Psalm 116:10-11 – Psalm 116:12-14

Psalm 116:10-11

Psalm 116:10-11

10. I have believed, therefore I will speak; I am afflicted very sore. 11. I said in my fear, Every man is a liar.

Note 379. “‘I believed, therefore have I spoken;’ I firmly believe what I say, therefore I make no scruple of saying it. This should be connected with the preceding verse, and the full stop should be placed at ‘spoken.’” — Horsley.

Note 380. Horsley’s version of this verse is as follows: “‘In an ecstasy of despair, I said, the whole race of man is a delusion.’ ‘A delusion,’ a lie, a cheat, a thing of nothing, made to no purpose. So Mudge understands this latter part. He judiciously observes, that the prefixed ה necessarily determines the phrase, כל האדם, to the collective sense of the whole race. Every man, or all men, should be כל אדם, without ה.” Fry similarly translates, “The entire of the manhood is a lie; or,” he observes, “(as the word we render lie signifies,) a thing failing and disappointing the hopes built upon it.”

10. I have believed That his wonderful deliverance may appear the more conspicuous, he again relates the imminent danger in which he had been placed. He begins by declaring that he spake in the true sincerity of his heart, and that nothing proceeded from his lips but what was the fruit of long reflection, and mature deliberation. Such is the import of the clause, I have believed, therefore I will speak; words which proceed from the full affection of the heart. In 2 Corinthians 4:13, Paul, quoting this passage, follows the Greek version, “I believed, therefore I have spoken.” I have elsewhere remarked that it was not the design of the apostles to repeat every word and syllable; it is enough for us that the words of David are appropriately applied in their proper and natural sense to the subject to which Paul there refers. Having referred indirectly to the Corinthians, who were exalting themselves above the clouds, as if they had been exempted from the common lot of mankind, “I believed“ says he, “and therefore I have spoken, that he who hath once raised Christ from the dead, will also extend Christ’s life to us;” that is, I believe, and therefore I speak. Thus he charges the Corinthians with being inflated with foolish pride, because they do not humbly submit to the cross of Christ; especially as they ought to speak in the exercise of the same spirit of faith with himself. The particle כי, ki, which we translate therefore, is by some Hebrew interpreters understood as a disjunctive particle; but the more correct meaning, and which is supported by the best scholars, is, I will speak nothing but the sentiments of my heart. The drift of the passage, too, requires this; namely, that the external professions of the lips correspond with the internal feelings of the heart: for many talk inconsiderately, and utter what never entered into their hearts. “Let no person imagine that I employ unmeaning or exaggerated terms; what I speak, the same I have truly believed.” From this we learn the useful doctrine, that faith cannot remain inoperative in the heart, but that it must, of necessity, manifest itself. Here the Holy Spirit unites, with a sacred bond, the faith of the heart with outward confession; and “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Those dissemblers, therefore, who spontaneously envelop their faith in obscurity, treacherously corrupt the whole Word of God. We must remember, however, that the order which David here observes is demanded of all God’s children, their believing, before they make any professions with their lips. But, as I said, he speaks of his imminent danger, that he may the more enhance the safety and deliverance which God had vouchsafed to him.

