Thou makest us a byword among the Heathen,.... Among the Papists, as the Jews were among the Gentiles, Deuteronomy 28:37; calling them schismatics, heretics, fanatics, and what not? a shaking of the head among the people; by way of indignation, scorn, and contempt; see Psalms 22:7.
My confusion [is] continually before me,.... Meaning that which is the occasion of it; and the shame of my face hath covered me; not by reason of sin, which is often the cause of confusion and shame in God's people; see Jeremiah 3:25; but on account of what follows.
For the voice, of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth,.... That is, antichrist, to whom a mouth speaking blasphemies has been given, and which he has opened in blasphemy against God, attributing that to himself which belongs to God; blaspheming his name, his tabernacle, and them that well in heaven; see Revelation 13:5; by reason of the enemy and...
All this is come upon us,.... Not by chance, but according to the purpose and counsel of God; not for sin, and as a punishment of it, but for Christ's sake and his Gospel; for a profession of faith in him, and for the trial of it; yet have we not forgotten thee; not the being and perfections of God, on which they often meditated, especially as...
Our heart is not turned back,.... To its original hardness, blindness, and bondage, to its former sin and folly, to cherish, gratify, and fulfil its lusts and desires; not from God, from love to him, faith in him, and desires after him; nor from his worship and service; their trials had no such influence upon them as to cause them to apostatize...
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,.... Where men, comparable to dragons or their poison and cruelty, dwell; particularly in Rome, and the Roman jurisdiction, both Pagan and Papal, the seat of Satan the great red dragon, and of his wretched brood and offspring, the beast, to whom he has given his power; here the saints and...
If we have forgotten the name of our God,.... As antichrist, and the antichristian party did in those times, Daniel 11:36; or stretched out our hands to a strange god; as not to any of the Heathen deities under the Pagan persecutions, so not to any images of gold, silver, brass, and wood, under the Papal tyranny; not to the Virgin Mary, nor to...
Shall not God search this out?.... Undoubtedly he would, was it so, and expose it, and punish for it; as he will the Balaamites and children of Jezebel, Revelation 2:18; this seems to be an appeal to God for the truth of all that the church had said concerning her steadfastness and integrity under the most trying exercises; for he knoweth the...
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long,.... These words are cited by the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:36; and are applied to his times, showing the then close attachment of the saints to Christ, and their strong love and affection for him; and they have the same sense here, being an instance and proof of the church's integrity and...
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?.... Not that sleep properly falls upon God: the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; his eyes are always upon his people; he never withdraws them from them, and he watches over them night and day: but sometimes he seems and is thought to be asleep; as when wicked men flourish and triumph over the...
Wherefore hidest thou thy face?.... See Psalms 10:1; [and] forgettest our affliction and our oppression. Not that the Lord does really forget either the persons of his people, which he cannot, since they are engraven on the palms of his hands, and a book of remembrance is written for them: nor the afflictions of his people; he knows their souls in...
For our soul is bowed down to the dust,.... Which may signify great declension in spiritual things, much dejection of mind, and little exercise of grace, Psalms 119:25; or a very low estate in temporals; subjection to their enemies; they setting their feet upon their necks, and obliging them to lick the dust of them: and even it may signify...
Arise for our help,.... Or, "arise our help" (s). God is the help of his people, and he is a present help in time of trouble; and he is the only one; and he can help and does, when none else can; and redeem us for thy mercies' sake; not for the sake of her integrity and faithfulness; nor for her sufferings for Christ's sake; but for his grace and...