Note: Throughout this commentary God’s Name is represented as YHWH in accordance with the Hebrew text. LXX represented it as kurios (‘Lord’). It is in fact a name that was seen as so sacred that no one ever pronounced it. Thus how to do so has been forgotten. Yahweh is probably the nearest best guess, although others suggest Yohweh. Jehovah is a corruption of it, which arose from the fact that the Jews put the vowel signs of adonai (Lord) to the consonants YHWH so that (to a Hebraist) the name was unpronounceable. The reader would then read it as adonai.

Psalm 31.

This is the Psalm of a man who has suffered deeply for his faith, is facing persecution, and is yet quietly confident in God. He opens the Psalm by committing himself to God for deliverance (1b-2a), and then calls on Him to be his refuge and stronghold, and to deliver him from his adversaries (2b-4). Handing himself firmly over to God, he confirms that he has no God but YHWH (5-6), and affirms his confidence in His covenant love, and in the fact that God knows his ways and will lead him in a large place (7-8).

But that this attitude is one of triumphing over difficult circumstances comes out in that he then goes on to bewail the sad state in which he has found himself over the years, including the fact of his own iniquity (9-10), and to bemoan the fact that because of the calumnies of his enemies no one wants anything to do with him, and some even want to take his life (11-14). He has been treading a hard path.

Some have seen in this a picture of David in the wildernesses of Maon and Engedi as he hid from Saul, comparing ‘in my haste’ (verse 22) with ‘David made haste to flee’ (1 Samuel 23.26). Certainly David must have experienced some of what is written here. But we obtain the impression here of a period of some years of trial and hardship, which may put that interpretation in doubt. Others have therefore connected it with Jeremiah. Certainly he too had to constantly endure. We can, for example, compare verse 10 (‘my life is spent with grief and my years with sighing’) with Jeremiah 20.18, (‘why did I come forth from the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’); verse 12 (‘I am like a broken vessel’) with Jeremiah 19.11; 22.28; 48.38 where the similar idea of a broken vessel is used; verse 13 (‘I have heard the slander of many, fear on every side etc’) with Jeremiah 20.10, (‘I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side etc’); verse 17 with Jeremiah 18.18; verse 22 with Lamentations 3.54. These possible similarities may, however, simply indicate Jeremiah’s familiarity with the Psalm, even if that.

But whoever he was, the Psalmist is a man who has a firm trust in God, and he now assures God that he is totally relying on Him and knows that his times are in His hands, and on this basis he pleads for deliverance from the persecution that he is facing (15-16).

He then calls on God to look on him and vindicate him so that he might not be ashamed, seeking rather that that shame will come on those who deserve it because of the way in which they behave (17-18), and he follows this up with a firm expression of his confidence in the goodness of God towards those who fear Him, a goodness which results in His protecting them in His own pavilion, and this in spite of the Psalmist’s own momentary lack of faith when he had thought himself as cut off from God’s eyes (19-22).

The Psalm then ends with him giving encouragement to all God’s people on the basis of what he himself has experienced of God’s goodness and saving mercy (23-24).

Heading.

‘For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David’

This psalm is one of a number dedicated to the Choirmaster, or ‘chief musician’. What this actually signified we do not know. Possibly the choirmaster originally had his own collection of psalms and hymns. Compare the Davidic Psalms 4-6, 8-9, 11-14, 18-22, 36, 39-41, etc. A good number of non-Davidic Psalms are also dedicated to him. Again we are faced with the question as to whether ‘for David’ is a reference to David himself, or whether it refers to the wider Davidic house.

31.1.

The Psalmist opens by affirming his confidence in YHWH, and asking Him to be his refuge. He then asks that He will never have to face the shame that would result if God did not act as his refuge, and follows it up by asking YHWH in His righteousness to deliver him. He thus puts himself squarely on the side of righteousness, for that is the grounds on which he expects YHWH to deliver him. The idea of delivering in righteousness is common in Isaiah. It includes the fact that God delivers men in His righteousness, and in the process makes them righteous.

31.2-4

He now calls on God to ‘bow down His ear to him’ and deliver him speedily, and because He is his rock and fortress, He asks Him to excel Himself by being to him a strong Rock, and a mighty Stronghold (a house of defence). He is fully confident in God’s protection. And then, because He is such a stronghold, he wants Him to lead him and guide him for His Name’s sake. Indeed he asks that YHWH will pluck him out of the net laid secretly for him by his enemies. His full confidence is put in the protective power of God.

31.5-6

With that in mind he commends his spirit to God because he knows that it is YHWH the God of truth Who has redeemed him. God has, as it were, paid a price that he might live by exerting His power on his behalf. It should be noted that he is not here commending his spirit to God because he expects to die, but because he wants to live. This is in contrast with Jesus’ use of the words in Luke 23.46, although it is equally significant in that context. And he then confirms that he wants nothing to do with false worship, and indeed hates those who participate in it. Rather he trusts wholly in YHWH. We gain the impression that the people who were trying to trap him in their secret nets were indeed such false worshippers. But with God’s help he has escaped them and emerged triumphant.

31.7-8

And as a result of trusting in YHWH he is filled with gladness and rejoicing at His covenant love, that love which was the cause of Him establishing the covenant (‘I am YHWH your God Who delivered you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage’), and which now continually reaches out to His people through the covenant. For he is aware that in His love YHWH has seen his affliction, knows precisely what he is going through, and rather than delivering him up to his enemies, has set his feet firmly in ‘a large place’.

In other words in his need God has not let him down, but has protected and established him because He is his covenant God, and has made full provision for him.

31.9-10

But suddenly his expression of confidence cease to be replaced by a plaintive cry as he considers the years that have gone by which have been filled with sorrow and sighing, and with an awareness of sinfulness. He is filled with deep distress. Indeed he feels that he is wasting away with sorrow. And this is essentially seen as connected with his own sinfulness. This suggests that in the previous verses he has been praying ‘through gritted teeth’, and that he is triumphant in spite of having a difficult life, not because he is having an easy one, and now he faces up to the present reality.

31.11-13

And this adversity is not only in the privacy of his own soul, but also involves the behaviour of others towards him. As a result of the activity of his adversaries he has become an especial reproach to those who are close to him, while even his acquaintances are afraid to be seen as connected with him and flee from him when he walks around in the open. He has become a marked man so that to be seen as acquainted with him is to risk having to suffer along with him. This is the common experience of Christians in some countries today, and has always been so.

He then describes himself in terms of being totally forgotten like someone who has died, and as being like a useless vessel that has been smashed and tossed away. Men no longer see him as having any significance, or want to have any dealings with him. Indeed many are defaming him, there is fear on every side, and there are even those who are taking counsel to put him to death, and are trying to think of ways of bringing it about.

We are reminded here of how true this was of Jesus. Disparaged, defamed on every side, deserted by disciples, and plotted against by the rulers of the people, He might well have thought in terms of this Psalm.

31.14-15

But in spite of all his troubles he is triumphant. He has gritted his teeth, trusted in YHWH, and reminded Him that He is his God, and now he stresses that his times are in His hands. He has no doubt of God’s care over him and of His final control. And so again he prays for deliverance from his enemies, and from his persecutors.

31.16-18

His confidence somewhat restored the Psalmist now calls on God to look favourably on him and do him good, ‘make your face to shine on your servant’. As long as God’s face shines on him he does not care what men do to him. So he pleads His ‘covenant love’, His mercy and compassion, and calls on Him to act so that he himself will not be shamed as a result of His failing to do so. For he recognises that having called on Him in this way any failure of God to act would bring shame on him. But it is rather the wicked who should be put to shame. So he prays that it is they who might die and end up in the silence of the grave, and that their lying lips might be made forcibly dumb, because they speak insolently against all who are righteous with pride and contempt.

31.19-20

Now the Psalmist, fully restored in his thoughts and filled with a sense of God’s goodness, gives praise to God. He exalts in the greatness of that goodness, a goodness which God has stored up for those who fear Him, and which He has wrought for those who take refuge in YHWH, and that before the sons of men. So God is now seen as active on behalf of all His true people, and he is confident that as a result God will hide His people from the plottings of men in ‘the hiding-place of His face’ (the place where God meets only with those who are His own), and will keep them hidden away in His pavilion where none can hurt them, safe from the activities of men’s tongues.

31.21-22

So he blesses YHWH who has revealed His marvellous covenant love towards him ‘in a strong city’ where he can be safe, and that in spite of the fact that in his desperate haste he had said, ‘I am cut off from before your eyes’. For YHWH had graciously ignored his despair, and had heard the voice of his supplication.

The strong city may be Jerusalem, and this may therefore refer to David having come through all his trouble to find himself now established in the stronghold of Jerusalem, or alternatively it may be indicating that God Himself is a strong city for those who trust in Him.

