Verse by Verse

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.

² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.

³ He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴ Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

⁵ Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

⁶ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.

⁷ Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.

⁸ I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”

⁹ I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You Yourself know.

¹⁰ I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.

¹¹ Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord;
Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

¹² For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me!

¹⁴ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.

¹⁵ Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

¹⁶ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”

¹⁷ But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

There is a great contrast between the 22nd Psalm and the 40th one: In the 22nd Psalm we see the crucifixion of the Messiah in all of it’s detail and suffering. It is presented in such a way that there can be no doubt of it; one can stand at the cross of Calvary and read the details.

But when we come to the 40th Psalm, we find in it a submission to the cruel crucifixion that is missing in the 22nd Psalm. God seems to gradually unfold these great truths to David and to all who read. — Phillips, page 93.

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In view of the fact that verses 6-7 are cited as the direct utterance of Christ in Hebrews 10:5-10, this entire psalm, which is clearly connected to these two verses as part of the same first-person utterance, should also be taken as the direct expression of Christ concerning His first advent — though at various points also applicable, in a paradigmatic sense, of circumstances in David’s own life. — Wechsler, page 117

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heard my cry (v.1) — The expression “(God) heard my cry” here signifies — as does every biblical reference to God “hearing” (or “seeing”) — God’s compassionate fulfillment of human need. In this case that need is that of Christ, in His humanity, being brought up out of the pit (v.2) — i.e., from Sheol (which is parallel to “pit” in Psalm 30:3), thus reiterating the point of Psalm 16:10 in which David explicitly affirms God’s resurrection of the Messiah from the dead before His body would undergo decay.  Further evidence of God’s special solicitude is indicated in v.5, where, speaking now both for Himself and Israel corporately, Christ remarks God’s wonders (referring to His specific acts of deliverance, as in Exodus 34:10; Judges 6:13; Psalm 106:22, etc.) and His “thoughts toward us” — which latter phrase refers not only to God’s paternal “thoughts” of welfare, but, in light of the specific phraseology, to His greatest blessing of justification. — Wechsler, pages 117-118.

horrible pit (v.2) = noisy, rushing pit — a cavity through which waters rush

fear (v.3) = revere, reverentially trust

By saying that God has not desired sacrifice or required burnt offering (v.6) Christ is not repudiating the unchanging divine requirement of substitutionary (i.e., life-for-life) atonement, but rather affirming that (1) when sacrifice is offered, it must be accompanied by right heart attitude (e.g., faith-filled contrition, delight, gratitude) or else it means nothing (see especially Psalm 51:16-19), and (2), as explained by the writer of Hebrews, it was never in fact the animal sacrifices that satisfied God’s requirement for sin, “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin” (Hebrews 10:4), but only the One sacrifice that was ever qualified by the spiritual purity (i.e., a soul untainted by sin and depravity) to do so — that of Christ Himself. — Wechsler, pages 118-119.

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My ears You have opened (v.6) — This is a unique expression in the Bible and for its meaning appeal can be made either to the custom of piercing the ear (consecration to perpetual service, Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17) or to the idiom of opening the ear, signifying the imparting of a revelation from God (e.g., Isaiah 50:5). The common denominator of these two ideas is obedience and it is most likely that this is what the phrase is intended to stress. — Guthrie, page 477.

In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will (vs. 7-8) — Matthew 26:39; John 4:34; 6:38.

my iniquities (v.13) — For the Messiah, these were the imputed sins of the world (Galatians 3:13)

Verses 13-17 are almost identical to Psalm 70.

1 I said, “I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”

² I was mute with silence,
I held my peace even from good;
And my sorrow was stirred up.

³ My heart was hot within me;
While I was musing, the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴ “Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.

⁵ Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah

⁶ Surely every man walks about like a shadow;
Surely they busy themselves in vain;
He heaps up riches,
And does not know who will gather them.

⁷ “And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.

⁸ Deliver me from all my transgressions;
Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

⁹ I was mute, I did not open my mouth,
Because it was You who did it.

¹⁰ Remove Your plague from me;
I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

¹¹ When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,
You make his beauty melt away like a moth;
Surely every man is vapor. Selah

¹² “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And give ear to my cry;
Do not be silent at my tears;
For I am a stranger with You,
A sojourner, as all my fathers were.

¹³ Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,
Before I go away and am no more.”

