To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, a Psalm of David. This psalm, being written by David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is inscribed and sent to him who had the direction and management of the musical instruments used in religious worship in David’s time, and afterwards in the temple…

Give ear to my words, O Lord Meaning not his words in common conversation, but in prayer; the words which came out of his mouth, and were audibly expressed by him at the throne of grace, and design vocal prayer; and so stand distinguished from the meditation of his heart, sacred ejaculations, or…

Hearken unto the voice of my cry Which seems to intend more than groans or words, even a loud outcry, as of a person in great distress; such as the strong crying of Christ, in the days of his flesh, when on the cross, forsaken by God, deserted by his friends, and surrounded by his enemies, ; and…

My voice shall thou hear in the morning, O Lord These words may be considered either as expressing the confidence of the psalmist, that the Lord would hear and answer him, and that in the morning, every morning, as soon and as often as he prayed; or that he would hear him early, quickly, speedily,…

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness Sin, ungodliness; it is contrary to his nature, who is holy, just, and good; and to his will revealed in his law, which is the same with his nature; and sin is a transgression of it.

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight By the “foolish” are meant not such who are so in a natural, but in a moral sense, wicked and ungodly men. The Septuagint render the word, “transgressors of the law”; and the Vulgate Latin version, “the unrighteous”; and the Arabic version, “they that…

Thou shall destroy them that speak leasing Or “a lie” [[8]]; whether in matters of religion; as false doctrines, errors, and heresies, are lies; and so all that deny the deity, sonship, and Messiahship of Christ, are liars; and the followers of the man of sin speak lies in hypocrisy: or in common…

But as for me, I will come into thy house The tabernacle of Moses, sometimes called the house of God, ; for as yet the temple was not built. Here David had been used to go in times past; and though he was now in a kind of exile from it, he was confident he should again enter into and determined so…

Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness Not in mine, but thine; in the righteousness of God, which is revealed in the Gospel, from faith to faith, and is imputed by God, and received by faith; in this righteousness the psalmist desired to be led into the house of God, and appear before him; nor is…

For there is no faithfulness in their mouth In the mouth of the ungodly, as the Chaldee paraphrase; in the mouth of every one of them, as Aben Ezra interprets it: that is, in the mouth of every wicked, bloody, and deceitful man; of everyone of David’s enemies, as Saul, or the conspirators with…

Destroy thou them, O God Or “make them guilty” [[15]]; that is, make them appear to be guilty, either to themselves, that they may acknowledge their offences, confess their guilt, and ask for pardon; or to others, pronounce them guilty, pass the sentence of condemnation on them: and the Chaldee…

But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice Who trust not in themselves, in their own hearts, in their righteousness, or riches, or strength; but in the name, righteousness, and strength of the Lord: who betake themselves to him, and put all their confidence in him: let them rejoice in…

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous. ] As he has blessed him with a righteousness, even the righteousness of God imputed to him, by which he is denominated righteous, and with the forgiveness of his sins; so he will bless him with peace and prosperity, with all spiritual blessings, with the…