a rock; there can be no fear about its
prevailing with our Father. A cry is our earliest utterance, and in many ways
the most natural of human sounds; if our prayer should like the infant’s cry be
more natural than intelligent, and more earnest than elegant, it will be none the
less eloquent with God. There is a mighty power in a child’s cry to prevail
with a parent’s heart. Give ear unto my prayer. Some repetitions are not
vain. The reduplication here used is neither superstition nor tautology, but is
like the repeated blow of a hammer hitting the same nail on the head to fix it
the more effectually. That goeth not out of feigned lips. Lips of deceit
are detestable to man and much more to God. Our sincerity in prayer has no
merit in it, any more than the earnestness of a mendicant in the street; but at
the same time the Lord has regard to it, through Jesus, and will not long
refuse his ear to an honest and fervent petitioner.
2. The
psalmist has now grown bold by the strengthening influence of prayer, and he
now entreats the Judge of all the earth to give sentence upon his case. He had
been libeled, and having brought his action before the highest court he, like
an innocent man, has no desire to escape the inquiry, but even invites and sues
for judgment. He does not ask for secrecy, but wants the result to come out to
the world. He wants sentence pronounced and executed forthwith. In some matters
we may venture to be as bold as this; but unless we can plead something better
than our own supposed innocence, it is terrible presumption thus to challenge
the righteousness of a sin-hating God. With Jesus as our complete and
all-glorious righteousness we need not fear, even if the day of judgment should
commence at once. Our hope does not lie in the prospect of favoritism from God,
and in the consequent suspension of his law; we expect to be judged on the same
principles as others, and through the blood and righteousness of our Redeemer
we shall pass the ordeal unscathed.
3. Thou hast proved mine heart. Like Peter, David uses the argument, “Thou knowest all
things, thou knowest that I love thee.” It is a most assuring thing to be able
to appeal at once to the Lord, and call upon our Judge to be a witness for our
defense. Thou hast visited me in the night. As if he had said, “Lord, you
have entered my house at all times, and have seen me when no one else was near;
you have come upon me unawares and marked my unrestrained actions, and you know
whether or not I am guilty of the crimes laid at my door.” Happy is the person
who can thus remember the omniscient eye, and the omnipresent visitor, and find
comfort in the remembrance. We hope we have had our midnight visits from our
Lord, and truly they are sweet; so sweet that the recollection of them sets us
longing for more. If we had been hypocrites, would we have had such fellowship,
or feel such hungerings after a renewal of it? Thou hast tried me, and shalt
find nothing. Surely the psalmist means nothing hypocritical or wicked in
the sense in which his slanderers accused him; for if the Lord should put the
best of his people into the crucible, the dross would be a fearful sight. When
the chief of all assayers says of us, at the last, that he has found nothing,
it will be a glorious hour indeed—“They are without fault before the throne of
God.” Even the all-detecting glance of Omniscience can see no flaw where the
great Substitute covers all with beauty and perfection. I am purposed that
my mouth shall not transgress. The number of diseases of the tongue is as
many as the diseases of all the rest of the man put together, and they are more
inveterate. Hands and feet one may bind, but who can fetter the tongue? Those
who have to smart over the falsehoods of others should be the more jealous over
themselves; perhaps this led the psalmist to register this holy resolution.
Notwithstanding all this David was slandered, as if to show us that the purest
innocence will be bemired by malice. There is no sunshine without a shadow, no
ripe fruit unpecked by the birds.
4. While we
are in the midst of men we shall be compelled to keep a corner in our diary
headed concerning the works of men. To be quite clear from the dead
works of carnal humanity is the devout desire of souls who are made alive by
the Holy Spirit. The psalmist had kept the highway of Scripture, and not chosen
the by-paths of malice. We would soon imitate the example of the worst people
if the grace of God did not use the Word of God as the great preservative from
evil. The paths of the destroyer have often tempted us; we have been
prompted to become destroyers too, when we have been sorely provoked, and
resentment has grown warm; but we have remembered the example of our Lord, who
would not call fire from heaven upon his enemies, but meekly prayed, “Father,
forgive them.” All the ways of sin are the paths of Satan, the destroyer.
Foolish indeed are those who give their hearts to the old murderer, because for
the time he panders to their evil desires. David could urge as the proof of his
sincerity that he had no part or lot with the ungodly in their ruinous ways.
How can we venture to plead our cause with God, unless we also can wash our
hands clean of all connection with the enemies of the Great King?
