I. EXPRESSION OF DIVINE PRAISE (1-3). The Deliverer. II. EXPERIENCE OF DMNE POWER (4-19 ). The Deliverance. (Passive and Personal-"my enemy".) I. Strong Appeal (4-6). The Cause of the Storm.
exalting Him above all His foes. As His people's representative Messiah associates them with Himsel£ The psalm is connected particularly with Jewish.popes and promises. As Son of Man exalted, Christ still maintained His place of dependence and loving service in carrying out all the will of God. PERSONAL APPLICATION.-Let us recognise the reality of our Rock. Begin and end with praise like David. God is both Defender and Deliverer, 2. Be both a fugitive and a fighter, 2; c£ I Tim. vi. 11-12. Note: Appeal, 6; Assurance, 6; Answer, 7 ff. Creation senses the slightest movement of its Creator, and there is an intimate relation between the natural realm and the spiritual, 7-r 5. God delivers His persecuted saints from perilous straits into perfect security, 16-19. Jehovah's character is unchangeable, but His atti tude towards men necessarily changes according to their attitude to Him, 25-26. Unswerving fidelity to God meets unswerving faith fulness in Himµ 25-26. Be pitiful, be "perfect," be pure and be not perverse, 25-26. God's Way (37), Work (Dent. xxxii. 4) and Word (Ps. xix. 7) are all "perfect," i.e. both flawless and finished. Equip ment for Victory, 32-36; Experience of Victory, 37-42; Effect of Victory, 45. Wher¶ else is a Rock worthy of all our confidence, 31? God, whose way is perfect, makes perfect the way of His servants, 32. Remember that God Himself is often in our storms, 13. VERSE NOTES I. Br. "Fervently do I love Thee." "This is one of the noblest utterances in the Old Testament." In it the psalmist touches the highest peak of personal devotion. Note multiplication of divine titles (1-2), nine in all. Imagery derived from natural features very familiar to David. 2. "Rock," Heb. sela = a cleft rock, mountain crag or cliff, c£ e.g. I Sam. :xxiii. 2 5-28 m. ; implies height and inaccessibility, "fortress" or stronghold, see I Sam. xxiii. 29; "God"= El; hr." My Rock in whom I take refuge," here Rock= Heb. tsur; implies strength and inlillovability; first occurrence in the Psalter, but freq. used in Old Testament to express God's firmness and faithfulness. Sela= security as a refuge; tsur = security as a resting-place; or, sheltering power and supporting power; "buckler," or shield (for defence); "horn . . . " (for attack) a fig. taken from the wild ox; "high tower," c£ ix. 9. 3. Br. "(Whensoever) I call upon Jehovah, the object of my praise, then am I saved." 4. "cords," or toils; (b) hr." torrents of ungodliness," Heb. belial = worthlessness, generally ref. to moral mischief, but sometimes to physical mischief; freq. of what is obstructive and destructive in attitude towards God and men. Of Messiah we
ECORD OF TnE DlINE REDEEMER must remember that sin was a positive horror to His holy nature in His daily contact with it. With 4, 5, cf. of David, I Sam. xx. 3. 5. Death and Sheol like hunters with noose and net. " all d 'd "H b k allin k l " c£ 6. c e .. . enc , e . ept c g . . . ept crymg out; temp e, 16a; (d) hr. as A.V. Between 6 and 7 prophetically is the interval of the present day of grace. 7ff. Outpouring of Jehovah's judicial wrath, accompanied by extraordinary natural phenomena; note graphic description. No record of such an ev'ent in David's life, but he may have experienced something similar to I Sam. vii. 10; prophetically, see Isa. xxix. 6; xxx. 27-33; Rev. xvi. 17-21. Wrath is that attitude of God's character that moves Him to righteous judgment. 8. Bold fig. suggested by the panting and snorting of an infuriated animal, c£ I 5; (b) fire is a constant emblem of God's consuming wrath. 