Jeduthun (Intro) — A Levite, chief singer and instructor, father of one of the three families of Levitical singers. See 1 Chronicles 9:16; 16:38-42; 25:1-6; 2 Chronicles 5:12; 35:15; Nehemiah 11:17. He is mentioned in the inscriptions of Psalms 39; 62; 77.

This psalm attests thematic and phraseological parallels both to the previous psalm (e.g., “I am like a dumb man”//”I have become dumb” [38:13; 39:2, 9]; “my plague”//”Thy plague” [38:11; 39:10; in both cases referring to God’s chastisement]; “O Lord, rebuke me not … chasten me not”//”with rebukes Thou dost chasten” [38:1; 39:11]) as well as to the words of Job (e.g., “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extend of my days”//”What is my end, that I should endure?” [Psalm 39:4a; Job 6:11]; “Turn Thy gaze away from me that I may have cheer before I go and am no more”//”Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer before I go and am no more” [Psalm 39:11; Job 10:20b-21]). These latter parallels, together with the thematic focus of this psalm, suggests that Job’s repentance at the end of that book (42:6) is not for anything he said that was wrong (so Job 2:10: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips”), but rather for what he did not say — perhaps due to whispers of doubt in his hear — in correcting his companions’ erroneous portrayal of God. — Wechsler, pages 114-115.

the fire burned (v.3) — Jeremiah 20:9

David begins by reviewing his past determination not to sin with his tongue, and to guard his mouth while the wicked were in his presence (v.1) — i.e., knowing his own tendency to meet injustice with quick-tempered outbursts rather than more thoughtful and discerning responses, David determined to refrain from rash pronouncements that he might later regret as excessive, and hence sinful (as in 1 Samuel 25:21-22, 33). While this determination was, in and of itself, a good thing, consistent with biblical wisdom (see Proverbs 14:29; 17:27), David took it too far by remaining silent when he should have spoken and, in so doing, refrained even from good (v.2). That David’s silence at such a point was in fact sinful is underscored by the precept preceding — indeed, leading up to — the Second Greatest Commandment itself, in Leviticus 19:17: “You shall surely reprove your neighbor and not incur sin because of him” (i.e., if you do not reprove your neighbor when he sins, you will incur sin because you said nothing). — Wechsler, pages 115-116.

vapor (v.5) — Psalm 62:9

shadow (v.6) = image, phantom, vain show

riches (v.6) — Luke 12:20

David affirms, in the concluding section, that the fact of human transience and the futility of his works does not, in the end, exonerate him from guilt as a responsible moral agent. Though every man is indeed a mere breath (v.11) and, whatever we do or don’t do, God’s purposes will be achieved, each of us is still fully responsible for — and God is still keenly concerned with — the way in which we conduct ourselves here and now. To put it differently, it is not the “ends” for which we, as believers, are responsible, but the “means” — it is in the means, or manner, by which we live our lives that our gratitude and obedience, and hence our love for God, is expressed, and for which we are held accountable by Him. It is in this respect that David now acknowledges his transgressions (v.8) — i.e., for his “manner” of having kept silent when he should have spoken — and affirms the justness and necessity of God’s chastisement. — Wechsler, pages 116-117.

stranger/sojourner (v.12) — Leviticus 25:23; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Hebrews 11:13

I’m not certain that I’ve grasped the meaning of this psalm. If Wechsler is correct, and I have no better solution to offer, David is writing about the importance of speaking up for the Lord and not worrying about what anyone says. Our lives are short. Our hope is in the Lord. It’s only what we do for Him that matters, so we shouldn’t hesitate to do it.

1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

² For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.

³ There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.

⁴ For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵ My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.

⁶ I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.

⁷ For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸ I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

⁹ Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰ My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

¹¹ My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.

¹² Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

¹³ But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴ Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.

¹⁵ For in You, O Lord, I hope;
You will hear, O Lord my God.

¹⁶ For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

¹⁷ For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸ For I will declare my iniquity;
I will be in anguish over my sin.

¹⁹ But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

²⁰ Those also who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

²¹ Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, be not far from me!

²² Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!