5. Under
trial it is not easy to behave ourselves aright; a candle is not easily kept alight
when many envious mouths are puffing at it. In evil times prayer is
particularly needful, and the wise resort to it at once. If we would be
preserved, we must cry to the Preserver, and enlist divine support upon our
side. Hold up my goings. A careful driver holds up his horse when going
downhill. We have all sorts of paces, both fast and slow, and the road is never
long of one sort, but with God to hold up our goings, nothing in the pace or in
the road can cast down. In thy paths. Forsaking Satan’s paths, he prayed
to be upheld in God’s paths. We cannot keep from evil without keeping to
good. That my footsteps slip not. The road is good, but our feet are
evil, and therefore slip, even on the King’s highway. Who wonders if carnal
people slide and fall in the ways of their own choosing? One may trip over an
ordinance as well as a temptation. Jesus Christ himself is a stumbling-block to
some, and the doctrines of grace have been the occasion of offense to many.
Grace alone can hold up our goings in the paths of truth.
6.
Experience is a blessed teacher. He who has tried the faithfulness of God in
hours of need has great boldness in laying his case before the throne. The
psalmist comes back to his first prayer, and sets an example of pressing our
suit again and again, until we have a full assurance that we have succeeded.
7. Marvelous.
Marvelous in its antiquity, its distinguishing character, its faithfulness, its
immutability, and above all marvelous in the wonders which it works. That
marvelous grace which has redeemed us with the precious blood of God’s only
begotten is here invoked to come to the rescue. That grace is sometimes hidden;
the text says, Show it. Present enjoyments of divine love are matchless
cordials to support fainting hearts. Believer, what a prayer is this! Consider
it well. O Lord, show thy marvelous lovingkindness; show it to my intellect,
and remove my ignorance; show it to my heart, and revive my gratitude; show it
to my faith, and renew my confidence; show it to my experience, and deliver me
from all my fears. The original word here used is the same which in Psalm 4:3
is rendered “set apart,” and it has the force of “distinguish thy mercies,
set them out, and set apart the choicest to be bestowed upon me in this hour of
my severest affliction.” Thou that savest … The title here given to our
gracious God is eminently consolatory. He is the God of salvation; it is his
present and perpetual habit to save believers; he puts forth his best and most
glorious strength, using his right hand of wisdom and might, to save all those,
of whatever rank or class, who trust themselves with him. Blessed God, to be
thus gracious to unworthy mortals, when they have but grace to rely upon thee
…! The right hand of God is interposed between the saints and all harm; God is
never at a loss for means; his own bare hand is enough.
8. Keep me as the apple of the eye. No part of the body is more precious, more tender, and more
carefully guarded than the eye; and of the eye, no portion is more especially
to be protected than the central apple, the pupil, or, as the Hebrew calls it,
“the daughter of the eye.” The all-wise Creator has placed the eye in a
well-protected position, and has given to every man so high a value for his
eyes, and so quick an apprehension of danger, that no member of the body is
more faithfully cared for. Thus, Lord, keep me, for I trust I am one with
Jesus, and so a member of his mystical body. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings. As a parent bird completely shields her brood from evil, and
meanwhile cherishes them with the warmth of her own heart, by covering them
with her wings. This clause is in the Hebrew in the future tense, as if to show
that what the writer had asked for but a moment before he was now sure would be
granted to him. Confident expectation should keep pace with earnest
supplication.
9. The foes
from whom David sought to be rescued were wicked. It is hopeful for us
when our enemies are God’s enemies. They were deadly enemies; they who
war against our faith aim at the very life of our life. Deadly sins are deadly
enemies. These foes laid David’s spirit waste, as invading armies ravage a
country. He likens himself to a besieged city. It may well quicken our business
upward, when all around us, every road, is blockaded by deadly foes. This is
our daily position, for all around us dangers and sins are lurking. O God,
protect us from them all.
10. They are inclosed in their own fat. Luxury and gluttony beget vain-glorious fatness of heart,
which shuts up its gates against all compassionate emotions and reasonable
judgments. The old proverb says that full bellies make empty skulls, and it is
yet more true that they frequently make empty hearts. Riches and
self-indulgence are the fuel upon which some sins feed their flames. Pride and
fullness of bread were Sodom’s twin sins (Ezekiel 16:49). With their mouth
they speak proudly. He who adores himself will have no heart to adore the
Lord. Full of selfish pleasure within his heart, the wicked fills his mouth
with boastful and arrogant expressions. Prosperity and vanity often lodge
together.
