Psalms 1–41

"Planted" — not a wild tree, growing from seed scattered at random by the wind and landing anywhere — but planted. A skilful eye picked out the right spot. A careful hand cleared away everything that would hinder the growth of the tree planted there in rich soil, with every advantage of watchful care that could be given to it.

The fruit-tree is not a natural growth of the soil: a Hand has planted it, and that among the divided streams of an irrigated land.

The word for "the rivers of water" in Ps. 1:3 comes from the root meaning "to divide." Refreshment flows in where whatever would block its entrance is cut apart.

Underneath the ground the great tree sends out its main roots. Each one has countless tiny rootlets searching in every direction for moisture. In time they reach the wet river-bed. Then every hair-like filament becomes a hungry mouth, taking in as much nourishment as it can from the damp soil… Cut off the supply of water, and the tree must wither and die. Give it too little, and the fruit becomes poor and scarce, while the leaves turn from bright green to dull brown.

Notice who this is said of: the man meditating day and night on Jehovah's law. The Spirit of God acts through the word of God, and there is no other way than this. To handle the Word without the Spirit is only rationalism. And the dream of the Spirit ministering apart from the Word is delusion and fanaticism.

Nothing about it comes too early or half-formed. Truth has to be digested and taken in. But the activity and energy of life are there, and progress day by day… The tree does not produce the fruit for itself. What we find in ourselves is not the point; what the Lord finds is.

More than this, the tree is a fruit tree, producing fruit in its proper season, for there are times of rest also as the fruit is developing.

Fruit is first in importance, then the unwithered leaf, which we may take to illustrate testimony. Fruit is for God; testimony is given to others around us. Actions and words that commend Christ in the eyes of others are the green leaves of testimony. But if there is no water there will be no greenness.

We have a nature given to us that can live, and does live, when everything around is death. We are like plants set to bud and blossom for the pleasure of our God in a scene where there is everything to grieve His Holy Spirit.

Judged by any human or earthly standard, this statement does not seem to hold at present. The psalmist himself cries, "You have renounced the covenant with your servant… You have breached all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins." Christ Himself says, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity." So "in all that he does, he prospers" is not an absolute promise, fulfilled in every sense, in every case, at all times… The very presence of the ungodly, and even of scoffers, implies a testing time for the faithful. Instead of the godly man prospering in all he does, it seems as though the wicked were in prosperity and the godly persecuted and forsaken. But this is only for the present. A judgment is coming which will remove the ungodly; and then of each such person it will indeed be true: in all that he does, he prospers.

But where was this character, called blessed and owned by Jehovah, to be found in perfection? Surely the blessed Man of Psalm 1 is Christ. In His lowly path He was the perfect example of the godly remnant, who are found everywhere in the Psalms.

While His sufferings and death seemed to be His defeat, this was a sacrifice He accomplished that has prospered amazingly in the salvation of countless souls. So let us not be discouraged by any troubling setbacks, for whatever God enables us to do for Him will prosper: "in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

"The ungodly are not so": they are the exact opposite in character. Whatever prosperity they may have for the present is short-lived. They themselves are like "the chaff which the wind drives away." Think of the difference between the tree planted by the rivers of water and the chaff which the wind drives away!

When grain was threshed on the threshing floor, they opened doors at both ends. The wind blew through and carried the chaff away. The wheat stayed, because it was heavier. The chaff was of no value, and unbelievers have no moral weight.

The judgment of God shows the rootless, fruitless doer of empty things in his own nothingness. He is chased out of the world, just as the wind carried the useless husk of the grain off the hilltops where the threshing floors stood.

They may appear to hold the place of authority, sitting at their ease. Still, in the government of God they will be driven away like the chaff before the wind. For the present the wicked may prosper, and the godly suffer, so the government of God may appear to have failed. This shows an important principle. For the full display of God's holy government — whether in blessing the godly or dealing with the wicked — we must wait for God to step in with judgment in the day to come.

They are mingled together now, however different in character — living in the same city, perhaps under the same roof, sitting at the same table, or sleeping in the same bed. But judgment will tell them apart exactly.

Nebuchadnezzar on the throne was a tree (see Dan. 4:22), but his leaf faded. For a brief moment prosperity shone on him. Where is he now, and his glory? "But are like the chaff which the wind drives away." Sadly, it is the ungodly in Israel the Psalm speaks of.

"Like the chaff which the wind drives away" is a prophecy of the time when God deals with the ungodly in judgment. That is when "He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12). Then the ungodly will disappear forever and stop troubling the righteous.

What day is that? Not the day when the dead stand before the great white throne, but the day when Christ comes to judge the living. It will begin when He appears with His saints, and will continue until the wicked are destroyed and gone from the land.

There will be the cutting off of the ungodly ones like chaff, and those who remain are the godly. There is a godly remnant in the midst of the ungodly, and the ungodly are to be cut off. That is the basis of all we have in the Book of Psalms.

They are mixed together now, however different in character. They live in the same city, perhaps under the same roof, sitting at the same table, or sleeping in the same bed. But judgment will tell one from the other with complete accuracy.

They may seem settled in the place of authority, sitting at their ease. All the same, under the government of God they will be driven away like chaff before the wind. For now the wicked may prosper and the godly suffer. So the government of God may look as though it had failed. This brings out an important principle. God's holy government has two sides: blessing the godly and dealing with the wicked. Neither side is fully displayed until He steps in to judge in the day to come.

