Psalms 55:13

eyond Jordan. 2Sam 17:22, 2Sam 17:23. A passage in the Octavia of Seneca has been referred to as being parallel to this of David. It is in the answer of Octavia to the Chorus, Acts v., ver. 914-923. Quis mea digne deflere potest Mala? Quae lacrymis nostris quaestus Reddet Aedon? cujus pennas Utinam miserae mihi fata darent! Fugerem luctus ablata meos Penna volucri, procul et coetus Hominum tristes sedemque feram. Sola in vacuo nemore, et tenui Ramo pendens, querulo possem Gutture moestum fundere murmur. My woes who enough can bewail? O what notes can my sorrows express? Sweet Philomel's self e'en would fail To respond with her plaintive distress. O had I her wings I would fly To where sorrows I ne'er should feel more, Upborne on her plumes through the sky, Regions far from mankind would explore. In a grove where sad silence should reign, On a spray would I seat me alone; In shrill lamentations complain, And in wailings would pour forth my moan. J. B. Clarke. Verse 8 The windy storm - From the sweeping wind and tempest - Absalom and his party and the mutinous people in general. Verse 9 Destroy, O lord - Swallow them up - confound them. Divide their tongues - Let his counsellors give opposite advice. Let them never agree, and let their devices be confounded. And the prayer was heard. Hushai and Ahithophel gave opposite counsel. Absalom followed that of Hushai; and Ahithophel, knowing that the steps advised by Hushai would bring Absalom's affairs to ruin, went and hanged himself. See 2 Samuel 15, 16, and 17. Violence and strife in the city - They have been concerting violent measures; and thus are full of contention. Verse 10 Day and night they go about - This and the following verse show the state of Jerusalem at this time. Indeed, they exhibit a fair view of the state of any city in the beginning of an insurrection. The leaders are plotting continually; going about to strengthen their party, and to sow new dissensions by misrepresentation, hypocrisy, calumny, and lies. Verse 12 It was not an enemy - It is likely that in all these three verses Ahithophel is meant, who, it appears, had been at the bottom of the conspiracy from the beginning; and probably was the first mover of the vain mind of Absalom to do what he did. Verse 14 Walked unto the house of God in company - Or with haste; for the rabbins teach that we should walk hastily To the temple, but slowly From it. Verse 15 Let death seize upon them - This is a prediction of the sudden destruction which should fall on the ringleaders in this rebellion. And it was so. Ahithophel, seeing his counsel rejected, hanged himself. Absalom was defeated; and, fleeing away, he was suspended by the hair in a tree, under which his mule had passed; and being found thus by Joab, he was despatched with three darts; and the people who espoused his interests were almost all cut off. They fell by the sword, or perished in the woods. See 2Sam 18:8. Let then go down quick into hell - Let them go down alive into the pit. Let the earth swallow them up! And something of this kind actually took place. Absalom and his army were defeated; twenty thousand of the rebels were slain on the field; and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured, 2Sam 18:7, 2Sam 18:8. The words might be rendered, "Death shall exact upon them; they shall descend alive into sheol." And death did exact his debt upon them, as we have seen above. Verse 16 I will call upon God - He foresaw his deliverance, and the defeat of his enemies and therefore speaks confidently, "The Lord shall save me;" or, as the Targum, "The Word of the Lord shall redeem me." Verse 17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray - This was the custom of the pious Hebrews. See Dan 6:10. The Hebrews began their day in the evening, and hence David mentions the evening first. The rabbins say, Men should pray three times each day, because the day changes three times. This was observed in the primitive Church; but the times, in different places, were various. The old Psalter gives this a curious turn: "At even I sall tel his louing (praise) what tim Crist was on the Crosse: and at morn I sall schew his louing, what tim he ros fra dede. And sua he sall here my voyce at mid day, that is sitand at the right hand of his fader, wheder he stegh (ascended) at mid day." Verse 18 He hath delivered my soul - My life he has preserved in perfect safety from the sword; for there were many with me: "for in many afflictions his Word was my support." - Targum. Or David may refer to the supernatural assistance which was afforded him when his enemies were so completely discomfited. Verse 19 Because they have no changes - At first Absalom, Ahithophel, and their party, carried all before them. There seemed to be a very general defection of the people; and as in their first attempts they suffered no reverses, therefore they feared not God. Most of those who have few or no afflictions and trials in life, have but little religion. They become sufficient to themselves, and call not upon God. Verse 