To bring to remembrance (intro) — more literally, “for bringing to remembrance” — which suggests that it may have been recited in connection with the Feast of Trumpeting (known today as “Rosh ha-Shanah,” or the Jewish New Year festival), which is specifically described as “a memorial” (Leviticus 23:24).  Further supporting this connection is parallel thematic focus between this psalm and the Feast of Trumpets — to wit, in the latter, on personal refinement (symbolized by the “fire offering” mentioned in Leviticus 23:25) — i.e., the intended outcome of divine chastisement — and, in this psalm, on the individual’s proper response to God’s chastisement. — Wechsler, pages 112-113

One of the penitential psalm. The others are 6, 32, 51, 102, 130 and 143.

rebuke and chasten (v.1) — primarily the responsibilities of a father — David is approaching God as his Father. (Psalm 6:1)

David believes that it is his sin that has brought on his troubles (v.3). He describes the effects of that sin on him physically (vs. 3 and 7) and emotionally (vs. 6 and 8).

feeble (v.8) = numb, faint, sluggish

It is important to note that David expresses this sense of overpowering distress and powerlessness within the context of relationship and proximity to God — as indicated not only by his very act of directly addressing God throughout this psalm, but also by his declaration in v.9 that all his desire is before God and his sighing is not hidden from Him — i.e., God knows David is aggrieved over his sins and desires restoration to a healthy relationship/communion with his Lord (cf. 2 Samuel 7:20). — Wechsler, pages 113-114

my loved ones and my friends stand aloof (v.11) — Psalm 31:11

response (v.14) = argument, refutation

for in You, O Lord, I hope (v.15) — David affirms his dependence on God

I will declare my iniquity (v.18) — Psalm 32:5

As is generally the case, Williams sees a Messianic theme in this psalm.

The psalm reveals the thoughts that filled the heart of Jesus up to, and upon the Cross. The statements of verse 13 link the psalm to Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22-24, etc. It describes His sympathetic intercession for His people, justly suffering the wrath of God because of their sins; and it records the hatred and ingratitude  of those who ought to have loved Him. He came unto His own but His own received Him not. Himself sinless, He here loads Himself with the believers’ sins; makes full confession of them; admits the justice of the Divine wrath against them; and utters no reproach against those members of His nation who sought to destroy Him. He does not excuse or belittle sin; nor does He murmur at the wrath of God against it. He magnifies that wrath, and reposes in the righteousness of that Judge of all the earth. — Williams, page 326.

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret — it only causes harm.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.

¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.

¹⁵ Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.

²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.

²⁶ He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.

²⁸ For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall slide.

³² The wicked watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.

³³ The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴ Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.

³⁶ Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.

³⁸ But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

This is an acrostic psalm. There are 22 stanzas, each commencing with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It was written when David was an old man (v.25).

The central motif is that of divine reward, with specific focus on (1) the nature of that reward as epitomized by the eternal inheritance of “the land” in the hereafter, and (2) the character of those so rewarded, who represents only a portion (i.e., a remnant) of humanity. Both of these aspects of the “reward” motif punctuate the psalm at various points by synonymous descriptions of the rewardees (i.e., “those who wait for the Lord,” “the humble,” “those blessed by Him,” “the righteous,” “(those who) keep His way”) followed by the declaration that they will “inherit the land” (vs. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34). — Wechsler, pages 109-110.

do not fret (vs. 1, 7 and 8) = do not glow, do not grow warm — Psalm 73:3; Proverbs 23:17; 24:19

they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb (v.2) — Psalm 90:6; 103:15; Isaiah 40:6-8; James 1:10-11

rest (v.7) = be silent, be still

meek (v.11) — Considering the context of the present psalm from which Jesus cites this verse, as well as how the Hebrew word translated “humble” is used elsewhere, it becomes clear that He is referring not to those who, in the submission of their faith, set aside their own interests and priorities in order to wait upon those of God. — Wechsler, page 111

the meek shall inherit the earth (v.11) — Matthew 5:5. Earth should probably be translated “land” as also in vs. 9, 22, 29, 34. The same Hebrew word is used in all these verses.

the Lord laughs at him (v.13) — Psalm 2:4; 59:8

a little that a righteous man has (v.16) — Proverbs 15:16; 16:8

splendor of the meadows (v.20) — can also be translated “fat (as in ‘valuable’) of the lamb,” which makes more sense to me because fat in a piece of meat would burn during cooking or sacrificing

Verse 25 does not mean that a good man is never destitute (cf. 1 Samuel 21:3; 25:8), but that he is never forsaken by the Lord.

As a prophecy, this psalm will have its fulfillment during Israel’s future “time of trouble” (v.39) when under the oppression of the Antichrist. It has, at the same time, counsel and comfort for the people of God in any dispensation when perplexed and persecuted. — Williams, page 326.