The Chaldee renders in the judgment as the great day. The force of shall not stand, then, is that the wicked will not stand before God so as to be accepted by Him as justified. The Chaldee puts this well too: they shall not be pure, or innocent.

What day is that? Not the day when the dead will stand before the great white throne, but the day when Christ comes to judge the living. It begins when He appears with His saints, and goes on until the wicked are wiped out of the land.

There may not be much in the Old Testament about the coming judgment of the ungodly. But there is enough to warn against leaving God out of life. The verse states plainly that "the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment." We know that judgment will have Christ as Judge at the great white throne. Those who have left God out of their thoughts, their plans and their ways cannot expect God to treat them as righteous.

Notice that the psalm sets both groups in front of a judgment close at hand. In that judgment the wicked are driven away like chaff, and the righteous form the congregation... Blessing is on the righteous, but these shall be the people when the ungodly are driven away as chaff.

The Psalm goes beyond this judgment and gives a glimpse of the godly remnant who will then be the congregation of the righteous. "All your children shall be taught by the LORD" (Isaiah 54:13). No sinner will last among them.

Verse 1 has shown us that the godly are even now separated from the ungodly. Can the ungodly expect to inherit the same blessedness as the righteous in eternity? Impossible! Simply being with the righteous would be unbearable misery for them. And God would not let ungodly enemies of the Lord Jesus distress the righteous by their presence.

Judgment is coming, and the Book of Psalms as a whole looks toward it. Then the present mixed state will give place to a clear separation. God will carry out His sentence on earth before the final one for eternity. This is no secret to faith, which enters into His mind and will before that day.

Meanwhile the Lord knows the way of the righteous — He both discerns and approves it. But the way of the ungodly, however successful it looks now, will surely perish in the time of judgment.

So it is said, "The Lord knows the way of the righteous" (Ps. 1:6). Of course He also knows the proud. But to mark that off from this approving knowledge, Scripture adds, "The proud He knows from far away" (Ps. 138:6).

What He approves lasts, and nothing will ever break His seal on it. And so He "knows" the way of the righteous. He knows it well as something that is His own. It is the way He Himself walks, and the way where fellowship with Him is found. "But the way of the ungodly perishes."

Here the righteous are not one but many. In the Greek Old Testament the word is plural, and they are distinct from "the Man." The LORD knows their way, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Setting the knowing and the perishing side by side means destruction for the ungodly and preservation for the righteous. Yes, it is a moral approval of the righteous, though it does not rise to the height of God's delight in the blessed Man.

God knew their path of sorrow, pictured in the Psalms that follow. That holds a store of comfort for the tried and suffering. God appoints the way and knows it. Its ending is blessing, and that too is settled.

In the meantime the godly soul has the comfort of the secret approval of the Lord.

The One who takes full account of all mankind knows the way of the righteous. Their history on earth has given time to prove their consistent "way" to be commendable and worthy of a full reward. But the way of the ungodly (being consistently corrupt) shall perish. They have nothing of value to reward. All they have done, whatever pride they took in it, God will banish into eternal oblivion. Their personal end will be worse than this.

The word translated "heathen" often appears in the Old Testament for the various nations of the earth apart from Israel. A more literal translation renders the opening words like this: "Why are the nations in tumultuous agitation, and why do the peoples meditate a vain thing?" With this simple explanation the words become clear. They say just what any one of us might want to ask about the agitated nations of today.

"Imagine" in Psalm 2 is the same word as "meditate" in Psalm 1:2.

There are countless causes of strife among the nations. They lie on the surface of things, and they vary from age to age, even from year to year. The inspired psalmist probes beneath the surface. He sees that the real root of it all is the built-in lawlessness of fallen man. It is the desire to be rid of any restraint that the Lord and His Anointed might place on them. This lawlessness is the very essence of sin.

The nations rage, the peoples plot in vain; the kings of the earth and the rulers would break free from the bonds of Jehovah and His Anointed. But this rising only brings wrath and displeasure, and all resistance to it will fail. He who sits in the heavens will laugh; Adonai scorns them. Despite it all, Jehovah has set His King on His holy hill of Zion. Such is the sure counsel of God made good by His power. Man's pride in resisting only brings his own ruin.

The first stanza (Psalm 2:1-3) predicts that Israel and the nations will join in open resistance to the claims of Jehovah and His Anointed. The earthly powers agree together to break their bonds and throw off their cords. This prediction came true when Jews and Gentiles joined to crucify the Messiah, Jehovah's Anointed, and the apostles quoted it that way in their prayer to the Lord (Acts 4:24-28). The evil alliance against Jehovah and His Christ foretold in this psalm will have a further fulfilment in the future agreement between the Jews who have turned from God and the head of the revived fourth Gentile empire (Revelation 13).

Their quotation from Psalm 2 does not apply directly. The psalm speaks of the bitter hostility of Gentiles, Israel, kings and rulers at the time of the coming tribulation. Yet the rulers of Israel were already showing that hostility... But in beautiful triumph the disciples add, "to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." The emptiness of man's hostility and pride is tragic: it is God in control, not they.

This psalm does not merely ask the question. It answers it in full. What is more, the answer comes with prophetic insight that goes to the root of things. It also gives foresight that carries us to the end of things, when the agitation and rage of the nations will cease. If we profit by this prophetic insight — above all if we see the contrast between this psalm and Psalm 1 — we shall gain much moral instruction. And if we profit by the foresight it gives, we will not be too troubled, even while we live in the middle of the unrest.

