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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms LXIV].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM LXIV.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This whole psalm has reference to David's enemies, persecutors, and
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slanderers; many such there were, and a great deal of trouble they gave
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him, almost all his days, so that we need not guess at any particular
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occasion of penning this psalm.
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I. He prays to God to preserve him from their malicious designs against
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him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. He gives a very bad character of them, as men marked for ruin by
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their own wickedness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:3-6">ver. 3-6</A>.
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III. By the spirit of prophecy he foretels their destruction, which
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would redound to the glory of God and the encouragement of his people,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:7-10">ver. 7-10</A>.
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In singing this psalm we must observe the effect of the old enmity that
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is in the seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent, and assure
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ourselves that the serpent's head will be broken, at last, to the
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honour and joy of the holy seed.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps64_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Malice of David's Enemies.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<CENTER>
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<P>To the chief musician. A psalm of David.</P>
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</CENTER>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Hear my voice, O
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God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
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2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the
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insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
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3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, <I>and</I> bend <I>their bows to
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shoot</I> their arrows, <I>even</I> bitter words:
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4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do
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they shoot at him, and fear not.
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5 They encourage themselves <I>in</I> an evil matter: they commune
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of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?
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6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent
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search: both the inward <I>thought</I> of every one <I>of them,</I> and the
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heart, <I>is</I> deep.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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David, in these verses, puts in before God a representation of his own
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danger and of his enemies' character, to enforce his petition that God
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would protect him and punish them.</P>
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<P>
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I. He earnestly begs of God to preserve him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:1,2"><I>v.</I> 1, 2</A>):
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<I>Hear my voice, O God! in my prayer;</I> that is, grant me the thing
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I pray for, and this is it, <I>Lord, preserve my life from fear of the
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enemy,</I> that is, fro the enemy that I am in fear of. He makes
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request for his life, which is, in a particular manner, dear to him,
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because he knows it is designed to be very serviceable to God and his
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generation. When his life is struck at it cannot be thought he should
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altogether hold his peace,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Es+7:2,4">Esth. vii. 2, 4</A>.
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And, if he plead his fear of the enemy, it is no disparagement to his
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courage; his father Jacob, that prince with God, did so before him.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+32:11">Gen. xxii. 11</A>,
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<I>Deliver me from the hand of Esau, for I fear him. Preserve my life
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from fear,</I> not only from the thing itself which I fear, but from
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the disquieting fear of it; this is, in effect, the preservation of the
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life, for fear has torment, particularly the fear of death, by reason
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of which some are all their life-time subject to bondage. He prays,
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"<I>Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked,</I> from the
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mischief which they secretly consult among themselves to do against me,
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and <I>from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity,</I> who join
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forces, as they join counsels, to do me a mischief." Observe, The
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secret counsel ends in an insurrection; treasonable practices begin in
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treasonable confederacies and conspiracies. "Hide me from them, that
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they may not find me, that they may not reach me. Let me be safe under
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thy protection."</P>
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<P>
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II. He complains of the great malice and wickedness of his enemies:
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"Lord, hide me from them, for they are the worst of men, not fit to be
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connived at; they are dangerous men, that will stick at nothing; so
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that I am undone if thou do not take my part." </P>
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<P>
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1. They are very spiteful in their calumnies and reproaches,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:3,4"><I>v.</I> 3, 4</A>.
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They are described as military men, with their sword and bow, archers
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that take aim exactly, secretly, and suddenly, and shoot at the
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harmless bird that apprehends not herself in any danger. But,
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(1.) Their tongues are their swords, flaming swords, two-edged swords,
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drawn swords, drawn in anger, with which they cut, and wound, and kill,
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the good name of their neighbours. The tongue is a little member, but,
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like the sword, it <I>boasts great things,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+3:5">Jam. iii. 5</A>.
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It is a dangerous weapon.
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(2.) <I>Bitter words</I> are <I>their arrows</I>--scurrilous
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reflections, opprobrious nicknames, false representations, slanders,
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and calumnies, the fiery darts of the wicked one, set on fire to hell.
