Psalms 64 commentary

The psalmist earnestly begs of God to preserve him from disquieting fear. The tongue is a little member, but it boasts great things. The upright man is the mark at which the wicked aim, they cannot speak peaceably either of him or to him. There is no guard against a false tongue. It is bad to do wrong, but worse to encourage ourselves and one another in it. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the greatest degree, when it is thus fully set to do evil. A practical disbelief of God's knowledge of all things, is at the bottom of every wickedness. The benefit of a good cause and a good conscience, appears most when nothing can help a man against his enemies, save God alone, who is always a present help.

When God brings upon men the mischiefs they have desired on others, it is weight enough to sink a man to the lowest hell. Those who love cursing, it shall come upon them. Those who behold this shall understand, and observe God's hand in all; unless we do so, we are not likely to profit by the dispensations of Providence. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord; not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause of injured innocence pleaded effectually. They rejoice not in men, nor in themselves, nor in any creature, or creature enjoyments, nor in their wisdom, strength, riches, or righteousness; but in Christ, in whom all the seed of Israel are justified and glory, and in what he is to them, and has done for them.

PSALM 64

This psalm expresses the language of complaint and prayer. David, in order that he may incline God to compassionate his case, dwells upon the injustice and cruelty, the intrigues and deceitfulness of his enemies. At the close, his eyes are directed to God, in the anticipation of a joyful deliverance from their hands.

To the chief musician. A Psalm of David.

Psalm 64:1-6

1. Hear my voice, O God: in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2. Hide me from the counsel of the wicked; from the assembly of the workers of iniquity. 3. For they have whetted their tongue like a sword; they have directed [or aimed The original word דרך, darach, signifies to go, to send out, direct, and is used in different senses, according to the objects to which it is applied. “But most especially it is used of a bow or arrows. If of קשת, a bow, then it is to bend it; if of חצים, arrows, then it is not so properly to shoot as to prepare, or direct them. So Psalm 58:7, ‘He directeth or prepareth his arrows;’ so here, ‘they direct, or aim, or make ready their arrows.’ Parallel to which is that of Jeremiah 9:3, where being applied to the tongue, as to a bow that shoots out lying words, as arrows, it must be rendered bend; but here applied to words as arrows, direct, and not bend.” — Hammond ] for their arrow a bitter word, [or report.] 4. To shoot in secret at the perfect; suddenly will they shoot, and not fear. 5. They assure themselves in an evil work, they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? 6. They have searched out iniquities, they have accomplished a diligent search, [lit. a search searched out,] both the inward part of each of them, and the heart, is deep.

1. Hear my voice, O God! He begins by saying that he prayed earnestly, and with vehemence, stating, at the same time, what rendered this necessary. The voice is heard in prayer, proportionally to the earnestness and ardor which we feel. He condescends upon the circumstances of distress in which he was presently placed, and takes notice of the dangers to which his life was exposed from enemies, with other points fitted to excite the favorable consideration of God. His praying that God would protect his life, proves that it must have been in danger at this time. In the second verse, he intimates that his enemies were numerous; and that, without divine assistance, he would be unable to sustain their attacks. Some difficulty attaches to the words, from their being susceptible of two meanings. The Hebrew term סוד, sod, which signifies a secret, is understood by some to refer here to the secret plots of the wicked, and by others, to denote their meeting together for consultation. In translating it, I have employed a word which admits of either interpretation. The term רגשת, rigshath, used in the second part of the verse, may also be rendered in two ways, as meaning either an assembly of men, or noise and uproar. It comes from רגש, ragash, a root signifying to make a tumult. This would suggest that the word סוד, sod, in the former clause, might refer to the clandestine plots of the wicked, and רגשת, rigshath, in the latter, to their open violence; and that David prayed to be protected, on the one hand, from the malicious purposes of his enemies, and, on the other, from the forcible measures by which they proceeded to put them into execution. But the meaning first given, and which I have adopted, seems the most simple and natural, That he solicits the compassion of God, by complaining of the number that were banded against him. Still his language implies that he looked upon the protection of heaven as amply sufficient against the greatest combination of adversaries. I may add, that there is an implied plea for strengthening his cause in prayer, in what he says of the malice and wickedness of those who were opposed to him; for the more cruel and unjust the conduct of our enemies may be, we have proportionally the better ground to believe that God will interpose in our behalf.

PSALM 64

Psa 64:1-10. A prayer for deliverance from cunning and malicious enemies, with a confident view of their overthrow, which will honor God and give joy to the righteous.

1. preserve ... fear--as well as the danger producing it.

2. insurrection--literally, "uproar," noisy assaults, as well as their secret counsels.

3-4. Similar figures for slander (Psa 57:4; 59:7).

bend--literally, "tread," or, "prepared." The allusion is to the mode of bending a bow by treading on it; here, and in Psa 58:7, transferred to arrows.

5. A sentiment here more fully presented, by depicting their deliberate malice.

6. This is further evinced by their diligent efforts and deeply laid schemes.

7. The contrast is heightened by representing God as using weapons like theirs.

8. their ... tongue to fall, &c.--that is, the consequences of their slanders, &c. (compare Psa 10:2; 31:16).

all that see ... away--Their partners in evil shall be terrified.

9-10. Men, generally, will acknowledge God's work, and the righteous, rejoicing in it, shall be encouraged to trust Him (Psa 58:10).

Hear my voice - The psalmist feared for his life, and the lives of his fellow-captives; and he sought help of God. He prayed, and he lifted up his voice; and thus showed his earnestness.

Hide me from the secret counsel - They plotted his destruction, and then formed insurrections in order to accomplish it.

Workers of iniquity - Those who made sin their labor, their daily employment; it was their occupation and trade. It is supposed that by this title the Babylonians are intended. See Psa 6:3; Psa 14:4; Psa 36:12; Psa 53:4; Psa 59:2.

Who whet their tongue like a sword - They devise the evil they shall speak, and meditate on the most provoking, injurious, and defamatory words; as the soldier whets his sword that he may thereby the better cut down his enemies.

Their arrows - bitter words - Their defamatory sayings are here represented as deadly as poisoned arrows; for to such is the allusion here made.

That they may shoot in secret - They lurk, that they may take their aim the more surely, and not miss their mark.

Suddenly - When there is no fear apprehended, because none is seen.

They commune of laying snares - They lay snares to entrap those whom they cannot slay by open attack or private ambush.

They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search - The word חפש chaphash, which is used three times, as a noun and a verb, in this sentence, signifies to strip off the clothes. "They investigate iniquities; they perfectly investigate an investigation." Most energetically translated by the old Psalter: Thai ransaked wickednesses: thai failled ransakand in ransaking. To ransack signifies to search every corner, to examine things part by part, to turn over every leaf, to leave no hole or cranny unexplored. But the word investigate fully expresses the meaning of the term, as it comes either from in, taken privately, and vestire, to clothe, stripping the man bare, that he may be exposed to all shame, and be the more easily wounded; or from the word investigo, which may be derived from in, intensive, and vestigium, the footstep or track of man or beast. A metaphor from hunting the stag; as the slot, or mark of his foot, is diligently sought out, in order to find whither he is gone, and whether he is old or young, for huntsmen can determine the age by the slot. Tuberville, in his Treatise on Hunting, gives rules to form this judgment, To this the next verse seems to refer.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow - They endeavor to trace me out, that they may shoot me; but God will shoot at them. This, if the Psalm refer to the times of David, seems to be prophetic of Saul's death. The archers pressed upon him, and sorely wounded him with their arrows. 1Sam 31:3.