There is certainly application today, when so many Christians are frightened and angry about the mainstreaming of evil in our country. The theme, in short, is that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary and tainted, but that of the righteous is sure and will be both better and eternal.

1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.

² For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.

³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

⁴ He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil.

⁵ Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁶ Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

⁷ How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

⁸ They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

⁹ For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

¹⁰ Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

¹¹ Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹² There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise.

The central motif of this psalm is God’s hesed, traditionally translated “lovingkindness,” specifically denoting the expression of God’s covenant love (see Psalm 5:7).

Rather than pursuing the dictates of hesed exemplified by God, the ungodly (i.e., those who don’t know God, per the contrast with v.10) pursue the dictates of its opposite, pesha (“unfaithfulness”; “transgression”; “acts which break relationships”). The centrality of pesha to the ungodly is vividly underscored by the opening statement that it “speaks” — which verb translates the formulaic Hebrew term ne um, used throughout the Old Testament primarily to signify the utterances of God, whether given directly or communicated through a prophet (cf. Genesis 2:16; Psalm 110:1; Zechariah 12:1). It’s use here in the opening verse thus implies that, to the ungodly, pesha (unfaithfulness) serves the same role that God’s Word (and its exemplification in hesed) serves to the godly — to wit: the authoritative model to emulate in all aspects of life. It should be noted, moreover, that the ungodly in verse 1 refers not just to the especially wicked, but in fact, in view of how the verse is cited by Paul in Romans 3:18, everyone — “both Jews and Gentiles” — who have not submitted themselves to God, in faith, as “slaves of righteousness,” and who are therefore still “under” (i.e., slaves of) sin (Romans 6:17-18). — Wechsler, pages 107-108.

Verse 1 is quoted in Romans 3:18.

The sense of verse 2 is that the unsaved man flatters himself regarding his sin so that he does not recognize its evil and hate it.

He devises wickedness on his bed (v.4) — Proverbs 4:16; Micah 2:1

is in the heavens (v.5) = inexhaustible, never ceasing

trust (v.7) — Trust is the characteristic Old Testament word for the New Testament “faith,” and “believe.” It occurs 152 times in the Old Testament, and is the rendering of Hebrew words signifying to take refuge (e.g., Ruth 2:12); to lean on (e.g., Psalm 56:3); to roll on (e.g. Psalm 22:8); to wait for (e.g., Job 35:14). — Scofield, page 602.

pleasures (v.8) = a luxury, delight — from the Hebrew word Eden.

fountain of life (v.9) — Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:10, 14.

In Your light we see light (v.9) — For man God is the only source of light, which in the Bible is employed as a symbol of life and/or salvation, whether physical or spiritual (cf. Psalm 49:19; Isaiah 9:2; John 1:4-9; Ephesians 5:8; Revelation 21:22-23). — Wechsler, page 109

continue (v.10) = lit. “draw out at length”

1 Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.

² Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.

³ Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”

⁴ Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.

⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the angel of the Lord chase them.

⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.

⁷ For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.

⁸ Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹ And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.

¹⁰ All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

¹¹ Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.

¹² They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.

¹³ But as for me, when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own heart.

¹⁴ I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.

¹⁵ But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;

¹⁶ With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.

¹⁸ I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.

¹⁹ Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.

²⁰ For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.

²¹ They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”

²² This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.

²³ Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.

²⁴ Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.

²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶ Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.

²⁷ Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

²⁸ And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.

The occasion of this psalm is not given, but thematically it is similar to David’s plea in 1 Samuel 24:15, when Saul was seeking his death.

It would certainly be improper for David or any other sinful man, to present such petitions to God. But in such Psalms the petitioner is the sinless Man Christ Jesus, and He fittingly calls for the divine judgment upon those who hate Him; for in hating Him, they hate God and His people, and goodness, righteousness and truth. Hence, when judging the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-36) He used language of similar terrific import. — Williams, page 324.

Plead (v.1) = contend — a legal term, used of disputes at law

buckler (v.2) — thought to be a large shield, possibly carried by a shield-bearer (1 Samuel 17:7, 41)

angel of the Lord (vs. 5-6) — See Scofield quote in notes on Psalm 34:7.

It is the Son of God who will sit as the ultimate judge of mankind (see John 5:22) — as intimated here by the repeated (and hence emphatic) reference in verses 5 and 6 to the angel of the Lord (i.e., the Son of God), which in turn anticipates His only other appearance (by that designation) in a specifically legal/juridical context, in Zechariah 3, where it is He who judges the remnant of Israel (symbolized by Joshua the high priest), graciously acquitting them of the just accusation of unworthiness brought against them by “the accuser.” — Wechsler, page 106.

