Verse by Verse

⁵ I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.

⁶ Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.

⁷ Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”

the cave (intro) — either the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1ff.) or the cave at Ein Gedi, among the Rocks of the Wild Goats (1 Samuel 24:1ff). In both cases, David was fleeing Saul who wanted to kill him.

A proper biblical definition [of worship] entails any outward expression by believers that affirms God for who He is and what He does. It is therefore unquestionably an act of worship for David to pour out his complaint before God (v.2; as also in Psalm 77:3), for in doing so he is affirming who God is, not simply as his Creator, but as his Father—a Father who earnestly desires to hear and respond to all that fills the heart of His deeply beloved child. … As David emphasizes four times in the opening two verses, [his complaint] is “poured out” to God alone.  Hence, when Paul exhorts the Philippian Christians to “do all things without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14) he is not contradicting the clear example of David (or Job, among many others), but rather emphasizing the importance of refraining from such as part of our witness to unbelievers, “among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). — Wechsler, pages 339-340.

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The second parameter of “worshipful” complaint (v.7a) is that it is motivated ultimately by the desire to further God’s glory. Hence … David draws his complaint to a conclusion by imploring God to bring his soul out of prison (here, intended as a figurative reference to circumstantial-psychological “darkness,” despair and depression), not simply for the sake of his personal comfort and ease, but so that he may give thanks to God’s name—i.e., that by resolving the situation about which he is complaining, God would enable David to (1) express his worship in the way that God legislated by offering Him sacrifice at the Tabernacle (which he was prevented from doing as a fugitive from Saul), and (2) enhance the basis of God’s praise by adding yet another distinct act of His redemption thereto. — Wechsler, page 341.

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The final parameter of worshipful complaint (v.7b) is the tempering thereof by affirming God’s promises—specifically, by affirming His promise of future and final victory. It is this time that David envisions by his closing, confident assertion, “The righteous will surround me”—a situation that was certainly never true during David’s lifetime. — Wechsler, page 341.

Williams’ take:

David when in the cavern reviews his experiences prior to his descent into it (vs.3-6); prays that he may be delivered out of it; and believes that his prayer will be heard (v.7). In all this he was a type of his Son and Lord.

The reader is invited to contemplate Messiah when shut up in the prison-house of Sheol (vs.1-2, 7); he is permitted to hear Him reviewing before God His life as Man (v.3); His anguish and prayer when hanging on the tree (vs.4-6); His petition to be delivered out of the death-world; His assurance that that prayer will be heard (v.7); and the subsequent joy that His resurrection would cause to His people (v.7) …

His absolute abandonment and loneliness when in the hands of the High Priests and of Pilate, and when nailed to the tree, are declared in verse 4; and in verses 5-6 His unfailing faith in, and dependence upon, God up to the last moment that in “the land of the living” He suffered the rage and cruelty of His persecutors is touchingly expressed. — Williams, pages 410-411.

⁸ But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.

⁹ Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.

¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

David begins (vs.1-4) by appealing to God on the basis of their relationship—i.e., that though he is a sinner, he is nonetheless God’s child, and can therefore call upon God with the expectation that He will indeed give ear to his voice (i.e., meet his need in the best way possible [per God’s knowledge of what is best]). — Wechsler, page 338.

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The relationship nuance of God’s guidance is here extended by David to include the chastising activity of his fellow children of God—i.e., the righteous—who smite (the verb indicates and ongoing action) him in love and so reprove him (v.5), the phraseology of which hearkens to the same action on the part of God towards those “whom He loves (Proverbs 3:11-12)—which action is in turn emulated by God’s children towards each other (cf. Matthew 5:48; 1 John 3:16; 4:7-21). — Wechsler, page 338.

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David’s absolute and unqualified submission to God—and in particular to God’s chastisement is here emphasized by his declaring not only that his eyes are toward God (parallel in sense to the “lifting up of [his] hands” toward God in v.2), but also by his specific reference to God as “Yahweh, my Lord,” paralleling his affirmation in Psalm 16:1-2. — Wechsler, page 339.

Williams’ take:

The hatred of man’s heart to Messiah and His followers (vs. 7 and 9); the just judgment of these haters (v.10); and the faith and dependence of Messiah Himself in and upon God, and His preciousness to God (vs.1, 3-4, 6 and 8), form the the teaching of the song. …

His subjection and dependence as a man, and His shrinking from evil, are foretold in the petitions of verses 3-4. …

The doom of the wicked is predicted in verse 10. The future tense should be here used, as in the Hebrew text; and the sens of the second member of the verse is that the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians were caught in their own snares, but that Messiah passed safely through and over them. — Williams, page 410.

