"Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me." Plead against those who plead against me; strive with my strivers; contend with my contenders. If they urge their suit in the law-court, Lord, meet them there, and beat them at their own weapons.

"Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help." In vivid metaphor the Lord is pictured as coming forth armed for battle, and interposing himself between his servant and his enemies.

"Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me." Before the enemy comes to close quarters the Lord can push them off as with a long spear. To stave off trouble is no mean act of lovingkindness.

"Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul." There is nothing malicious here, the slandered man simply craves for justice, and the petition is natural and justifiable.

"Let them be as chaff before the wind." They were swift enough to attack, let them be as swift to flee. Let their own fears and the alarms of their consciences unman them so that the least breeze of trouble shall carry them hither and thither.

"Let their way be dark and slippery." What terrors are gathered here! No light, no foothold, and a fierce avenger at their heels! What a doom is appointed for the enemies of God! They may rage and rave today, but how altered will be their plight ere long! "And let the angel of the Lord persecute…

In this verse the Psalmist brings forward the gravamen of his charge against the servants of the devil. "For without cause"—without my having injured, assailed, or provoked them; out of their own spontaneous malice "have they hid for me their net in a pit," even as men hunt for their game with…

"Let destruction come, upon him at unawares." This tremendous imprecation is frequently fulfilled. God's judgments are often sudden and signal. Death enter the persecutor's house without pausing to knock at the door.

"And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord." Thus rescued, David ascribes all the honour to the Judge of the right; to his own valorous arm he offers no sacrifice of boasting. He turns away from his adversaries to his God, and finds a deep unbroken joy in Jehovah, and in that joy his spirit revels.

As if the tongue were not enough to bless God with, David makes every limb vocal—"All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee?" His whole anatomy he would make resonant with gratitude.

"False witnesses did rise up." This is the old device of the ungodly, and we must not wonder if it be used against us as against our Master. To please Saul, there were always men to be found mean enough to impeach David.

"They rewarded me evil for good." This is devilish; but men have learned the lesson well of the old Destroyer, and practise it most perfectly. "To the spoiling of my soul." They robbed him of comfort, and even would have taken his life had it not been for special rescues from the hand of God.

"But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth." David had been a man of sympathy; he had mourned when Saul was in ill health, putting on the weeds of sorrow for him as though he were a near and dear friend. His heart went into mourning for his sick master.

"I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother:" I waited on him assiduously, comforted him affectionately, and sympathised with him deeply. This may refer to those days when David played on the harp, and chased away the evil spirit from Saul.

"But in mine adversity they rejoiced." In my halting they were delighted. My lameness was sport to them. Danger was near, and they sang songs over my expected defeat.

"With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth." Like professional buffoons who grin around the banquet to make sport, so they made a business of jeering at the good man; not, however, out of mirth, but from violent, insatiable hatred.

"Lord, how long wilt thou look on?" Why be a mere spectator? Why so neglectful of thy servant? Art thou indifferent? Carest thou not that we perish? We may thus reason with the Lord. He permits us this familiarity.

"I will give thee thanks in the great congregation." Notable deliverances must be recorded, and their fame emblazoned. All the saints should be informed of the Lord's goodness.

He earnestly prays that as they have no cause for their enmity, they may have no cause for triumph either in his folly, sin, or overthrow. "Neither let them wink with the eye that hale me without a cause." The winking of the eye was the low-bred sign of congratulation at the ruin of their victim,…

"For they speak not peace." They love it not; how can they speak it? They are such troublers themselves that they cannot judge others to be peaceable. Out of the mouth comes what is in the heart. Riotous men charge others with sedition.

"Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me." As if they would swallow him. Uttering great lies which needed wide mouths. They set no bounds to their infamous charges, but poured out wholesale abuse, trusting that if all did not stick, some of it would.

"This thou hast seen, O Lord." Here is comfort. Our heavenly Father knows all our sorrow. Omniscience is the saint's candle which never goes out. A father will not long endure to see his child abused. Shall not God avenge his own elect? "Keep not silence." Rebuke thine enemies and mine, O Lord.

"Stir up thyself." Be upon thy mettle. Prove that thou art no indifferent witness to all this infamy. "Awake to rail judgment." Take the sceptre and summon the great assize; vindicate justice, avenge oppression. Do not tarry as men do who sleep.

The appeal is here repeated; the plaintiff feels that the joy of his accusers will be short-lived as soon as impartial justice rules. The oppressors' wrong, the proud man's contumely, the fool's grimace—all, all will cease when the righteous Lord sits down upon the judgment seat.

"Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up." Disappoint them of their prey when their mouths are ready to swallow it.

Here is the eternal result of all the laborious and crafty devices of the Lord's enemies. God will make little of them, though they "magnified themselves;" he will shame them for shaming his people, bring them to confusion for making confusion, pull off their fine apparel and give them a beggarly…

"Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause." Even those who could not render him active aid, but in their hearts favoured him, David would have the Lord reward most abundantly. Men of tender heart set great store by the good wishes and prayers of the Lord's people.