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To underscore their wickedness he further refers to them (v.19) as “those who hate me without cause” (as again in Psalm 69:4), which description is cited by Jesus Himself with reference to those among the Jewish people of His day who, without cause, likewise despised and rejected Him as their Messiah (see John 15:25). — Wechsler, page 106.

Lord, who is like You (v.10) — Also part of the song Moses and the people of Israel sang after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:11).

fierce witnesses (v.11) = lit. “witnesses of wrong”

they ask me things that I do not know (v.11) — “They laid to my charge” — The idea being that his enemies sought to elicit by questions some grounds for accusation (Mark 14:55; Luke 11:53; John 18:19). — Meyer, page 48.

If Meyer is correct, this give credence to a Messianic theme in this psalm.

my prayer would return to my own heart (v.13) — Matthew 10:13; Luke 10:6 — The idea is that his prayer, while not accomplishing what he wished, would result in his own blessing

ungodly mockers (v.16) — These were paid jesters who were hired to amuse the guests at a banquet. — Scofield, page 616

Lord (v.17) = Adonai = Master

precious (v.17) — Psalm 22:20

wink (v.19) — Proverbs 6:12-14: A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Also, Proverbs 10:10: He who winks with the eye causes trouble, but a prating fool will fall.

the quiet ones in the land (v.20) — the law-abiding

my God and my Lord (v.23) = Elohim (God) and an emphatic form of Adon (Master)

David’s plea was not for his own vindication, but that God would be glorified (vs. 27-28).

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

² My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

³ Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.

⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.

⁶ This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.

¹⁰ The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹² Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.

¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

²⁰ He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.

²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

²² The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

This psalm is an acrostic poem. It closely parallels Psalm 25 in its theme, phraseology and structure.

Abimelech (introduction) = “father of the king” (perhaps a title, like Pharaoh) — the king of Gath named Achish in 1 Samuel 21:10-15.

David sought refuge from persecution by Saul by fleeing to the Philistine king of Gath, Achish. This psalm should thus be understood not only as an expression of David’s thanksgiving and praise for God’s providence and faithful solicitude, but also as an implicit confession of Guilt for fearing Achish more than he “feared” the Lord (“fear” of the Lord being a prominent motif in this psalm; see verses 7, 9, 11). — Wechsler, pages 101-102.

bless (v.1) = lit. “kneel”

His praise shall continually be in my mouth (v.1) = in his everyday speech, a conscious effort to acknowledge God’s role in every aspect of life

my soul shall make its boast in the Lord (v.2) — Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:31

they (v.5) — the humble from v.2

looked (v.5) — submitted in faith

were not ashamed (v.5) = lit. “will never be ashamed” — in contrast with the eternal state of those who do not believe (Daniel 12:2).

poor (v.6) = humble

the angel of the Lord (v.7) — This particular angel, as distinguished in Scripture from all others, is often referred to in the Old Testament (Genesis 16:9; 22:11; 48:16; Exodus 3:2; 14:19; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:4; 6:11; 13:3; 2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 63:9; Zechariah 1:12; 12:8). He is named “the angel of the Lord [Jehovah]” (Genesis 16:7), “the angel of God” (Genesis 21:17), “the angel of His [God’s] presence” (Isaiah 63:9), and probably, the messenger [angel] of the covenant” (Malachi 3:1). He is clearly identified with the Lord Himself in His self-manifestation to men [“theophany”] . In Genesis 31:11-13 the angel said to Jacob, “I am the God of Bethel.” In Exodus 3:2-6 the same angel said to Moses, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham.” — Scofield, page 289.

taste (v.8) = acquire/derive discernment — which will result in seeing (perceiving or assessing) “that the Lord is good — 1 Peter 2:3

Verses 12-16 are quoted in 1 Peter 3:10-12.

desires life, and loves many days (v.12) — the quality and quantity of eternal life (see Psalm 21:4). In 1 Peter 3:10-12, the phrase refers to the blessing that the believer will inherit.

Seek peace and pursue it (v.14) — This instruction is repeated in Romans 14:19, making it a universal truth across all dispensations.