20 He hath put forth his hands - A farther description of Ahithophel. He betrayed his friends, and he broke his covenant with his king. He had agreed to serve David for his own emolument, and a stipulation was made accordingly; but while receiving the king's pay, he was endeavoring to subvert the kingdom, and destroy the life of his sovereign. Verse 21 Were smoother than butter - He was a complete courtier, and a deep, designing hypocrite besides. His words were as soft as butter, and as smooth as oil, while he meditated war; and the fair words which were intended to deceive, were intended also to destroy: they were drawn swords. This is a literal description of the words and conduct of Absalom, as we learn from the inspired historian, 2Sam 15:2, etc. He was accustomed to wait at the gate; question the persons who came for justice and judgment; throw out broad hints that the king was negligent of the affairs of his kingdom, and had not provided an effective magistracy to administer justice among the people, and added that if he were appointed judge in the land, justice should be done to all. He bowed also to the people, and kissed them; and thus he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. See the passages referred to above. Verse 22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord - Whatever cares, afflictions, trials, etc., they may be with which thou art oppressed, lay them upon him. And he shall sustain thee - He shall bear both thee and thy burden. What a glorious promise to a tempted and afflicted soul! God will carry both thee and thy load. Then cast thyself and it upon him. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved - While a man is righteous, trusts in and depends upon God, he will never suffer him to be shaken. While he trusts in God, and works righteousness, he is as safe as if he were in heaven. Verse 23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction - The Chaldee is emphatic: "And thou, O Lord, by thy Word (במימרך bemeymerach) shalt thrust them into the deep gehenna, the bottomless pit, whence they shall never come out; the pit of destruction, where all is amazement, horror, anguish, dismay, ruin, endless loss, and endless suffering." Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days - So we find, if there be an appointed time to man upon earth, beyond which he cannot pass; yet he may so live as to provoke the justice of God to cut him off before he arrives at that period; yea, before he has reached half way to that limit. According to the decree of God, he might have lived the other half; but he has not done it. But I will trust in thee - Therefore I shall not be moved, and shall live out all the days of my appointed time. The fathers in general apply the principal passages of this Psalm to our Lord's sufferings, the treason of Judas, and the wickedness of the Jews; but these things do not appear to me fairly deducible from the text. It seems to refer plainly enough to the rebellion of Absalom. "The consternation and distress expressed in Psa 55:4-8, describe the king's state of mind when he fled from Jerusalem, and marched up the mount of Olives, weeping. The iniquity cast upon the psalmist answers to the complaints artfully laid against the king by his son of a negligent administration of justice: and to the reproach of cruelty cast upon him by Shimei, 2Sam 15:2, 2Sam 15:4; 2Sam 16:7, 2Sam 16:8. The equal, the guide, and the familiar friend, we find in Ahithophel, the confidential counsellor, first of David, afterwards of his son Absalom. The buttery mouth and oily words describe the insidious character of Absalom, as it is delineated, 2Sam 15:5-9. Still the believer, accustomed to the double edge of the prophetic style, in reading this Psalm, notwithstanding its agreement with the occurrences of David's life, will be led to think of David's great descendant, who endured a bitter agony, and was the victim of a baser treachery, in the same spot where David is supposed to have uttered these complaints." - Bishop Horsley. Introduction David prays for support against his enemies, whose wickedness he describes, Psa 56:1-6; and foretells their destruction, Psa 56:7; expresses his confidence in God's mercy, expects deliverance, and promises thanksgiving and obedience, Psa 56:8-13. The title of this Psalm is very long: "To the conqueror, concerning the dumb dove in foreign places: golden Psalm of David." The Vulgate translates the original thus: "to the end. For the people who were afar off from holy things." "This inscription David placed here for a title when the Philistines - took him in Gath;" so the Septuagint and Ethiopic. The Chaldee is profuse: "To praise, for the congregation of Israel, which are compared to the silence of a dove, when they were afar off from their cities but being returned, they praise the Lord of the world, like David, contrite and upright, when the Philistines kept him in Gath." The Syriac: "A thanksgiving of the righteous man, because he was delivered from his enemy, and from the hand of