1.
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
1. Heartfelt gratitude will find
utterance.
2.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3.
When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
3-5. When . . . are turned back—It
is the result of God's power alone. He, as a righteous Judge (), vindicates His people. He rebukes by acts as well as words
(Psalms 6:1; Psalms 18:15),
and so effectually as to destroy the names of nations as well as
persons.
4.
For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5.
Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6.
O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
6. Literally, "As to the
enemy finished are his ruins for ever. Thou [God] hast destroyed,"
c. (1 Samuel 15:3 1 Samuel 15:7;
1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 27:9).
The wicked are utterly undone. Their ruins shall never be repaired.
7.
But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
7, 8. God's eternal possession
of a throne of justice is contrasted with the ruin of the wicked.
8.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9.
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
9, 10. The oppressed, and all
who know Him (Psalms 5:3; Psalms 7:1),
find Him a sure refuge.
10.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11.
Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
11. (Compare Psalms 2:6;
Psalms 3:4).
12.
When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
12. for blood—that is, murders
(Psalms 5:6), including all the
oppressions of His people.
maketh inquisition—(compare
Genesis 9:5). He will avenge their
cause.
13.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
13. gates—or, "regions."
of death—Gates being
the entrance is put for the bounds.
14.
That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
14. gates . . . Zion—The
enclosure of the city (compare Psalms 48:12;
Isaiah 23:12), or, church, as
denoted by this phrase contrasted with that of death, carries out the
idea of exaltation as well as deliverance. Signal favors should lead
us to render signal and public thanks.
15.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
15, 16. The undesigned results
of the devices of the wicked prove them to be of God's overruling or
ordering, especially when those results are destructive to the wicked
themselves.
16.
The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
16. Higgaion—means
"meditation," and, combined with Selah, seems to
denote a pause of unusual solemnity and emphasis (compare ). Though Selah occurs seventy-three times, this is the
only case in which Higgaion is found. In the view which is
given here of the retribution on the wicked as an instance of God's
wise and holy ordering, we may well pause in adoring wonder and
faith.
17.
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
17. shall be turned—or, "shall
turn," retreating under God's vengeance, and driven by Him to
the extreme of destruction, even hell itself. Those who forget God
are classed with the depraved and openly profane.
18.
For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
18. (Compare ).
the needy—literally,
"poor," as deprived of anything; hence miserable.
expectation of the poor—or,
"meek," "humble," made so by affliction.
19.
Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
19. Arise—(compare ).
let not man— ().
let . . . be judged—and
of course condemned.
20.
Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
20. By their effectual
subjection, make them to realize their frail nature (), and deter them from all conceit and future rebellion.