11. I said in my fear Some take the word חפז, chaphaz, to denote haste or flight, and consider it as expressive of what David said when he fled in great haste from the face of Saul. But, as it figuratively signifies fear, I have no doubt that David here declares that he felt astonished and dejected in spirit, as if he were upon the brink of a precipice, ready to tumble into the abyss. He acknowledges that, when he was so dreadfully harassed in mind, his heart had almost sunk within him. Annotators are not agreed about the meaning of the second member of the verse. One class holding that David declares that he doubted the promise of the kingdom made to him by the prophet Samuel. That Samuel was a competent witness, admits of no question; but when David saw himself banished from his native country, and constantly exposed to death in various forms, he might be overtaken by the temptation that he had been vainly and ineffectually anointed by Samuel. According to them, the meaning is — I had almost perished in my flight, and the promise given me fled away; and, moreover, I had been deceived by delusive hope. Another class, putting an opposite interpretation upon this passage, assert that David surmounted the temptation; so that, when Satan by his wiles wished to make him despair, he instantly recovered himself; and removed all occasion of unbelief in the following manner: “What art thou doing, miserable man that thou art, and whither art thou hastening? Darest thou, even indirectly, impute falsehood to God? Nay, rather let him be true, and let vanity, and falsehood, and perfidy, lie at thine own door.” My own opinion is, that this doctrine is to be understood more generally, that David did not intend this prediction directly for himself; but, his mind being perplexed, he inadvertently entangled himself in the snares of Satan, and was unable to place his confidence any where. The faithful often stagger, and Satan bringing them into a state of deep darkness, the word of God almost forsakes them; still they do not abandon their confidence, nor deliberately charge God with falsehood, but rather keep their evil thoughts under restraint. The verb to say, among the Hebrews, is expressive of firm persuasion, as we say in French, J’ay conclu, ou resolu, “I have concluded, or resolved;” and, therefore, we are to understand that this temptation could not enter David’s heart, without his instantly withstanding it. Consequently, the view which I have given of the passage is the proper one, That David did not see God during this season of mental darkness. The faithful do not deliberately speak against God, or ask whether he be true or not, nor does this horrid blasphemy completely engross their thoughts; but, on the contrary, as often as it arises, they banish it from them, and hold it in abhorrence. Nevertheless, it occasionally happens that they are so troubled, that they behold nothing except vanity and falsehood. Such was David’s experience during this fear and trouble; he felt as if a dense fog obstructed his vision. “There is no certainty, no security. What shall I think? In what shall I confide? To what shall I have recourse?” Frequently do the faithful thus reason with themselves, there is no trust to be reposed in men. A veil is spread over their eyes, which, preventing them from seeing the light of God, causes them to grovel upon the earth, till, being elevated above the heavens, they begin anew to discern the truth of God.

The design of David, as I formerly observed, is in all respects to magnify the grace of God; and for this purpose, in speaking of his trials, he acknowledges that he did not deserve divine help and comfort; for he ought to have recollected, that, depending on the prophecy, he would have risen superior to all unbelief. This, he says, he did not do, because, owing to the perturbation of his mind, he could see nothing but vanity. If his faith was shaken in this violent manner, what will we do if God do not support and sustain us? This is not meant to keep the faithful in suspense between doubt and uncertainty, but rather to make them call more earnestly upon God. We ought to consider this trial attentively, for we can form no conception of these assaults until we actually experience them. Let us at the same time remember, that David’s attack was only temporary, continuing while he was perplexed with doubt, in consequence of the prophecy having escaped from his recollection.

Psalm 116:12-14

Psalm 116:12-14

12. What shall I render unto Jehovah? all his benefits are upon me. 13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of Jehovah. 14. I will pay my vows to Jehovah now in the presence of all his people.

Note 381. “C’est, des deliverances.” — Fr. marg. “That is, of deliverances.”

12. What shall I render unto Jehovah? He now exclaims with devout admiration, that the multitude of God’s benefits was greater than he could find language to give expression to the grateful emotions of his heart. The question is emphatic, What shall I render? and imports, that it was not the desire, but the means, of which he was destitute, to enable him to render thanks to God. Acknowledging his inability, he adopts the only means in his power, by extolling the grace of God as highly as he could. “I am exceedingly wishful to discharge my duty, but when I look around me, I find nothing which will prove an adequate recompense.” Some understand the phrase, upon me, to intimate, that David had the recollection of all the benefits which God bestowed on him deeply engraven upon his mind. Others, along with the LXX., supply the particle for, What shall I render unto Jehovah for all his benefits towards me? But it is much better to make the first clause of the verse a complete sentence, by putting a period after Jehovah. Because, after confessing his incompetency, or rather his having nothing to offer to God as a sufficient compensation for his benefits, he at the same time adds in confirmation of it, that he was laid under such obligations, not by one series of benefits only, but by a variety of innumerable benefits. “There is no benefit on account of which God has not made me a debtor to him, how should I have means of repaying him for them?” All recompense failing him, he has recourse to an expression of thanksgiving as the only return which he knows will be acceptable to God. David’s example in this instance teaches us not to treat God’s benefits lightly or carelessly, for if we estimate them according to their value, the very thought of them ought to fill us with admiration. There is not one of us who has not God’s benefits heaped upon us. But our pride, which carries us away into extravagant theories, causes us to forget this very doctrine, which ought nevertheless to engage our unremitting attention. And God’s bounty towards us merits the more praise, that he expects no recompense from us, nor can receive any, for he stands in need of nothing, and we are poor and destitute of all things.