Saul. Also concerning the Jews and Christ." Bochart translates, "To the tune of the dove in the remote woods." If the title be at all authentic, David may mean himself and his companions by it, when he escaped from the hands of the Philistines; particularly from the hands of Achish, king of Gath. אלם elem signifies to compress or bind together; also, a small band or body of men: and יונת yonath, from ינה yanah, to oppress or afflict, is properly applied to the dove, because of its being so defenseless, and often becoming the prey of ravenous birds. It is possible, therefore, that the title may imply no more than - "A prayer to God in behalf of himself and the oppressed band that followed him, and shared his misfortunes in distant places." Others will have it to mean a simple direction "To the master of the band, to be sung to the time of a well-known ode, called 'The dumb dove, in distant places.'" There is no end to conjectures, and all the titles in the whole book are not worth one hour's labor. Perhaps there is not one of them authentic. They may have been notices that such a Psalm was to be sung to such and such a tune; giving the catch-words of some well-known song or ode: a custom that prevails much among us in songs and hymns, and is to be found even among the Asiatics. Verse 1 Be merciful unto me - I am assailed both at home and abroad. I can go nowhere without meeting with enemies: unless thou who art the Fountain of mercy and the Most High, stand up in my behalf, my enemies will most undoubtedly prevail against me. They fight against me continually, and I am in the utmost danger of being swallowed up by them. Verse 2 O thou Most High - מרום marom. I do not think that this word expresses any attribute of God, or indeed is at all addressed to him. It signifies, literally, from on high, or froen a high or elevated place: "For the multitudes fight against me from the high or elevated place;" the place of authority - the court and cabinet of Saul. Most of the Versions begin the next verse with this word: "From the light of the day, though I fear, yet will I trust in thee." From the time that persecution waxes hot against me, though I often am seized with fear, yet I am ena

Prophetic Imprecations. 9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15 Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought him, though not to his faith's end, yet to his wits' end, and prays against them by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here, I. The character he gives of the enemies he feared. They were of the worst sort of men, and his description of them agrees very well with Absalom and his accomplices. 1. He complains of the city of Jerusalem, which strangely fell in with Absalom and fell off from David, so that he had none there but his own guards and servants that he could repose any confidence in: How has that faithful city become a harlot! David did not take the representation of it from others; but with his own eyes, and with a sad heart, did himself see nothing but violence and strife in the city ( v. 9 ); for, when they grew disaffected and disloyal to David, they grew mischievous one to another. If he walked the rounds upon the walls of the city, he saw that violence and strife went about it day and night, and mounted its guards, v. 10 . All the arts and methods which the rebels used for the fortifying of the city were made up on violence and strife, and there were no remains of honesty or love among them. If he looked into the heart of the city, mischief and injury, mutual wrong and vexation, were in the midst of it: Wickedness, all manner of wickedness, is in the midst thereof. Jusque datum sceleri—Wickedness was legalized. Deceit and guile, and all manner of treacherous dealing, departed not from her streets, v. 11 . It may be meant of their base and barbarous usage of David's friends and such as they knew were firm and faithful to him; they did them all the mischief they could, by fraud or force. Is this the character of Jerusalem, the royal city, and, which is more, the holy city, and in David's time too, so soon after the thrones of judgment and the testimony of Israel were both placed there? Is this the city that men call the perfection of beauty? Lam. ii. 15 . Is Jerusalem, the head-quarters of God's priests, so ill taught? Can Jerusalem be ungrateful to David himself, its own illustrious founder, and be made too hot for him, so that he cannot reside in it? Let us not be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of this church on earth, but long to see the New Jerusalem, where there is no violence nor strife, no mischief nor guilt, and into which no unclean thing shall enter, nor any thing that disquiets. 