31.23-24

The Psalm finally closes with a cry to all God’s people, His ‘holy ones’, to love Him truly, and that because He preserves those who are faithful, while at the same time pouring out abundant judgment on those who behave arrogantly. God’s people are thus to be strong, and to take good courage, because their hope is in Him.

Psalm 32.

This Psalm was probably written by David some time after his sin with Bathsheba. It describes the agonies of conscience that he went through before finally confessing his sin to God, and the subsequent relief that he experienced once he had done so and had found forgiveness. Intermingled with it are words spoken to him by YHWH promising that He will in future act as his guide if he will be responsive to the reins (verses 8-9). For the principle behind it compare Proverbs 28.13; 1 John 1.7-10.

Heading.

‘A Psalm of David. Maschil.’

Thirteen Psalms are called Maschils, but we do not know precisely why. It could relate to the idea of instruction (compare the use of the cognate verb in 32.8, ‘I will instruct you’) or it could refer to having ‘understanding’ (maschil - 47.8) or indicate that it is a meditation. Thus we may see it as instructing us so that we gain an understanding of God and His ways. Or it may indicate a particularly tricky musical rendering. The fact that some are described as ‘a Maschil of David’ might tend to counter the last suggestion.

This Psalm is a very moving one. It seems to refer to David’s experience when he had sinned with Bathsheba, a sin that caused him deep uneasiness within, so much so that at length he had no alternative but to go to God and have it dealt with. And the result was that he came through to a position of peace and blessing. This then resulted in God beginning to speak to him again, so that in the end he could call on all God’s people to be glad in the Lord and rejoice

The Psalm can be divided up as follows:

• 1). He praises God for the fact that he has been forgiven and put right with God (1-2).
• 2). He describes the period when he had been unable to find rest in his heart because God’s hand was on him giving him no peace (3-4).
• 3). He describes how he came to his senses and acknowledged his sin and thus found forgiveness (5).
• 4). He expresses his confidence that anyone who is godly can similarly come to Him in times of trouble, and emphasises that God is his hiding place who surrounds him with songs of deliverance (6-7).
• 5). He hears God’s voice again promising to lead him in the right way, although he must respond to His guiding hand (8-9).
• 6). He emphasises the fact that the one who trusts in YHWH will be surrounded with mercy (10).
• 7). He calls on all the righteous to be glad in YHWH, and for those who are upright in heart to shout for joy.

He Praises God For The Fact That He Has Been Forgiven (32.1-2).

32.1-2

The Psalmist opens the Psalm with praise to God for the fact that he has been forgiven, his sin has been covered and he has been declared as righteous by God as a result of the removal of the imputation of his sins. All this was because his sin had been ‘covered’, that is, hidden out of sight. We note that there are three words used in order to describe his sins. ‘Transgression’ means ‘to rebel against God’. ‘Sin’ means ‘to miss the mark’. ‘Iniquity’ refers to inward moral distortion and depravity. He is thus conscious that he has been rebellious, that he has come short of the mark, and that he is sinful within. And as a result he recognises three responses from God. The first is forgiveness, the second is the covering of his sin as under a blanket, and the third is the non-imputation of his iniquity. In other words he is forgiven, he is seen as blameless through the merciful action of God, and he is counted as righteous before God’s throne of judgment. But this is only because he has first come openly to God (he is guileless of heart) and has openly admitted to his awareness of his guilt

2). He Describes the Period When He Had Been Unable to Find Rest in His Heart Because God’s Hand Was On Him Giving Him No Peace (3-4).

32.3-4

All who truly know God will understand this experience. He had sinned, and now he could find no peace in his heart. He tried not facing up to it and keeping silent, but it did not work. He felt as though his bones were wasting away as a result of his groaning, and day and night he was conscious of God’s hand weighing heavily on him, with the result that he felt drained of moisture like a man who was baking in the continually burning sun in the depths of summer. Compare Job 33.19-21, ‘he is chastened also with pain on his bed, and with continual strife in his bones, so that his life abhors bread, and his soul choice meat’.

For a similar effect on the bones see 6.2; 22.14; Proverbs 17.22. For His hand heavy on him see 38.2; 39.10. For the whole compare Hosea 7.14, ‘they have not cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds’. Compare also 22.15; Proverbs 17.21.

The Psalmist Comes To His Senses and Acknowledges His Sin Thus Finding Forgiveness (5).

32.5

Coming at last to his senses David acknowledged his sin to God, and did not hide anything from Him. In other words He began again to ‘walk in the light’ (1 John 1.7). He was totally open with God. And once he had genuinely said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to YHWH’, he was conscious that God had forgiven Him his sins. ‘If we walk in the light as He is in the light -- the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1.7).

The verb for ‘hide’ is the same as for ‘cover’ in verse 1. It guarantees that if I uncover my sins to God, then He will step in and cover them so that they are remembered no more for ever. The words for transgression, iniquity and sin are also as in verses 1-2.

It has been suggested that the Psalm is lacking because there is no reference to the grace of God, but David was undoubtedly conscious of the fact that for the kind of sins that he had committed his only hope lay in the grace of God. Strictly they warranted immediate judgment. And what he is therefore expressing here is the wonder of God’s grace, freely given on his coming to Him. He was relying totally on the mercy and active compassion of God.

4). He Expresses His Confidence That Anyone Who is Godly Can Similarly Come to Him in Times of Trouble, Emphasising that God is His Hiding Place, The One Who Surrounds Him with Songs of Deliverance (6-7).

32.6

The Psalmist now turns his thoughts outwards and asks that all the godly might similarly seek God for the forgiveness of their iniquities. He does not want them to suffer as he has. Nor does he want them to face unnecessary trouble, or final judgment.

‘In a time when you may be found.’ Literally ‘in a time of finding’. This may mean:

• In a time when they find out their sins, or sin finds them out.
• In a time when God can be found (see Proverbs 1.28).
• In a time when men are seeking to find the answer to life.
• In a time when God ‘finds out’ men in judgment.

‘Surely when the great waters overflow, they will not reach to him.’ Here he may have in mind Noah’s flood when only Noah and his family were in a place where they could not be reached by the great waters. Or we might compare Isaiah 43.2, ‘when you pass through the waters I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you’. In Psalm 144.7 deliverance from great waters involved being delivered from deceitful ‘strangers’ (compare Jeremiah 51.55). It is sinners who will be overwhelmed by the great waters (Isaiah 28.2, 17; 30.28; Nahum 1.8).

32.7

The thought of verse 6 leads him to apply the idea to himself. YHWH is his refuge and hiding place, He will preserve him from trouble, He will surround him with songs of deliverance. The latter indicates that he is not alone in being delivered. He will be surrounded by a multitude which no man can number (Revelation 7.9; 14.3). For YHWH as a hiding place see 27.5; 31.20; 91.1-2.

5). He Hears God’s Voice Again Promising to Lead Him in The Right Way, Although Requiring That He Respond to His Guiding Hand (8-9).

32.8

God now speaks to David (it is YHWH who gives David counsel - 25.8, 12; 16.7; 73.24). We have only to recall other mentions of His silence (28.1; 35.22; 39.12; 83.1; 109.1) to recognise how much it meant to David to be aware that God was speaking to him. For a while He had been silent as David had refused to acknowledge his sin and failure, but now that reconciliation had been made God can speak to him again.

His promise is that He will instruct him and teach him in His way. We can compare here Deuteronomy 17.18-20 in order to recognise that this includes the idea that David will receive his guidance through God’s word.

‘I will guide you with my eye.’ The idea in mind here is where the servants of the king are watching him awaiting his instructions, so that he has but to indicate with His eyes and they know exactly what to do. So David had to keep his eye on YHWH and be open to His instruction in the same way. We too, if we wish to walk in His ways must allow Him to guide us with His eye.

Others suggest that it is indicating that God’s eye is upon him, as in 33.13, 18, ‘YHWH looks from heaven, He beholds all the sons of men, from the place of His habitation He looks down on all who dwell on earth -- behold the eye of YHWH is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.’ ‘The eyes of YHWH are towards the righteous, and His ear is open to their cry’ (34.15). Compare Jeremiah 24.6; 32.19.

32.9

God then warns him against not responding to Him freely. He does not want him to be like a horse or an ass which because of their lack of understanding have to be brought to bridle. Unless such experience the bit and bridle they will avoid their duties. But David is to have understanding, and is to respond freely without bit or bridle, simply in response to God’s eye.

‘Do not be as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding.’ Elsewhere the unrighteous nations are seen as being like wild beasts, in contrast with God’s people who are like ‘a son of man’ (e.g. Daniel 9). The whole idea is that man in his sin is like a brute beast. He has no genuine awareness of God or of divine things.

6). He Emphasises The Fact That The One Who Trusts In YHWH Will Be Surrounded With Mercy (10).

