Psalms 38:19

r as being inflicted by the Lord as a punishment on its account. Verse 4 Mine iniquities are gone over mine head - He represents himself as one sinking in deep waters, or as one oppressed by a burden to which his strength was unequal. Verse 5 My wounds stink and are corrupt - Taking this in connection with the rest of the Psalm, I do not see that we can understand the word in any figurative or metaphorical way. I believe they refer to some disease with which he was at this time afflicted; but whether the leprosy, the small pox, or some other disorder that had attacked the whole system, and showed its virulence on different parts of the outer surface, cannot be absolutely determined. Because of my foolishness - This may either signify sin as the cause of his present affliction, or it may import an affliction which was the consequence of that foolish levity which prefers the momentary gratification of an irregular passion to health of body and peace of mind. Verse 6 I am troubled - In mind. I am bowed down in body. I am altogether afflicted, and full of distress. Verse 7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease - Or rather, a burning; נקלה nikleh, from קלה kalah, to fry, scorch, etc., hence נקלה nikleh, a burning, or strongly feverish disease. There is no soundness in my flesh - All without and all within bears evidence that the whole of my solids and fluids are corrupt. Verse 8 I am feeble and sore broken - I am so exhausted with my disease that I feel as if on the brink of the grave, and unfit to appear before God; therefore "have I roared for the disquietness of my heart." That David describes a natural disease here cannot reasonably be doubted; but what that disease was, who shall attempt to say? However, this is evident, that whatever it was, he most deeply deplored the cause of it; and as he worthily lamented it, so he found mercy at the hand of God. It would be easy to show a disease of which what he here enumerates are the very general symptoms; but I forbear, because in this I might attribute to one what, perhaps, in Judea would be more especially descriptive of another. Verse 9 Lord, all my desire is before thee - I long for nothing so much as thy favor; and for this my heart is continually going out after thee. Instead of אדני Adonai, Lord, several of Dr. Kennicott's MSS. have יהוה Yehovah. Verse 10 My heart panteth - סחרחר secharchar, flutters, palpitates, through fear and alarm. My strength faileth - Not being able to take nourishment. The light of mine eyes - is gone - I can scarcely discern any thing through the general decay of my health and vigor, particularly affecting my sight. Verse 11 My lovers - Those who professed much affection for me; my friends, רעי reai, my companions, who never before left my company, stand aloof. My kinsmen - קרובי kerobai, my neighbors, stand afar off. I am deserted by all, and they stand off because of נגעי nigi, my plague. They considered me as suffering under a Divine judgment; and, thinking me an accursed being, they avoided me lest they should be infected by my disease. Verse 12 They also that seek after my life - They act towards me as huntsmen after their prey; they lay snares to take away my life. Perhaps this means only that they wished for his death, and would have been glad to have had it in their power to end his days. Others spoke all manner of evil of him, and told falsities against him all the day long. Verse 13 But I, as a deaf man - I was conscious of my guilt, I could not vindicate myself; and I was obliged in silence to bear their insults. Verse 14 No reproofs - תוכחות tochachoth, arguments or vindications; a forensic term. I was as a man accused in open court, and I could make no defense. Verse 15 In thee, O Lord, do I hope - I have no helper but thee. Thou wilt hear, O Lord my God - Thou art eternal in thy compassions, and wilt hear the prayer of a penitent soul. In the printed copies of the Hebrew text we have אדני אלהי Adonai Elohai, Lord my God; but, instead of אדני Adonai, one hundred and two of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. read יהוה Yehovah. As this word is never pronounced by the Jews, and they consider it dreadfully sacred, in reading, wherever it occurs, they pronounce אדני Adonai; and we may well suppose that Jewish scribes, in writing out copies of the sacred Scriptures, would as naturally write Adonai for Yehovah, as they would in reading supply the former for the latter. Verse 16 When my foot slippeth - They watched for my halting; and when my foot slipped, they rejoiced that I had fallen into sin! Verse 17 For I am ready to halt - Literally, I am prepared to halt. So completely infirm is my soul, that it is impossible for me to take one right step in the way of righteousness, unless strengthened by thee. Verse 18 I will declare mine iniquity - I will confess it with the deepest humiliation and self-abasement. Verse 19 But mine enemies are lively - Instead of חיים chaiyim, lively, I would read חינם chinam, without cause; a change made by the half of one letter, נ nun for a י yod. See the parallel places, Psa 35:19 (note); Psa 79:5 (note). See also the Preliminary Dissertation to Dr. Lowth's Isaiah, p. 40: "But without cause my enemies