The Gentiles are "the nations" of verse 1 and "the kings of the earth" of verse 2. The Jews are "the peoples" of verse 1 and "the rulers" of verse 2. They agree together, but only in carrying out the oppressive persecution of the Lord's Anointed. If we turn to Luke 23:12 we find that "Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day." What were they made friends about? They wished to put out the light of grace and truth which shone in the Person of the Lord's Anointed. That brought them together and made them friends, who had been enemies before.

I change the word "Anointed" to "Messiah," as the more usual and correct word for the Psalms. Messiah and Christ both mean "the Anointed." The former is Hebrew, the latter Greek. The anointing is consecration. In His case, first as Prophet, for He carries the word of the Most High. Second as Priest, the one who leads divine worship. Third as King, the one who governs. "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38).

What do they plot together to do? To break in pieces the bonds and cords of God's restraining power (v. 3). Men do not see God at work restraining evil, but they feel it in their consciences, and many resent it deeply. They try hard to silence conscience. They refuse any reference to God's word, which they say is an intrusion into their private rights. They see this as an effort to tie them up when they want to be free to do as they please. In this the nations — people, kings and rulers — unite together, intending to do away with the authority of God.

The first stanza (Ps. 2:1-3) predicts the coalition of Israel and the nations in defiant resistance to the claims of Jehovah and His Anointed. The united counsel of the earthly powers is to break Their bands and cast away Their cords. This prediction came true when Jews and Gentiles joined together to crucify the Messiah, Jehovah's Anointed. The apostles quoted it that way in their prayer to the Lord (Acts 4:24-28). This Psalm also foretells a further evil alliance against Jehovah and His Christ. It is a future agreement between the Jews who have turned away from God and the head of the restored fourth Gentile empire (Rev. 13).

The Scriptures do not often present God as laughing. Three times in the Psalms they do, and once in Proverbs. In each case the same thing is in view. If men refuse His mercy, if they mistreat His people, if they lawlessly deny Him and His Anointed and mock His authority and His Word, He will judge them in due season. And not only judge them, but cast them down in a way that makes them supremely ridiculous, objects of derision to all created intelligences. The "laugh" will be on God's side in that day.

The ragings, the imaginations, the counsel taken by kings and rulers, all comes to nothing, and God's counsel stands. His purposes are not delayed one hour, and His King is set exactly as intended upon His holy hill of Zion. The word "set" is literally "anointed," as the margin of a reference Bible shows. The rulers and the kings will depart in judgment, the shouting and the tumult will die, and Jehovah's King will be anointed according to the decree.

Even today the nations are throwing aside the truth of the word of God as of no serious consequence. So after the Lord takes believers home to heaven at the Rapture, the kings of the earth will be fully ready to "set themselves" in determined hostility against God (v. 2). God's anointed King also, who was once cast out and crucified, will be the object of their hatred, for they know they have not really got rid of Him. Though they rejected Him from the earth, He has been received in heaven, though they don't like to admit it.

In Psalm 2 the kings and the rulers of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. They say, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us" — that is, the bonds and cords in which God held and restrained them.

Men do not see God at work restraining evil, yet they feel it in their consciences. Many resent this. They try hard to silence conscience and to shut out every reference to God's word, which they call an intrusion into their private rights! They consider this an effort to bind them by cords when they want to be free to do as they please.

The inspired Psalmist probes beneath the surface. He sees that the real root of it all is the inborn lawlessness of fallen man — the desire to be rid of the restraint which the Lord and His Anointed might impose on them. This lawlessness is the very essence of sin.

The psalm shows the nations in an uproar against God and against Christ, trying in vain to throw off divine authority and restraint. They say, "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." Men want to banish every public recognition of God so they can pursue desires that, as conscience tells them, will not bear the light of God. In Acts 4:26-27 the Spirit of God applies this Scripture to the rejection of Christ by "the Gentiles, and the people of Israel." Men formed this alliance against God and Christ at the cross, and it is still the principle that governs the world.

God holds and exercises the consciences of men by His Word. But suppose men refuse to accept the Word as the Word, and claim the right to keep or reject whatever parts suit their moods and whims. What hold has God upon them then? They have in this cast away His cords from them and burst His bonds apart, and they imagine that they are free.

There is to be one last great rising against Jehovah and against His Christ. Its aim is to rid mankind once for all of those bonds and cords. Men feel them to be leftovers from a less enlightened, less scientific age, and so an unbearable check on human progress and glory. A day is coming when almost the whole world will treat the Christian religion as a leftover from a darker age, no longer to be tolerated.

God Himself places restrictions upon men, and when God acts in this way men begin to say, "Let us burst Their bonds apart, and cast away Their cords from us." Yet how thankful we should be for the restraining hand of God! In creation and in the moral realm we owe much to the limits God sets in His power and His wisdom.

This is how He will fight all man's enmity against Himself and against His Anointed. What divine irony! "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us!" God answers: "He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision!"

From a world in revolt we pass to the calm of heaven to learn God's thoughts of man's vain efforts. The great men of the earth — its political leaders, its scientists, its philosophers — may join together to throw off all recognition of God. But their efforts do not move Him. The Christ of God "sits in the heavens," and holds man's revolt in derision. Men rage on earth; God laughs in heaven. Human ideas here show us heaven's contempt for man's folly.

Well might the God of heaven and earth laugh at their stupidity! For they are like little children who gather against their national government and tell the authorities, "We are cancelling every law you have ever passed. We will refuse to obey anything you say." Of course, this would only be laughable. They have no power to carry out their schemes. But it is amazing how long God bears with this evil before judging it outright.