32.10

David sums up his experience in a simple statement. Those who are wicked, (unresponsive to YHWH as David had been), will experience many sorrows, but those who respond to YHWH in faith and trust, will be surrounded by His lovingkindness and mercy, His covenant love. Here David makes clear his dependence on the grace of God, as well as the dependence of others. It is not by doing good that they will be surrounded by His lovingkindness, but by trusting in Him, but the very word lovingkindness. signifies love within the covenant and thus assumes a covenant response in David.

7). He Calls On All The Righteous To Be Glad In YHWH, and For Those Who Are Upright In Heart To Shout for Joy.

32.11

The Psalm finishes with a joyous call for all who are His to be glad in Him and to rejoice with shouting. Note their description as ‘the righteous’ (covenant-keepers) and ‘upright’. There is no such call to those who are still in their sins. For this idea of rampant rejoicing compare 5.11; 33.1; Nehemiah 8.10; Philippians 3.1; 4.4; 1 Thessalonians 5.16.

Psalm 33.

In 32.7 the Psalmist declared that he would be surrounded by songs of deliverance. Psalm 33 is one of those songs of deliverance. It will be noted that it takes up where Psalm 32 finishes off, urging rejoicing and praise from the righteous and the upright. As we will see as we go through the Psalm, it may have been written in thanksgiving as a result of some great deliverance from national peril, although if so there is no way of identifying which one. On the other hand it may just be an ode in recognition of the sovereignty of God.

It can be divided up as follows:

1). Introductory Call to Praise (1-3).

2). The Grounds For Praising YHWH (4-12):

• Because of His moral activity (4-5).
• Because of His creative omnipotence (6-9).
• Because of His sovereign rule over the nations (10-11).
• Because of His choice and care of His people (12).

3). A Declaration of God’s Sovereignty Over The World (13-19).

• God looks down on men and sees all that they do (13-15).
• None are saved apart from His sovereign power (16-19).

4). Final Words. The People Wait On YHWH And Hope In Him (20-22).

1). The Introductory Call to Praise (1-3).

This is a call to make a loud noise so that all may know that they are praising YHWH and giving Him thanks, using every means at their command.

33.1-3

Once again it is the righteous and upright who are called on to give praise and thanks to YHWH, and to sing aloud and make a loud noise. Indeed for the upright it is ‘comely’ (seemly, beautiful) to do so. He is to be praised in every way possible. There can be no true participation in His worship by those who are not upright and righteous, at least in intent. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

Note the musical instruments that are called into play, the harp and the ten-stringed guitar. They are to use them without restraint in His praise. And they are to sing a new song, compare Revelation 5.9; 14.3, because He is continually doing new things for them.. Indeed the idea that the people of God should continually be creating new songs in response to His new mercies is common in Scripture. See 40.3; 96.1; 98.1; 149.1; Isaiah 42.10.

2). Grounds For Praising YHWH (4-12).

33.4-5

The first reason for praising God is because of what He is. The word of YHWH is right (or ‘upright’), He does nothing that will not help to fulfil His purposes of goodness and love; His work is done in faithfulness, so that He can be totally relied on; He loves righteousness and justice, and the earth is full of His lovingkindness.

‘His word’ signifies what He wills to do, He speaks and His purposes go forward (compare Isaiah 55.11-13). His work is what is accomplished through His word, the fulfilment of His purposes. And all is done because He loves what is right and just, and because the earth is filled with His lovingkindness (compare Matthew 5.45, ‘He sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous’).

33.6-9

The word of the Lord is not only right and effective in the carrying out of His will, but it is also the means by which He made the heavens. It was important that men realise that all that is in the heavens was created by YHWH. ‘He made the stars also’ (Genesis 1.16). Indeed they were made by His word and His Spirit. ‘By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all their host by the breath (Spirit) of His mouth.’ Compare John 1.3, ‘the Word -- all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made’. Genesis 1.2, ‘the Spirit of God hovered over the waters’. ‘He spoke’ and it was done (Genesis 1). Note how the word and the Spirit are in close alliance through the ‘breath’.

Picturesquely he then goes on to portray YHWH as establishing the earth by gathering up the seas in a heap, and placing them in storehouses, and the tense reminds us that He continues doing so. Thus are they kept within their bounds by Him. ‘In a heap’ might have in mind what happened at the Red Sea (78.13; Exodus 15.8), as one of many examples of His control of the sea. However, the Versions, on the basis of the same ancient Hebrew text, use another pointing and translate ‘as in a wineskin’ (nod instead of ned), paralleling this with Job 38.37. The picture is then of an all-powerful YHWH carrying the seas in His wineskin preparatory to putting them in storage. Compare Isaiah 40.12 for a similar vivid picture, ‘He has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with a span - the span of His fingers - and assessed the dust of the earth in a pint pot, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance.’

And the result is to be that the whole earth will fear His Name and all its inhabitants will be in awe of Him, for at His word all was accomplished, and at His command all was established. He was sovereign in creation through His word and at His command (compare Amos 4.13; 5.8; 9.6).

33.10-11

The third reason for praising YHWH is because He brings the counsel of the nations to naught. Whatever they plot against His people will come to nothing. Their thoughts will be of no effect. In contrast His counsel and thoughts are permanent and effective into the distant future, for all generations, and will accomplish all His will.

33.12

In contrast to the helplessness of the nations before YHWH, the nation whose God is YHWH are blessed. (They are not just happy, they are positively blessed). They are the people whom He has chosen for His inheritance, and they will enjoy all the benefits of His care and watch over them.

3). Declaration of God’s Sovereignty Over The World (13-19).

33.13-15

The Psalmist then reminds us of God’s sovereignty over the world as He looks down on it from heaven. Compare Psalm 22.28, ‘for the Kingly Rule is YHWH’s, and He is the ruler over the nations’. He see all the sons of men, as He looks continually forth from His dwellingplace on all the inhabitants of earth (compare 11.4; 14.2; 102.19, 20). And it is He Who fashions all their hearts (He ‘works within them to will and do of His good pleasure’ - Philippians 2.13; compare Zechariah 12.1, ‘He shapes the spirit of man within him’), and considers all that they do. Nothing escapes His attention. ‘All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do’ (Hebrews 4.13).

33.16-17

The stress here is on the fact that whatever happens on earth, it is all under His control. Men look for deliverance to their armies and weapons of war, the champion looks to his great strength, the cavalry look to their mighty horses, but all are failing instruments. Unless He determines it they will fail in their purpose. For in the end deliverance or otherwise belongs to YHWH. Napoleon said that God was on the side of the big battalions. God agreed, but declared that it was He Who has the big battalions.

‘There is no king saved by the size of an army.’ It may appear so from an earthly point of view, but if so, it was only because it was within YHWH’s purposes. How then can men be certain that they will be saved? And the answer is by trusting in YHWH. ‘Who is like to you, saved by YHWH?’ (Deuteronomy 33.29). Compare 20.7, ‘some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will make mention of the Name of YHWH our God’; see also 44.3 ff.; 60.11-12.

‘A horse is a vain thing (literally ‘a delusion’) for safety, nor does he deliver any by his great power.’ Powerful and swift though a horse may be, it cannot totally be relied on. Once again it depends on YHWH’s will and purpose. Compare Proverbs 21.31, ‘the horse is prepared against the day of battle, but victory is of YHWH’, and Isaiah 31.1, 3, ‘woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek YHWH -- the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit’. We must therefore put our trust in One Who is God and Who never fails.

33.18-19

What matters for those who would be delivered is that they have YHWH’s eye upon them (32.8; 34.15), and that they are united with Him within His covenant, so that He can show them His covenant love and His faithfulness towards them. He it is, and not their fast horses, who can deliver a person from death, and can keep them alive in famine. As well as war, famine was a common problem in those days, compare 37.19; Isaiah 51.19; Jeremiah 18.21.

4). Final Words. The People Wait On YHWH And Hope In Him (20-22).

33.20-22

The Psalm approaches the end of the Psalm with a declaration that His people have ‘waited’ for Him. They have looked to Him in confident expectation, both as their help and their shield, the One Who gives them powerful assistance, and the one who protects them from all that their adversaries can throw at them. And they have done this both by rejoicing in Him with their whole beings (their hearts), and by trusting in Him for what He is (trusting in His holy Name). So in view of this they pray that His covenant love, that love which caused Him to choose them and set His Name on them, may truly rest upon them in accordance with their hope in Him.

‘Our soul has waited on YHWH.’ The word for ‘wait’ is not the one often translated as ‘wait’, but also occurs in 106.13; Isaiah 8.17; 30.18; 64.4 etc. The idea is the same.

Psalm 34.

