| Scripture |
Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
| |
| |
| 1 And David spake unto Jehovah the words of this song in the day that Jehovah delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: |
David spake – The entire chapter is one of David's songs of praise and gratitude to God for his loving providence. R2031:1[R2031:4]
A type of the Church in her deliverance. R153:6, R264:6, R265:1, R287:6
|
|
2 and he said, Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, even mine;
|
The LORD is my rock – Upon which I safely build my hopes. R2032:4[R2032:2]
And my fortress – In which I may safely hide. R2032:4[R2032:2]
And my deliverer – In every time of trouble. R2032:4[R2032:2]
|
|
3 God, my rock, in him will I take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge;
My saviour, thou savest me from violence.
|
And the horn – Horns are symbols of power. T42[T41:3]
|
|
4 I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised:
So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
|
|
|
5 For the waves of death compassed me;
The floods of worthlessness made me afraid:
|
|
|
6 The cords of Sheol were round about me;
The snares of death came upon me.
|
Sorrows of hell – Sheol, oblivion, the state of death. E358[E358:1]
In the Revised Version, anglicized as "sheol," as in all poetic passages. R828:5
A figure in which trouble is represented as hastening one to the tomb. R2599:3
Compassed me – Literally David; prophetically The Christ. E358[E358:2]
|
The sorrows of hell compassed me – The translators here used the word hell to translate the Hebrew word sheol. This presents a problem for any reasonable minded person. The speaker here is David. Did David really think he was being surrounded by the sorrows of a burning place of eternal torment? |
7 In my distress I called upon Jehovah;
Yes, I called unto my God:
And he heard my voice out of his temple,
And my cry came into his ears.
|
|
|
8 Then the earth shook and trembled,
The foundations of the heavens quaked
And were shaken, because he was wroth.
|
Then – The deliverance of the Body of Christ will be just before a great time of trouble and manifestation of divine power and indignation against wickedness. E358[E358:2]
Shook – A great time of trouble. E358[E358:2]
Of heaven – The powers of spiritual control. A318[A318:1]
|
|
9 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils,
And fire out of his mouth devoured:
Coals were kindled by it.
|
|
|
10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down;
And thick darkness was under his feet.
|
|
|
11 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly;
Yes, he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
|
|
|
12 And he made darkness booths round about him,
Gathering of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
|
|
|
13 At the brightness before him
Coals of fire were kindled.
|
|
|
14 Jehovah thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered his voice.
|
|
|
15 And he sent out arrows, and scattered them;
Lightning, and discomfited them.
|
|
|
16 Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were laid bare,
By the rebuke of Jehovah,
At the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
|
|
|
17 He sent from on high, he took me;
He drew me out of many waters;
|
He took me – See comment on 2 Sam. 22:8 from E358.
Delivering his Bride from her fleshly nature into the perfection of our new nature. R153:6, R265:1
|
|
18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From them that hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
|
My strong enemy – Death. R153:6, R265:1
|
|
19 They came upon me in the day of my calamity;
But Jehovah was my stay.
|
|
|
20 He brought me forth also into a large place;
He delivered me, because he delighted in me.
|
|
|
21 Jehovah rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
|
|
|
22 For I have kept the ways of Jehovah,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.
|
|
|
23 For all his ordinances were before me;
And as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.
|
|
|
24 I was also perfect toward him;
And I kept myself from mine iniquity.
|
|
|
25 Therefore hath Jehovah recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to my cleanness in his eyesight.
|
|
|
26 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful;
With the perfect man thou wilt show thyself perfect;
|
|
|
27 With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure;
And with the perverse thou wilt show thyself froward.
|
|
|
28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save;
But thine eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down.
|
|
|
29 For thou art my lamp, O Jehovah;
And Jehovah will lighten my darkness.
|
|
|
30 For by thee I run upon a troop;
By my God do I leap over a wall.
|
|
|
31 As for God, his way is perfect:
The word of Jehovah is tried;
He is a shield unto all them that take refuge in him.
|
His way is perfect – He could not be holy in all his works if he were the author of sin and crime. R1351:4, R849:1
Therefore we cannot conclude that God made us sinners. HG650:2[HG650:4]
|
|
32 For who is God, save Jehovah?
And who is a rock, save our God?
|
|
|
33 God is my strong fortress;
And he guideth my way in perfectness.
|
|
|
34 He maketh his feet like hinds’ feet,
And setteth me upon my high places.
|
|
|
35 He teacheth my hands to war,
So that mine arms do bend a bow of copper.
|
|
|
36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation;
And thy gentleness hath made me great.
|
|
|
37 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me;
And my feet have not slipped.
|
|
|
38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
|
|
|
39 And I have consumed them, and smitten them through, so that they cannot arise:
Yes, they are fallen under my feet.
|
|
|
40 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle;
Thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
|
|
|
41 Thou hast also made mine enemies turn their backs unto me.
That I might cut off them that hate me.
|
The necks of mine enemies – Enemies of the Lord which David was commissioned to conquer--prophetic of Christ's victories over the enemies of truth and righteousness. R2032:1[R2032:1]
|
|
42 They looked, but there was none to save;
Even unto Jehovah, but he answered them not.
|
|
|
43 Then did I beat them small as the dust of the earth,
I did crush them as the mire of the streets, and did spread them abroad.
|
|
|
44 Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people;
Thou hast kept me to be the head of the nations:
A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
|
Head of the heathen – Verses 44 to 46 are fully applicable only to the wider dominion of Christ as earth's future king. R2032:4[R2032:1]
|
|
45 The foreigners shall submit themselves unto me:
As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me.
|
|
|
46 The foreigners shall fade away,
And shall come trembling out of their close places.
|
|
|
47 Jehovah liveth; and blessed be my rock;
And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation.
|
|
|
48 Even the God that executeth vengeance for me,
And that bringeth down peoples under me,
|
|
|
49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies:
Yes, thou liftest me up above them that rise up against me;
Thou deliverest me from the violent man.
|
|
|
50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the nations,
And will sing praises unto thy name.
|
Therefore I will give thanks – "We love him because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19) R2031:5[R2031:7]
No one can be a true Christian and be unthankful. R2460:2
This principal of gratitude and praise is that which makes human fellowship possible. R2031:6[R2031:10]
|
|
51 Great deliverance giveth he to his king,
And showeth lovingkindness to his anointed,
To David and to his seed, for evermore. |
|
|