"He that sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision." That is, Christ Himself shall have them in derision.

Heaven is silent till the appointed time comes. Here we have the exalted position of the rejected Christ, as in Psalm 110. He sits in the heavens. His place is at the right hand of God. He shares the Father's throne. In infinite patience He is waiting, silent about all that wicked men do in dishonouring His Name. But when the final rebellion takes place on earth, then He will laugh at them and hold them in derision.

The Bible rarely pictures God laughing. Three times in the Psalms they do so, and once in Proverbs, and in each case the same thing is in view. If men refuse His mercy, mistreat His people, and defy Him and His Anointed, mocking His authority and His Word, God will judge them in due season. He will not only judge them. He will bring them down in a way that makes them look utterly ridiculous — an object of scorn to every created being. The "laugh" will be on God's side in that day.

Futile and wicked effort! The murderous violence of man only fastens tighter the bands and cords he would tear apart. … But this is far from all in the second Psalm. Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury. This, however, is not yet. God is not now sending judgments to punish their evil and crush their pride. Instead His grace is sending out the gospel — repentance and forgiveness of sins preached in the name of Jesus to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Eternal confusion will mark all the opposition of men and devils. This gives sweet rest to the heart, in a scene where everything seems so contrary to God and so contrary to faith. We look at the circumstances and influences around us in the world. Our spirits would often sink, if we did not have the settled assurance that "the wrath of man shall praise" the Lord.

God not only holds these efforts of men in derision, but the time is coming when God will "speak to them in His wrath." For long ages God has been speaking in grace. He has kept silent while man rebels against His authority. God, however, has not been indifferent to "all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." God will break His silence. When God speaks it will be in wrath, showing "His fury," and men will be silent in terror.

These worldly powers band together to throw off all allegiance to Jehovah and His Christ. Adonai (Jehovah's title as "Lord of all the earth") treats their plot with contempt (Ps. 2:4-6). He will speak to them in His wrath from heaven (see Heb. 12:25-26). They organise their hostility against Jehovah and His Anointed, and He answers by setting His King on Zion, His mountain of holiness. So the "counsel" of man's might and wisdom comes to nothing.

Futile and wicked effort! The murderous violence of man only fastens tighter the bands and cords he wanted to burst. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. But this is far from all in the second Psalm. Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury. But this is not yet. Instead of judgments to punish their evil and overwhelm their pride, His grace is meanwhile sending out the gospel — repentance and forgiveness of sins preached in the name of Jesus to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Psalm 2 is the time when the judgment is ending, and the Son puts government right by the power of His wrath. "Now therefore, O kings, be wise," for if the Son's wrath kindles, all will be over with you. This has nothing to do with the gospel of God's grace. The kings of the earth are not in relationship with the Father and the Son, but in rebellion against Jehovah and His Christ. It is a direct question of judgment — the closing scene.

Psalm 2 is a prophecy. What does it say? It says that the kings of the earth and the rulers are going to plot together against Jehovah and His Anointed. It says Jehovah will "speak to them in His wrath, and terrify them in His fury." If men do not "kiss the Son," they will perish "when His wrath is quickly kindled."

The rage, the plotting, and the plans that kings and rulers make all come to nothing, and God's counsel stands. His purposes are not delayed one hour, and He sets His King exactly as intended on Zion, His holy hill... The rulers and the kings will depart in judgment. The shouting and the uproar will die away. And Jehovah will anoint His King, just as the decree said.

The word "set" really means "anointed," and man's opposition to God cannot defeat His purpose. How puny man is — all his efforts to dethrone God will come to nothing. The rightful king of Israel will reign in Zion.

Jehovah loves to say "My King." He is the true David, the man after God's own heart, whom He chose to feed His people. Saul was the opposite. Saul was the people's own choice, made when they had rejected Jehovah as their king. God has a king in store, and He will show Him at the right time. He will take everything out of the usurper's hand and give it to the One whose right it is.

No mountain in the Old Testament stood in such formal contrast with Sinai as Zion. Sinai was the unforgettable scene where the nation was put under responsibility to the law. Zion was where Jehovah stepped in with grace for His king, at a time when everything lay in ruins. People and priests alike were wicked. The Philistines had taken the ark. Ichabod was confessed. Israel's king and his sons were killed. And the Jebusite was not only in the centre and stronghold of Jerusalem but defiant and insulting. Then it was that Jehovah, as He chose David, so also chose the mount Zion which He loved. And there He will set His king, on Zion, His holy hill.

"You have come to Mount Zion." What do you get there? What is said of Mount Zion is that it is the hill of grace. It is where God finds His rest. It says, God will dwell there forevermore. He loves it. Blessing is there; there God commands blessing, life forevermore. It is the hill on which He places His king. And why do you think He has set His king there? It is for blessing. If God raises up a king, it is for blessing, not for the destruction of man... No doubt the rebellious must suffer judgment, but God's thought in a kingdom is salvation.

Two things are set forth here. First, God anoints the Son as King on Zion, His holy hill. Then He gives Him the nations as His inheritance. Zion is His throne; the nations, His inheritance. Second, His way of dealing with the nations is the opposite of the gospel — "You shall break them with a rod of iron." In the gospel, the rod of Christ is a rod of goodness and love. It is everything that is sweetest and strongest in His love. It is not a rod of iron.

In Psalm 2 you find Christ spoken of as come to this world, and rejected... In that character as King in Zion, and Son of God, as born into this world, He was utterly rejected; yet God will set Him on His holy hill in Zion.

