TITLE. To the Chief Musician. The
leader of the choir, for the time being, is charged with this
song. It were well if the chief musicians of all our
congregations estimated their duty at its due solemnity, for it
is no mean thing to be called to lead the sacred song of God's
people, and the responsibility is by no means light. A Psalm
of David. His life was one of conflict, and very seldom does
he finish a Psalm without mentioning his enemies; in this
instance his thoughts are wholly occupied with prayer against
them.
DIVISION. From Ps 64:1-6 he describes
the cruelty and craftiness of his foes, and from Ps 64:7-10 he
prophesies their overthrow.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. 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.
Verse 2. 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.
Verse 3. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 5. 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.
Verse 6. 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.
Verse 7. 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.
Verse 9. 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.
Verse 10. 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.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
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.
Verse 1. Preserve my life. Hebrew, lives;
so called for the many faculties, operations, revolutions, and
commodities of life. John Trapp.
Verse 3. 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.
Verse 3. 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.
Verse 4. 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.
Verse 8. (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.
Verse 8. 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.
Verse 8. 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."
Verse 10. 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.
Verse 10. 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.
Verse 10. 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.
Verse 10. 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.
HINTS TO THE VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse 1.
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.
Verse 2. (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.
Verse 3. Bitter words. An excellent topic in
reference both to the sinner and to professed saints.
Verse 3. The whetting of the tongue. Fresh
faults discovered, evil motives imputed, exaggerations invented,
lies forged, innuendoes suggested, old slanders furnished, and
ancient hatreds rekindled.
Verse 6. (two first clauses). The fault hunter;
his motive, his character, his pretences, and his punishment.
Verse 9.
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.
Verse 10.
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.