11. They have now compassed us in our steps. The fury of the ungodly is aimed not at one believer alone,
but at all the band: they have compassed us. The prince of darkness
hates all the saints for their Master’s sake. The Lord Jesus is one of us, and
herein is our hope. He is the Breaker, and will clear a way for us through the
hosts which environ us. The hatred of the powers of evil is continuous and
energetic, for they watch every step. How anxiously should we guard all
our movements, lest by any means we should be betrayed into evil! They have
set their eyes bowing down to the earth. The enemy watches the steps of the
righteous, as if they studied the ground on which they trod, and searched after
some wrong footmark to accuse them for the past, or some stumbling-stone to
cast in their future path to trip them in days to come.
12. Lions are
not more greedy, nor their ways more cunning than are Satan and his helpers
when engaged against the children of God. The blood of souls the adversary
thirsts after, and all his strength and craft are exercised to the utmost to
satisfy his detestable appetite. We are weak and foolish like sheep; but we
have a shepherd wise and strong, who knows the old lion’s wiles, and is more
than a match for his force; therefore will we not fear, but rest in safety in
the fold. Let us beware, however, of our lurking foe; and in those parts of the
road where we feel most secure, let us look about us lest our foe should leap
upon us.
13. Arise, O Lord. The more furious the attack, the more fervent the
psalmist’s prayer. His eye rests singly upon the Almighty, and he feels that
God has but to rise from the seat of his patience, and the work will be
performed at once. Let the lion spring upon us; if Jehovah steps between we
need no better defense. Disappoint him. Outwit and outrun him. Appoint
it otherwise than he has appointed it, and so disappoint him. Cast
him down. Make him sink upon his knees. Make him bow as the conquered bows
before the conqueror. What a glorious sight will it be to see Satan prostrate
before the conqueror. Deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword.
He recognizes the most profane and oppressive as being under the providential
rule of the King of kings, and used as a sword in the divine hand. What can a
sword do unless it be wielded by a hand? No more could the wicked annoy us,
unless the Lord permitted them to do so. Most translators are, however, agreed
that this is not the correct reading, but that it should be as Calvin puts it,
“Deliver my soul from the ungodly man by thy sword.” Thus David contrasts the
sword of the Lord with human aids and reliefs, and rests assured that he is
safe enough under the patronage of heaven.
14. Almost
every word of this verse has furnished matter for discussion to scholars, for
it is very obscure. We will, therefore, rest content with the common version,
rather than distract the reader with diverse translations. From men which
are thy hand. Having styled the ungodly a sword in his Father’s hand, he
now likens them to that hand itself, to set out his conviction that God could
as easily remove their violence as a man moves his own hand. He will never slay
his child with his own hand. From men of the world, mere earthworms; not
men of the world to come, but mere dwellers in this narrow sphere of mortality;
having no hopes or wishes beyond the ground on which they tread. Which have
their portion in this life. Like the prodigal, they have their portion, and
are not content to wait their Father’s time. Like Passion in the Pilgrim’s
Progress, they have their best things first, and revel during their little
hour. Luther was always afraid lest he should have his portion here, and
therefore frequently gave away sums of money which had been presented to him.
We cannot have earth and heaven too for our choice and portion; the wise choose
that which will last the longest. Whose belly thou fillest with thy hid
treasure. Their sensual appetite gets the grain which it craved for. A
generous man does not deny dogs their bones, and our generous God gives even
his enemies enough to fill them, if they were not so unreasonable as never to
be content. They are full of children … This was their fondest hope,
that a race from their loins would prolong their names far down the page of
history, and God has granted them this also; so that they have all that heart
can wish. What enviable creatures they seem, but it is only seeming! … and
leave the rest of their substance to their babes. They were fat
housekeepers, and yet leave plenty to their heirs. Living and dying they lacked
for nothing but grace, and, alas, that lack spoils everything. Self, self,
self, all these joys begin and end in basest selfishness; but oh, our God, how
rich are those who begin and end in thee! From all contamination and injury
which association with worldly men is sure to bring us, deliver thou us, O God!
15. As for me.
“I neither envy nor covet these men’s happiness, but partly have and partly
hope for a far better.” To behold God’s face and to be changed by that vision
into his image, so as to partake in his righteousness, this is my noble
ambition; and in the prospect of this I cheerfully waive all my present
enjoyments. My satisfaction is to come; I do not look for it as yet. I shall
sleep awhile, but I shall wake at the sound of the trumpet; wake to everlasting
joy, because I arise in thy likeness.
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