Their own tongue to fall upon them-selves - All the plottings, counsels, and curses, they have formed against me, shall come upon themselves.

And all men shall fear - They endeavored to hide their mischief; but God shall so punish them that all shall see it, and shall acknowledge in their chastisement the just judgment of God. The wicked, in consequence, shall fear, and,

The righteous shall be glad - They shall see that God does not abandon his followers to the malice of bad men. The rod of the wicked may come into the herttage of the just; but there it shall not rest. Calmet thinks that this is a prediction of the destruction of the Chaldeans, in consequence of which the Jewish people became highly respected by all the surrounding nations. But it may be applied more generally to the enmity of the wicked against the righteous, and how God counterworks their devices, and vindicates and supports his own followers.

Iniquities - They study diligently, to find new ways of doing mischief. Deep - Cunning, both to contrive and conceal, and to execute their plots.

Flee - Through fear of being involved in their destruction.

Glad - For the honour of God, which by this means is vindicated.

1. HEar my voyce, O God, in my prayer, preserve my Life from fear of the enemy.

(i. e.) From Danger: The Act or Passion of Fear, being oft put for its Object, Danger, as Psal. 14. 5. 1 Pet. 3. 14. and oft elsewhere.

2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity.

(i. e.) From the ill Effects of their Plots against me.

3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows , even bitter words .

Of which Phrase see the notes on Psal. 58. 7.

slanderous and pernicious Speeches against me.

Marginal references: Psal. 11. [illegible: 1+ letters].; Psal. 57. 4.

4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect : suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not .

Lying in Ambush, or hiding themselves in secret places, as Fowlers commonly do.

Or, upright Man; (i. e.) At me, who in spight of all their Calumnies, dare avow that my Heart is perfect with God, and that I am blameless as to them, having given them no just Provocation.

At the very first Opportunity.

Neither men, because they conceal it from them, as appears from the foregoing and following Words; nor God, whose Judgments they despise.

5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they commune of laying snares privily: they say, who shall see them ?

Heb. They strengthen, or sortisie themselves, by firm Resolutions, by assured Confidence of Success, by Uniting their Counsels and Forces together, and by mutual Encouragements and Exhortation[illegible: 1+ letters].

Their snares are so secretly laid that David cannot discern, and therefore not avoid them.

Marginal references: Or, Speech.; Heb. to hide Sna[illegible: 1+ letters]es.

6. They search out iniquities , they accomplish a diligent search , both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart is deep .

They study Diligently and Constantly, to find out either Matter, which they may lay to my Charge, or new Ways and means of doing me Mischief.

They have long and accurately searched, till at last they have Ripened and perfected their Thoughts, and found out a very cunning and deep Plot. Or, they say, we have accomplished our accurate search. By long searching we have at last found what we desired.

Mine Enemies are not onely Cruel and Malicious, but also very Cunning, both to Contrive and Conceal, and to execute their Plots.

Marginal references: Or, we [illegible: 1 word] Consumed by that which they heart throughly searched.; Heb. a part searched.

7. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow, suddenly shall they be wounded.

Though I can neither search out, or prevent their subtil Devises, yet God can and will certainly do it.

Shortly and unexpectedly.

Marginal references: Heb. their Wound shall be.

8. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves ; all that see them, shall flee away .

The Mischief of their hard Speeches and Threats, and Crafty Counsels against me, shall be turned against themselves.

Partly, through Abhorrency of them; and Partly, through Fear of being involved in their Destruction.

9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God ; for they shall wisely consider of his doing .

(i. e.) A greater number of those who shall see these Events.

(i. e.) This admirable work of divine Power and Wisdom, and Faithfulness.

Learning Wisdom by their Folly and Misery, and avoiding those Evil Courses, which brought them to Ruin.

10. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD , and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory .

Or, for the Lord, (i. e.) Not out of Malice or ill Will to the Persons of their Enemies, but for the Honour of God, which by this means is fully Vindicated, and greatly advanced.

To wit, in God, as their sure Rock and all-sufficient Portion.

Psa 64:1-4

The Psalm opens with an octostich, and closes in the same way. The infinitive noun שׂיח signifies a complaint, expressed not by the tones of pain, but in words. The rendering of the lxx (here and in Psa 55:3) is too general, ἐν τῷ θέεσθαί με. The “terror” of the enemy is that proceeding from him (gen. obj. as in Deu 2:15, and frequently). The generic singular אויב is at once particularized in a more detailed description with the use of the plural. סוד is a club or clique; רגשׁה (Targumic = המון, e.g., Eze 30:10) a noisy crowd. The perfects after אשׁר affirm that which they now do as they have before done; cf. Psa 140:4 and Psa 58:8, where, as in this passage, the treading or bending of the bow is transferred to the arrow. דּבר מר is the interpretation added to the figure, as in Psa 144:7. That which is bitter is called מר, root מר, stringere, from the harsh astringent taste; here it is used tropically of speech that wounds and inflicts pain (after the manner of an arrow or a stiletto), πικροὶ λόγοι. With the Kal לירות (Psa 11:2) alternates the Hiph. ירהוּ. With פּתאם the description takes a new start. ולא ייראוּ, forming an assonance with the preceding word, means that they do it without any fear whatever, and therefore also without fear of God (Psa 55:20; Psa 25:18).

Psa 64:5-6

The evil speech is one with the bitter speech in Psa 64:4, the arrow which they are anxious to let fly. This evil speech, here agreement or convention, they make firm to themselves (sibi), by securing, in every possible way, its effective execution. ספּר (frequently used of the cutting language of the ungodly, Psa 59:13; Psa 69:27; cf. Talmudic ספּר לשׁון שׁלישׁי, to speak as with three tongues, i.e., slanderously) is here construed with ל of that at which their haughty and insolent utterances aim. In connection therewith they take no heed of God, the all-seeing One: they say (ask), quis conspiciat ipsis. There is no need to take למו as being for לו (Hitzig); nor is it the dative of the object instead of the accusative, but it is an ethical dative: who will see or look to them, i.e., exerting any sort of influence upon them? The form of the question is not the direct (Psa 59:8), but the indirect, in which מי, seq. fut., is used in a simply future (Jer 44:28) or potential sense (Job 22:17; 1Ki 1:20). Concerning עולת, vid., Psa 58:3. It is doubtful whether תּמּנוּתּמּנוּ in Baer’s Psalterium is an error that has been carried over from Heidenheim's. is the first person (= תּמּונוּ) as in Num 17:13, Jer 44:18, or the third person as in Lam 3:22 (= תּמּוּ, which first of all resolved is תּנמוּ, and then transposed תּמּנוּ, like מעזניה = מענזיה = מעזּיה, Isa 23:11). The reading טמנוּ, from which Rashi proceeds, and which Luther follows in his translation, is opposed by the lxx and Targum; it does not suit the governing subject, and is nothing but an involuntary lightening of the difficulty. If we take into consideration, that תּמם signifies not to make ready, but to be ready, and that consequently חפשׂ מחפּשׂ is to be taken by itself, then it must be rendered either: they excogitate knavish tricks or villainies, “we are ready, a clever stroke is concocted, and the inward part of man and the heart is deep!” or, which we prefer, since there is nothing to indicate the introduction of any soliloquy: they excogitate knavish tricks, they are ready - a delicately devised, clever stroke (nominative of the result), and (as the poet ironically adds) the inward part of man and the heart is (verily) deep. There is nothing very surprising in the form תּמּנוּ for תּמּוּ, since the Psalms, whenever they depict the sinful designs and doings of the ungodly, delight in singularities of language. On ולב (not ולב) = (אישׁ) ולב = ולבּו, cf. Psa 118:14.