13. The cup of salvation He refers to a custom which was prevalent under the Law. For when they rendered solemn thanks to God, a feast was also appointed, at which, in token of their gladness, there was an holy libation. This being a symbol of their deliverance from Egyptian thraldom, is for that reason here called the cup of salvation The term to call upon, signifies to celebrate the name of God; and this he expresses more plainly, subsequently, by saying that he would pay his vows in the assembly of the faithful, the sanctuary alone being the place where sacrifices could be offered. The amount is, that the faithful need not be greatly perplexed about the way of performing their duties, God not demanding from them a return which he knows they are unable to give, but being satisfied with a bare and simple acknowledgment. The proper return is to own our obligation to him for every thing. If God deal so kindly and mercifully with us, and we fail in giving to him the tribute of praise for our deliverance which he claims, then our supineness becomes the more base. And certainly they are unworthy of the enjoyment, I say not of the riches of the world, but of the light of the sun and the air by which we breathe and live, who would rob the Author of them of the small return which so legitimately belongs to him. The Mosaic ritual has indeed been abrogated, and along with it the external libation referred to by David, yet the spiritual service, as we found in Psalm 50:23, “The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me,” is still in force. Let us, however, bear in mind, that God is lawfully praised by us, when we offer in sacrifice not only our tongues, but also ourselves, and all that we possess. And this not because God derives any profit from it, but because it is reasonable that our gratitude should manifest itself in this way.

Note 382. That there is here an allusion to the cup of wine drunk in the offering of eucharistical sacrifices is very generally admitted by commentators. During the feast that followed these sacrifices, the master of the family took a cup of wine into his hands, and after solemnly giving thanks to God for the mercies experienced, first drank of it himself, and then delivered it to all present to be partaken of in rotation. “The cup here spoken of by the Psalmist,” says Cresswell, “was probably used by the master of a Hebrew family at an entertainment in his own house, at which the remainder of the victims was eaten, after he had offered (Leviticus 7:11, etc.) the sacrifice of a peace-offering for a thanksgiving; when, lifting up the cup of wine in his hand, he called upon the name of the Lord, giving him thanks. The modern Jews are said to use a similar ceremony every year in commemoration of the deliverance of their ancestors from the bondage of Egypt.” Some, indeed, deny that there is any allusion to such eucharistical sacrifices, as Hengstenberg, who observes, that this communion cup is a mere fiction. In the institution of the festival offerings, nothing is indeed said of the cup; but we know from Matthew 26:29, 30, that in the feast of the Passover, for instance, the drinking of a cup of wine and the singing of a hymn were parts of the observance. From Jewish tradition we also learn that such was the ancient practice. See Lightfoot’s Horae Hebraicae on Matthew 26. Our Lord, apparently in imitation of the Jewish custom, as the head of the family, at the feast of the Passover, “took the cup, and gave thanks,” (Luke 22:17.) In allusion to this custom, Paul calls the communion cup in the Lord’s Supper “the cup of blessing,” (1 Corinthians 10:16.) The Psalmist, then, here intimates his intention of publicly yielding thanks to God for the mercies bestowed upon him. There was a libation of wine enjoined by the Mosaic law to be made in the temple every morning and evening for a drink-offering, (Numbers 28:7,) to which some suppose there is here a reference, observing, that the three last verses seem to intimate, that the Psalmist was now at the temple, offering the meat-offering, drink-offering, and sacrifices, to the Lord.

14 I will pay my vows unto Jehovah The steadfastness of his piety shines forth in this, that, in the midst of his dangers, he had vowed unto God. And now he proves that he by no means forgot these engagements, as most men do, who, when the hand of God lies heavy upon them, implore his help for a short time, but soon bury in oblivion the deliverance which they have received. The Holy Spirit, speaking of the true worship of God, very properly connects, by an indissoluble bond, these two parts of worship, “Call upon me in the day of trouble;” and, “after thy deliverance glorify me,” Psalm 50:15. If any regard it as an absurdity for the faithful to enter into covenant with God by making vows to him, to procure his approbation, my reply is, that they do not promise the sacrifice of praise, to soothe him by their flatteries, as if he were a mortal like themselves, or to bind him to them by proposing some reward, for David had previously protested that he would not offer any recompense. The design, then, and the use of vows is, first, That the children of God may have their hearts strengthened with the confidence of obtaining whatever they ask; and, secondly, That they may be stimulated the more to offer up their tribute of gratitude to God for his mercies. To aid the children of God in their infirmity, the privilege of vowing may surely be conceded to them, for by this means their most merciful Father condescends to allow them to enter into familiar converse with him, provided they make their vows for the object I have stated. Happen what may, nothing must be attempted without his permission. And hence the Papists appear the more ridiculous, who, under pretext of what is advanced in this place, defend all sorts of vows, however foolish and absurd and rashly made; as if drunkenness were lawful, because God permits us to eat.