I don’t find Wechsler’s interpretation particularly meaty, and Williams’ interpretation is a little hard to find in the passage. I think Morgan may have caught the meaning best:

In this song the influence of the external troubles upon the inner life of the singer is revealed. Throughout it breathes the spirit of fear lest the soul should be seduced from the attitude of whole-hearted loyalty to God. The peril most evidently threatening arises from the enticements of the ungodly; and the psalmist earnestly prays that he may be protected by Jehovah in speech and thought and action.

Without in so many words declaring so, the song clearly reveals the fact that the singer has been sorely tempted to turn aside to ways of ungodly men, to share their hospitality, and so escape their hostility. This peril is more subtle than that of the active opposition of these men, and in this distress he turns to God. … If the former psalm reveals the perils of foes without, this no less clearly deals with the danger of fears within.

I would probably replace the word “fear” in that last sentence with “temptations” — temptations that come from the wicked in the world around the believer. — Morgan, page 275.

¹² I know that the Lord will maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.

¹³ Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;

²⁴ And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

⁷ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.

⁸ The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

The Old Testament … strenuously denies the existence of “other gods” as beings (Psalm 115:4-7) but ever recognizes their reality as objects of somebody’s worship and their potential to seduce Israel away from the Lord. The psalmist’s purpose here (v.1) is simply to assert the absolute supremacy of the Lord against all such claimants to his worship (1 Corinthians 8:5-6). — Guthrie, page 537.

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Implicit in David’s assertion that he will give thanks with all his heart … before the gods is the contrary assertion that these other “gods” (i.e., the gods of “all the (Gentile) kings of the land” mentioned in v.4) deserve none of his worship, since they are in fact no gods at all (Psalm 135:15-18). The worshiper’s focus on the Temple is motivated not by the “house” itself, but by the presence of God Himself therein. God’s name here represents a summary reference to all the past deeds for which He is known—specifically those deeds expressive of His lovingkindness and truth, as when He redeemed David from Saul in the episode described in Psalm 57, where David employs the same parallelism (57:3; suggesting that the present psalm may have been specifically intended as a follow-up to the former). — Wechsler, page 332.

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One of the many reasons for the description of David as having a heart after God’s own (1 Samuel 13:14) was, as demonstrated here, his recognition of the underlying motivation tying together all of God’s dealings, both in word and in deed, with His people Israel—to wit: that by means of such the Gentiles might also come to know and worship Him as one people with Israel (cf. Isaiah 19:24-25). Such is clearly the meaning of vs.4-5, the very wording of which hearkens to David’s anticipation of the same in Psalm 22:27-31 and 68:32. — Wechsler, page 332.

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David concludes with the confident assertion (as opposed to a wish) that God will revive him—literally, “give me life,” referring not just to preservation of his mortal life, but also, if not more so, to the granting of eternal and incorruptible life in God’s presence, as in Psalm 30:3 and 80:18—as also intended by his parallel assertion that God will save him. — Wechsler, page 333.

Williams’ take:

The praise of the first three verses of this Psalm, the predictions of the next three, and the persuasion of the last two are based upon the trustworthiness of the Word of God. The first six verses will have their fulfillment in the future day of Messiah’s glory, and the last two express His faith while waiting for that glory. As Israel’s High Priest He sings the song for, and with, His people.

The prediction in verses 4-6 relate to the time when all the kings of the earth—the gods of verse 1—will become subject to the words of Messiah’s mouth (v.4); they will applaud His ways, and great will be His glory (v.5). He as the self-humbled One (Philippians 2:8) will be enthroned (v.6); but the proud one (Isaiah 10:13, Daniel 11:36) will be afar off in the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). — Williams, page 408

⁸ O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!

⁹ Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!

Though the Hebrew text of this psalm has no heading, early Jewish tradition identifies it alternately as the composition of David (per the Midrash on Psalms, which explains that God gave David a prophetic vision of the Temple’s destruction and Israel’s exile) or as the joint composition of David and (later adding to it) Jeremiah. — Wechsler, page 328.