Psa 64:7-10

Deep is man’s heart and inward part, but not too deep for God, who knoweth the heart (Jer 17:9.). And He will just as suddenly surprise the enemies of His anointed with their death-blow, as they had plotted it for him. The futt. consec. that follow represent that which is future, with all the certainty of an historical fact as a retribution springing from the malicious craftiness of the enemies. According to the accentuation, Psa 64:8 is to be rendered: “then will Elohim shoot them, a sudden arrow become their wounds.” Thus at length Hupfeld renders it; but how extremely puzzling is the meaning hidden behind this sentence! The Targum and the Jewish expositors have construed it differently: “Then will Elohim shoot them with arrows suddenly;” in this case, however, because Psa 64:8 then becomes too blunt and bald, פּתאם has to be repeated in thought with this member of the verse, and this is in itself an objection to it. We interpunctuate with Ewald and Hitzig thus: then does Elohim shoot them with an arrow, suddenly arise (become a reality) their wounds (cf. Mic 7:4), namely, of those who had on their part aimed the murderous weapon against the upright for a sudden and sure shot. Psa 64:9 is still more difficult. Kimchi’s interpretation, which accords with the accents: et corruere facient eam super se, linguam suam, is intolerable; the proleptic suffix, having reference to לשׁונם (Exo 3:6; Job 33:20), ought to have been feminine (vid., on Psa 22:16), and “to make their own tongue fall upon themselves” is an odd fancy. The objective suffix will therefore refer per enallagen to the enemy. But not thus (as Hitzig, who now seeks to get out of the difficulty by an alteration of the text, formerly rendered it): “and they cause those to fall whom they have slandered [lit. upon whom their tongue came].” This form of retribution does not accord with the context; and moreover the gravely earnest עלימו, like the הוּ-, refers more probably to the enemies than to the objects of their hostility. The interpretation of Ewald and Hengstenberg is better: “and one overthrows him, inasmuch as their tongue, i.e., the sin of their tongue with which they sought to destroy others, comes upon themselves.” The subject to ויּכשׁילהוּ, as in Psa 63:11; Job 4:19; Job 7:3; Luk 12:20, is the powers which are at the service of God, and which are not mentioned at all; and the thought עלימו לשׁונם (a circumstantial clause) is like Psa 140:10, where in a similar connection the very same singularly rugged lapidary, or terse, style is found. In Psa 64:9 we must proceed on the assumption that ראה ב in such a connection signifies the gratification of looking upon those who are justly punished and rendered harmless. But he who tarries to look upon such a scene is certainly not the person to flee from it; התנודד does not here mean “to betake one’s self to flight” (Ewald, Hitzig), but to shake one’s self, as in Jer 48:27, viz., to shake the head (Psa 44:15; Jer 18:16) - the recognised (vid., Psa 22:8) gesture of malignant, mocking astonishment. The approbation is awarded, according to Psa 64:10, to God, the just One. And with the joy at His righteous interposition, - viz. of Him who has been called upon to interpose, - is combined a fear of the like punishment. The divine act of judicial retribution now set forth becomes a blessing to mankind. From mouth to mouth it is passed on, and becomes an admonitory nota bene. To the righteous in particular it becomes a consolatory and joyous strengthening of his faith. The judgment of Jahve is the redemption of the righteous. Thus, then, does he rejoice in his God, who by thus judging and redeeming makes history into the history of redemption, and hide himself the more confidingly in Him; and all the upright boast themselves, viz., in God, who looks into the heart and practically acknowledges them whose heart is directed unswervingly towards Him, and conformed entirely to Him. In place of the futt. consec., which have a prophetic reference, simple futt. come in here, and between these a perf. consec. as expressive of that which will then happen when that which is prophetically certain has taken place. Thanksgiving Song for Victory and Blessings Bestowed

In this Psalm, the placing of which immediatley after the preceding is at once explicable by reason of the ויּיראוּ so prominent in both (Psa 64:10; Psa 65:9), we come upon the same intermingling of the natural and the historical as in Psa 8:1-9; Psa 19:1-14; Psa 29:1-11. The congregation gathered around the sanctuary on Zion praises its God, by whose mercy its imperilled position in relation to other nations has been rescued, and by whose goodness it again finds itself at peace, surrounded by fields rich in promise. In addition to the blessing which it has received in the bounties of nature, it does not lose sight of the answer to prayer which it has experienced in its relation to the world of nations. His rule in human history and His rule in nature are, to the church, reflected the one in the other. In the latter, as in the former, it sees the almighty and bountiful hand of Him who answers prayer and expiates sins, and through judgment opens up a way for His love. The deliverance which it has experienced redounds to the acknowledgment of the God of its salvation among the most distant peoples; the beneficial results of Jahve’s interposition in the events transpiring in the world extend temporally as well as spiritually far beyond the bounds of Israel; it is therefore apparently the relief of Israel and of the peoples in general from the oppression of some worldly power that is referred to. The spring of the third year spoken of in Isa 37:30, when to Judah the overthrow of Assyria was a thing of the past, and they again had the fields ripening for the harvest before their eyes, offers the most appropriate historical basis for the twofold purport of the Psalm. The inscription, To the Precentor, a Psalm, by David, a song (cf. Psa 75:1; Psa 76:1), does not mislead us in this matter. For even we regard it as uncritical to assign to David all the Psalms bearing the inscription לדוד. The Psalm in many MSS (Complutensian, Vulgate), beside the words Εἰς τὸ τέλος ψαλμός τῷ Δαυίδ ᾠδὴ, has the addition ᾠδὴ Ἱιερεμίου καὶ Ἰεζεκιὴλ, (ἐκ) τοῦ λαοῦ τῆς παροικίας ὄτε ἔμελλον ἐκπορεύεσθαι. At the head of the following Psalm it might have some meaning - here, however, it has none.

Malice of David's Enemies.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? 6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

David, in these verses, puts in before God a representation of his own danger and of his enemies' character, to enforce his petition that God would protect him and punish them.

I. He earnestly begs of God to preserve him (v. 1, 2): Hear my voice, O God! in my prayer; that is, grant me the thing I pray for, and this is it, Lord, preserve my life from fear of the enemy, from the enemy that I am in fear of. He makes request for his life, which is, in a particular manner, dear to him, because he knows it is designed to be very serviceable to God and his generation. When his life is struck at it cannot be thought he should altogether hold his peace, Esth. vii. 2, 4. And, if he plead his fear of the enemy, it is no disparagement to his courage; his father Jacob, that prince with God, did so before him. Gen. xxii. 11, Deliver me from the hand of Esau, for I fear him. Preserve my life from fear, not only from the thing itself which I fear, but from the disquieting fear of it; this is, in effect, the preservation of the life, for fear has torment, particularly the fear of death, by reason of which some are all their life-time subject to bondage. He prays, "Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked, from the mischief which they secretly consult among themselves to do against me, and from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity, who join forces, as they join counsels, to do me a mischief." Observe, The secret counsel ends in an insurrection; treasonable practices begin in treasonable confederacies and conspiracies. "Hide me from them, that they may not find me, that they may not reach me. Let me be safe under thy protection."