Like Psalm 25 this is an alphabetic Psalm with each stanza beginning with a consecutive letter of the alphabet. Interestingly, like Psalm 25 (which see) it omits the letter Waw, and has a second P which commences the last stanza, with, in both cases, the P resulting in the use of the verb ‘to redeem’. We have no certain explanation as to why this should be although it is clearly deliberate. The intention was probably simply in order to highlight the fact that the singers were His redeemed people.

Alternately it could be that the author’s name began with P and that he was signing off with it and wanted to indicate that he felt that he himself had been redeemed. This might then indicate that the same man wrote both Psalms. A further alternative is that we might see it as having a dual reference as mysteriously indicating ‘redeemed from the Philistines’, although, having said that, there is no real reason that we know of for connecting Psalm 25 with the Philistines. But such ideas are all highly speculative and pure guesswork.

The Psalm is one of thanksgiving and praise. Its heading is a further mystery. It indicates that the Psalm was written having in mind David’s deliberate change of behaviour before the ‘king’ of Gaza, a Philistine city, when he feigned madness (1 Samuel 21.10-15), but there is not a great deal in the Psalm to indicate that, which may be seen as a strong argument for its genuineness. However, having said that, verses 4 & 5 could have had that deliverance in mind on behalf of David and his men, and ‘this poor man’ in verse 6 could refer to himself in his desperate expedient, with verse 7 then indicating how he felt that YHWH had protected him. So it is not wholly devoid of connection.

Heading.

‘A Psalm of David; when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.’

As mentioned above the only connection between the heading and the Psalm is found in verses 5-7. Certainly it must have been a dreadful shock for David and the few fugitives who had fled with him when they arrived in Gaza hoping to find refuge there, only to face the fact that some of the leading figures were intent on seeking his life (1 Samuel 21.11 onwards). To feign madness when he was eventually brought before the king of Gaza must have been humiliating for him, although he and his men no doubt had a good laugh about it afterwards. That he was willing to do it demonstrates the extreme tension that he must have felt. ‘I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They (he and his companions) looked on him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed (as they would have been had He failed to fulfil His promises of protection)’ (verses 4-5). And thinking back to when he was alone in the king’s presence feigning madness and scrabbling on the floor, the description ‘poor one’ (verse 6) must have seemed an apt description. Furthermore on escaping back to his companions we can well imagine that he felt that YHWH had surrounded him with His angels (verse 7). How else could his precarious plan have succeeded? The lesson well learned may then explain the remainder of the Psalm.

There is also a seeming problem with the name Abimelech, for the king in question was Achish of Gath (1 Samuel 21.10-15), but if Achish was at the time the leader of the coalition of five Philistine states he may well have been given the ancient title ‘Abimelech’ (my father is king, or Melech is my father), which appears to be a throne name of certain Philistine kings (Genesis 20 and 26).

What is more to the point are evidences of wisdom teaching in the Psalm from verse 11 onwards. ‘You children’ was a common address by Wisdom teachers (Proverbs 4.1; 5.7; 7.24 and regularly), and ‘the fear of YHWH’ a prevalent expression among them (Proverbs 1.7; 9.10; 15.33, etc.). See also the ideas in Proverbs 10.27; 13.3; 21.23. On the other hand David need not have written it immediately, and his later court may well have included renowned and godly wisdom teachers, while this would also help to explain what led on to Solomon’s growth in the subject and subsequent ‘worldwide’ fame.

The Psalm may be summarised as follows:

• 1). Words In Praise Of YHWH (1b-3).
• 2). He Rejoices In The Delivery Of Himself And His Men (4-7).
• 3). He Calls On The People To Taste Of YHWH, And To Learn To Fear Him (8-11).
• 4). He Points Out To Them The Way To True Life (12-14).
• 5). He Stresses YHWH’s Deep Concern For His Own And His Deep Hatred Of Evil (15-20).
• 6). He Declares The End Of Sinners And Of His Servants (21-22).

1). Words In Praise Of YHWH (1b-3).

34.1-3

The Psalmist commences, as Psalmists so often do, with praise and worship to YHWH. They were clearly aware that it was their responsibility and privilege to approach Him in this way. Before going into detail they recognised that they should remind themselves of Who He is. And here the praise is ‘at all times’ and ‘continually’. He will even praise when everything is against him. Missionaries used to describe it as ‘praising the Lord through gritted teeth’.

So he declares his intention to give YHWH full praise and gratitude, acknowledges that the truly spiritual (the meek) will hear of it and be glad because they rejoice when YHWH is worshipped, and it makes them realise that they have a godly leader, and then calls on these truly spiritual people to join with him in his worship. All are to come as one, worshipping YHWH together. All have equal status before Him. And together they are to ‘magnify’ YHWH. But how can mere men magnify and make great YHWH of hosts? By acting like a magnifying glass or a microscope, and bringing to men’s attention the greatness of the One of Whom we speak. We can ‘ascribe greatness to our God’ (Deuteronomy 32.3) and exalt Him by proclaiming His glory.

2). He Rejoices In The Delivery Of Himself And His Men (4-7).

34.4-5

If the heading of the Psalm is seen as an indicator this may well reflect David’s relief that his subterfuge before Achish worked. No doubt as he scrabbled on the floor feigning madness he had been flashing pleas to YHWH. And here we learn of his profound gratitude when he safely left the king’s presence, delivered from all his fears (the tension must have been huge). His prayers had been answered.

And we can quite understand that when he went back to his companions (1 Samuel 21.5), who must have been waiting in some trepidation, desperately calling on YHWH, and they saw that he had come away with his life, their faces became radiant as they looked to YHWH with praise and gratitude. Compare how the people’s faces were to be ‘lightened’ in Isaiah 60.5 when they saw God working out His deliverance. And David then adds with confidence that while they remain true to YHWH and His Anointed they will never be confounded. We can compare with this Peter’s appearance at the door of the house where people were praying for his deliverance in a similar situation (Acts 12.12-17). They too were filled with joy, and no little amazement.

And for us all it is an indication that if we are loyal to Him, and look to Him, He will deliver us from all our fears, when we seek His face. We too will thus be able to look to Him and be radiant, and be confident that we will never be confounded while He is our Lord. We too will hear His voice saying, ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen upon you’ (Isaiah 60.1, 5).

34.6-7

David was duly humbled by his experiences, which, although he may not have realised it, were preparing him for greater things. And when he thought back on how he had escaped from Saul, and now from Achish, he recognised his own weakness and helplessness in both situation, calling himself a ‘poor man’, lowly in the sight of God and of men. He recognised himself for what he was. There was no pretence or arrogance with David. He openly acknowledged his own undeserving, and that he stood with the meek of verse 2. But he also recognised the goodness of YHWH towards him, and was full of gratitude. Isaiah tells us in a similar vein that ‘God dwells in the high and holy place -- with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite one’ (Isaiah 57.15).

His experience had brought him out into a large place, for it had made him realise that while Achish had been surrounded by his fierce warriors, he himself had had even mightier protection. He had been under the protection of the Angel of YHWH, Who had delivered him from all his troubles, in spite of their magnitude. It had brought home to him that all who feared YHWH were ‘surrounded’ by the Angel of YHWH, the very active presence of YHWH, and could therefore be sure of deliverance. Compare how Paul also tells us that ‘your lives are hid with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3.3). We too are ‘surrounded’ by the Angel of YHWH . We are reminded here of the three men thrown into the fire because they stood firm for God, only to find themselves accompanied there by one who was like the Son of God Who kept them safe from harm (Daniel 3.25).

The Angel of YHWH is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. He can speak of himself as YHWH, and yet is in some ways differentiated from YHWH (see Genesis 16.10, 13 in context; 21.17-18; 22.11; Exodus 23.20; Judges 13.16-18; Zechariah 1.12-16; 3.1-2). He is called ‘the Angel of His presence’ (Isaiah 63.9). And there is inter-personal communication between the Angel and YHWH (Zechariah 1.12). In this figure we have revealed to us, along with the mention of ‘the Spirit of YHWH’, a first indication of the triunity of God.

3). He Calls On The People To Taste Of YHWH, And To Learn To Fear Him (8-11).

34.8-11 T ‘Oh taste and see that YHWH is good,

David’s experience now turns his thoughts to all who fear YHWH. They too can taste and see that YHWH is good, by taking refuge in Him, just as he had when in the presence of Achish. It is such a one who will be truly blessed (compare 27.13). It is an indication of His love towards us that He allows us to put Him to the test in this way as long as our heart is true. He is not unwilling to be put to the test by a genuinely seeking heart (see 1 Peter 2.3). It is only the testing of the rebellious that causes Him to be angry (Exodus 17.2). Note the term ‘strong man’ (gbr). The ‘poor man’ of verse 6 has now become strong because he is taking refuge in YHWH.