God's counsels will prevail so surely that He can speak of them as already done — "I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." Divine power carries out divine counsels.

Why is it that the King in Zion can stand against all the hatred and opposition of the enemy? Think of the day of His rejection. His followers were only a few weak Jews. Yet soon after Pentecost they could take up this second psalm and quote it back to God. They used it as an argument for why He should give them all boldness to speak the Word without fear. It was because that King in Zion was His Son. "I will declare the decree," says the Son; and then He declares it. "You are My Son," God had said to Him; "today I have begotten You." He is in His kingly place as Son of God, and who dares stand against the Son of God and succeed?

The New Testament quotes Psalm 2:7 for Christ as Son of God in this world. It is not His eternal Sonship, as some early Christian writers thought. It is not His resurrection either, which others taught by misreading Acts 13:33. His birth in time as Messiah is the point: "You are My Son: today I have begotten You."

Becoming man in no way lowered His Sonship. He is Son of God eternally. He was still, and no less, Son of God when born of the virgin, just as He is Son of God in resurrection and forever in glory.

In the next sentence we pass from eternity to time. "Day" is a measure of time, not of eternity: "today I have begotten You." Now we undoubtedly have the incarnation of the Son. It is the Old Testament description that matches the New Testament ones. "The Word became flesh." The "Son born of a woman." "That holy child who will be born of you will be called the Son of God."

There are two important expressions in this verse. One is a timeless expression, "You are my Son" — what the Messiah is to God who is His Father. We can carry this expression back into eternity. It expresses the divine intimacy and pleasure resting in the Father's heart towards this blessed Man.

Here Messiah speaks, and we learn more about Him. He is not only King but Son. This is one of the Scriptures quoted in Hebrews 1 to establish the deity of Christ. Some have thought this verse refers to resurrection because of the way Acts 13:33 uses the passage, but this is a mistake. Look at Acts 13 carefully and you will see that it deals with resurrection in verse 34, not 33. The word "again" should be left out.

The decree of God is that His Son shall be anointed — that is, declared King over all the earth — and He invites the kings of the earth to submit to Him. He says to them, "I am about to speak in my wrath. I give the inheritance of the nations to Christ. He will bruise you with a rod of iron; He will break you in pieces. Now then, submit yourselves to Him, to my Son, King in Zion." These kings follow their own ways. Yet God has decreed His reign surely and beyond recall, and He will bring it to pass despite the kings of the earth.

This sets out two things. First, God anoints the Son as King upon Zion, His holy hill, and gives Him the nations for His inheritance: Zion is His throne; the nations, His inheritance. The decree of God is that His Son shall be anointed, that is, declared King over all the earth.

When He asks, He will receive more than Judea. He will receive the nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. But judgment marks this, and He carries it out in public. He breaks them with a rod of iron and dashes them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Unbelieving Jews and lawless Gentiles rejected Him, and that has postponed it.

He could truly think of everything there — the beauty of nature, the power of rule — as one day subject to Himself. But even that drew Him for one reason only: to bring all things under His Father's authority. And He would remember — He never could forget for a moment — that it was to be the Father's gift to Him: "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession." His Father would then put them in His hands, in His time and way. He will not seize them ahead of time, and He will not accept a lie, whatever show of power and glory it carries.

Christ does not as yet ask of God the world for His own; His requests now only apply to the church. When He claims the earth, it is for judgment; but there are warnings for the kings of the earth. The question there is not whether people recognise the Son as the Saviour, but as the King who has a right to own the earth. Christ has not only the right to gather souls for heaven, but also to receive the earth as His own.

Christ has not yet carried out the judgment of verse 9. That is no proof that He will not; it is the solemn assurance that He will. Those who apply this Psalm to the uprising against the Messiah stop short there. They say nothing of His asking Jehovah for the nations as His inheritance and the ends of the earth as His possession. Christ is busy now with His heavenly relations and offices. He will ask for the earth when He is about to come and execute judgment on the living and the dead.

To break the nations with a rod of iron is quite another thing from the gospel. He has the nations, not as His bride, but as His inheritance. Jesus has received power from His Father, not only to secure the church, but also to break the nations. And the church shall be with Jesus. Jesus has not yet asked for the inheritance. He is praying that His own may be kept. He is the sovereign High Priest, not of the world, but of the church.

The Lord encourages the overcomer by announcing that He is coming again. Then He Himself shall reign over the nations in public, and He says, "As I also have received from My Father." The Crucified shall reign, and that by His Father's just decree. So He will give, along with Himself then, to the overcomer, "authority over the nations."

His way of dealing with the nations is completely opposed to the gospel: "You shall break them with a rod of iron." In the gospel, the rod of Christ is a rod of goodness and love. It is everything most sweet and most powerful in His love. It is not a rod of iron.

"Ask of Me," Jehovah says, and He has not asked — He is still sitting in patience... His long-suffering is now salvation. When it is over, and delay would be, not blessing, not long-suffering, but weakness, it is with the rod of iron that He takes the ends of the earth for His possession — not, as people imagine, with the gospel. Isaiah 26 shows that grace has been tried and found ineffective. The gospel has gone out for centuries and has not converted the mass of mankind.

"You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel," Psalm 2:9. We do not think that this is the gentle influence of His Spirit in the hearts of His people... These nations are not Zion at all, and this display of power is quite a different thing, still to come.

The firm, unyielding rod of iron points to the stern and unbending rule He will exercise over the rebellious nations... Their determined will must be broken and their power shattered to pieces.