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Thous the imagery of [verses 1-3] is highly picturesque, it is colored throughout by the somber hues of sorrow—which sorrow is specifically occasioned by (1) their remembrance of Zion (i.e., of what it was before the conquest, not only in its material splendor, but even more so as the site of God’s presence on earth—in the now-destroyed Temple); and (2) their being under the dominion of pagan captors who demanded that they exiles express mirth and sing songs of Zion against their will. — Wechsler, pages 328-329.

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The exiles here (vs.4-6) affirm by their subtle response that their expression of joy over Zion is based not in the prosperity of the city per se, but in their worship of the God who chose Zion as the seat of His earthly rule, as Israel’s true King. The affirmation in turn bears out the reason for the exile, which, though accomplished by means of an ungodly people, was intended by God as chastisement for Israel’s failure to recognize Him as their ultimate authority—a failure epitomized by their idolatry (Ezekiel 20:27-32) and failure to observe God’s command concerning the land’s sabbatical rest (2 Chronicles 36:21). — Wechsler, page 329.

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Though the exile was intended by God for the good purpose of chastising Israel, the agent by which He brought about that chastisement—i.e., the Babylonians, supported by Israel’s neighbor Edom was nonetheless an ungodly agent, motivated for their own part by the very bad purpose of conquering God’s people and dishonoring their God, hence placing themselves under the inevitable, just judgment (i.e., wrath) of God. It is for this expression of divine justice that the psalmist appeals in this last section, which he concludes with [an] admittedly shocking statement. This statement, however, is meant to be shocking. —Wechsler, page 330.

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In response to those critics who see this concluding statement (v.9) as [unfitting], we would point out the following: (1) the distinction between “innocent” and “guilty” that fuels much of our modern shock at this verse is typically divorced from any spiritual nuance (i.e., “innocence” is equated with young age rather than sinlessness), in contrast to the biblical notion of “innocence” as a spiritual category that applies to no one per se, even from conception (Psalm 51:5)—hence the drawing of even one breath represents a gift of grace and mercy on God’s part; (2) [the New Testament depicts] Christ’s second advent, at which time more people will be put to death than at any other single period in prior history (cf. Revelation 19:18; Matthew 24:19ff.); (3) the Abrahamic Covenant required that God “curse those who curse” Israel in like fashion—as the psalmist himself specifically states in v.8 …; (4) implicit in the “devastation” of Israel’s captors, the Babylonians, is the release of Israel herself from captivity … hence the psalmist’s reference to the one who repays Babylon as “blessed” (as is evident in what God says to Cyrus in Isaiah 45:1-7) … It should also be borne in mind that this last statement is not presented as an exhortation or command, nor is it directed to any human individual in particular, implying that—in the depth of their grief over having their own little ones dashed against the rock—the Israelite exiles are yeet leaving the recompense their captors deserve to God, who more often than not does show mercy, even in judgment. — Wechsler, pages 330-331.

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The word “happy” is from a Hebrew root meaning to be upright. The happiness of a true moral relationship to God is a right happiness whether it results from receiving God’s pardon or executing God’s wrath. The former happiness belongs to the present day of grace; the latter, to the future day of judgment. God’s action, whether in grace or judgment, is perfect and in harmony with His being and nature, and awakens praise in every Spirit-taught heart.

That a tyrant should suffer the same misery that he inflicted on others is not injustice but justice. There is, therefore, nothing unrighteous in verses 8 and 9.— Williams, pages 407-408.

I agree with what Wechsler and Williams said about verse 9. But more than that, all of the evil done throughout history to God’s people is the result of Satan’s attempt to thwart the plans of God. The attacks on Israel before the Incarnation were an attempt to destroy the line that brought forth the Messiah. If God allowed Israel to be destroyed, there could have been no Messiah and, therefore, no salvation. It’s popular to say that God is love. It’s not very popular these days to say that He is also righteous and just.

²⁶ Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.

This psalm (sometimes in combination with Psalm 135) is known in Jewish tradition as “The Great Hallel,” i.e.,the Giving of Praise par excellence) because of its comprehensive focus on the reasons for praising God—from His Creation of the Universe and general solicitude for humanity to His special, paternal solicitude for His people—and because of its unique repetition/emphasis (more so than in any other biblical [passage]) on that divine attribute that most epitomizes (i.e., sums up) any and all good that God has ever done for man—His lovingkindnesss. For this reason also this psalm is recited after the “Egyptian Hallel” on Passover, in connection with the Fourth Cup that symbolizes “Redemption” in connection with God’s fourth and final promise in Exodus 6:7: “I will take you for My people, and I will be your God”—a promise whose fulfillment is ultimately linked by Scripture to God’s final historical act of paternal redemption, when He brings His people Israel (together with the “grafted-in” branches of righteous Gentiles: cf, Romans 11:17), renewed in imperishable purity, into their home of renewed creation (Revelation 21:3). — Wechsler, pages 324-325.