II. He complains of the great malice and wickedness of his enemies: "Lord, hide me from them, for they are the worst of men, not fit to be connived at; they are dangerous men, that will stick at nothing; so that I am undone if thou do not take my part."

1. They are very spiteful in their calumnies and reproaches, v. 3, 4. They are described as military men, with their sword and bow, archers that take aim exactly, secretly, and suddenly, and shoot at the harmless bird that apprehends not herself in any danger. But, (1.) Their tongues are their swords, flaming swords, two-edged swords, drawn swords, drawn in anger, with which they cut, and wound, and kill, the good name of their neighbours. The tongue is a little member, but, like the sword, it boasts great things, Jam. iii. 5. It is a dangerous weapon. (2.) Bitter words are their arrows—scurrilous reflections, opprobrious nicknames, false representations, slanders, and calumnies, the fiery darts of the wicked one, set on fire to hell. For these their malice bends their bows, to send out these arrows with so much the more force. (3.) The upright man is their mark; against him their spleen is, and they cannot speak peaceably either of him or to him. The better any man is the more he is envied by those that are themselves bad, and the more ill is said of him. (4.) They manage it with a great deal of art and subtlety. They shoot in secret, that those they shoot at may not discover them and avoid the danger, for in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. And suddenly do they shoot, without giving a man lawful warning or any opportunity to defend himself. Cursed be he that thus smites his neighbour secretly in his reputation, Deut. xxvii. 24. There is no guard against a pass made by a false tongue. (5.) Herein they fear not, that is, they are confident of their success, and doubt not but by these methods they shall gain the point which their malice aims at. Or, rather, they fear not the wrath of God, which they will be the portion of a false tongue. They are impudent and daring in the mischief they do to good people, as if they must never be called to an account for it.

2. They are very close and very resolute in their malicious projects, v. 5. (1.) They strengthen and corroborate themselves and one another in this evil matter, and by joining together in it they make one another the more bitter and the more bold. Fortiter calumniari, aliquid adhærebit—Lay on an abundance of reproach; part will be sure to stick. It is bad to do a wrong thing, but worse to encourage ourselves and one another in doing it; this is doing the devil's work for him. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the highest degree when it is thus fully set to do evil and fears no colours. It is the office of conscience to discourage men in an evil matter, but, when that is baffled, the case is desperate. (2.) They consult with themselves and one another how to do the most mischief and most effectually: They commune of laying snares privily. All their communion is in sin and all their communication is how to sin securely. They hold councils of war for finding out the most effectual expedients to do mischief; every snare they lay was talked of before, and was laid with all the contrivance of their wicked wits combined. (3.) They please themselves with an atheistical conceit that God himself takes no notice of their wicked practices: They say, Who shall see them? A practical disbelief of God's omniscience is at the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked.

3. They are very industrious in putting their projects in execution (v. 6): "They search out iniquity; they take a great deal of pains to find out some iniquity or other to lay to my charge; they dig deep, and look far back, and put things to the utmost stretch, that they may have something to accuse me of;" or, "They are industrious to find out new arts of doing mischief to me; in this they accomplish a diligent search; they go through with it, and spare neither cost nor labour." Evil men dig up mischief. Half the pains that many take to damn their souls would serve to save them. They are masters of all the arts of mischief and destruction, for the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, are deep; deep as hell, desperately wicked, who can know it? By the unaccountable wickedness of their wit and of their will, they show themselves to be, both in subtlety and malignity, the genuine offspring of the old serpent.

God's Judgments on Persecutors.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. 8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. 9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. 10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord , and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

We may observe here,

I. The judgments of God which should certainly come upon these malicious persecutors of David. Though they encouraged themselves in their wickedness, here is that which, if they would believe and consider it, was enough to discourage them. And it is observable how the punishment answers the sin. 1. They shot at David secretly and suddenly, to wound him; but God shall shoot at them, for he ordains his arrows against the persecutors (Ps. vii. 13), against the face of them, Ps. xxi. 12. And God's arrows will hit surer, and fly swifter, and pierce deeper, than theirs do or can. They have many arrows, but they are only bitter words, and words are but wind: the curse causeless shall not come. But God has one arrow that will be their death, his curse which is never causeless, and therefore shall come; with it they shall be suddenly wounded, that is, their wound by it will be a surprise upon them, because they were secure and not apprehensive of any danger. 2. Their tongues fell upon him, but God shall make their tongues to fall upon themselves. They do it by the desert of their sin; God does it by the justice of his wrath, v. 8. When God deals with men according to the desert of their tongue-sins, and brings those mischiefs upon them which they have passionately and maliciously imprecated upon others, then he makes their own tongues to fall upon them; and it is weight enough to sink a man to the lowest hell, like a talent of lead. Many have cut their own throats, and many more have damned their own souls, with their tongues, and it will be an aggravation of their condemnation. O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself, art snared in the words of thy mouth. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. Those that love cursing, it shall come unto them. Sometimes men's secret wickedness is brought to light by their own confession, and then their own tongue falls upon them.

II. The influence which these judgments should have upon others; for it is done in the open sight of all, Job xxxiv. 26.

1. Their neighbours shall shun them and shift for their own safety. They shall flee away, as the men of Israel did from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Num. xvi. 27. Some think this was fulfilled in the death of Saul, when not only his army was dispersed, but the inhabitants of the neighbouring country were so terrified with the fall, not only of their king but of his three sons, that they quitted their cities and fled, 1 Sam. xxxi. 7.

2. Spectators shall reverence the providence of God therein, v. 9. (1.) They shall understand and observe God's hand in all (and, unless we do so, we are not likely to profit by the dispensations of Providence, Hos. xiv. 9): They shall wisely consider his doing. There is need of consideration and serious thought rightly to apprehend the matter of fact, and need of wisdom to put a true interpretation upon it. God's doing is well worth our considering (Eccl. vii. 13), but it must be considered wisely, that we put not a corrupt gloss upon a pure text. (2.) They shall be affected with a holy awe of God upon the consideration of it. All men (all that have any thing of the reason of a man in them) shall fear and tremble because of God's judgments, Ps. cxix. 120. They shall fear to do the like, fear being found persecutors of God's people. Smite the scorner and the simple shall beware. (3.) They shall declare the work of God. They shall speak to one another and to all about them of the justice of God in punishing persecutors. What we wisely consider ourselves we should wisely declare to others, for their edification and the glory of God. This is the finger of God.

3. Good people shall in a special manner take notice of it, and it shall affect them with a holy pleasure, v. 10. (1.) It shall increase their joy: The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause of injured innocency pleaded effectually. (2.) It shall encourage their faith. They shall commit themselves to him in the way of duty and be willing to venture for him with an entire confidence in him. (3.) Their joy and faith shall both express themselves in a holy boasting: All the upright in heart, that keep a good conscience and approve themselves to God, shall glory, not in themselves, but in the favour of God, in his righteousness and goodness, their relation to him and interest in him. Let him that glories glory in the Lord.