This common pottery of the East is very fragile, and Scripture often refers to it for that reason. The Lord Jesus will subdue all His enemies: will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

That ruling, though with a rod of iron, is really shepherding... Where He rules with a rod of iron, that is still a shepherd's care and love. Love, if need be, can strike. The rod of iron is for preservation no less than for destruction; in fact, preservation is the end in view. It is to destroy those who destroy the earth, and to make even the earth a place where peace will flourish as the result of righteousness.

It is striking that the psalm grants authority over the nations to Christ alone (Ps. 2), but the same unlimited authority and dominion awaits the conqueror who presses on to the end. The overcomers will share the public place and portion of the Son.

He will rule them with a rod of iron and break them in pieces like a potter's vessel — breaking with power nothing can resist, ruling in judgment all who rise up against His throne without reverence and without strength. But this judgment has not been carried out yet. The psalm itself invites the kings and judges to submit and humbly own the Son.

The decree of God is that His Son shall be anointed — that is, declared King over all the earth — and He invites the kings of the earth to submit to Him. He says to them: "I give the heritage of the nations to Christ. He will bruise you with a rod of iron; He will break you in pieces. Now then submit yourselves to Him, to My Son, King in Zion."

God will finally make righteousness triumph and will put down all ungodliness for the earth. That is the theme of these two Psalms, and it declares the righteousness of God in government. So the grace preached in the gospel is not found here. There is no call to repentance (Ps. 2:10 is a warning instead). There is no promise of forgiveness to the guilty when he confesses, and none of restoration to a failing saint. Righteousness goes with reward, and ungodliness with judgment.

"Now therefore, O kings, be wise… Blessed are all who take refuge in Him" (Ps. 2:10-12). This is very different from the gospel now, but it is just as much of God in its own season, and it will surely go out when God begins to deal with man in judgment.

The teaching here applies, in principle, at all times, and so it applies today too. But the full meaning of this call will appear only when the King sits on His own throne… Now the gospel message does not address kings and judges as kings and judges, but as ruined sinners. God preaches the free gospel of His grace to them, as to everyone else… Then kings of nations will be called to hold their thrones as subjects of Jehovah's Christ.

So the warning word still goes out to the kings of the earth. Wisdom for them will be to submit to Jehovah before the blow comes that will humble them for good — too late for blessing to them then! Even those who do submit may well "rejoice with trembling" at the great danger they have come so near to.

Now, while there is still opportunity for repentance, let the great men of the world weigh God's declared testimony that the Lord Jesus will certainly reign over all. If only men would "serve the Lord with fear," then they would also "rejoice with trembling" — rejoice because it is the Lord they trust. They would tremble because they must give account to the God of heaven and earth.

The hour of His public glory has not yet come — the hour when all human opposition and pretension will be overthrown. So God gives a word of warning to the kings and judges of the earth, and to all others too. There is still time to offer submission to the Lord and to serve Him… Anyone who wants to offer submission must do so by honouring the Son.

It is according to God's ways to give warning. Every lost soul, at least in the lands where the Christian message has gone, has heard at some time the warning voice of Him who must punish the wicked. So all are without excuse.

When did the conflict between the powers of earth and Jehovah begin? Acts 4:25-28 supplies the answer. It began at the Cross. It continues still, and will break out in even more determined opposition when Revelation 19:19 is fulfilled… Meanwhile God would plead with those who oppose Him to be wise and submit to the King, kissing the Son as a sign of submission (Ps. 2:10-12). But, as we shall see further on, the plea achieves little.

The warnings of the decree are the ground of this appeal to the great ones of the earth. Before Christ comes out to reign in righteousness, the invitation goes out to the nations to submit to Christ and be reconciled to the Son. Otherwise they will perish when His anger is kindled even a little. Judgment is indeed coming for the nations. But some among them will put their trust in the Lord, and they will be blessed.

There is still time to repent. So let the great men of the world weigh God's declared testimony: the Lord Jesus will certainly reign over all. If only men would "serve the LORD with fear," they would also "rejoice with trembling" — rejoice because it is the Lord they trust, and tremble because they must give account to the God of heaven and earth.

The hour of His public glory has not yet come, when He will overthrow all human opposition and pride. So a word of warning goes out to the kings and judges of the earth, and to everyone else. There is still time to offer submission to the Lord and to serve Him. Then, though trembling at the memory of His might, one may rejoice at the coming vindication and glory of the Son.

Psalm 2 is the time when judgment is ending, and the Son sets government right by the power of His wrath. "Now therefore, O kings, be wise," for if the Son's wrath is kindled, all will be over with you. This has nothing to do with the gospel of God's grace. The kings of the earth are not in relationship with the Father and the Son, but in rebellion against Jehovah and His Christ. It is a direct question of judgment — the closing scene.

Here kings are called on to submit before the coming judgment of the earth. But this is not yet executed, and we have to learn our own lesson in patience. This the Psalms will teach us.

But though dread is gone from the believing soul, reverence remains. It deepens as we come to know God and His Word better. So comes the call to "offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:28). With it grows an inward horror of sin in every form, and a strong desire to walk in complete separation from it. "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil" (Prov. 8:13). He who wallows in sin, whatever his religious profession, has never known our God.

It is a serious thing, whatever the goodness of God may be, to find peace with a God of holiness. Christ has made peace; but He would have us feel what it is to need it, so that we may know it. Our hearts are so subtle and wicked that carelessness follows peace. We feared sin before, and now that we are freed from this heavy burden, we go forward not only more easily, but often, sadly, carelessly. Rejoice before God, and not without God, for the peace He has given you; rejoice in trembling. It is the means of preserving peace, by grace.