have strengthened themselves; and they who wrongfully hate me are multiplied." Here the one member of the verse answers to the other. Verse 20 Because I follow the thing that good is - The translation is as bad as the sentence is awkward. תחת רדפי טוב tachath rodpi tob, because I follow goodness. There is a remarkable addition to this verse in the Arabic: "They have rejected me, the beloved one, as an abominable dead carcass; they have pierced my body with nails." I suppose the Arabic translator meant to refer this to Christ. None of the other Versions have any thing like this addition; only the Ethiopic adds, "They rejected their brethren as an unclean carcass." St. Ambrose says this reading was found in some Greek and Latin copies in his time; and Theodoret has nearly the same reading with the Arabic: Και απερῥιψαν με τον αγαπητον, ῳς νεκρον εβδελυγμενον· "And they cast me, the beloved, out, as an abominable dead carcass." Whence this reading came I cannot conjecture. Verse 21 Forsake me not, O Lord - Though all have forsaken me, do not thou. Be not far from me - Though my friends keep aloof, be thou near to help me. Verse 22 Make haste to help me - I am dying; save, Lord, or I perish. Whoever carefuIly reads over this Psalm will see what a grievous and bitter thing it is to sin against the Lord, and especially to sin after having known his mercy, and after having escaped from the corruption that is in the world. Reader, be on thy guard; a life of righteousness may be lost by giving way to a moment's temptation, and a fair character sullied for ever! Let him that most assuredly standeth take heed lest he fall. 'Tis but a grain of sweet that one can sow, To reap a harvest of wide-wasting wo. Introduction The psalmist's care and watchfulness over his thoughts, tongue, and actions, Psa 39:1-3 . He considers the brevity and uncertainty of human life, Psa 39:4-7 ; prays for deliverance from sin, Psa 39:8-11 ; and that he may be protected and spared till he is fitted for another world, Psa 39:12 , Psa 39:13 . The title says, To the chief Musician, Jeduthun himself, A Psalm of David. It is supposed that this Jeduthun is the same with Ethan, 1Chr 6:44 , compared with 1Chr 16:41 ; and is there numbered among the sons of Merari. And he is supposed to have been one of the four masters of music, or leaders of bands, belonging to the temple. And it is thought that David, having composed this Psalm, gave it to Jeduthun and his company to sing. But several have supposed that Jeduthun himself was the author. It is very likely that this Psalm was written on the same occasion with the preceding. It relates to a grievous malady by which David was afflicted after his transgression with Bath-sheba. See what has been said on the foregoing Psalm. Verse 1 I said, I will take heed to my ways - I must be cautious because of my enemies; I must be patient because of my afflictions; I must be watchful over my tongue, lest I offend my God, or give my adversaries any cause to speak evil of me. Verse 2 I held any peace, even from good - "I ceased from the words of the law," says the Chaldee. I spoke nothing, either good or bad. I did not even defend myself. My sorrow was stirred - My afflictions increased, and I had an exacerbation of pain. It is a hard thing to be denied the benefit of complaint in sufferings, as it has a tendency to relieve the mind, and indeed, in some sort, to call off the attention from the place of actual suffering: and yet undue and extravagant complaining enervates the mind, so that it becomes a double prey to its sufferings. On both sides there are extremes: David seems to have steered clear of them on the right hand and on the left. Verse 3 My heart was hot within me - A natural feeling of repressed grief. While I was musing - What wa

as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15 For in thee, O Lord , do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. 16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. 17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. 19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. 20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is. 21 Forsake me not, O Lord : O my God, be not far from me. 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation. In these verses, I. David complains of the power and malice of his enemies, who, it should seem, not only took occasion from the weakness of his body and the trouble of his mind to insult over him, but took advantage thence to do him a mischief. He has a great deal to say against them, which he humbly offers as a reason why God should appear for him, as Ps. xxv. 19 , Consider my enemies. 1. "They are very spiteful and cruel: They seek my hurt; nay, they seek after my life, " v. 12 . That life which was so precious in the sight of the Lord and all good men was aimed at, as if it had been forfeited, or a public nuisance. Such is the enmity of the serpent's seed against the seed of the woman; it would wound the head, though it can but reach the heel. It is the blood of the saints that is thirsted after. 