In the opening call (vs.1-3) the three great names or titles of God—Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai—are used.

In the opening section (vs.1-3) the psalmist focuses not on any specific manifestation of God’s expressed attributes (attributes that becomes “active” in what God does), but rather on the essential attributes (attributes that are “active” in what God is) of His goodness and transcendence (His being “above” or greater than all other authorities and powers, whether human or divine, in every respect). — Wechsler, page 325.

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God’s transcendence over creation is stressed [in vs.4-9] by focusing on His role as Creator—specifically, His creation of the more “awe-inspiring” parts of the universe on the second through fourth days of the creation week, i.e.: the sky (heavens, v.5), the earth (dry land, v.6), and the great lights—that is, the sun and the moon and the stars. … In addition to the obvious benefit of these things to humanity, the “goodness” component of God’s lovingkindness manifest in His creation of these things is intimated by the psalmist’s initial reference, in v.4, to God doing (or “making”) great wonders, which term specifically signifies God’s manifest acts of deliverance. — Wechsler, page 326.

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God’s attribute in its most intimate or “relational” manner is the explicit focus of [vs.10-22], which briefly surveys the various ways in which God, having sovereignly chosen Israel, preserved them from destruction and delivered them from affliction. The arrangement of this survey follows the same essential pattern as in vs.8-14 of Psalm 135. — Wechsler, page 326.

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[Verses 23-24 reiterate in abbreviated fashion the entire spectrum of God’s [attributes] in the Hebrew Bible as expressed in Israel’s deliverance, from Egypt (to which the expression “who remembered us” alludes; cf. Exodus 2:24) to the post-exilic period (to which the expression “He has rescued us” alludes. — Wechsler, page 327.

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By concluding the psalm with the same exhortation to give thanks employed thrice at the beginning we are reminded that, though “The Great Praise” itself here draws to a close, our obligation to continue giving thanks to God does not. … This continuous, or “pan-temporal” perspective on thanksgiving is reinforced not only by its obvious correlation to everlasting expression of God’s [attributes], but also by the closing epithet “the God of heaven,” which is a fairly rare divine title that, considering where it does occur, recalls the expression of God’s transcendent [attributes] throughout the Old Testament history of Israel … — Wechsler, pages 327-328.

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This Psalm is Israel’s response to the call of the prior Psalm to worship and praise Messiah. … It will yet be sung by the tribes of Israel in the future day of their deliverance, when Messiah will appear in majesty and destroy all their adversaries. In the first twenty-two verses His glory as Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and the earth (Colossians 1:16-17), and His grace and power on behalf of His ancient people in the past, are set out. The remaining verses apply to their future deliverance from Anti-Christ—Israel’s greatest enemy—and from the misery of their low estate, and that of the flesh under his oppression. — Williams, pages 406-407.

¹⁹ Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!

²⁰ Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

²¹ Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!

This first section (vs.1-7)focuses on the expression of God’s solicitude for Israel which stands at the foundation of their identity as His people—to wit, His sovereign and umerited choice (cf. Romans 9:11). — Wechsler, page 323.

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Having “chosen Jacob (i.e., the people of Israel) for Himself” (v.4) based on His grace and not their worth (which was/is neither worse nor better than that of any other group), God maintains His choice—that is, their existence as a people—on the same basis, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Despite their predominant hardness and sinfulness (extending from their depravity, not as Jews, but as humans, God thus expresses His solicitude for Israel by (1) defeating their enemies, from Egypt (vs.8-9), the Amorites, and the people of Bashan (v.11; cf. Numbers 21:21-35) to all the kingdoms of Canaan (v.11b); (2) giving them the land of Canaan (and all it contained for their sustenance) as a heritage (or “inheritance”) forever (cf. Genesis 17:8; Psalm 105:8-11); and (3) vindicating and having compassion on His people—i.e., manifesting His personal love in chastisement. — Wechsler, page 323.

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The psalmist focuses in this concluding section (vs.15-21) on the manner (and hence depth) of God’s expressed solicitude for Israel by contrasting it with the manner (i.e., the utter lack thereof in which other “gods” relate to those who trust in them (v.18). — Wechsler, page 324.