David was not thinking only of Absalom, but of the great number whom Absalom had influenced to follow him. Absalom's uprising reminds us of the treachery of the coming Antichrist. He will first win the favour of the Jewish remnant, then turn against them, lifting himself up to claim to be God.

The remnant is suffering persecution, and it comes from their own unbelieving brothers, who sneer at them and mock. "There is no salvation (deliverance) for him in God."

All around him they murmur, "there is no help for him in God." Many are right to see God in the circumstances, but wrong to judge Him by the circumstances alone. There is an easy faith — the faith of Job's friends — that takes the clouds and darkness "all around Him" at face value, as if they revealed Him instead of hiding Him. It is a simple theology, and the sufferer himself is often tempted to adopt it: that God's love never wears a disguise. In fact it is His delight to find a soul close enough to Him to see through the disguise, and climb through the darkness to the perfect Light above.

In this conclusion they were completely wrong. The exact opposite was true. There was no help for him anywhere but in God, as the next two verses show. Jehovah was a shield of protection to him. He was also the One in whom he could make his boast, the One who would lift up his head when men sought to cast him down.

The devil's aim would be to keep us from turning to God. He will never lack many voices to speak his wishes and hint that God is no longer on our side: there is no hope or help for us in Him. Let us learn the lesson that this is a lie. David under discipline was not shut out from God, and neither are we.

"The Lord also has put away your sin." That was the prophet's ready word of reassurance to the guilt-stricken king. So his soul had been fully restored to God. His conscience had been washed clean from the stain of his sin. Yet many quiet years had passed since then, and he had to keep in mind the discipline the Lord had announced. God would surely carry it out at the right time.

Many said of David, "There is no help for him in God." In the same way, the chief priests, scribes and elders of Israel mocked Christ as they watched Him on the cross: "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him." So men mistake God's patience for not caring, or for letting them off. But God's time is not man's. In His own time He will step in, just as He did after Christ was crucified and buried.

The word Selah occurs 71 times in the Psalms. It means "to pause." A second meaning is to "lift up." We can take it as a sign that as we read we should pause, think, and then lift up our hearts in praise and prayer.

This taunt was the most bitter part of his bitter cup. All his life he had faced enemies, and men had hunted him like a partridge on the mountains. But if the wicked hint that God had now abandoned him were true, he had never been in so bad a state. To human eyes his enemies were right, for every sign of God's help and favour was missing. Yet faith won. Though David was in the deepest pit of trouble, he turned from men and appealed to God.

The devil's aim would be to keep us from turning to God. He will never lack many people to voice his wishes and hint that God will no longer be on our side, and that there is no hope or help for us in Him. Let us learn the lesson that this is a lie. David under discipline was not shut out from God, and neither are we.

With this shield of faith the psalmist fortifies himself. Better still, it is God who is his shield — so it is no partial defence, but a defence "round about" him. Perhaps he would not have realised He was so near, if the need had not been so great... So he can add, "the Uplifter of my head." What holds him up is not pride, and not stubbornness that refuses to give in, and not natural courage on its own. It is the sweet grasp of the "I AM" of God.

Verse 3 shows the simplicity of faith. Against the sneers of wicked men, David declares that the Lord was a shield for him, his protector even in the middle of his sufferings. But the Lord was also "my glory," the Object of David's pure delight. Others could not see what David did: that when he was persecuted, God was still his cause of rejoicing.

Despite outward appearances, faith sees that the Lord is a shield for the godly. He is his glory, the One in whom he boasts. And in due time He will lift up his head, though for the moment the enemy looks like the winner (Ps. 27:5-6; Ps. 110:7).

We venture to say that David would never have written like this in Psalm 3, when he fled from Absalom, if he had not first written Psalm 51. That psalm poured out his heart in confession of his great sin. But he had judged himself and acknowledged his sin. God restored him to communion with Himself, so he could face with confidence the trouble that came on him under God's governmental dealings.

How the discipline of that hour entered into his soul!... The true value of sorrow and trial is to lead the soul into simple and felt reliance on God.

Many said of David, "There is no help for him in God." In the same way the chief priests, scribes and elders of Israel mocked Christ as they watched Him on the cross: "He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him." So men mistake God's patience for indifference. But God's time is not man's. In His own time He will step in, as He did after men had crucified and buried Christ. What a deliverance that was, when God raised Christ from among the dead!

Sometimes a child of God suffers trials and sorrows he has brought on himself. In His holy government God has placed His hand upon him, and he has to reap what he has sown. This is the hardest test of all. When David wrote Psalm 3 he was in this plight, for he was fleeing from Absalom his son. That was the darkest hour of his whole life, because every detail of it paid him back for what he had done.

We would say that David could never have written Psalm 3 as he did, while fleeing from Absalom, if he had not first written Psalm 51. That psalm poured out his heart in confession of his great sin. But he judged himself and admitted his sin. God then brought him back into communion. So he could face the trouble God's government brought on him, with confidence in Him.

In the third psalm we have the enemies, the surroundings; and the One who is here for God is the blessed Lord Himself. So it is written, "I cried, and He heard." That is the great point with us. It is not merely crying because of sorrows and difficulties here, but it is having the sense in our souls that He hears.

Deliverance did not come at once. It did not, as we know. But David knew in his soul that the Lord had heard his cry. So he could wait calmly and expect His help in His own time and way… Whatever the outward circumstances, it is enough for the soul to be sure that God has bent down His ear and heard its cry.