2. "They are very subtle and politic. They lay snares, they imagine deceits, and herein they are restless and unwearied: they do it all the day long. They speak mischievous things one to another; every one has something or other to propose that may be a mischief to me." Mischief, covered and carried on by deceit, may well be called a snare. 3. "They are very insolent and abusive: When my foot slips, when I fall into any trouble, or when I make any mistake, misplace a word, or take a false step, they magnify themselves against me; they are pleased with it, and promise themselves that it will ruin my interest, and that if I slip I shall certainly fall and be undone." 4. "They are not only unjust, but very ungrateful: They hate me wrongfully, v. 19 . I never did them any ill turn, nor so much as bore them any ill-will, nor ever gave them any provocation; nay, they render evil for good, v. 20 . Many a kindness I have done them, for which I might have expected a return of kindness; but for my love they are my adversaries, " Ps. cix. 4 . Such a rooted enmity there is in the hearts of wicked men to goodness for its own sake that they hate it, even when they themselves have the benefit of it; they hate prayer even in those that pray for them, and hate peace even in those that would be at peace with them. Very ill-natured indeed those are whom no courtesy will oblige, but who are rather exasperated by it. 5. "They are very impious and devilish: They are my adversaries merely because I follow the thing that good is. " They hated him, not only for his kindness to them, but for his devotion and obedience to God; they hated him because they hated God and all that bear his image. If we suffer ill for doing well, we must not think it strange; from the beginning it was so (Cain slew Abel, because his works were righteous); nor must we think it hard, because it will not be always so; for so much the greater will our reward be. 6. "They are many and mighty: They are lively; they are strong; they are multiplied, v. 19 . Lord, how are those increased that trouble me? " Ps. iii. 1 . Holy David was weak and faint; his heart panted, and his strength failed; he was melancholy and of a sorrowful spirit, and persecuted by his friends; but at the same time his wicked enemies were strong and lively, and their number increased. Let us not therefore pretend to judge of men's characters by their outward condition; none knows love or hatred by all that is before him. It should seem that David in this, as in other complaints he makes of his enemies, has an eye to Christ, whose persecutors were such as are here described, perfectly lost to all honour and virtue. None hate Christianity but such as have first divested themselves of the first principles of humanity and broken through its most sacred bonds. II. He reflects, with comfort, upon his own peaceable and pious behaviour under all the injuries and indignities that were done him. It is then only that our enemies do us a real mischief when they provoke us to sin ( Neh. vi. 13 ), when they prevail to put us out of the possession of our own souls, and drive us from God and our duty. If by divine grace we are enabled to prevent this mischief, we quench their fiery darts, and are saved from harm. If still we hold fast our integrity and our peace, who can hurt us? This David did here. 1. He kept his temper, and was not ruffled nor discomposed by any of the slights that were put upon him or the mischievous things that were said or done against him ( v. 13, 14 ): " I, as a deaf man, heard not; I took no notice of the affronts put upon me, did not resent them, nor was put into disorder by them, much less did I meditate revenge, or study to return the injury." Note, The less notice we take of the unkindness and injuries that are done us the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. Being deaf, he was dumb, as a man in whose mouth there are no reproofs; he was as silent as if he had nothing to say for himself, for fear of putting himself into a heat and incensing his enemies yet more against him; he would not only not recriminate upon them, but not so much as vindicate himself, lest his necessary defence should be construed his offence. Though they sought after his life, and his silence might be taken for a confession of his guilt, yet he was as a dumb man that opens not his mouth. Note, When our enemies are most clamorous it is generally our prudence to be silent, or to say little, lest we make bad worse. David could not hope by his mildness to win upon his enemies, nor by his soft answers to turn away their wrath; for they were men of such base spirits that they rendered him evil for good; and yet he conducted himself thus meekly towards them, that he might prevent his own sin and might have the comfort of it in the reflection. Herein David was a type of Christ, who was as a sheep dumb before the shearer, and, when he was reviled, reviled not again; and both are examples to us not to render railing for railing. 