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For these their malice <I>bends their bows,</I> to send out these
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arrows with so much the more force.
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(3.) The upright man is their mark; against him their spleen is, and
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they cannot speak peaceably either of him or to him. The better any man
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is the more he is envied by those that are themselves bad, and the more
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ill is said of him.
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(4.) They manage it with a great deal of art and subtlety. They
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<I>shoot in secret,</I> that those they shoot at may not discover them
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and avoid the danger, for <I>in vain is the net spread in the sight of
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any bird.</I> And <I>suddenly do they shoot,</I> without giving a man
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lawful warning or any opportunity to defend himself. <I>Cursed be he
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that thus smites his neighbour secretly</I> in his reputation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+27:24">Deut. xxvii. 24</A>.
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There is no guard against a pass made by a false tongue.
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(5.) Herein <I>they fear not,</I> that is, they are confident of their
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success, and doubt not but by these methods they shall gain the point
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which their malice aims at. Or, rather, they fear not the wrath of God,
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which they will be the portion of a false tongue. They are impudent and
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daring in the mischief they do to good people, as if they must never be
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called to an account for it.</P>
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<P>
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2. They are very close and very resolute in their malicious projects,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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(1.) They strengthen and corroborate themselves and one another in this
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evil matter, and by joining together in it they make one another the
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more bitter and the more bold. <I>Fortiter calumniari, aliquid
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adhærebit--Lay on an abundance of reproach; part will be sure to
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stick.</I> It is bad to do a wrong thing, but worse to encourage
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ourselves and one another in doing it; this is doing the devil's work
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for him. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the highest degree
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when it is thus fully set to do evil and fears no colours. It is the
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office of conscience to discourage men in an evil matter, but, when
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that is baffled, the case is desperate.
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(2.) They consult with themselves and one another how to do the most
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mischief and most effectually: <I>They commune of laying snares
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privily.</I> All their communion is in sin and all their communication
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is how to sin securely. They hold councils of war for finding out the
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most effectual expedients to do mischief; every snare they lay was
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talked of before, and was laid with all the contrivance of their wicked
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wits combined.
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(3.) They please themselves with an atheistical conceit that God
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himself takes no notice of their wicked practices: <I>They say, Who
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shall see them?</I> A practical disbelief of God's omniscience is at
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the bottom of all the wickedness of the wicked.</P>
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<P>
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3. They are very industrious in putting their projects in execution
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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"<I>They search out iniquity;</I> they take a great deal of pains to
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find out some iniquity or other to lay to my charge; they dig deep, and
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look far back, and put things to the utmost stretch, that they may have
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something to accuse me of;" or, "They are industrious to find out new
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arts of doing mischief to me; in this they accomplish a diligent
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search; they go through with it, and spare neither cost nor labour."
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<I>Evil men dig up mischief.</I> Half the pains that many take to damn
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their souls would serve to save them. They are masters of all the arts
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of mischief and destruction, for <I>the inward thought of every one of
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them, and the heart, are keep,</I> deep as hell, desperately wicked,
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who can know it? By the unaccountable wickedness of their wit and of
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their will, they show themselves to be, both in subtlety and malignity,
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the genuine offspring of the old serpent.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps64_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps64_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>God's Judgments on Persecutors.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 But God shall shoot at them <I>with</I> an arrow; suddenly shall
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they be wounded.
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8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves:
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all that see them shall flee away.
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9 And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God;
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for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
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10 The righteous shall be glad in the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and shall trust in
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him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We may observe here,</P>
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<P>
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I. The judgments of God which should certainly come upon these
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malicious persecutors of David. Though they encouraged themselves in
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their wickedness, here is that which, if they would believe and
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consider it, was enough to discourage them. And it is observable how
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the punishment answers the sin.
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1. They shot at David secretly and suddenly, to wound him; but God
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shall shoot at them, for the <I>ordains his arrows against the
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persecutors</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+7:13">Ps. vii. 13</A>),
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<I>against the face of them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+21:12">Ps. xxi. 12</A>.
