I remember the days of old,.... Former times he had read and heard of, in which the Lord appeared for his people that trusted in him; or the former part of his own life, his younger days, when the Lord delivered him from the lion and bear, and from the uncircumcised Philistine, whom he slew; and made him victorious in battles, and preserved him...
I stretch forth my hands unto thee,.... In prayer, as the Targum adds; for this is a prayer gesture, 1 Kings 8:38; both hands were stretched forth, earnestly imploring help, and ready to receive and embrace every blessing bestowed with thankfulness; my soul [thirsteth] after thee as a thirsty land. As a dry land, which wants water, gapes, and as...
Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit faileth,.... Ready to sink, swoon, and faint away, through the weight of the affliction on him, by reason of the persecution of his enemy, and for want of the divine Presence; hence the Targum renders it, "my spirit desireth thee;'' see So 5:6; and therefore entreats that God would hear and answer him quickly;...
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning,.... Not only externally in the ministry of the word; but internally by the Spirit, so as to feel and perceive, and have some sensible experience of it; which he desired he might have in the morning, early, speedily, by the next morning; it being now night perhaps when he was in this distress, and...
Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies,.... Either Saul and his courtiers, or Absalom and the conspirators along with him; who were many, and lively and strong, stronger than he; and therefore God only could deliver him, and to him he sought for it, and not to men; and so deliverance from spiritual enemies is only from the Lord; I flee unto thee to...
Teach me to do thy will,.... Revealed in the word; which saints desire a greater knowledge of in order to do it, and in which they delight; and also are desirous of being taught, and to practise submission to the will of God under afflictions; which was now the case of the psalmist; for thou [art] my God; his covenant God; and from whom all his...
Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake,.... Being like one dead, Psalms 143:3; that is, revive and cheer his drooping spirit, ready to fail, being overwhelmed within him, Psalms 143:4; as well as revive the work of grace in him; and quicken his soul to the exercise of grace, and discharge of duty; and this he desires not only for his own soul's...
And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,.... Which, though an act of vindictive justice, and terrible righteousness to them, would be an act of grace and mercy to him, who thereby would be delivered from them: or, "for thy grace" (b); for the sake of it, for the honour of it, do this; those being, as Cocceius thinks, despisers of the grace of God;...
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 144 A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David; not on account of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, by a spirit of prophecy, as Theodoret; but on his own account, after he was come to the throne, and was king over all Israel; and was delivered from the was between him and Israel, and from the war...
Blessed [be] the Lord my strength,.... The author and giver of his natural strength of body, and of the fortitude of his mind, and of all the spiritual strength he had, to exercise grace, to bear up under afflictions and trials, to perform duty, and withstand enemies. It may be applied to Christ, the antitype of David, the man of God's right hand,...
My goodness,.... Not only good, but goodness itself; the donor of all the blessings of goodness to him; the author of all goodness in him; the provider of all goodness for him, laid up to be used hereafter. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions render it my mercy, properly enough; that is, the God of "my mercy", as in Psalms 59:10; who is all...
Lord, what [is] man, that thou takest knowledge of him?.... Man, that is at most and best but a creature, made of the dust of the earth, is but dust and ashes; yea, a sinful creature, that drinks up iniquity like water: and yet the Lord not only knows him, as he is the omniscient God, but takes notice of him in a way of providence, and in a way of...
Man is like to vanity,.... Is vanity itself, in every age, state, and condition; yea, in his best estate, Psalms 39:5; or, "to the breath" (h) of the mouth, as Kimchi; which is gone as soon as seen almost: or, to a vapour (i); to which the life of man is compared, James 4:14; his days [are] as a shadow that passeth away; as the former denotes the...
Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down,.... The heavens, which the Lord has made, and where he dwells; and which are under his influence, and he can cause to incline or bow at his pleasure: and which literally may be said to bow, particularly the airy heavens, when these are filled with clouds heavy with rain, and hang low, ready to fall upon the...
Cast forth lightning, and scatter them,.... The mountains, the kings and kingdoms of the earth; the enemies of David, and of Christ, and of his people; particularly the Jews, who have been scattered all over the earth by the judgments of God upon them; cast forth like lightning, which is swift, piercing, penetrating, and destructive; shoot out...
Send thine hand from above,.... From the high heavens, as the Targum; that is, exert and display thy power in my deliverance, and in the destruction of my enemies; as follows: rid me, and deliver me out of great waters; out of great afflictions, which, for quantity and quality, are like many waters, overflowing and overwhelming; see Isaiah 43:2;...
Whose mouth speaketh vanity,.... Vain words, lies, flatteries, and deceit, Psalms 12:2; when they speak loftily of themselves, and contemptuously of others; when they deliver out threatenings against some, and make fair promises to others; it is all vanity, and comes to nothing; and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood; their strength...
I will sing a new song unto thee, O God,.... The author of his being, the Father of mercies, temporal and spiritual, and therefore to him praise is always due; a new song of praise is to be sung for new mercies; and as these are new every morning, and are renewed day by day, new songs should be sung continually: or this is a song suited to New...
[It is he] that giveth salvation to kings,.... Which is the reason of singing the new song to the Lord, or this is the matter of it. The Lord is the Preserver of men and beasts, the Saviour of all men, and especially of them that believe; who are in a spiritual sense kings and priests unto God; and in a temporal sense he saves high and low, rich...
Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children,.... This is repeated from Psalms 144:7; and is done to show the vehemency and importunity of the request, and the danger David was in, and his sense of it; [See comments on Psalms 144:7]; whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [is] a right hand of falsehood. [See comments on...