Unceasing praise is here vowed to the just and gracious God. From morning till evening the grateful tongue would talk and sing, and glorify the Lord. O for such a resolve carried out by us all!

"Plead my cause, O God, with them that strive with me." 1. Doth the world condemn thee for thy zeal in the service of God? Reproachfully scorn thee for thy care to maintain good works? not blush to traduce thee with imputations of preciseness, conceited singularity, pharisaical hypocrisy? Oh but if…

"Shield and buckler." The word rendered "shield" is in the Hebrew text מגן, magen, which was a short buckler intended merely for defence. The word rendered "buckler" is עגּה tsinnah; it was double the weight of the magen, and was carried by the infantry; the magen, being lighter and more…

"Draw out the spear, and stop the way." The spear in the days of Saul and David was a favourite weapon. (See 1 Chron. 11). A valiant man bravely defending a narrow pass might simply with his lance keep back a pursuing host, and give time for his friends to escape.

"Let them be confounded and put to shame." Here David beginneth his imprecations, which yet, saith Theodoret, he doth not utter as cursing, but as prophesying rather.

"As chaff." Literally, "As the thistledown."—John Morison.

"Let their way be dark and slippery." A horrible way! Darkness alone who feareth not? A slippery way alone who avoids not? In a dark and slippery way, how shalt thou go? where set foot? These two ills are the great punishments of men-darkness, ignorance; a slippery way, luxury.

"They hid for me their net in a pit." As if David had said that they had dug a pit, and covered and hid its mouth with a net, that I might pass upon it and fall into it.—Kimchi.

"Let destruction come upon him at unawares." Or a storm, such as is caused in the Eastern countries by a south wind, very sudden, violent, and destructive.—John Gill.

"And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord," etc. While some ascribe to fortune, and others to their own skill, the praise of their deliverance from danger, and few, if any, yield the whole praise of it to God, David here declares that he will not forget the favour which God had bestowed upon him.

"All my bones," etc. These words contain the most vivid description of the highest delight which by the whole soul and body should be experienced and openly manifested.

"They laid to my charge things that I knew not." You will say, Why does God permit wicked people to lay to the charge of the godly such things as they are clear of? God if he pleased could prevent it, and stop the mouths of the wicked, that they should not be able to speak against his children?…

"They rewarded me evil for good." For the good David did in killing Goliath, and slaying his ten thousands of the Philistines, and thereby saving his king and country, Saul and his courtiers envied him, and sought to slay him; so our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the good he did to the Jews, by…

"My prayer returned into, or was directed to, my bosom." Of the many interpretations that are given of this passage, that appears to me the most probable which derives it from the posture of the worshipper; who standing with his head inclined downward toward his bosom, turned away his attention…

"For his mother." On account of the plurality of wives in an Eastern household, the sons are usually far more attached to their mother than their father.

"But in mine adversity they rejoiced," etc.—Do not glory in your neighbour's ruins. The fire-fly leaps and dances in the fire, and so do many wicked men rejoice in the sufferings of others.

"With hypocritical mockers in feasts." Some cannot be merry, but it must be with Scripture; if they want a little diversion, the saints must be the subject of their discourse! they can vent their profane jests upon the word of God; this is their pastime over their cups upon the ale-bench.

Satan no sooner spies our wanderings, but he presently runs with a complaint to God, filing bills against us in the star-chamber of heaven, where the matter would go hard with us, but for the Great Lord Chancellor of peace, our Advocate Jesus Christ.

"Wink with the eye." Showing pleasure in their eyes because of my evil.—Francis Vatablus. 1545. "Wink the eye." This was a sign which malicious persons made to each other when the object of their malice was gained, scornfully twisting their eyes together.

"Our eye hath seen." Eye for eyes, unless we would say that all the wicked are so conjoined, that they may seem to have but one eye, heart, head.—John Trapp.

"My God and my Lord." The cry of Thomas when he saw the wounds of Jesus. If he did not count our Lord to be divine, neither does David here ascribe Deity to Jehovah, for there is no difference except in the order of the words and the tongue in which they were spoken, the meaning is identical.

"O Lord my God." O Jehovah my God; here is another precious word. He takes Jehovah to be his God, in opposition to those who make idols, or riches, or their own lusts their god. He claims a full possession of all that is in the great I am.

"Let them not say we have swallowed him up." And even if they could, like Jonah's whale, they would soon be sickened of their feast. A living child of God were more easily swallowed than digested by the malice of hell.—C.H.S.

See how the hearts of the saints have been drawn out against their persecutors. Prayers are the arms that in times of persecution the saints have still had recourse to.

"My tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long." See now I have made a discourse something longer; ye are wearied. Who endureth to praise God all the day long? I will suggest a remedy whereby thou mayest praise God all the day long if thou wilt.