2. He kept close to his God by faith and prayer, and so both supported himself under these injuries and silenced his own resentments of them. (1.) He trusted in God ( v. 15 ): " I was as a man that opens not his mouth, for in thee, O Lord! do I hope. I depend upon thee to plead my cause and clear my innocency, and, some way or other, to put my enemies to silence and shame." His lovers and friends, that should have owned him, and stood by him, and appeared as witnesses for him, withdrew from him, v. 10 . But God is a friend that will never fail us if we hope in him. " I was as a man that heareth not, for thou wilt hear. Why need I hear, and God hear too?" He careth for you ( 1 Pet. v. 7 ), and why need you care and God care too? " Thou wilt answer " (so some) "and therefore I will say nothing." Note, It is a good reason why we should bear reproach and calumny with silence and patience, because God is a witness to all the wrong that is done us, and, in due time, will be a witness for us and against those that do us wrong; therefore let us be silent, because, if we be, then we may expect that God will appear for us, for this is an evidence that we trust in him; but, if we undertake to manage for ourselves, we take God's work out of his hands and forfeit the benefit of his appearing for us. Our Lord Jesus, when he suffered, threatened not, because he committed himself to him that judges righteously ( 1 Pet. ii. 23 ); and we shall lose nothing, at last, by doing so. Thou shalt answer, Lord, for me. (2.) He called upon God ( v. 16 ): For I said, Hear me (that is supplied); " I said so " (as v. 15 ); "in thee do I hope, for thou wilt hear, lest they should rejoice over me. I comforted myself with that when I was apprehensive that they would overwhelm me." It is a great support to us, when men are false and unkind, that we have a God to go to whom we may be free with and who will be faithful to us. III. He here bewails his own follies and infirmities. 1. He was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him, and that he was now ready to repine at the providence of God and to be put into a passion by the injuries men did him: I am ready to halt, v. 17 . This will best be explained by a reflection like this which the psalmist made upon himself in a similar case ( Ps. lxxiii. 2 ): My feet were almost gone, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. So here: I was ready to halt, ready to say, I have cleansed my hands in vain. His sorrow was continual: All the day long have I been plagued. ( Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14 ), and it was continually before him; he could not forbear poring upon it, and that made him almost ready to halt between religion and irreligion. The fear of this drove him to his God: "In thee do I hope, not only that thou wilt plead my cause, but that thou wilt prevent my falling into sin." Good men, by setting their sorrow continually before them, have been ready to halt, who, by setting God always before them, have kept their standing. 2. He remembered against himself his former transgressions, acknowledging that by them he had brought these troubles upon himself and forfeited the divine protection. Though before men he could justify himself, before God he will judge and condemn himself ( v. 18 ): " I will declare my iniquity, and not cover it; I will be sorry for my sin, and not make a light matter of it;" and this helped to make him silent under the rebukes of Providence and the reproaches of men. Note, If we be truly penitent for sin, that will make us patient under affliction, and particularly under unjust censures. Two things are required in repentance:—(1.) Confession of sin: " I will declare my iniquity; I will not only in general own myself a sinner, but I will make a particular acknowledgment of what I have done amiss." We must declare our sins before God freely and fully, and with their aggravating circumstances, that we may give glory to God and take shame to ourselves. (2.) Contrition for sin: I will be sorry for it. Sin will have sorrow; every true penitent grieves for the dishonour he has done to God and the wrong he has done to himself. "I will be in care or fear about my sin" (so some), "in fear lest it ruin me and in care to get it pardoned." IV. He concludes with very earnest prayers to God for his gracious presence with him and seasonable powerful succour in his distress ( v. 21, 22 ): " Forsake me not, O Lord! though my friends forsake me, and though I deserve to be forsaken by thee. Be not far from me, as my unbelieving heart is ready to fear thou art." Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a good man in affliction than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him in wrath; nor does any thing therefore come more feelingly from his heart than this prayer: " Lord, be not thou far from me; make haste for my help; for I am ready to perish, and in danger of being lost if relief do not come quickly." God gives us leave, not only to call upon him when we are in trouble, but to hasten him. He pleads, "Thou art my God, whom I serve, and on whom I depend to bear me out; and my salvation, who alone art able to save me, who hast engaged thyself by promise to save me, and from whom alone I expect salvation." Is any afflicted? let him thus pray, let him thus plead, let him thus hope, in singing this psalm. David seems to have been in a great strait when he penned this psalm, and, upon some account or other, very uneasy; for it is with some difficulty that he conquers his passion, and composes his spirit himself to take that good couns

Strong - Are thriving and flourishing.