EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS

EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.

Title.—“To the Chief Musician,” has given rise to many conjectures. In the Septuagint the Hebrew word is translated, εἰς τὸ τέλος, to the end; a meaning so utterly vague as to defy all reasonable conjecture.... The meaning of the term appears to be this: the Psalms in which it occurs were given in charge by their inspired authors to the Chief Musician overseeing some specific band of music, whether harps, psalteries, or wind instruments.—John Jebb, A. M., in “A Literal Translation of the Book of Psalms,” 1846.

Title.—“The servant of the Lord.” David only uses this title here and in Psalm eighteen. In both he describes the dealings of God both with the righteous and the wicked, and it is most fit that at the very outset he should take his place with the servants of the Lord.—C. H. S.

Whole Psalm.—First part.—A character of a wicked man (verse 1). 1. He calls evil good (verse 2). 2. He continues in it. 3. He is an hypocrite (verse 3). 4. He is obstinate. 5. He is studious in wickedness (verse 4). Second part.—God’s patience and mercy (verses 5, 6). 1. To all, even all creatures. 2. But particularly to his people, which he admires. Upon which the faithful (1) trust, (2) are satisfied (verses 7, 8). The Third part.—He prays that this effect may light, 1. On God’s people (verse 10). 2. On himself (verse 11). 3. His acclamation upon it (verse 12).—William Nicholson (Bishop), 1662.

Verse 1.—In this Psalm we have a description of sin, especially as it appears in those who have openly broken God’s bands. The introduction is very striking; “The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.” How could the “transgression of the wicked” speak within the heart of him who in the inscription of the Psalm declares himself to be the servant of Jehovah? These words are generally understood as signifying that the outward conduct of the sinner, as often as he thought of it, naturally suggested this conclusion to his mind, that he was destitute of all fear of God. But they may perhaps admit of another meaning, equally agreeable to the literal reading; wickedness, saith of the wicked, within my heart, etc. According to this view, the Psalmist meant that notwithstanding the external pretences of the wicked, and all their attempts to cover their iniquity, he was certain that they had no real sense of the presence of God, that they secretly renounced his authority. How was he assured of this? By a comparison of their conduct with the dictates of the heart. He could not indeed look into their hearts, but he could look into his own, and there he found corruption, so strong, that were it not for the fear of God that was implanted within him, he would be as bad as they.—John Jamieson.

Verse 1.—It is not the imperfection or shortcoming in the fear of God, but the being destitute of it altogether, that proveth a wicked man: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.”—David Dickson.

Verse 1 (last clause).—“Not having the fear of God before his eyes,” has become inwoven into proceedings in criminal courts. When a man has no fear of God, he is prepared for any crime.

Total depravity is not too strong a term to describe human wickedness. The sinner has “no fear of God.” Where that is wanting, how can there be any piety? And if there is no piety, there must be total want of right affections, and that is the very essence of depravity.—William S. Plumer.

Verse 1.—Durst any mock God with flourishes and formalities in religion, if they feared him? Durst any provoke God to his face by real and open wickednesses, if they feared him? Durst any sin with the judgments of God fresh bleeding before their eyes, if they feared the Lord and his wrath? Durst they sin with heaps of precious mercy before their eyes, if they feared the Lord and his goodness? Durst any flatter either others or themselves with hopes of impunity in their sin, if they feared the Lord and his truth? Durst any slight their own promises, professions, protestations, oaths, or design the entangling of others by them, rather than the binding of themselves, did they fear the Lord and his faithfulness, even the Lord who keepeth covenant and promise for ever? All these and many more transgressions of the wicked (all these ways of transgression are found among the wicked, it were well if none of them were found among those who have a name of godliness; I say, all these transgressions of the wicked) say, “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”—Joseph Caryl.

Verse 1.—The wicked man has no regard to the oracles of God: he has one in his own heart, which dictates nothing but rebellion.—Zachary Mudge.

Verse 2.—“For he flattereth himself in his own eyes.” The matter which this self-flattery especially concerns is sin, as appears from the following clause. He deceives himself as to its nature and consequences, its evil and aggravations, and he continues to do so “until his iniquity be found to be hateful;” till it be fully discovered, and appear in its magnitude and atrocious circumstances both to himself and others, by some awful divine judgment, such as that mentioned in the last verse of the Psalm: “There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.” He adduces this self-deceit and continuance in it, as illustrating the truth of that judgment he had formed of the state of such a person: “There is no fear of God before his eyes: for he flattereth himself in his own eyes.” And surely the proof is incontrovertible. For a man under the bondage of sin would never flatter himself in his own eyes, were it not that God is not before them. The reason why he thinks so well of himself is, that God is not in all his thoughts. He hath cast off all fear about himself because he hath no fear of God.—John Jamieson.

Verse 2.—“He flattereth himself.” 1. Some flatter themselves with a secret hope, that there is no such thing as another world. 2. Some flatter themselves that death is a great way off, and that they shall hereafter have much opportunity to seek salvation. 3. Some flatter themselves that they lead moral and orderly lives and therefore think that they shall not be damned. 4. Some make the advantages under which they live an occasion of self-flattery. They flatter themselves that they live in a place where the gospel is powerfully preached, and among a religious people, where many have been converted; and they think it will be much easier for them to be saved on that account. 5. Some flatter themselves with their own intentions. They intend to give themselves liberty for a while longer, and then to reform. 6. There are some who flatter themselves that they do, and have done, a great deal for their salvation, and therefore hope they shall obtain it; when indeed they neither do what they ought to do, nor what they might do even in their present state of unregeneracy; nor are they in any likely way to be converted. 7. Some hope by their strivings to obtain salvation of themselves. They have a secret imagination that they shall, by degrees, work in themselves sorrow and repentance of sin, and love towards God and Jesus Christ. Their striving is not so much an earnest seeking to God, as a striving to do themselves that which is the work of God. 8. Some sinners flatter themselves that they are already converted. They sit down and rest in a false hope, persuading themselves that all their sins are pardoned; that God loves them; that they shall go to heaven when they die; and that they need trouble themselves no more. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Rev. iii. 17.—Condensed from Jonathan Edwards.