Then confident that all who ‘taste and see’ will discover the truth of his words and experience the goodness of YHWH, he calls on them as ‘His holy ones’ (those who are His holy people (Exodus 19.5-6) and have genuinely separated themselves to Him and to the covenant) to fear YHWH, recognising that for those who do so there will be no lack. If we ‘seek first the Kingly Rule of God and His righteousness’ everything will be added to us (Matthew 6.33). It was as true in the Old Testament as it is in the New.

The ‘young lions’ are the young lions approaching their full strength who have no responsibility but to look after themselves. They do not yet have a pride to look after. All the animals fear them and leave any carcases to them as soon as they approach, and they can keep anything that they find for themselves. Thus they have everything going for them. And yet even they can sometimes suffer hunger, in spite of their great strength and ferocity. Even they can seek food and not find it. But how different it is for those who are strong in YHWH (verse 8). Those who seek YHWH will not lack for any good thing. Whatever the circumstances He will provide for them (compare again Matthew 6.33). Note that the promise relates to ‘good things’, that is what God thinks is good for them. It is not a rain cheque on God. It is a guarantee to meet what He sees as their real needs (compare Matthew 7.11 where the same idea in mind).

‘Come, you children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of YHWH.’ The Psalmist now calls his ‘children’ to listen to him while he teaches them the fear of YHWH which has been described in 9. The young lions go hungry because they do not fear YHWH but the children of the lion of Judah (Genesis 49.9) will not need to do so if they fear YHWH.

It was a difficult decision as to whether to link this stanza with the previous ones or the ones that follow, for the pattern of Proverbs might be seen as suggesting the latter (see Proverbs 4.1; 5.7; 7.24; 8.32 and compare for the idea Proverbs 14.26). And certainly the moral exhortations which follow might be seen as teaching ‘the fear of YHWH’, a phrase which occurs fourteen times in Proverbs. But there are three things which make this doubtful:

• 1). In no case in Proverbs is such an exhortation followed by a question, as it would be here. Always there it continues with further exhortation.
• 2). The change from ‘you’ (plural) in verse 11, to the singular ‘man’ and ‘he’ in verse 12, to you (singular) in verse 13, while possible, also counts against it, especially when we consider the abrupt movement from verse 11 to verse 12 (not ‘which man of you’ but ‘what man is he’).
• 3). There are better parallels in the Psalm which definitely seem to link the stanza back to what has gone before. Thus ‘I will teach you the fear of YHWH’ parallels and complements ‘O fear YHWH you His saints, for there is no want to those who fear Him’ (verse 9), especially when combined with the mention of ‘fearing Him’ in verse 7, while ‘you children’ can be seen as paralleling ‘you His saints’ and as being admirably contrasted with the ‘young lions’ (verse 10).

Indeed this stanza may reasonably be seen as satisfactorily capping off the two exhortations in verses 8-9, while at the same time contrasting the young lions in verse 10 with his ‘children’ (the young lions with the children of the lion of Judah, see Genesis 49.9).

4). He Points Out To Them The Way To True Life (12-14).

34.12-14

The Psalmist now raises the question as to how a man may enjoy a long and true life. This is the Old Testament equivalent to the quest for eternal life, the life that is God-given (compare 16.11, ‘you will show me the path of life, in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore’; 30.5, ‘in His favour is life’). And he then describes the kind of man who will find that life. The idea in mind here is found in Leviticus 18.5, ‘You shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments, which if a man do, he will live in them. I am YHWH.’ The thought was to have the quality of life that would extend life. Such a person would both live long and see much good. The words are literally, ‘loving days for seeing good’. They want to live long for the good that they can do.

He then outlines in detail something of what such living would involve. They were to keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking guile. In other words, their tongues were to speak in openness and honesty and for men’s genuine good. Their ‘yes’ was to be ‘yes, and their ‘no’ was to be ‘no’ (Matthew 5.37). There must be no deceitfulness and lying, no tale-bearing, no backbiting and cruelty of word. Every word should be surrounded by love. This emphasis on spoken words becomes a New Testament theme. ‘The tongue -- is a little member -- which is set on fire by Hell’ (James 3.5-6). So ‘let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer every man’ (Colossians 4.6). Because ‘for every idle word that men shall speak, they will give account of them in the Day of Judgment’ (Matthew 11.36).

They were to ‘depart from evil and do good’. Compare Isaiah 1.16-17, ‘wash yourselves thoroughly, make yourselves clean, put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well’. It is not enough just to ‘stop sinning’. The real test of whether we have become His is whether our lives make a positive contribution towards good. ‘By their fruits you will know them’ (Matthew 7.16, 20). For ‘to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin’ (James 4.17).

‘Seek peace, and pursue it.’ Finally they were to search out peace, and then chase it as hard and as persistently as they could like the hunter his prey. All dissension, all disharmony, and all bitterness was to be disposed of and removed. ‘Let us follow after things which make for peace’ (Romans 14.29). ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God’ (Matthew 5.9).

5). He Stresses YHWH’s Deep Concern For His Own And His Deep Hatred Of Evil (15-20).

34.15-20

Note the interplay of ideas in these verses. ‘The eyes of YHWH are towards the righteous and His ear is open to their cry -- the righteous cried, and YHWH heard and delivered them out of all their troubles -- many are the afflictions of the righteous, but YHWH delivers him out of them all.’ Those who are His righteous ones are never overlooked or forgotten’ He hears their cry, and they are characterised by being of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. They know how to forgive and be forgiven.

‘The eyes of YHWH are towards the righteous, and His ears are open towards their cry.’ Compare ‘my cry before Him came to His ears’ (18.6). All God’s faculties are at work in watching over His own, as characterised by their righteousness. His eye is continually on them and towards them. They are the apple of His eye (17.8). Compare 33.18. And His ears are equally busy on their behalf. They are open to their cry (see 118.62). For the whole compare 1 Peter 3.12.

‘The face of YHWH is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.’ But there is no comfort in his words for the selfish, the wrongdoer and the unbelieving. For in their case ‘the face of YHWH’ is against them. In their case He is active to bring them into judgment. Instead of lives which count and live on in their reputation and in men’s memories, their lives will be cut off and forgotten. They will have done nothing worth remembering. If we would build a monument, let it by lives whose effects will echo down the ages, because their influence goes on and on in those who have been affected.

‘The righteous cried, and YHWH heard, and delivered them out of all their troubles.’ The Psalmist returns to the righteous and will now concentrate on them. The evildoers are already forgotten. He now looks back and, as it were, sees the accomplishment of what he had promised. The righteous had cried, and YHWH had heard, and He had delivered them out of all their trouble. Strictly it is ‘they cried’ with the righteous read in from verse 15. It was as certain as if it had already happened.

‘YHWH is near to those who are of a broken heart, and saves such as are of a contrite spirit.’ Lest any be in doubt he now characterises the righteous. They are those whose hearts are broken over their sins and their failures, and whose spirits are contrite. It is they who dwell with YHWH in His high and holy place (Isaiah 57.15), and as a result He ‘saves them’. Salvation is of YHWH, and is reserved for those who are open towards Him.

‘Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but YHWH delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.’ The point here is not that no one who is righteous will ever break a bone in their bodies, but that their afflictions will not be ‘bone breaking’. They will not be crushed. Through them all they will be kept ‘whole’. For YHWH gives the righteous no guarantee that they will avoid affliction. Such things will come on them, sometimes even because they are righteous. But when they do they will find that YHWH’s eye is on them (verse 15), and He is there to help. ‘I will not leave you without strength, I will come to you’ (John 14.18). And in the end He will deliver them out of them all.

‘He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.’ Unbroken bones characterised the offerings that were made to YHWH. They had to be perfect and complete. See Exodus 12.46; Numbers 9.12. So the point here is that spiritually the truly righteous will come through unscathed, whatever life throws at them. A combination of these verses is cited in John 19.36, stressing the perfection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

(6). He Declares The End Of Sinners And Of His Servants (21-22).

34.21-22

The Psalmist finally summarises all that has gone before with a verdict on the unrighteous and the righteous, the latter especially being highlighted by the letter that commences the stanza. It is the letter of redemption. The unrighteous will be slain by evil. That is, they will come to a bad end (compare 73.17). And this will especially be so of those who are antagonistic towards the righteous. They will be condemned. But in contrast YHWH is ready to pay any price in order to deliver the righteous. None of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. ‘There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit’ (Romans 8.1). Note the combination of redemption and taking refuge. Both words indicate what the needy state had been of those to be delivered. They are what they now are because of His mercy. And it is redemption that is the key word that begins the stanza. It is free to them because of the price that He would pay (compare Isaiah 55.1-3; 43.1; 44.22; 51.11; 59.20; Jeremiah 31.11).

Psalm 35.

Heading.

‘A Psalm of David’

This is the Psalm of a man who is being hard pressed by his enemies who are seeking to accuse him falsely and maliciously before the courts of the land. But it is quite possible also that his life was literally in danger, for he calls initially for deliverance from his enemies in words put in military terms, and this may suggest that they had at first sought to attack him in other ways before they brought him to court. So we may see the Psalm as applying to any situation where a man is in danger because of his faithfulness to God.

