EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS (3)

Verse 8.—What a strange change is here all on a sudden! Well might Luther say, “Prayer is the leech of the soul, that sucks out the venom and swelling thereof.” “Prayer,” said another, “is an exorcist with God, and an exorcist against sin and misery.” Bernard saith, “How oft hath prayer found me despairing almost, but left me triumphing, and well assured of pardon!” The same in effect saith David here, “Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.” What a word is that to his insulting enemies! Avaunt! come out! vanish! These be words used to devils and dogs, but good enough for a Doeg or a Shimei. And the Son of David shall say the same to his enemies when he comes to judgment.—John Trapp.

Verse 9.—“The Lord hath heard my supplication,” etc. The Psalmist three times expresses his confidence of his prayers being heard and received, which may be either in reference to his having prayed so many times for help, as the apostle Paul did (2 Cor. xii. 8); and as Christ his antitype did (Matt. xxvi. 39, 42, 44); or to express the certainty of it, the strength of his faith in it, and the exuberance of his joy on account of it.—John Gill, D.D., 1697-1771.

Verse 10.—“Let all mine enemies be ashamed,” etc. If this were an imprecation, a malediction, yet it was medicinal, and had rationem boni, a charitable tincture and nature in it; he wished the men no harm as men. But it is rather prædictorium, a prophetical vehemence, that if they will take no knowledge of God’s declaring himself in the protection of his servants, if they would not consider that God had heard, and would hear, had rescued, and would rescue his children, but would continue their opposition against him, heavy judgments would certainly fall upon them; their punishment should be certain, but the effect should be uncertain; for God only knows whether his correction shall work upon his enemies to their mollifying, or to their obduration.... In the second word, “Let them be sore vexed,” he wishes his enemies no worse than himself had been, for he had used the same word of himself before, Ossa turbata, My bones are vexed; and, Anima turbata, My soul is vexed; and considering that David had found this vexation to be his way to God, it was no malicious imprecation to wish that enemy the same physic that he had taken, who was more sick of the same disease than he was. For this is like a troubled sea after a tempest; the danger is past, but yet the billow is great still; the danger was in the calm, in the security, or in the tempest, by misinterpreting God’s corrections to our obduration, and to a remorseless stupefaction; but when a man is come to his holy vexation, to be troubled, to be shaken with the sense of the indignation of God, the storm is past, and the indignation of God is blown over. The soul is in a fair and near way of being restored to a calmness, and to reposed security of conscience that is come to this holy vexation.—John Donne.

Verse 10.—“Let all mine enemies [or all mine enemies shall] be ashamed, and sore vexed,” etc. Many of the mournful Psalms end in this manner, to instruct the believer that he is continually to look forward, and solace himself with beholding that day, when his warfare shall be accomplished; when sin and sorrow shall be no more; when sudden and everlasting confusion shall cover the enemies of righteousness; when the sackcloth of the penitent shall be exchanged for a robe of glory, and every tear become a sparkling gem in his crown; when to sighs and groans shall succeed the songs of heaven, set to angelic harps, and faith shall be resolved into the vision of the Almighty.—George Horne.