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And God's arrows will hit surer, and fly swifter, and pierce deeper,
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than theirs do or can. They have many arrows, but they are only bitter
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words, and words are but wind: the curse causeless shall not come. But
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God has one arrow that will be their death, his curse which is never
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causeless, and therefore shall come; with it they shall be suddenly
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wounded, that is, their wound by it will be a surprise upon them,
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because they were secure and not apprehensive of any danger.
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2. Their tongues fell upon him, but God shall <I>make their tongues to
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fall upon themselves.</I> They do it by the desert of their sin; God
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does it by the justice of his wrath,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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When God deals with men according to the desert of their tongue-sins,
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and brings those mischiefs upon them which they have passionately and
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maliciously imprecated upon others, then he makes their own tongues to
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fall upon them; and it is weight enough to sink a man to the lowest
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hell, like a talent of lead. Many have cut their own throats, and many
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more have damned their own souls, with their tongues, and it will be an
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aggravation of their condemnation. <I>O Israel! thou hast destroyed
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thyself,</I> art <I>snared in the words of thy mouth. If thou scornest,
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thou alone shalt bear it.</I> Those that love cursing, it shall come
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unto them. Sometimes men's secret wickedness is brought to light by
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their own confession, and then their own tongue falls upon them.</P>
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<P>
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II. The influence which these judgments should have upon others; for it
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is done <I>in the open sight of all,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+34:26">Job xxxiv. 26</A>.</P>
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<P>
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1. Their neighbours shall shun them and shift for their own safety.
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They <I>shall flee away,</I> as the men of Israel did from the tents of
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Korah, Dathan, and Abiram,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+16:27">Num. xvi. 27</A>.
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Some think this was fulfilled in the death of Saul, when not only his
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army was dispersed, but the inhabitants of the neighbouring country
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were so terrified with the fall, not only of their king but of his
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three sons, that they quitted their cities and fled,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+31:7">1 Sam. xxxi. 7</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. Spectators shall reverence the providence of God therein,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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(1.) They shall understand and observe God's hand in all (and, unless
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we do so, we are not likely to profit by the dispensations of
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Providence,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:9">Hos. xiv. 9</A>):
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<I>They shall wisely consider his doing.</I> There is need of
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consideration and serious thought rightly to apprehend the matter of
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fact, and need of wisdom to put a true interpretation upon it. God's
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doing is well worth our considering
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:13">Eccl. vii. 13</A>),
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but it must be considered wisely, that we put not a corrupt gloss upon
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a pure text.
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(2.) They shall be affected with a holy awe of God upon the
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consideration of it. All men (all that have any thing of the reason of
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a man in them) shall fear and tremble because of God's judgments,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:120">Ps. cxix. 120</A>.
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They shall fear to do the like, fear being found persecutors of God's
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people. <I>Smite the scorner and the simple shall beware.</I>
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(3.) They shall declare the work of God. They shall speak to one
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another and to all about them of the justice of God in punishing
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persecutors. What we wisely consider ourselves we should wisely declare
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to others, for their edification and the glory of God. <I>This is the
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finger of God.</I></P>
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<P>
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3. Good people shall in a special manner take notice of it, and it
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shall affect them with a holy pleasure,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+64:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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(1.) It shall increase their joy: <I>The righteous shall be glad in the
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Lord,</I> not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures,
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but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause
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of injured innocency pleaded effectually.
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(2.) It shall encourage their faith. They shall commit themselves to
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him in the way of duty and be willing to venture for him with an entire
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confidence in him.
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(3.) Their joy and faith shall both express themselves in a holy
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boasting: <I>All the upright in heart,</I> that keep a good conscience
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and approve themselves to God, <I>shall glory,</I> not in themselves,
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but in the favour of God, in his righteousness and goodness, their
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relation to him and interest in him. <I>Let him that glories glory in
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the Lord.</I></P>
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<!-- (End Body) -->
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
|
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[<A HREF="MHC19063.HTM">Previous</A>]
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[<A HREF="MHC19065.HTM">Next</A>]<BR>
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
|
|
Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
|
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</TABLE>
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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