2. He complains of one of the ringleaders of the conspiracy, that had been very industrious to foment jealousies, to misrepresent him and his government, and to incense the city against him. It was one that reproached him, as if he either abused his power or neglected the use of it, for that was Absalom's malicious suggestion: There is no man deputed of the king to hear thee, 2 Sam. xv. 3 . That and similar accusations were industriously spread among the people; and who was most active in it? "Not a sworn enemy, not Shimei, nor any of the nonjurors; then I could have borne it, for I should not have expected better from them" (and we find how patiently he did bear Shimei's curses); "not one that professed to hate me, then I would have stood upon my guard against him, would have hidden myself and counsels from him, so that it would not have been in his power to betray me. But it was thou, a man, my equal, " v. 13 . The Chaldee-paraphrase names Ahithophel as the person here meant, and nothing in that plot seems to have discouraged David so much as to hear that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom ( 2 Sam. xv. 31 ), for he was the king's counsellor, 1 Chron. xxvii. 33 . " It was thou, a man, my equal, one whom I esteemed as myself, a friend as my own soul, whom I had laid in my bosom and made equal with myself, to whom I had communicated all my secrets and who knew my mind as well as I myself did,—my guide, with whom I advised and by whom I was directed in all my affairs, whom I made president of the council and prime-minister of state,—my intimate acquaintance and familiar friend; this is the man that now abuses me. I have been kind to him, but I find him thus basely ungrateful. I have put a trust in him, but I find him thus basely treacherous; nay, and he could not have done me the one-half of the mischief he does if I had not shown him so much respect." All this must needs be very grievous to an ingenuous mind, and yet this was not all; this traitor had seemed a saint, else he had never been David's bosom-friend ( v. 14 ): " We took counsel together, spent many an hour together, with a great deal of pleasure, in religious discourse," or, as Dr. Hammond reads it, " We joined ourselves together to the assembly; I gave him the right hand of fellowship in holy ordinances, and then we walked to the house of God in company, to attend the public service." Note, (1.) There always has been, and always will be, a mixture of good and bad, sound and unsound, in the visible church, between whom, perhaps for a long time, we can discern no difference; but the searcher of hearts does. David, who went to the house of God in his sincerity, had Ahithophel in company with him, who went in his hypocrisy. The Pharisee and the publican went together to the temple to pray; but, sooner or later, those that are perfect and those that are not will be made manifest. (2.) Carnal policy may carry men on very far and very long in a profession of religion while it is in fashion, and will serve a turn. In the court of pious David none was more devout than Ahithophel, and yet his heart was not right in the sight of God. (3.) We must not wonder if we be sadly deceived in some that have made great pretensions to those two sacred things, religion and friendship; David himself, though a very wise man, was thus imposed upon, which may make similar disappointments the more tolerable to us. II. His prayers against them, which we are both to stand in awe of and to comfort ourselves in, as prophecies, but not to copy into our prayers against any particular enemies of our own. He prays, 1. That God would disperse them, as he did the Babel-builders ( v. 9 ): " Destroy, O Lord! and divide their tongues; that is, blast their counsels, by making them to disagree among themselves, and clash with one another. Send an evil spirit among them, that they may not understand one another, but be envious and jealous one of another." This prayer was answered in the turning of Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness, by setting up the counsel of Hushai against it. God often destroys the church's enemies by dividing them; nor is there a surer way to the destruction of any people than their division. A kingdom, an interest, divided against itself, cannot long stand. 2. That God would destroy them, as he did Dathan and Abiram, and their associates, who were confederate against Moses, whose throat being an open sepulchre, the earth therefore opened and swallowed them up. This was then a new thing which God executed, Num. xvi. 30 . But David prays that it might now be repeated, or something equivalent ( v. 15 ): " Let death seize upon them by divine warrant, and let them go down quickly into hell; let them be dead, and buried, and so utterly destroyed, in a moment; for wickedness is wherever they are; it is in the midst of them." The souls of impenitent sinners go down quick, or alive, into hell, for they have a perfect sense of their miseries, and shall therefore live still, that they may be still miserable. This prayer is a prophecy of the utter, the final, the everlasting ruin of all those who, whether secretly or openly, oppose and rebel against the Lord's Messiah.

Equal - Not in power, but in reputation, for wisdom, and influence upon my people. Guide - Whose counsel I highly prized, and constantly followed. All which agrees to Achitophel.