1. Rebuke me not.
The Psalmist is very conscious that he deserves rebuke; he feels, moreover,
that in some form or other it must come upon him, if not for condemnation, yet
for conviction and sanctification. He does not ask that it may be totally
withheld, for he might thus lose a blessing in disguise: if thou remindest me
of my sin, it is good; but, oh, remind me not of it as one incensed against me,
lest thy servant’s heart sink in despair (compare Jeremiah 10:24).
2. Though I
deserve destruction, yet let thy mercy pity my frailty. This is the right way
to plead with God if we would prevail. Urge not your goodness or your
greatness, but plead your sin and your littleness. Cry, “I am weak,
therefore, O Lord, give me strength and crush me not.” A sense of sin had so
spoiled the psalmist’s pride, so taken away his vaunted strength, that he found
himself weak to obey the law, weak through the sorrow that was in him, too
weak, perhaps, to lay hold on the promise. The original may be read, “I am one
who droops,” or withered like a blighted plant. Heal me, for my bones are
vexed. Here he prays for healing, not merely for the mitigation of the ills
he endured, but their entire removal, and the curing of the wounds which had
arisen therefrom. His bones were “shaken,” as the Hebrew has it. When the
soul has a sense of sin, it is enough to make the bones shake.
3. My soul is also sore vexed. Lest we should imagine that it was merely bodily
sickness—although bodily sickness might be the outward sign—the psalmist goes
on to say, My soul is also sore vexed. Soul-trouble is the very soul of
trouble. It matters not that the bones shake if the soul be firm, but when the
soul itself is also sore vexed this is agony indeed.
But thou, O Lord,
how long? This verse ends abruptly, for words
failed, and grief drowned the little comfort which dawned upon him. The
psalmist had still, however, some hope; but that hope was only in his God. The
coming of Christ coming into the soul in his priestly robes of grace is the
hope of the penitent soul.
Calvin’s favorite expression was, “O Lord, how long?” Nor
could his sharpest pains, during a life of anguish, force from him any other
word. Surely this is the cry of the saints under the altar, and should be the
cry of the saints waiting for the millennial glories. Those of us who have
passed through conviction of sin knew what it was to count our minutes hours,
and our hours years, while mercy delayed its coming. We watched for the dawn of
grace, as they that watch for the morning.
4. As God’s
absence was the main cause of his misery, so his return would be enough to
deliver him from his trouble. He knows where to look, and what arm to lay hold
upon. He does not lay hold on God’s left hand of justice, but on his right hand
of mercy.
Observe how frequently David here pleads the name of
Jehovah, which is always intended where the word LORD is given in capitals.
Five times in four verses we here meet with it. Is not this a proof that the
glorious name is full of consolation to the tempted saint? Eternity, Infinity,
Immutability, Self-existence, are all in the name Jehovah, and all are full of
comfort.
5. David was
in great fear of temporal death, and perhaps eternal death. The following verse
is full of power. Churchyards are silent places. “If thou wilt spare me I will
praise thee. If I die, then must my mortal praise at least be suspended; and if
I perish in hell, then thou wilt never have any thanksgiving from me. True,
thou wilt doubtless be glorified, even in my eternal condemnation, but then, O
Lord, I cannot glorify thee voluntarily; and among the sons of men, there will
be one heart the less to bless thee.” Poor trembling sinners, may the Lord
help you to use this forcible argument! It is for God’s glory that a sinner
should be saved. When we seek pardon, we are not asking God to stain his
banner. He delights in mercy. When he gives mercy, he glorifies himself.
6–7. I am weary with my groaning. The psalmist had groaned till his throat was hoarse. God’s
people may groan, but they may not grumble. Yes, they must groan, being
burdened, or they will never shout in the day of deliverance. The next
sentence, we think, is not accurately translated. It should be, “I shall make
my bed to swim every night” (when nature needs rest, and when I am most alone
with my God). That is to say, my grief is fearful even now, but if God does not
soon save me it will not stay of itself, but will increase, until my tears are
so many that my bed itself swims. A description rather of what he feared would
be, than of what had actually taken place. May not our forebodings of future
woe become arguments which faith may urge when seeking present mercy? As an old
man’s eye grows dim with years, so says David, my eye is grown red and feeble
through weeping. Conviction sometimes has such an effect upon the body that
even the outward organs are made to suffer. It is no light matter to feel
oneself a sinner, condemned at the bar of God.
8. You must
have your times of weeping, but let them be short. Get up from your dunghills!
Cast aside your sackcloth and ashes!
David has found peace, and rising from his knees he begins
to sweep his house of the wicked. Repentance is a practical thing. It is not
enough to bemoan the desecration of the temple of the heart; we must scourge
out the buyers and sellers, and overturn the tables of the money changers. A
pardoned sinner will hate the sins which cost the Saviour his blood. Grace and
sin are quarrelsome neighbors, and one or the other must go to the wall. For
the Lord hath heard the voice of
my weeping. What a fine Hebraism, and what grand poetry it is in English!
Is there a voice in weeping? In what language does it utter its meaning? Why,
in that universal tongue which is known and understood in all the earth, and
even in heaven above. Weeping is the eloquence of sorrow. It is an unstammering
orator, needing no interpreter, but understood of all. Is it not sweet to
believe that our tears are understood even when words fail? Let us learn to
think of tears as liquid prayers, and of weeping as a constant dropping of
importunate intercession which will wear its way right surely into the very
heart of mercy, despite the stony difficulties which obstruct the way. My God,
I will weep when I cannot plead, for thou hearest the voice of my weeping.
9. The Holy
Spirit had wrought into the psalmist’s mind the confidence that his prayer was
heard. This is frequently the privilege of the saints. Praying the prayer of
faith, they are often infallibly assured that they have prevailed with God. We
read of Luther that, having on one occasion wrestled hard with God in prayer,
he came leaping out of his room crying, “We have conquered, we have prevailed
with God.” Assured confidence is no idle dream, for when the Holy Spirit
bestows it upon us, we know its reality. Here is past experience used for
future encouragement. He hath, he will.
10. This is
rather a prophesy than an imprecation. Death’s day is doom’s day, and both are
sure and may be sudden. We pray for our enemies, not against
them. God have mercy on them, and bring them into the right way.
Thus the psalm, like those which precede it, shows the
different states of the godly and the wicked.
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