Initially then his call is to God for personal protection, and then he prays that God will vindicate him when the case eventually comes to court.

Some have seen it as written by David with respect to his treatment by Saul, and some of the jealous men who composed Saul’s court. On this basis we may see it as follows:

• the first three verses may be seen as asking for protection in view of Saul’s deadly hunt for David (1 Samuel 21-26; see especially 23.25; 24.11; 26.2), as he prays that YHWH will personally arm Himself in his defence and be his salvation.
• In verses 4-6 he calls on God by His Angel to drive his enemies back and put them to flight (compare Exodus 23/20, 23).
• In verses 7-10 he asks that those who hunt for him might fall into the trap that they themselves have set so that again he can rejoice in YHWH’s salvation.
• In verses 11-16 he bewails the false charges made against him and the way in which his one time friends and colleagues, whom he had treated as though they were his own family, have now turned against him, even though he had acted well towards them (see 1 Samuel 24.9).
• In verses 17-21 he points out how false their accusations are and asks for deliverance from their attempts to bring him down.
• And in 22-28 he calls on God to vindicate him, to punish those who are against him, and to reward those who take up his cause, at which point he will make known to all what God has done for him.

However, although he may well have done so, we do not know of David actually undergoing the kind of trial described in verses 11, 15-16, 19-21, thus the Psalm may refer to a later son of David. It does, however, make this a prayer which will bring comfort to any who are falsely accused because of their loyalty to God, whatever the particular danger involved, because all those who follow Christ are warned that such things could happen to them in one way or another (Matthew 10.17-22, 26-28, 33, 34-36).

The Psalmist Asks That God Will Protect Him And Stand Firm In His Defence (35.1b-3).

In these first three verses we have a vivid picture drawn of God dressed in heavenly armour, and fully armed. He is to take up His larger shield for diverting the missiles of the enemy, and also his smaller shield necessary for hand fighting, together with His divine spear, and He is to stand ready to defend His servant, while at the same time giving him the assurance that He will certainly save him. We can compare this picture with the idea of the Captain of the Lord’s host with the drawn sword in His hand (Joshua 5.5.13-14), and that of the Mighty Warrior in Isaiah 59.16-17, the Redeemer Who would come to Zion (59.20). In each case it is God Who will fight on His people’s behalf against all His enemies, and bring salvation to His own. See also Isaiah 49.2 of the Servant of YHWH, Who is to be the Lord’s Instrument, and 63.1 ff. where as a Warrior His judgment will be carried out on His enemies, a picture finally completed in Revelation 19.11-16 in the description of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. For further descriptions of YHWH as a man of war Who fights on behalf of His own see Exodus 15.3; Deuteronomy 32.41-42.

We are reminded by these verses of a small group of missionaries who had gone among a hostile cannibal tribe, and had taken shelter in a hut, fully alive to the hostility of the tribe around them, and waiting in trepidation for the attack that they knew must surely come, for they were very much aware of the mutterings and threats that were going on, and even of one or two movements towards the hut during the night that came to nothing. All night they waited, praying with their hearts in their mouths, their only surprise being that nothing occurred. And then to their greater surprise the next day a deputation came in peace, and on arrival looked around and asked, ‘Where is the great white hunter who stood armed on guard outside your hut last night?’ These men then went on to explain that they had gathered together during the night in order to kill the missionaries, only to be held at bay by a fearsome figure Who had stood on guard outside the hut all night, accompanied by a number of companions, so that they had not dared to approach. And because they were afraid of the great white hunter they wanted to make peace. Subsequently on returning to the UK the missionaries were approached by a group of godly Christians who asked them if they could remember anything special happening on such and such a date, and when they checked their diaries they discovered that it had been the very night of their experience. It appears that God had urged on that group of prayer warriors to a special time of prayer for these missionaries, and what was even more strange was that the number of those who gathered for prayer turned out to have been identical with the number of the companions of the great white Hunter described by the tribespeople. They had learned that, ‘The angel of YHWH encamps round about those who fear him, and delivers them’ (Psalm 34.7), and that He still does it today.

Important men today are followed about by armed men who are ready to protect them at all times with their lives. It should remind us that when we go out as Christians who are walking faithfully with Him we can have the assurance that we are accompanied by the Lord of Hosts Himself, dressed for battle, and especially when times are hard.

35.1-3

The Psalmist first calls on YHWH to stand up on his behalf, and fight his cause. Only those whose lives are totally committed to His service have the right to pray such a prayer. They have the right because they are His servants. The word ‘strive’ can also be translated ‘plead my cause’ as in verse 23, and this is probably its meaning here as he pictures the coming battle for his vindication in military terms.

The ‘shield’ was the large shield with which arrows and spears were deflected. The buckler was the small hand shield which gave protection in hand to hand battle. He wanted YHWH with both these two shields (completely armed) to stand up for him and provide him with help. And he also asked Him to draw out His divine spear so as to stop his pursuers in their tracks.

‘Stop the way.’ The Hebrew is s’gor, ‘stop’. (‘The way’ is read in. It is not there in the Hebrew). Some see it as an ancient word for a weapon like a battleaxe (‘a stopper’) that halts men in their tracks. This translation would then provide two attacking weapons to compare with the two defensive shields. On the other hand translating it as ‘stopping the way’ by treating it as a verb parallels ‘stand up for my help’.

But above all he wanted to hear YHWH saying to Him, ‘I am your Saviour, your Salvation’. He wanted the assurance of God’s personal delivering power, and he wanted it in His own words. This is the word also that comes to us when we put our trust in Jesus. We hear His voice saying, ‘I am your salvation’.

He Calls on God By His Angel to Drive His Enemies Back and Put Them to Flight (35.4-6).

Not content with the fact that YHWH will stand with him to protect him, he calls on Him to pursue his enemies and do to them what they are trying to do to him.

35.4-8

‘ Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonour, who seek after my soul.’ The thoughts of his enemies were concentrating on bringing him to shame and dishonour, so he calls on YHWH to do the same to them. Let them receive what they are trying to pile on him.

‘Let them be turned back and confounded, who devise my hurt.’ Notice the two parallel statements so typical of Hebrew poetry. First shame and dishonour, now turned back and confounded. The metaphor is still military. They want to hurt him, thus let they themselves therefore be hurt as they are beaten back and put to rout.

‘Let them be as chaff before the wind, and the angel of YHWH driving them on.’ Indeed he wants them to be like the chaff, the outer husk, from the grain which is taken up by the wind and carried away as the grain is tossed up into the wind by the winnowing fork. No, he wants more than that, not just a wind from the Lord but the mighty Angel of YHWH Himself. Let Him drive them on as chaff before the wind.

The idea of the Angel of YHWH occurs throughout the Old Testament as descriptive of God’s ‘other self’. He acts in God’s Name, yes even is God, and yet He also communicates with God. See Genesis 16.7, 9, 11, 13; 21.17; 22.11, 15; Exodus 23.20, 23; Judges 2.1, 4; 6.12, 20, 22; 13.9-21; Isaiah 63.9; Zechariah 1.11, 12, 13; 3.1). Along with ‘the Spirit of God’ He is an expression of the triunity of God. It was He Who had driven the Canaanites out of Canaan (Exodus 23.20). Who more suitable then to be the One Who will ‘drive on’ his enemies now?

‘Let their way be dark and slippery, and the angel of YHWH pursuing them.’ Having driven them on he wants the Angel to pursue them like an avenging angel, as they slither and slide over the wet mountain passes, or on the steep limestone slopes, as the night draws in. If it was David speaking he had probably often seen the enemy in such a case. Being blown away like chaff, and slithering on the wet passes as they scurry to make their escape, indicates the uselessness and helplessness that he wants them to feel. This may have in mind the literal trouncing of his enemies in battle, or it may be metaphorical for their trouncing in court. It can apply to any situation where God’s people are facing an enemy, and God renders the enemy helpless.

He Asks That Those Who Are Hunting For Him Might Fall Into The Trap That They Themselves Have Set So That Once More He Can Rejoice in YHWH’s Salvation (35.7-10).

This movement from the battle ground to the hunting field might serve to confirm that the pictures are metaphorical, unless this actually was a battle strategy of his enemies.

35.7-8

He sees his enemies as having dug a pit in which they have concealed a net with the aim that he will fall into it unawares, and be caught in their net. And the doubly-stressed point is that they have had no real cause for doing so because he is innocent. And so he prays that his enemies too may be caught unawares, and taken in the net that they themselves have laid, so that they might be destroyed. We note that the principle is being constantly repeated that what a man sows, that he should also reap. The picture of the men being taken unawares by the trap, and being filled with surprise as they fall into their own net is quite vivid. And the result will be their own destruction. Compare Jeremiah 18.20, 22, ‘shall evil be recompensed for good? They have dug a pit for my soul’.

