| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
A Cry of Distress, and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the Chief Musician; set to Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. |
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1 Save me, O God;
For the waters are come in unto my soul.
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2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing:
I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me.
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3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is dried:
Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
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4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head:
They that would cut me off, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty:
That which I took not away I have to restore.
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Without a cause – Prophetic of Jesus (John 15:25)--who was crucified because his works were good and theirs were evil; because he taught the way of the Lord more perfectly than they. R5215:2
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5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness;
And my sins are not hid from thee.
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6 Let not them that wait for thee be put to shame through me, O Lord Jehovah of hosts:
Let not those that seek thee be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel:
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7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach;
Shame hath covered my face.
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8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren,
And an alien unto my mother's children.
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Unto my brethren – In the case of Jesus and the early Church, the persecution came from their brethren according to the flesh, the Jews. Since then, from their nominal Christian brethren. R5215:5
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9 For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;
And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me.
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The zeal – That which is warm, aglow, hot. R5250:2
Born of love. R3296:1
That eager, arduous, active interest in the Lord's plans and their development which is begotten of sincerest love for the Lord and those dear to him. R913:2*
The measure of our zeal in the service is the measure of our love for the heavenly Bridegroom. R913:6*
The more love there is connected with our consecration to God, the more quickly will it consume our offering. T46
If we have the spirit of Christ, it will be the spirit of service. R5250:2
Of thine house – David had a zeal for the Tabernacle and the Temple. Jesus had a zeal in cleansing the Temple. But now the Church is the house of God, the Temple. (1 Cor. 6:19) R5250:1
Hath eaten me up – Our Lord's zeal prompted him to lay down his life for us, and he invites the Church to be similarly consumed with him in service to the Church. R5250:2
Consumed all my energies. R913:2*
And the reproaches – "Let us go to him without the camp, bearing the reproach with him." (Heb. 13:13) T62
All associated with the truth will bear some of its reproaches. R1798:5
Are fallen upon me – Christ and all who faithfully teach the truth. E490
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10 When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting,
That was to my reproach.
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11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword unto them.
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12 They that sit in the gate talk of me;
And I am the songs of the drunkards.
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13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Jehovah, in an acceptable time:
O God, in the abundance of thy lovingkindness,
Answer me in the truth of thy salvation.
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14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink:
Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
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15 Let not the waterflood overwhelm me,
Neither let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth upon me.
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16 Answer me, O Jehovah; for thy lovingkindness is good:
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies turn thou unto me.
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17 And hide not thy face from thy servant;
For I am in distress; answer me speedily.
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18 Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:
Ransom me because of mine enemies.
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19 Thou knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor:
Mine adversaries are all before thee.
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20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness:
And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
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21 They gave me also gall for my food;
And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
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Vinegar to drink – Prophetic of the circumstances of Jesus' sacrificial death. R1205:2, R1394:5
Not ordinary vinegar, but more properly sour wine, the common, cheap drink of soldiers. R2474:3
Jesus hungered and thirsted that we might have the water and bread of life. R4173:3
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22 Let their table before them become a snare;
And when they are in peace, let it become a trap.
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Let their table – The table of fleshly Israel, so bountifully spread with the rich promises and blessings offered them through Christ. B215; R4287:6
Become a snare - Because of their hardness of heart. B215
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23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see;
And make their loins continually to shake.
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Eyes be darkened – They have stumbled, they are blinded; but their blindness is not to be perpetual. CR104:3; SM398:T
The period of their blindness is the second part of the "double"; with its fulfilment, their blindness will begin to vanish, and "all the blind eyes shall be opened." (Isa 35:5) CR104:3
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24 Pour out thine indignation upon them,
And let the fierceness of thine anger overtake them.
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25 Let their habitation be desolate;
Let none dwell in their tents.
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26 For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten;
And they tell of the sorrow of those whom thou hast wounded.
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27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity;
And let them not come into thy righteousness.
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28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life,
And not be written with the righteous.
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29 But I am poor and sorrowful:
Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
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30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify him with thanksgiving.
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31 And it will please Jehovah better than an ox,
Or a bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
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32 The meek have seen it, and shall be glad:
Ye that seek after God, let your heart live.
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33 For Jehovah heareth the needy,
And despiseth not his prisoners.
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Not his prisoners – Death's captives. A112
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34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
The seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
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35 For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah;
And they shall abide there, and have it in possession.
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36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it;
And they that love his name shall dwell therein. |
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