10. "cherub," cf. Ezk. i. etc. Cherubim are always connected with divine government and here with judicial action; (b) "Yea, he swooped," figure of speed and power. II. In judgment God's power is displayed, but not His personality, for it is His "strange work," Isa. xxviii. 21. Here we see the side He presents to man in judgment, viz. darkness, though He Himself is Light. 12. Br. "From the brightness before Him there passed through His thick clouds hails tones ... 13. "Most High" = Elyon; omit line (c). th li h . "th th (b) B " li h arrows, t.e. e g tmngs; em e enemy; r. yea, g tnings ... discomfited," Heb. indic. sudden panic, e.g. 1 Sam. vii. 10; Exod. xiv. 24. 15. c£ Exod. xv. 8; Nah. i. 3-5; (d) c£ 8. 16. Br. "He reached forth from on high," c£ cxliv. 6-7; "drew me," Heb. verb elsewhere only Exod. ii. 10. As Moses was drawn out of the Nile waters to be Israel's deliverer, so Messiah out of death to be His people's Saviour. 17. Historically of Saul. 19b. c£ xxii. 8; xii. II; c£ David, 2 Sam. xv. 26; of Messiah, Matt. iii. 17. 20-23. Of David this language¼ relative only, see I Kings xiv. 8; of Messiah language is absolute. In 21 note order, positive-negative-positive-negative. 23. "mine iniquity"; the re£ is not to indwelling sin; "from being perverse," gives the true sense. 25. "merciful" = gracious, or kind; see note at iv. 3. 26. "with the pure," i.e. one who purifies himself, cf. I John iii. 3; Matt. v. 8; "shew ... forward," i.e. obstructive, frustrating. God must needs be at cross purposes with those who work contrary to His will, Lev. xxvi .. 23-24;Job v. 12-13; e.g. history of Balaam. 27. "affiicted," or lowly, i.e. those who have learned humility in the school of suffering; (b) c£ Prov. vi. 17. 28. "wilt," br. "dost." (b) "Jehovah my God enlighteneth my darkness." A burning lamp is the emblem of continuance of life and prosperity, cf. 2 Sam. xxi. 17; of Christ re£ to the darkness of desertion on the cross. 29. Prob. reminiscence of I Sam. xxx.; (b) 2 Sam. v. 6-8; victory over all enemies and obstacles indicated.
"G d" El " d" " . d" d f 30. o ; wor , = proll11Se; tne = no ross o uncertamty or insincerity, xii. 6; "shield," c£ 2; quot. Prov. xxx. 5. 31. "For who is a God save Jehovah," God = Eloah; Rocle, as 2. 32. "The God (El) ... " c£ 39; (b) i.e. by removing all obstacles, cf. 2 Sam. vii. 9; viii. 6, etc. 33. (a) i.e. surefooted and swift; indispensible qualities in ancient warfare; (b) metaphor of the hind continued. 34. c£ cxliv. 1 ; ( b) sign of unusual strength ; "brass" = bronze. 3 5. "gentleness" = meekness; but marg. gives the sense here. 36. "enlarged ... " i.e. made a way for him, c£ 19. 37-38. Verbs best rendered as.pasts not futures, 38, c£ Heb. i. 13. 40. Br. "Yea, mine enemies hast Thou made to ... and as for þhem that hated me, I cut them off," i.e. they were put to flight and then destroyed. 41. (a) the cry of despair. 43. (a) ref. to rebellious Israel; (b) to recalcitrant nations; internal and external opposition respectively; of David, 2 Sam. viii.; of Messiah, Ps. ii. 8; (c) " • • • knew not did serve." 44. " ... obeyed me ... strangers came cringing unto me," margin gives the sense. 45. " ... faded ... and came ... their fastnesses," i.e. surrendered at discretion. 47. Render verbs in past tense; c£ 1 Sam. xxiv. 12; xxv. 29. 48. Br. "My deliverer (2) from ... Yea, Thou didst set me on high from them that rose up against me; from the man of violence didst Thou rescue me"; (c) historically of Saul. 49. Cited Rom. xv. 9 in proof that Old Testament. anticipated Gentile admission to the blessings of salvation; "sing praises" = lit. psalm, or make melody. 50. See 2 Sam. vii. 18-29; xxiii. s; a grand anticipation to be fulfilled only in Messiah.
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