2610 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When I cry [unto thee],.... In prayer; then shall mine enemies turn back; great is the strength of prayer; the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avails much against their enemies: when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed: the cases of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, prove it; this David was assured of, and knew it to be true by...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
In God will I praise [his] word,.... These words are repeated from Psalms 56:4; and for the greater certainty of the thing, and to show his fixed resolution to do it, and his strong affection for the Lord and his word, they are doubled; in the Lord will I praise [his] word: in the former clause the word "Elohim" is made use of, which, the Jews...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
In God have I put my trust,.... [See comments on Psalms 56:4]; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me; the same with flesh in Psalms 56:4, and is opposed to God, in whom he trusted; and it suggests that he was not, and would not, be afraid of the greatest of men, as well as of the meanest; [See comments on Psalms 56:4]; Arama distinguishes...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thy vows [are] upon me, O God,.... Which he had made to him in the time of his distress and trouble, and which he looked upon himself under obligation to perform; they were debts upon him he ought to pay off; they were with him; they were fresh in his mind and memory; he had not forgot them, which is often the case when trouble is over; and he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For thou hast delivered my soul from death,.... From imminent danger of death, when in the hands of the Philistines; not that the soul can die; that is immortal; but he means his person, on which account he determines to render praise to God: moreover, this may include the deliverance of his soul from a moral or spiritual death, in which he was by...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 57 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Some think the words "Altaschith" are the beginning of a song, to the tune of which this was set, as Aben Ezra; others, that they are taken from Deuteronomy 9:26; they signifying "destroy not" (g); others, that they refer to what...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be merciful unto me, O God,.... Or "be gracious to me" (k); which words are repeated by him. "Be merciful", or "gracious, unto me"; to show the greatness of his distress, the eagerness, vehemency, and importunity he used in prayer; his case requiring a speedy answer, and immediate relief; and that he expected only from the mercy and grace of God;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will cry unto God most high,.... To remember him in his low estate, and who is higher than the highest, than Saul and his mighty men with him. This epithet David no doubt made use of, to encourage his faith in the Lord, who is above all, and can do all things; as follows; unto God that performeth [all things] for me; in a providential way,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
He shall send from heaven, and save me,.... His angel, as the Targum adds; or his angels, as Kimchi; who are ministering spirits, sent forth by him, to encamp about his people, and guard them, as they did Jacob when in fear of Esau, Genesis 32:1; or to deliver them out of trouble, as Peter when in prison, Acts 12:7; or rather the sense may be,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My soul [is] among lions,.... Not literally understood; though such there might be in the wildernesses where he sometimes was; but figuratively, men comparable to lions, for their stoutness, courage, strength, fierceness, and cruelty; meaning not his own men, as some think, who were fierce, and of keen resentment against Saul, and would fain have...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,.... That is, show thyself to be God, that sittest in the heavens, and art higher than they, by saving me, and disappointing mine enemies; that I, and those that are with me, may magnify the Lord and exalt his name together. The Targum is, "be thou exalted above the angels of heaven, O God;'' [let] thy...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They have prepared a net for my steps,.... They laid snares for him, as the fowler does for the bird, in order to take him. It denotes the insidious ways used by Saul and his men to get David into their hands; so the Pharisees consulted together how they might entangle Christ in his talk, Matthew 22:15; my soul is bowed down; dejected by reason of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My heart is fixed, O God,.... Firm and sure, trusting in the Lord, believing that he should be saved by him out of his troubles; see Psalms 101:1. So, in a spiritual sense, a heart fixed and established, or that is firm and sure, is one that is assured of its salvation by Christ, rooted and grounded in the love of God, firmly built on the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Awake up, my glory,.... Meaning his soul, whom Jacob calls his honour, Genesis 49:6; it being the most honourable, glorious, and excellent part of man; is the breath of God, of his immediate production; is a spirit incorporeal and immortal; is possessed of glorious powers and faculties; had the image of God stamped upon it, which made man the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people,.... Either among the people of Israel, as Aben Ezra, when each of the tribes meet together; and so it denotes the public manner in which he would praise God for his salvation: or among the Gentiles, as the following clause shows; I will sing unto thee among the nations: the Apostle Paul seems to have...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For thy mercy [is] great unto the heavens,.... Which denotes the exceeding greatness and largeness of it; as it is in the heart of God, who is plenteous in mercy; as it is expressed in the covenant of grace, where are stores of it; as it is shown forth in the choice of persons to eternal life; in the mission of Christ into this world to die for...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,.... As Christ now is at the Father's right hand, and who is God over all, blessed for ever; [let] thy glory [be] above all the earth; as it is above all the men on earth and angels in heaven. This is repeated from Psalms 57:5; [See comments on Psalms 57:5], and shows the vehemency of his desire after...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Psalms 58 To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. According to the Syriac version, this psalm was written when Saul threatened the priests, because they did not show him where David was, when they knew it. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that the title "Altaschith" refers to David's not destroying Nabal, as he threatened; and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?.... Of the mighty, as in Psalms 82:1; the judges of the land, who were many, and therefore called a congregation, as it is necessary they should; for, being many, they are not so easily bribed; and besides, one may see that in a cause which another does not. The word signifies a "sheaf" (t); and so...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness,.... So far were they from speaking righteousness, and judging uprightly. The heart of man is wickedness itself; it is desperately wicked, and is the shop in which all wickedness is wrought; for sinful acts are committed there as well as by the tongue and hand, as follows. This phrase also denotes their sinning;...