35.9-10

And the result for him will be that he will be saved from his enemies by the One Who had declared, ‘I am your salvation’ (verse 3). Thus will his soul be joyful and rejoice. From the centre of his being (his bones) he will ask ‘who can compare with YHWH, who delivers the poor and weak from the strong and mighty, and from those who would seek to rob him?’ This idea of the deliverance of the poor and needy is a common one in Scripture. For they are the ones who most tend to look to YHWH, while the better off do not feel that they need Him. But in the end all who seek Him must be of a humble and contrite heart. That is why when God has truly blessed someone, one sign of it will be that they are poor in spirit (Matthew 5.3). It is the humble and contrite of heart who alone can dwell with the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity ( Isaiah 57.15).

‘Who is like unto You?’ Compare Exodus 15.11, ‘Who is like to you, O YHWH, among the heavenly beings, who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders’. And Micah 7.18, ‘Who is a God like to you, Who pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?’ None compares with Him either in power or in goodness. He is the Incomparable.

For the poor and needy as descriptive of the righteous see 37.14; 40.17; 86.1-2 and often. They are the poor and needy in soul as well as in body.

Brought Before the Judges He Is Questioned About Crimes Of Which He Knows Nothing, And That By Those To Whom He Had Shown Nothing But Kindness Who Are Now Determined To Bring Him Down (35.11-16).

The scene now changes to the court room. He is asked questions about crimes of which he knows nothing, and that in the face of hostile and false witnesses. And the very men who are doing it are those for whom in the past he has shown great concern. They are rewarding him evil for good.

35.11-12

Brought before the court he finds that many false witnesses are called who testify of him having done things of which he was totally unaware. They were falsifying evidence and seeking to blacken his name. This was by men to whom he had shown nothing but kindness, and yet they were now seeking to make him bereft of soul. It is not an uncommon experience of the righteous. It would later happen to the Lord, Jesus Christ Himself. For it is the way of sinful man to hate goodness even while praising it.

35.13-14

He describes the kindness that he had shown to these men when they had been in trouble. When they were sick he had dressed himself in sackcloth, a sign of mourning and self-affliction in order to show his humility. He had afflicted his soul by going without food. Compare Jeremiah 18.20, ‘Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away the anger from them’.

Indeed his prayers for them had been as passionate as if they had been members of his own family or his close companions. He had mourned over their needs with the same intensity as he would have mourned the loss of his mother.

‘My prayer returned into my own bosom.’ This could be read as meaning that by praying for others he himself was blessed as well, and that is certainly always true when we pray, but in context it more likely means that his prayer was as intense as if he was praying for his own loved ones, those of his bosom.

35.15-16

And what recompense did he now receive for the love that he had shown to them? Instead of having compassion for him they rejoiced in the difficult situation in which he found himself. They delighted that he was as one lame, limping along. Indeed they gathered together to oppose him, and not only did so, but also gathered together the ‘abjects’, the lowest level of society, against him. It was partly from among these that the false witnesses would come. And this had taken him completely by surprise. They were people whom he neither knew nor recognised. Some would translate as ‘the smiters’ (the word is a rare one), signifying those who smote him and his reputation with their words. Either way the idea is similar. His reputation was being torn to shreds. Compare Jeremiah 18.18.

‘They tore me and did not stop.’ He had had to endure a constant barrage of lies and accusations, a barrage that went on and on. They had rent him as though they were beasts of prey (compare Hosea 13.8), and they had done it unceasingly.

Once again we are reminded of our Lord, Jesus Christ who suffered such contradiction of sinners against Himself. He too faced false accusations, and the antagonism of those who should have been His friends, and face it unflinchingly.

‘Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.’ This appears to have in mind the buffoons who would be rewarded for their antics at feasts by being offered food which they would immediately hungrily devour. In the same way these who opposed him were like buffoons sought hungrily to eat him up.

Concerned By How Long His Affliction Is Going On He Points Out How False Their Accusations Are and Asks For Deliverance From Their Attempts To Bring Him Down (35.17-21). .

35.17-18

Patient endurance under affliction is ever the test of the man of God. Compare Roman 5.3-5; James 1.2-3, and the Psalmist is no exception. He is concerned at how long his troubles have been going on. They seem interminable. How long, then, can God look on and not interfere?

So he prays that he may be delivered from their attempts to destroy him, that he night be delivered from these wild beasts who have come together against him. And he promises that when he is delivered, then he will go into the great assembly and offer his thanks, he will go among large crowds of people and offer praise. He will give all the honour to God.

35.19-21

These his enemies anticipate rejoicing over what they see to be his imminent downfall, they hope to wink at each other with they eye as they consider what they have achieved. Proverbs tells us that it is the worthless person who winks with the eye (Proverbs 6.12-13), for ‘he who winks with the eye causes sorrow’ (Proverbs 10.10). It is a sign of those who are behaving in an underhanded way.

But the Psalmist prays that it might not happen. He asks, ‘let it not be’. Notice, however, that this is on the basis that it has no real justification. He is not about to get what he deserves. These people do not have a reasonable cause, they are behaving dishonestly. And they reveal it by devising deceitful words rather than speaking peace. They are not interested in a fair result, but in getting their own way. And they do not only do it against the Psalmist, they do it against all who are at peace and causing no trouble in the land. Dishonest accusations are rife.

And so their mouths are opened wide as they accuse him (compare Isaiah 57.4), and they insinuate that they have seen what they are speaking about. The picture is graphic. They say, ‘Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it’, either as though they had come across it by surprise, or else were emphasising how they had caught him out. Compare the winking of the eye. It is all an act put on to catch him out. None of it is reality, it is a show put on for the judges.

He Calls On God To Vindicate Him, By Punishing Those Who Are Against Him, And By Rewarding Those Who Take Up His Cause, At Which Point He Will Make Known To All What God Has Done For Him (35.22-28).

35.22-24

The Psalmist is confident that YHWH see all that is going on, and he calls on Him to act on that basis. This is the confidence that all who live truly can have, that God knows the way that they take, and all that befalls them in it, and will thus in His own good time act on their behalf.

So he asks Him not to remain silent, (compare 28.1 where it is translated, ‘do not be deaf to me’), and to be close to him in his trials. For ‘be not far from me’ compare 22.11; 38.21; 71.12. Indeed he calls on Him to ensure that he receives the justice due to him, and to uphold his cause. He is not asking for favours, but for justice. He is asking Him to act ‘according to His righteousness’. Note the proliferation of titles, ‘O YHWH’, ‘O Lord’, ‘my God and my Lord’, ‘YHWH my God’. He is calling on the Judge of all the world to do right (Genesis 18.25).

‘Let them not rejoice over me.’ It cannot be right that an unjust cause should triumph, for then righteousness will be the loser.

35.25-26

The Psalmist is concerned that the unrighteous will not be able to gloat. He does not want them to be able to say, ‘Aha, we have got our way’ (literally ‘Aha, our desire’). He does not want them to be able to gloat over the fact that they have swallowed him up. Compare 124.3; Proverbs 1.12; Lamentations 2.16. They rejoice at his hurt, so let them too be hurt, let them be ashamed and confounded. They magnify themselves against him, so let them instead be clothed with shame and dishonour. His desire is that they get what they deserve, the very opposite of what by underhand means they are seeking for themselves. Compare verse 4 where the same idea is in mind, and see 40.14. Continually he want right to prevail. He is as much concerned for the honour of God as he is for himself.

35.27-28

And it is because the honour of God is concerned that he anticipates support from the godly. He asks YHWH that those who support his righteous cause might be able to shout for joy and be glad at its success, because they will give honour to YHWH for supporting such a righteous cause and delighting in the welfare (literally ‘peace’) of His servant, and having pleasure in his ‘peace’. The wellbeing of His servants brings glory to YHWH (as paradoxically so does their suffering for a righteous cause).

And the result will be that his tongue will ‘speak musingly’ of His righteousness. It will be something to continually meditate on and rejoice over that YHWH’s truth and righteousness have triumphed. And on top of that he will speak musingly of His praise all the day long. The result of his vindication will be that the praise is given to YHWH. And this should ever be the case.

Psalm 36.

Heading.

‘For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of YHWH.’

This Psalm might be called ‘the Ode to the Covenant Love of YHWH’. For after its initial grim beginning it expands into a threefold expression of YHWH’s covenant love as it is revealed towards His own.

In it the Psalmist contrasts ‘the oracle of the transgression of the wicked’ (verses 1-4), which reveals the whole truth about man’s sinfulness spelled out in detail, with the truth of the covenant love of YHWH, the latter being emphasised in a threefold way. Thus he stresses first His attributes of love, faithfulness, righteousness and justness (verses 5-6); then His wonderful benefits provided to men (verses 7-9); and finally his own confidence that through YHWH’s love he will be delivered from the kind of men described in the initial verses.

