| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 To the chief Musician. Upon Shoshannim. A Psalm of David. 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 the depths of waters, and the flood overfloweth me. |
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| 3 I am weary with my crying, my throat is parched; 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 destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. |
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 Thou, O God, knowest my foolishness, and my trespasses are not hidden from thee. |
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| 6 Let not them that wait on thee, Lord, Jehovah of hosts, be ashamed through me; let not those that seek thee be confounded through me, O God of Israel. |
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| 7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; confusion hath covered my face. |
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| 8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's sons; |
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 devoured me, and the reproaches of them that reproach thee have fallen upon me. |
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 And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; -- |
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| 11 And I made sackcloth my garment: then I became a proverb to them. |
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| 12 They that sit in the gate talk of me, and I am the song of the drunkards. |
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| 13 But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, Jehovah, in an acceptable time: O God, in the abundance of thy loving-kindness answer me, according to the truth of thy salvation: |
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| 14 Deliver me out of the mire, let me not sink; let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the depths of waters. |
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| 15 Let not the flood of waters overflow 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 loving-kindness is good: according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, turn toward me; |
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| 17 And hide not thy face from thy servant, for I am in trouble: answer me speedily. |
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| 18 Draw nigh unto my soul, be its redeemer; ransom me because of mine enemies. |
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| 19 *Thou* knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. |
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| 20 Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am overwhelmed: and I looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. |
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| 21 Yea, they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. |
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 become a snare before them, and their very welfare a trap; |
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, that they see not, and make their loins continually to shake. |
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 take hold of them. |
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| 25 Let their habitation be desolate; let there be no dweller in their tents. |
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| 26 For they persecute him whom *thou* hast smitten, and they talk for 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 afflicted and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me secure 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 shall please Jehovah more than an ox, --a bullock with horns and cloven hoofs. |
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| 32 The meek shall see it, they shall be glad; ye that seek God, your heart shall live. |
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| 33 For Jehovah heareth the needy, and despiseth not his prisoners. |
Not his prisoners – Death's captives. A112
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| 34 Let heavens and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moveth therein. |
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| 35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and possess it: |
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| 36 And the seed of his servants shall inherit it, and they that love his name shall dwell therein. |
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