PSAL. LXIV.

To the Master of the Musicke, a Psalme of David.

HEare my voyce, O God, in my praier; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret of evill doers, from the tumultuous rage of them that worke painfull iniquity. Which have whetted their tongue as a sword, have bent their arrow, even a bitter word. To shoot in secret places at the perfect; suddenly will they shoot at him, and feare not. They confirme to themselves an evill word; they tell to hide snares: they say, who shall see them? They search out injurious evils, they accomplish an exquisite search, even the inmost of each man, & the deep heart. But God hath shot at them an arrow, suddenly their strokes have beene. And when they have caused them every one to fall upon themselves by their owne tongue, they shall betake themselves to flight, whosoever seeth them.

And all men shall feare, and declare the worke of God, and prudently consider his deed. The just man shall rejoyce in Iehovah, and hope for safety in him, and glory shall all the upright of heart.

Annotations. PRayer] or meditation: see Psa. 55. 3. the Greek saith, when I pray unto thee. Vers. 3. the secret] or secrecy, mysterie, that is, councell, or assembly of evill doers, that is, the malignant Church, as the holy Church is called the secrecie (or mysterie) of the righteous, Psal. 111. 1. Vers. 4. bent their arrow] that is, laid their arrow ready on their bended bow. The like phrase was in Psal. 58. 8. See also Psal. 11. 2. bitter word] or bitter thing, as the Greeke explaineth it. So after in vers. 6. an evill word, or thing. See the notes on Psal. 7. 1. A bitter word is here called an arrow; and in Ier. 9. 3. their tongue is called their bow. Vers. 6. they tell, to hide] or, of hiding, that is, impart their counsell one to another, how to hide snares. they accomplish an exquisite search] or, a search searched out, that is, a curious diligent search. The Greek translateth, they are consumed searching out searches: meaning that they spend both their time and themselves, in searching out evils against the just. It may also be read, wee are consumed by the search searched out, meaning that in their judgment wee cannot escape their snares. even the inmost] Hebr. and the inmost, that is, whatsoever any mans wit and deepe heart can finde out: or, So deepe (is) the inward part and heart of man. Vers. 8. have beene] or, assuredly shall be: the time past being used for more certainty, as in Isa. 9. 6. And by have beene, is meant the sure event and accomplishment of Gods judgements on them, with the continuance of the same. As the Hebrew word of being, signifieth to come to passe, or have event, 1 Sam. 4. 1. Iob 37. 6. and to continue to be, Dan. 1. 21. Esai. 66. 2. Ruth 1. 2. Vers. 9. they have caused them every one] Hebr. caused him: which being spoken of many, as in this place, meaneth them all severally, to one man. to fall, &c.] or to stumble downe: signifying, that Gods strokes should have effect to overthrow them by their owne devices. betake themselves to flight] or, shall wander about in their flight; which noteth great feare and unstaiednesse, (which the Greeke therefore turneth, are troubled) and is meant of the wicked, their favourites.

PSAL. LXIV.

A Pſalm of David] Of like argument with the former. The Arabick prefaceth, when Taluth (i.e. Saul) perſecuted him. By this and many the like Pſalmes we may ſee, that David did not complain for nothing; and his ſingular conſtancy under ſo many trials, may well make us reſolve as [illegible: 1 word] did when he had read the life of holy Hilarion, he rolled up the book and ſaid, Well: Hilarion (David) ſhall be the Champion that I will imitate.

Verſ. 1. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer] Or, in my meditation. To an effectuall prayer muſt concur meditation, invocation, affection, and beleef of audience, as here.

Preſerve my life] Heb. Lives; ſo uſually called for the many faculties, operarations, revolutions, commodities of life.

Verſ. 2. Hide me from the ſecret counſel of the wicked] Or from the myſterie of evill-do[illegible: 1 letter]ers, from the Church malignant, that myſtery of iniquity. See the contrary, Pſal. 121.1.

From the inſurrection, &c.] Heb. From their tumult, their hurricum, their open force, as well as from their ſecret fraud. Let thy protection equal their projects, who turn every ſtone to undoe mee.

Verſ. 3. Who whet their tongue like a ſword] The tongue in its form reſembleth a flaming ſword, and being ſet on fire of Hell it woundeth deeply and dangerouſly. It is ordinary with David to compare aulicas criminationes cum a[illegible: 2 letters]is caſtrenſibus, court calumnies with warlike weapons, Pſal. 5, & 11. & 57.4. See there.

And [illegible: 1 word] their bows to ſhout their arrows] Heb. Bend their arrow, that is, as Pſal. 11.2. they bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the ſtring, &c. See a like phraſe, Jer. 9.3.

Even bitter words] Virulent and venemous quae leviter volant, non leviter violant: for as Medius in Plutarch ſaith, though the wound they make be haply healed; [non-Latin text not transcribed] Plut. Aliquid ſaltem adb[illegible: 1 letter]reb it. Machiavel. yet there will be ſtill a ſca[illegible: 2 letters]. An aſperſion, though not ſ[illegible: 2 letters]lly beleeved, leaveth behind it a lower eſtimation of the party than before.

Verſ. 4. That they may ſh[illegible: 2 letters]t in [illegible: 1 word] the perfect] Innocency and integrity is [illegible: 1 word] target againſt calumny; but every Z[illegible: 1 letter]pyr[illegible: 1 letter] ſhall be ſure of his [illegible: 1 span] wrong, will ſhoot him down if hee can.

Suddenly do they ſhoot at him] As the hunter when he lyeth hid in a buſh; or as when hedges are lined, as they call it, with muskettiers, which gall and kill.

And feel not] They are not at all touched either with reverence toward God, or reſpect to man, but are utterly debauched, they ride on without reigns, &c. There is an elegancy in the originall, that cannot be engliſhed.

Verſ. 5. They encourage themſelves in an evill matter] Thus he riſeth in his complaint, and ſheweth how by the neglect of piety and humanity, they were grown obdurate and obſtinate, yea confident, or rather impudent, in their evill practices.

They commune of laying ſnares privily] viz. To intangle and intrap mee. See Neh. 4.11. with the Note.

They ſay, who ſhall ſee them?] God who is All-eye ſhall, but they having hid God from themſelves, think they can likewiſe hide themſelves and their ſnares from God. But [non-Latin text not transcribed]

Verſ. 6. They ſearch out iniquities] Abſtruſiſſima quae que exquiſierunt; they ſearch the Devils Skul for new inventions, who is ready enough to lend them his ſeven heads to plot, and his ten horns to puſh at good people. How wittily wicked was Saul to deſtroy David, if he could have done it? See his counſell to the Ziphites, 1 Sam. 23.22.

They accompliſh a diligent ſearch] Heb. A ſearch ſearched, i. e. They ſeek out all occaſions, they try all tricks, they do all that can be done to undoe mee. Whereunto he fitly ſubjoyneth this Epiphonema by way of exclamation, Adeo intimum viri & cor profundum eſt, So deep is the inward part and heart of man! (for ſo I read it) ſo deep and fathomleſſe, ſo deceitfull, and deſperately wicked.

Verſ. 7. But God ſhall ſhoot at them, &c.] He ſhall overſhoot them in their own bow, pay them home in their own coyn; he will deal with them lege talionis, for he loveth to retaliate, ſee verſe 4. they ſhall find that he can handle his armes a fair deal better againſt them, than they did againſt David.