David employs various descriptions for believers, notable among which is the parallel pair in verse 18: the brokenhearted and the crushed (or “contrite”) in spirit. Though at first reading these expressions may seem to refer generally to people who are emotionally downtrodden and depressed, a careful comparison to the use of the same expressions elsewhere bears out a more specific meaning — for example, Psalm 51:17, where David affirms that “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart … Thou wilt not despise.” In its context, this citation is clearly intended to describe the believer’s attitude of repentance, and not general depression or emotional malaise. This understanding in turn not only clarifies that David is speaking of believers when he uses these same expressions in Psalm 34, but also that it is to believers specifically that Jesus Himself refers when He employs the semantically parallel Greek expression (usually translated “the poor in spirit”) in Matthew 5:3 — a semantic parallel that is further strengthened by the observation that in both instances the “brokenness” group is counterbalanced by a present (not future) circumstance that is also specifically tied to faith and “admission” to  God’s presence (i.e., in Psalm 34:18: “the Lord is near” to them; Matthew 5:3: “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Wechsler, pages 104-105.

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That the Holy Spirit should give this prophecy to David immediately after his degrading conduct in Gath is incomprehensible to strangers to the spiritual life. Verse 18 removes the difficulty. When the believer is mortified, ashamed, broken and contrite in spirit, and amazed that such a wretch should find pardon and deliverance, then is the soul restored and fresh revelation given respecting [the Lord] who found deliverance not by deceiving man but in trusting God. — Williams, pages 322-323.

He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken (v.20) — A prophecy fulfilled when Christ was on the cross (John 19:31-36). In Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12, Israel is instructed not to break the bones of the Passover lamb.

evil (v.21) — can be translated “evil,” “misery,” “distress,” or “injury”

And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned (v.22) — Romans 8:1

1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.

² Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

³ Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

⁴ For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.

⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

¹³ The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.

¹⁴ From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;

¹⁵ He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.

¹⁶ No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,

¹⁹ To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.

²¹ For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.

²² Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.

The introduction (vs.1-3) and the conclusion (vs.20-22) are clearly distinguished from the main body of the poem. The introduction describes the enthusiastic singing of a choir accompanied by music. The conclusion describes the fervent faith of the worshipers who are surrounded by the protection and mercy of the Lord. The anthem of praise becomes the prayer of faith. The change is also from the externals of worship to the inward experiences of trust and hope. In the body of the psalm are two sections, vs. 4-12 and vs. 13-19, the first of which deals with God the Ruler, and the second with God the Judge. — Guthrie, page 471.

Verse 1 picks up where the last verse of Psalm 32 leaves off. This, in addition to its lack of heading, may indicate that the two were to be read together.

new song (v.3) — the first appearance of this phrase in Scripture. The last is in Revelation 14:3 when the 144,000 sing a new song to the Lamb on Mount Zion. It appears nine times in Scripture.

This section (vs.4-19) consists of seven (signifying perfection/completeness) distinct reasons for collectively praising God: (1) His attributes (vs.4-5) — specifically His imitable attributes of uprightness, faithfulness, righteousness and lovingkindness; (2) His creation of the world by His word (i.e. by thought alone) (vs. 6-9); (3) the sovereign permanence of His counsel (i.e., will) (vs. 10-11); (4) His election of Israel for His own inheritance (v.12); (5) His intimate understanding of the hearts of all men (vs. 13-15); (6) His superiority to any other basis of hope or deliverance (vs.16-17); and (7) His special solicitude for those who fear (i.e., worship) Him (vs. 18-19). — Wechsler, pages 100-101.

 right (v.4) = without deception, full of integrity, faithful — the same Hebrew word translated “upright” in v.1

counsel of the nations (v.10) — contrasted with the counsel of the Lord in v.11. The first comes to nothing, the latter stand forever.

the nation whose God is the Lord (v.12) — Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 4:20

Among the results of collective praise is the fostering of collective reliance on God — i.e., reliance upon God generally (per v.20a: “Our soul [note the singular, underscoring the communal unity of God’s people] waits for the Lord”), as well as socially-familially (per v.20b: “[He is] our help”: which same term is applied to woman in Genesis 2:18) and militarily (per 20b: “[He is] our shield). Also among the results of collective praise is the strengthening of collective trust in God’s name (i.e., His reputation, as epitomized by the seven reasons for collective praise enumerated above) and the contingent fostering of collective joy (v.21: “our heart rejoices”) among God’s people — whatever the circumstances might be. — Wechsler, page 101.