Verse 2.—“In his own eyes.” He had not God before his eyes in holy awe, therefore he puts himself there in unholy admiration. He who makes little of God makes much of himself. They who forget adoration fall into adulation. The eyes must see something, and if they admire not God they will flatter self.—C. H. S.

Verse 2.—“Until his iniquity be found to be hateful;” that is, until he finds by experience that it is a more dreadful thing to sin against God, and break his holy commands, than he imagined.—Jonathan Edwards.

Verse 2.—“Hateful.” Odious to himself, to others, and to God.—Gilbert Genebrard, 1537-1597.

Verse 3.—“He hath left off.” That little light he once had, he hath lost, and cast off such good practices as once in hypocrisy he performed; neither will he learn to do better.—John Trapp.

Verse 3 (last clause).—Apostacy from God is really an undoing of all the good which we have done. ’Tis a wicked repentance quite contrary to the grace of repentance; as that is a repentance from dead works, so this is a repentance from works of a better sort: “He hath left off to be wise, and to do good.” ’Tis a perversion to evil after a seeming conversion from it.—Timothy Cruso.

Verses 3, 4:—

Verse 4.—“He deviseth mischief upon his bed.” As the man that feareth God communeth with his heart upon his bed, that he may not sin, no, not in his heart; so the man that feareth not God, deviseth how he may plot and perform sin willingly.—David Dickson.

Verse 4.—“Upon his bed.” Most diligently does Ayguan follow up the scriptural expressions concerning a bed and tell us that there are six different beds of wickedness—that of luxury, that of avarice, of ambition, of greediness, of torpor, and of cruelty, and he illustrates them all by examples from Scripture.—J. M. Neale.

Verse 4.—“He setteth himself in a way that is not good.” To wait to sin is to sin deliberately, yea, to wait to sin resolvedly. That sin is exceedingly sinfully committed which we set and prepare ourselves to commit. David, describing a wicked man, saith, “He setteth himself in a way that is not good;” that is, in an evil way: he doth not only fall into sin (that may be the case of a good man), but he takes or chooseth an evil way, and then sets or settles himself in it, resolving not to leave it, no, nor to be beaten out of it. Sin may be said to wait for a godly man, that is, Satan waits and watches his season to tempt him unto sin; but a godly man doth not wait nor watch to sin. It is bad enough to be overtaken with sin, or with a fault (as the apostle speaks, Gal. vi. 1); but to be taken with sin, and so to wait for a season to take our fill of it, is as bad as bad can be.—Joseph Caryl.

Verse 4.—“He setteth himself in a way that is not good.” Proud sinners have strongest conceit that they go right, at least in the way of their choice. Satan blindeth them so, that they mistake both the end and the way: in their count they are running to heaven, when they are posting to hell: he serveth them kindly with fresh post-horses. Sometimes he mounteth them on drunkenness, and when they have run a stage on that beastliness, he can mount them on lechery. Again, he can refresh them with avarice; and if they be weary of that slow jade, he setteth them on lofty ambition, and to make them more spirity he can horse them on restless contention. Every one seeth not Satan’s enquiry: there is no complexion or disposition, but he hath a fit horse for it, and that of itself. Every man’s predominant is a beast of Satan’s saddling and providing to carry men to hell. The way is one, the post-master is one, he is to be found at every stage, mounting his gallants, their horses are all of one kind though not of one colour. Happy is the man whom God dismounteth in that evil way, and more happy is he who taketh with that stay, and turneth his course to heaven.—William Struther.

Verse 4.—“He abhorreth not,” i.e., is far enough from rejecting any instrument, however sinful, for attaining his purposes.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.

Verse 5.—“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens.” David considering the thoughts and deeds of impious men, and the mercy of God towards them, utters this exclamation. When men sin so impudently, who does not admire the divine longsuffering!—Sebastian Munster, 1489-1552.

Verses 5-7.—This Psalm doth fitly set forth unto us the estate and condition of these times, wherein wickedness increaseth: and so in the former part of the Psalm is a discovery of wickedness, verse 3. And what should we do when there is such wickedness in the earth? In the fifth verse, “Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” God is gathering up all goodness, mercy, and peace from man to himself; and though there is cruelty, mischief, and wickedness in the world, in the earth, yet there is mercy, truth, and faithfulness in the clouds; and it’s good that wisdom, goodness, truth, and righteousness leave the world, and cleave to God, that so we may follow it; and that what goodness, mercy, truth, and faithfulness we formerly enjoyed in man, we may enjoy in God. And when wickedness increaseth, righteousness increaseth likewise: “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains:” when the world tears and breaks itself in pieces, then is the righteousness of God a great mountain. “Thy judgments are a great deep;” when the whole world is become one sea of confusion, then are the judgments of the Lord a great deep, where not only man, but beasts may rest safely. “Thou preservest man and beast.” And though this time is a time of growing and spreading wickedness in man, yet it is a time of sweetest admiration and love in God; and when men that sin do cry out, O woful man! they that enjoy God, cry out, O happy man! And though men that live in the earth cry out, O miserable! what times are here? men that live in heaven cry out, “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God!” The Lord makes all things naked and bare, that we only may have him to be our safety.—William Sedgwick (1609-1668), in “The Excellency of the love of God,” a sermon in a vol., entitled “Some flashes of Lightnings of the Son of Man,” 1648.