With an arrow ſuddenly] As was Ahab, and the rich fool, Luk. 12. whiles he ſat pruning himſelf like a bird on a bough, death fetch'd him off ſuddenly by his ſhaft ſhot at him, and down he came tumbling. See 1 Theſ. 5.3.

Verſ. 8. So they ſhall make their own tongue, &c.] According to Prov. 12.13. Pſal. 59.12. See the Notes.

And all that ſee them ſhall flee away] With horrour and aſtoniſhment, Heb. they ſhall wander about in their flight; this is ſpoken of their favourers and abbetters fearing to fall under the like puniſhment, and being agitated by the furies of their own evill conſciences.

Verſ. 9.Poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes. And all men ſhall fear] Seeing ſuch and ſuch hanged up in Gibbits, as it were, for a terrour to others.

And ſhall declare the work of God] viz. His power and providence, which ſome doubt of till thus powerfully convinced, as Claudian was by the deſtruction of Ruffinus.

Abſtulit hunc tandem Ruffini poena tumultum, Abſolvit que deos; & non jam ad culmina rerum Injuſtes creviſſe queror; tolluntur in altum, Ut lapſu graviors ruant —

Verſ. 10.Inde arripient fanctae cujuldam jicta[illegible: 3 letters] argumentum. Beza. The Righteous ſhall bee glad in the Lord] Not my ſelf only, but all the Saints ſhall be comforted, confirmed, and occaſioned to make their boaſt of God with an holy gloriation.

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer. It often helps devotion if we are able to use the voice and speak audibly; but even mental prayer has a voice with God which he will hear. We do not read that Moses had spoken with his lips at the Red Sea, and yet the Lord said to him, "Why criest thou unto me?" Prayers which are unheard on earth may be among the best heard in heaven. It is our duty to note how constantly David turns to prayer; it is his battle axe and weapon of war; he uses it under every pressure, whether of inward sin or outward wrath, foreign invasion or domestic rebellion. We shall act wisely if we make prayer to God our first and best trusted resource in every hour of need. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. From harm and dread of harm protect me; or it may be read as an expression of his assurance that it would be so; "from fear of the foe thou wilt preserve me." With all our sacrifices of prayer we should offer the salt of faith.

Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked. From their hidden snares hide me. Circumvent their counsel; let their secrets be met by thy secret providence, their counsels of malice by thy counsels of love. From the insurrection of the workers of iniquity. When their secret counsels break forth into clamorous tumults, be thou still my preserver. When they think evil, let thy divine thoughts defeat them; and when they do evil, let thy powerful justice overthrow them: in both cases, let me be out of reach of their cruel hand, and even out of sight of their evil eye. It is a good thing to conquer malicious foes, but a better thing still to be screened from all conflict with them, by being hidden from the strife. The Lord knows how to give his people peace, and when he wills to make quiet, he is more than a match for all disturbers, and can defeat alike their deep laid plots and their overt hostilities.

Who whet their tongue like a sword. Slander has ever been the master weapon of the good man's enemies, and great is the care of the malicious to use it effectively. As warriors grind their swords, to give them an edge which will cut deep and wound desperately, so do the unscrupulous invent falsehoods which shall be calculated to inflict pain, to stab the reputation, to kill the honour of the righteous. What is there which an evil tongue will not say? What misery will it not labour to inflict? And bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words. Far off they dart their calumnies, as archers shoot their poisoned arrows. They studiously and with force prepare their speech as bent bows, and then with cool, deliberate aim, they let fly the shaft which they have dipped in bitterness. To sting, to inflict anguish, to destroy, is their one design. Insult, sarcasm, taunting defiance, nicknaming, all these were practised among Orientals as a kind of art; and if in these Western regions, with more refined manners, we are less addicted to the use of rough abuse, it is yet to be feared that the less apparent venom of the tongue inflicts none the less poignant pain. However, in all cases, let us fly to the Lord for help. David had but the one resource of prayer against the twofold weapons of the wicked, for defence against sword or arrow he used the one defence of faith in God.

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect. They lie in ambush, with bows ready bent to aim a coward's shaft at the upright man. Sincere and upright conduct will not secure us from the assaults of slander. The devil shot at our Lord himself, and we may rest assured he has a fiery dart in reserve for us; He was absolutely perfect, we are only so in a relative sense, hence in us there is fuel for fiery darts to kindle on. Observe the meanness of malicious men; they will not accept fair combat, they shun the open field, and skulk in the bushes, lying in ambush against those who are not so acquainted with deceit as to suspect their treachery, and are to manly to imitate their despicable modes of warfare. Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. To secrecy they add suddenness. They give their unsuspecting victim no chance of defending himself; they pounce on him like a wild beast leaping on its prey. They lay their plans so warily that they fear no detection. We have seen in daily life the arrow of calumny wounding its victim sorely; and yet we have not been able to discover the quarter from which the weapon was shot, nor to detect the hand which forged the arrowhead, or tinged it with the poison. Is it possible for justice to invent a punishment sufficiently severe to meet the case of the dastard who defiles my good name, and remains himself in concealment? An open liar is an angel compared with this demon. Vipers and cobras are harmless and amiable creatures compared with such a reptile. The devil himself might blush at being the father of so base an offspring.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter. Good men are frequently discouraged, and not infrequently discourage one another, but the children of darkness are wise in their generation and keep their spirits up, and each one has a cheering word to say to his fellow villain. Anything by which they can strengthen each other's hands in their one common design they resort to; their hearts are thoroughly in their black work. They commune of laying snares privily. Laying their heads together they count and recount their various devices, so as to come at some new and masterly device. They know the benefit of cooperation, and are not sparing in it; they pour their experience into one common fund, they teach each other fresh methods. They say, Who shall see them? So sedulously do they mask their attacks, that they defy discovery; their pitfalls are too well hidden, and themselves too carefully concealed to be found out. So they think, but they forget the all seeing eye, and the all discovering hand, which are ever hard by them. Great plots are usually laid bare. As in the Gunpowder Plot, there is usually a breakdown somewhere or other; among the conspirators themselves truth finds an ally, or the stones of the field cry out against them. Let no Christian be in bondage through fear of deep laid Jesuitical schemes, for surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, nor divination against Israel; the toils of the net are broken, the arrows of the bow are snapped, the devices of the wicked are foiled. Therefore, fear not, ye tremblers; for the Lord is at your right hand, and ye shall not be hurt of the enemy.