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This Psalm and the following … are prophetic, and will be sung by redeemed Israel at the coronation of the Great King in Zion. This is made clear by verse 21, and by comparing verses 13 and 14 with Exodus 3:15 [which] declares God’s election of Israel and His uniting the memorial of His name with her, and Deuteronomy 32:36 [which] predicts her apostasy to idolatry, her rejection of Messiah, the Divine indignation that should justly follow, and her final restoration and pardon. — Williams, page 406.

³ The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

The theme of complete or “utmost” blessing—both to and from the Lord and His people—is structurally reinforced by the three-fold repetition (i.e., once in each verse) of the verb “bless.” — Wechsler, page 320.

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Picking on the specific notion—in this case “blessing”—with which the previous psalm ended, this psalm begins with the exhortation to respond in like kind—i.e., that those who have been blessed by the Lord with the guarantee of “eternal life” (Psalm 133:3b) respond in worship by themselves blessing the LORD. Thous the expression “those who stand in the house of the Lord” certainly includes the Levites who would minister in the temple, considering the context and culminating place of this psalm, it also unquestionably includes reference to all Israelite worshipers and pilgrims to the Temple who seek to worship God in gratitude and praise. The reference to this worship taking place by night (lit., “in the nights”) is intended to underscore the unbroken continuity of this worship … especially during the pilgrimage festivals (i.e., Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles). — Wechsler, pages 320-321.

Sanctuary (v.2) = Holy of Holies

The worshiper’s focus on the Temple is motivated not by the “house” itself, but by the presence of God Himself therein. To lift up one’s hands to Him, moreover, highlights that important relational facet of worship characterized by the worshiper’s utter submission to and dependence on God as the One who is not only able, but willing to meet His child’s deepest and most pressing needs (cf. the parallelism between “I lift up my hands” and “My supplications”/”I cry … for help” in Psalm 28:2; this is also the likely signification in 1 Timothy 2:8). — Wechsler, page 322.

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This psalm—and hence the Songs of Ascent—concludes, most fittingly, on the note of blessing going forth from the LORD Himself, the Source of all blessing, from His “place” in Zion—the reference being not just to what was in the days of the First and Second Temples, but also to what will always be, from the days of Christ’s advent to the Third Temple and beyond. — Wechsler, page 322.

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This is the last of the Songs of the Ascents, and all is sunshine and blessing. It is a scene of millennial peace and glory. Messiah as Creator of the heavens and of the earth, is enthroned in Zion (v.3), and from thence, as a source, blessing flows forth. Men will then lift their eyes to Zion (v.2) and from thence expect the supply of all their needs. …

“By night” may mean at the time of the evening sacrifice; or it may  mean the praise which faith renders during the “night” that precedes the millennial dawn. — Williams, page 406.

² It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.

³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

Considering the pilgrimage venue of these Songs of Ascent, the “unity” of “brothers” here in view should be specifically construed with reference to the spiritual unity of the various Israelite pilgrims who have come together to worship their One Lord and Father at the Temple in Jerusalem. The spiritual-theological nuance of this unity is further affirmed by the observation that the adjectives “good” and “pleasant” are elsewhere employed in poetic parallelism with reference to what God is, what He gives, or the worship that He receives from His people. — Wechsler, page 318.

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The comparison of the aforementioned “unity” to the precious oil … coming down upon … Aaron’s beard is specifically intended to highlight the holiness of that unity—or, more precisely, the priestly holiness of the people who “dwell” in that unity. The oil, which in connection to Aaron can only be the “anointing oil” described in Leviticus 8:10-13 which, after being applied to “the tabernacle and all that was in it,” was poured “on Aaron’s head … to consecrate him.” — Wechsler, page 319.

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The comparison to Mt. Hermon reinforces the image of abundant life, since Hermon is the tallest mountain in the biblical land of Israel and, being always covered by snow, is consistently characterized in its lower parts by an abundance of dew— which bears the specific symbolism of fresh and vigorous life. The reference to Zion as the source of this eternal blessing alludes specifically to the presence of God therein as the eternal King and source of all that is best for His people. — Wechsler, page 320.

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This song looks forward to the happy day when the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon the whole House of Israel, and, no longer broken into two nations, they will become one family dwelling together in unity. Ezekiel 37:15-28 predicts this future unity, and makes it synchronize with the second coming of Messiah. — Williams, page 405.