A number of Old Testament sections begin with ‘the oracle of so and so’. Here it is ‘the oracle of the transgression of the wicked’. Transgression ‘speaks’ the oracle and gives warning to the Psalmist’s heart. The normal use in the Hebrew forbids our taking it as meaning ‘concerning the transgression of the wicked’. Rather Transgression is seen as personified and as the proclaimer of the oracle.

The Transgression of The Wicked Speaks To The Psalmist’s Heart Alerting Him To The Sinfulness Of Man (36.1-4).

36.1-4

In these first four verses ‘the Transgression (rebellion) of the wicked’ speaks like a prophet to the Psalmist’s heart concerning the wicked. It declares that there is no ‘dread fear’ of God before the eyes of the wicked (compare the citation of these words in Romans 3.18 where it sums up man’s sinfulness). In other words the wicked are not moved by YHWH’s covenant requirements, or the need to obey Him, or the fear of judgment, because they dismiss Him from their thoughts. They treat His desires lightly. Indeed the wicked man convinces himself that his iniquity will not be found out. He convinces himself that, even though God hates his iniquity, it will not receive its deserts, for he has no recognition of a living God who sees and knows all things.

The behaviour of the wicked is then spelled out in detail;

• The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. They speak guile. And by his words he will be condemned (Matthew 12.37). Compare 5.5, 6; 10.7.
• He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He has deliberately turned from goodness. Compare Jeremiah 4.22, and contrast Isaiah 1.16-17.
• He devises iniquity on his bed. Even when resting he still plans further sinfulness. While the righteous meditate on their beds, and repent (4.4) and bring God to their minds (63.6), the wicked simply plot sin and thus come under God’s Woe (Micah 2.1).
• He sets himself in a way that is not good. He positively chooses the path that leads away from goodness (Isaiah 65.2). Not for him the Holy Way (Isaiah 35.8). He wants the way of self choosing and pleasure.
• He does not abhor evil. This marks him off from all others. He has no hatred of what is evil.

It is clear from this that he loves the evil and hates the good. He does not necessarily declare this openly, but it is what lies within his heart. He lives his life without God, and chases after sin.

In Contrast To What Transgression Offers YHWH Offers Compassion, F Faithfulness, Righteousness, Justice, and The Preservation of Life (36.5-6).

36.5-6

In contrast with the five aspects of the hearts of those who follow iniquity are the five attributes of the heart of YHWH. Notice that the contrast with sinfulness is not in terms of the goodness of the righteous, but of the goodness of their God. It is He Who lifts up the righteous and makes the righteous what they are. They are like that because He has personally ‘blessed’ them (Matthew 5.3-9; Philippians 2.13). Thus to Him must be the glory.

The Five Attributes of YHWH.

• His compassion and covenant love are so vast that they are ‘in the Heavens’, stretched out in a huge expanse which goes beyond the range of human sight.
• His faithfulness is so substantial that it reaches up to the skies (and here the sky is not the limit).
• His righteousness is as huge as ‘the mountains of God’, the very highest of the mountains.
• His judgments are as deep as the ocean, a depth not yet plumbed by man.
• He is the preserver of all life, whether that of man or beast. He is the source and giver of life.

So God’s love and faithfulness (compare 57.10; 103.11), His righteousness and justice (compare 9.8; 33.5; 37.6; 72.2), and His life-giving and life-preserving qualities, are so vast that they are beyond man’s ability to fully comprehend. They are wider than the heavens, higher than the stars, greater than the mountains, deeper than the sea. We can compare here Ephesians 3.18-19, speaking of the work of the Spirit within which makes known to us the love of God and of Christ, and makes it a part of us. ‘That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, to the end that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be strong to apprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length, and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God’.

What The Covenant Love Of God Offers To All Who Respond To Him (36.7-9).

We now turn from what God is to what He offers. Note the change from YHWH to God, even though the offering is still of His covenant love. His offer is universal, for it is to all ‘the children of men’ (compare Ruth 2.12).

36.7-9

Here is the alternative life of the people who respond to God instead of to ‘transgression’. As a result of His precious covenant love revealed towards them they:

• Take shelter under the shadow of His wings (compare 17.8; 57.1; 61.4; 91.4; Ruth 2.12). This is the privileged position to which Jesus calls His own. It was because they refused this that Jerusalem was destroyed (see Matthew 23.37-38; Luke 13.34).
• Are abundantly satisfied with the luxurious provision of His house (23.5-6; 27.4; 65.4). They eat and drink at His table. Originally in mind is the sacrificial meal of which all YHWH’s guests partake before Him (Leviticus 7.15-16; Deuteronomy 12.7; Jeremiah 31.14. And compare also Isaiah 55.1-2). Jesus expanded the idea to reflect the possibility of partaking of Him and enjoying the benefits that He offers (compare John 6.35; 7.38; Luke 22.18, 30; Matthew 22.2-4).
• Drink of the river of His pleasures (compare 16.11; Amos 5.24; Revelation 21.6; 22.17). ‘Whoever will may drink of the water of life freely’.
• Enjoy partaking of the fountain or spring of life. ‘He who drinks of the water that I will give him, will never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water, welling forth to eternal life’ (John 4.10-14; 7.37-38; Isaiah 41.18; 44.3-4; 49.10; Jeremiah 2.13; Ezekiel 47.1-12; Zechariah 13.1).
• Find light in His light. Compare ‘YHWH is my light’ (27.1). In mind here is probably the light of the glory of God which filled the Tabernacle (Exodus 40.34), and which was considered to be behind the veil which hid the Most Holy Place from the eyes of the priests. The Psalmist may also have had in mind the seven-branched lampstand in the Tabernacle/Temple which continually burned (see verse 4), and which pictured the glory hidden behind the veil. This last was a perpetual reminder of the glory of God as it had been revealed in the pillar of fire which had led His people out of Egypt, and of the further glory of YHWH which had been revealed on Mount Sinai. Compare here 78.14, ‘In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.’ Thus His light gave them the light of the assurance of His presence. This also ties in with Isaiah 60.1, ‘arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of YHWH is risen upon you.’

  Furthermore it was from His light that His people obtained guidance, assurance and truth. ‘The entrance of Your words gives light, it gives understanding to the simple’ (119.130). ‘Your word is a lamp to my way, and a light to my path’ (119.105). ‘He lightens the lampstand of His people and lightens their darkness’ (18.28). ‘They look to Him and are lightened, and their faces are thus not ashamed’ (34.5). ‘Oh send out your light and your truth, let them lead me’ (43.3). In His light they see light.

  YHWH is also elsewhere compared by David with the glorious light of the noonday sun. ‘He will be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds’ (2 Samuel 23.4). But to the Psalmist YHWH outshines the sun, and His light shines on His people, revealing truth and making them righteous too. ‘He will make your righteousness go forth as the light, and your just dealings as the noonday’ (37.6). That is why Jesus could say, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven’ (Matthew 5.16).

  And we need not doubt that it includes the thought of the light of YHWH’s favour. The Psalmists regularly speak of ‘the light of His countenance’ as shining on His people (4.6; 44.3; 89.15; 90.8; compare Proverbs 16.15) as they enjoyed the favour of God.

  For us the light shines even more clearly. Not for us the dim light of the Tabernacle lampstand, but the glorious light of Him Who is ‘the light of the world’, Who gives the light of life to His own (John 8.12; 12.35-36, 46; 1.4, 9). ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt among and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth’ (John 1.14), so that we see ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4.6). As He said, ‘I am come a light into the world, so that whoever believes in me may not continue on in darkness’ (John 12.46), ‘but will have the light of life’ (John 8.12).

The Psalmist Prays That Nothing Might Be Allowed To Drive Him Away From YHWH’s Covenant Love (36.10-12).

Having emphasised the wonderful attributes of YHWH (5-7), and having considered the munificent benefits that He abundantly gives to His own (8-9), the Psalmist now prays that nothing might drive him away from the covenant love of YHWH.

36.10-12 ‘Oh continue your lovingkindness to those who know you,

Finally he prays that YHWH will reveal His covenant love and righteous deliverance towards himself and all who are truly upright. Note that it is assumed that those who truly know Him will be so. It is not possible to truly experience His compassion and righteous deliverance without it being so.

And he wants to be protected from the proud. He does not want their foot to come against him. Nor does he want the hand of the wicked to drive him away from YHWH’s presence, or from his livelihood (see Micah 2.9; Job 15.21). Or it may be a prayer that he might not become a beggar, and thus be kicked contemptuously and be thrust from the presence of the wicked (compare Amos 2.6; 8.6). For he has confidence that these men who work iniquity will shortly fall. They will be thrust down and not be able to rise

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