They search out iniquities. Diligently they consider, invent, devise, and seek for wicked plans to wreak their malice. These are no common villains, but explorers in iniquity, inventors and concoctors of evil. Sad indeed it is that to ruin a good man the evil disposed will often show as much avidity as if they were searching after treasure. The Inquisition could display instruments of torture, revealing as much skill as the machinery of our modern exhibitions. The deep places of history, manifesting most the skill of the human mind, are those in which revenge has arranged diplomacy, and used intrigue to compass its diabolical purposes. They accomplish a diligent search. Their design is perfected, consummated, and brought into working order. They cry "Eureka; "they have sought and found the sure method of vengeance. Exquisite are the refinements of malice! hell's craft furnishes inspiration to the artistes who fashion deceit. Earth and the places under it are ransacked for the material of war, and profound skill turns all to account. Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. No superficial wit is theirs; but sagacity, sharpened by practice and keen hatred. Wicked men have frequently the craft to hasten slowly, to please in order to ruin, to flatter that ere long they may devour, to bow the knee that they may ultimately crush beneath their foot. He who deals with the serpent's seed has good need of the wisdom which is from above: the generation of vipers twist and turn, wind and wiggle, yet evermore they are set upon their purpose, and go the nearest way to it when they wander round about. Alas! how dangerous is the believer's condition, and how readily may he be overcome if left to himself. This is the complaint of reason and the moan of unbelief. When faith comes in, we see that even in all this the saints are still secure, for they are all in the hands of God.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow. They shot, and shall be shot. A greater archer than they are shall take sure aim at their hearts. One of his arrows shall be enough, for he never misses his aim. The Lord turns the tables on his adversaries, and defeats them at their own weapons. Suddenly shall they be wounded. They were looking to surprise the saint, but, lo! they are taken at unawares themselves; they desired to inflict deadly wounds, and are smitten themselves with wounds which none can heal. While they were bending their bows, the great Lord had prepared his bow already, and he let slip the shaft when least they looked for such an unsparing messenger of justice. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." The righteous need not learn the arts of self defence or of attack, their avenging is in better hands than their own.

And all men shall fear. They shall be filled with awe by the just judgments of God, as the Canaanites were by the overthrow of Pharaoh at the Red Sea. Those who might have been bold in sin shall be made to tremble and to stand in awe of the righteous Judge. And shall declare the work of God. It shall become the subject of general conversation. So strange, so pointed, so terrible shall be the Lord's overthrow of the malicious, that it shall be spoken of in all companies. They sinned secretly, but their punishment shall be wrought before the face of the sun. For they shall wisely consider of his doing. The judgments of God are frequently so clear and manifest that men cannot misread them, and if they have any thought at all, they must extract the true teaching from them. Some of the divine judgments are a great deep, but in the case of malicious persecutors the matter is plain enough, and the most illiterate can understand.

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord. Admiring his justice and fully acquiescing in its displays, they shall also rejoice at the rescue of injured innocence yet, their joy shall not be selfish or sensual, but altogether in reference to the Lord. And shall trust in him. Their observation of providence shall increase their faith; since he who fulfils his threatenings will not forget his promises. And all the upright in heart shall glory. The victory of the oppressed shall be the victory of all upright men; the whole host of the elect shall rejoice in the triumph of virtue. While strangers fear, the children are glad in view of their Father's power and justice. That which alarms the evil, cheers the good. Lord God of mercy, grant to us to be preserved from all our enemies, and saved in thy Son with an everlasting salvation.

Whole Psalm. This Psalm is applied by R. Obadiah to Haman and Mordecai. The enemy is Haman, the perfect man shot at is Mordecai; about whom Haman communed with his friends to lay snares for him, and search diligently for occasions against him and his people, which issued in his own destruction. The ancient Midrash of the Jews applies it to Daniel, when cast into the den of lions; and Jarchi supposes that David, by a spirit of prophecy, foresaw it, and prayed for him who was of his seed; and that everything in the Psalm beautifully falls in with that account. Daniel is the perfect man aimed at; the enemy are the princes of Darius's court, who consulted against him, communed of laying snares for him, and gained their point, which proved their own ruin. But the Psalm literally belongs to David, by whom it was composed. John Gill.

Whole Psalm. A cry of God's elect, when persecuted for righteousness' sake, to their Deliverer and sure Avenger. The general principle stated is very clear. The Psalm will adjust itself, as an experimental utterance, to the lips of Christian faith wherever brought into contact with the evil forces of the prince of this world, so as to suffer affliction for the gospel's sake; for it expresses the condition and the hope of one actually imperilled for the truth. How aptly a portion of this Psalm applies to the suffering Truth Himself in the days of his affliction, when, pierced in his spirit by lying words, he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, needs not be pointed out. Arthur Pridham, in "Notes and Reflections on the Psalms," 1869.

Preserve my life. Hebrew, lives; so called for the many faculties, operations, revolutions, and commodities of life. John Trapp.

Who whet their tongue, etc. The verb means, says Parkhurst, "to whet, sharpen, "which is performed by reiterated motion of friction; and by a beautiful metaphor it is applied to a wicked tongue. It has, however, been rendered, vibrate, as it is certain a serpent does his tongue. Richard Mant.

The ingenuity of man has been wonderfully tasked and exercised in two things, inventing destructive weapons of war, and devising various methods of ruining men by wicked words. The list of the former is found in military writings. But the various forms of evil speaking can hardly be catalogued. Evil speakers have arrows, sharp, barbed, dipped in poison. They have "swords, flaming swords, two edged swords, drawn swords, drawn in anger, with which they cut, and wound, and kill the good name of their neighbour." Sins of the tongue are commonly very cruel. When slander is secret, as it commonly is, you cannot defend yourself from its assaults. Its canons are infernal. One of them is, "If a lie will do better than the truth, tell a lie." Another is, "Heap on reproach; some of it will stick." William S. Plumer.

Verses 3-4. We saw in the Museum at Venice an instrument with which one of the old Italian tyrants was accustomed to shoot poisoned needles at the objects of his wanton malignity. We thought of gossips, backbiters, and secret slanderers, and wished that their mischievous devices might come to a speedy end. Their weapons of innuendo, shrug, and whisper, appear to be as insignificant as needles: but the venom which they instil is deadly to many a reputation. C. H. Spurgeon, in "Feathers for Arrows; or, Illustrations for Preachers and Teachers," 1870.

Verses 3-4. David, upon sad experience, compares a wicked, reviling tongue to three fatal weapons —a razor, a sword, and an arrow. To a razor, such a one as will take off every little hair: so a reviling tongue will not only take advantage of every gross sin committed by others, but those peccadilloes, the least infirmities which others better qualified cannot so much as discern; secondly, to a sword that wounds: so the tongues of reproaching men cut deeply into the credits and reputations of their brethren, but a sword doth mischief only near hand, not afar off; and, therefore, it is in the third place compared to an arrow, that can hit at a distance: and so revilers do not ill offices to those only in the parish or town where they live, but to others far remote. How much, then, doth it concern every man to walk circumspectly; to give no just cause of reproach, not to make himself a scorn to the fools of the world; but, if they will reproach (as certainly they will), let it be for forwardness in God's ways, and not for sin, that so the reproach may fall upon their own heads, and their scandalous language into their own throats. Jeremiah Burroughs.

Verses 3, 7-8. The most mischievous weapons of the wicked are words, even bitter words; but the Word is the chief weapon of the Holy Spirit: and as with this sword the great Captain foiled the tempter in the wilderness, so may we vanquish "the workers of iniquity" with the true Jerusalem blade. J. L. K.

That they may shoot in secret. The wicked are said to shoot their arrows in secret at the perfect; and then "they say, Who shall see them?" Ps 64:5. Thus Satan lets fly a temptation so secretly, that he is hardly suspected in the thing. Sometimes he useth a wife's tongue to do his errand; another while he gets behind the back of a husband, friend, servant, etc., and is not seen all the while he is doing his work. Who would have thought to have found a devil in Peter, tempting his Master, or suspected that Abraham should be the instrument to betray his beloved wife into the hands of a sin? yet it was so. Nay, sometimes he is so secret, that he borrows God's bow to shoot his arrows from, and the poor Christian is abused, thinking it is God chides and is angry, when it is the devil tempts him to think so, and only counterfeits God's voice. William Gurnall.

(first clause).

In these cases,

We still have judgment here, that we but teach

Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return

To plague the inventor: This even handed justice

Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice

To our own lips. William Shakespeare.

Their own tongue to fall upon themselves. That is, their own words shall be brought as a testimony against them, and condemn them. "The tongue is a little member" (Jas 3:5), and therefore a light member; yet it falls heavy, as heavy as lead. A man were better have his house fall upon him, than that, in this sense, his tongue should fall upon him. Some have been pressed to death because they would not speak, but stood mute before the judge; but more have been pressed to death by their sinful freedom, or rather licentiousness in speaking; this hath brought them to judgment, and cast them in judgment... A strange thing, that the fall of a man's tongue should oppress his body and whole estate; yet so it is, the weight of a man's tongue falling upon him crushes him to powder. Joseph Caryl.

Their own tongue to fall upon themselves. The arrows of idle words, though shot out of sight, and possibly quite forgotten, will hereafter drop down upon the heads of such as drew the bow. Words are but wind, is the common saying, but they are such wind as will either blow the soul to its haven of rest, if holy, wholesome, savoury, spiritual, and tending to edification, or else sink it into the Dead Sea and bottomless gulf of eternal misery, if idle, profane, frothy, and unprofitable. Edward Reyner (1600-1670) in "Rules for the Government of the Tongue."

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him. That is, if they have failed in their trust heretofore, and not given God honour by confiding in him, yet these wonderful works of God (of which he speaks in the Psalm) work this hope. Joseph Caryl.

All the upright in heart. The word of this text, jashar, signifies rectitudinem, and planitiem, it signifies a direct way; for the devil's way was circular, compassing the earth; but the angel's way to heaven upon Jacob's ladder was a straight, a direct way. And then it signifies, as a direct and straight, so a plain, a smooth, an even way, a way that hath been beaten into a path before, a way that the fathers and the church have walked in before, and not a discovery made by our curiosity, or our confidence, in venturing from ourselves, or embracing from others, new doctrines and opinions. The persons, then, whom God proposes to be partakers of his retributions, are first, recti (that is, both direct men, and plain men), and then recti corde, this qualification, this straightness and smoothness must be in the heart; all the upright in heart shall have it. Upon this earth, a man cannot possibly make one step in a straight and a direct line. The earth itself being round, every step we make upon it must necessarily be a segment, an arc of a circle. But yet, though no piece of a circle be a straight line, yet if we take any piece, nay, if we take the whole circle, there is no corner, no angle in any place, in any entire circle. A perfect rectitude we cannot have in any way in this world; in every calling there are some inevitable temptations. But, though we cannot make up one circle of a straight line (that is impossible to human frailty), yet we may pass on without angles and corners, that is, without disguises in our religion, and without the love of craft, and falsehood, and circumvention, in our civil actions. A compass is a necessary thing in a ship, and the help of that compass brings the ship home safe, and yet that compass hath some variations, it doth not look directly north; neither is that star which we call the north pole, or by which we know the north pole, the very pole itself; but we call it so, and we make our uses of it, and our conclusions by it, as if it were so, because it is the nearest star to that pole. He that comes as near uprightness as infirmities admit, is an upright man, though he love some obliquities. John Donne.

All the upright in heart shall glory. The Psalm began in the first person singular, Hear my voice, O God, but it ends by comprehending all the righteous. He who is most anxious about his own salvation will be found to be the man of the truest and widest love to others; while he who talks most of unselfishness in religion is generally the most selfish. We cannot take a more efficient method for benefiting others than by being earnestly prayerful for ourselves that we may be preserved from sin. Our example will in itself be useful, and our godliness, by putting power into our testimony, will increase the value of every rebuke, exhortation, or encouragement we may utter. Our sin is or will be the church's sorrow, and the way to make all the upright rejoice is to be upright ourselves. C. H. S.

Shall glory. This retribution is expressed in the original in the word halal; and halal, to those translators that made our Book of Common Prayer, presented the signification of gladness, for so it is there: They shall be glad. So it did to the translators that came after, for there it is, They shall rejoice; and to our last translators it seemed to signify glory, They shall glory, say they. But the first translation of all into our language (which was long before any of these three), calls it praise, and puts it into the passive: All men of rightful heart shall be praised. And so truly jithhalelu, in the original, bears it, nay, requires it; which is not of praise which they shall give to God, but of a praise that they shall receive for having served God with an upright heart; not that they shall praise God in doing so, but that godly men shall praise them for having done so. All this shall grow naturally out of the root; for the root of this word is lucere, splendere, to shine out in the eyes of men, and to create in them a holy and a reverential admiration; as it was John Baptist's praise, that he was "A burning and a shining lamp." Properly it is, by a good and a holy exemplary life, to occasion others to set a right value upon holiness, and to give a due respect for holy men... Shall glory. It is so far from diminishing this glory, as that it exalts our consolation that God places this retribution in the future; if they do not yet, certainly they shall glory, and if they do now, that glory shall not go out, still they shall, they shall for ever glory. John Donne.

1. The preservation of life desired.

(a) The desire expressed.

(b) Qualified —from violent death, from fear of, etc.

2. The preservation of life prayed for.

(a) For self improvement.

(b) For usefulness.

(c) For the divine glory. G. R.

(first clause). Applied to Satan.

1. The danger considered.

(a) The enemy, wicked, mighty, malicious, experienced.

(b) His counsel. He tempts cunningly, and with deliberation.

(c) The secrecy of it. He may be exciting others against me, or sowing evil in myself.

2. The deliverance implored. Hide me.

(a) Keep me from being tempted.

(b) Keep me from evil when tempted.

(c) Bring me out of it all unharmed.

(d) Meanwhile, let me be in thy secret place.

3. The consolation of faith.

(a) God does preserve praying ones.

(b) Our enemy is his enemy.

(c) He has preserved us.

(d) We are his own.

(e) His honour is involved.

Bitter words. An excellent topic in reference both to the sinner and to professed saints.

The whetting of the tongue. Fresh faults discovered, evil motives imputed, exaggerations invented, lies forged, innuendoes suggested, old slanders furnished, and ancient hatreds rekindled.

(two first clauses). The fault hunter; his motive, his character, his pretences, and his punishment.

1. The subject for consideration —Judgments upon the wicked.

(a) As Judgments.

(b) As judgments from God —that work of God —his doing.

2. The consideration of the subject.

(a) They are intended to be considered by others.

(b) They are to be considered wisely.

3. The effect of this consideration.

(a) Fear of God.

(b) Praise to God; shall declare, etc. G. R.

Verses 9-10.

1. An act of God; something of his doing.

2. Its effect upon men in general: All men shall fear, and shall declare, etc.

3. A special duty resulting from it, incumbent on good men: The righteous, etc. H. Dove.

1. The persons.

(a) What they are, in distinction from others; the righteous; the justified.

(b) What they are in themselves; upright in heart; not perfect, but sincere.

2. Their privilege.

(a) Amidst all their persecutions to joy in God.

(b) Amidst all their dangers to trust in God. G. R.