Where does He hear me from? "Out of His holy hill." He is there. We are here with all our small concerns, our disappointments, our stumbles, our failures. And we find that He is there, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high, God's anointed King on His holy hill of Zion. In the psalm He says that is where He hears from — from His holy hill. Knowing that He hears us from His holy hill gives real rest. It is what makes us able to face ten thousand people drawn up against us without fear.

His prayer in verse 4 was the prayer of faith, with simple confidence that God would hear. And God did hear "from His holy hill" — that is, from the place of high exaltation, where holiness stays clean of the emptiness of human thought. Because God is holy, He loves what is good and hates evil… No wonder the word says "Selah" — pause and consider.

Prayer does not always change our circumstances. It changes us. Instead of being distressed and distracted we are kept in peace and sustained in the trial (Phil. 4:6-7). We see this again and again in the psalmist's own experience. In the middle of his trials he cries to the Lord and knows he is heard. The trials go on as before, yet God keeps him in peace. He sleeps, and God sustains him. He wakes to the full weight of the trial, but can face it without fear.

Read this way, this Psalm is full of profit. Yet it carries a higher meaning still. It is a prophetic picture of what the Holy One of God went through. Enemies who wanted His life closed in around Him, and He trusted God as One near at hand both to justify and to deliver.

Days of ease are not the best for us. Grasp that, and it will help us greatly. David's career gives striking proof of it. When his prosperity was at its high tide, he forgot the God whose goodness had followed him all his life. He could not rest, even though he lay on a curtained couch in a great palace. There his unsatisfied heart and restless eye led him into that foul sin that stained his name. But in the darkest hour of this strange history, his traitor son hunted him for his blood, and his only bed was the cold earth on the hillside. Still he could sing… Prosperity and the palace, with forgetfulness of God, gave birth to sin. Adversity, with the Lord at hand, produced the Psalm that still sings its music to our souls.

We venture to say this. David would never have written like this in Psalm 3, as he fled from Absalom, if he had not first written Psalm 51. That psalm was the outpouring of his heart in confession of his great sin. But he judged himself and acknowledged his sin. God restored him to communion with Himself, and so he could face the trouble that came on him under God's governing hand, with confidence in Him.

"I lay down and slept," he says. This is plainly not the sleep of someone who is only worn out, for whom sleep has become a necessity. Men have slept on the deck of a ship in battle; but that is not the sleep spoken of here. It is the peace of a known wall of defence all around that makes such sleep possible. Night has its special dangers in the middle of warfare, and in the darkness the imagination pictures more than may be there. Yet faith can rest and be quiet under the watchful eye of God, and the morning proves the assurance right: "I woke again, for the LORD sustained me."

He was so calmed by the assurance that God had heard him that he lay down and slept. His circumstances had not changed at all. But now he had the Lord between him and his circumstances, and that changed everything. So peace reigned in his soul, and he could lie down and sleep, for in truth the everlasting arms were underneath him. So he adds, "I woke again, for the LORD sustained me." What a blessed rest, which the sense of the Lord's protection and favour brings! And no sleep refreshes like the sleep that ends with the assurance, on waking, that the Lord has sustained.

Others have observed that our history every twenty-four hours (the period covered in these Psalms) is itself a kind of mystery. After spending the day, at night we lay aside our clothes and enter into sleep, the emblem of death. There we stay, with visions in the spirit, until the morning wakes us. Then we put on our clothes again, as we shall be clothed in the second morning — the morning of resurrection and glory.

"I lay down and slept... for the LORD sustained me." How forceful and how simple! Is it so with you, reader? Does all trouble find your heart resting on God as your Father? When trouble multiplies, is your spirit still at rest, your sleep sweet? Do you lie down, sleep, and rise as if all were peace around you, because you know God is there and disposes of everything? Is He like this between you and your troubles and your troublers? And if He is, what can reach you? The thousands of enemies make no difference if God is there… We are foolish about difficulties and trials. We measure them by our strength instead of God's, who is for us if we are His.

Sometimes a child of God is in a place where he is hurting under trials and sorrows that he has really brought on his own head. In His holy government God has laid His hand on him, and he has to reap what he has sown. This is perhaps the hardest test of all. David was in this plight when he wrote Psalm 3, for he was fleeing from his son Absalom. That was perhaps the darkest hour in his whole life, because every detail of it paid him back for what he had done.

We dare to say that David would never have written like this in Psalm 3, when he fled from Absalom, if he had not first written Psalm 51. That psalm poured out his heart in confessing his great sin. But he had judged himself and owned his sin, so God restored him to communion with Himself. That is why he could face the trouble God's government brought on him, and face it with confidence in Him.

So had all the enemies been driven away? No — but his fears had... Inside he was safe, like a city with a garrison, even though on the outside he still looked exposed.

When troubles come, whether one or many, the believer can find his "shield" in the Lord. A shield is the piece of armour a man holds between himself and his enemy. It is a blessed thing when faith sees that God is between us and all our troubles. Then it does not matter if the enemy grows to "ten thousands of people." If it is a question of us and the enemy, even one is too strong for us. If it is a question of God and the enemy, it makes no difference whether one or ten thousand stand against us.

Courage, divine courage, now filled the king's heart. It was no longer a question of appearances or numbers. He had no more supporters than when he escaped from Jerusalem. Humanly speaking, he had no chance of beating the forces lined up against him. But the Lord had shown Himself to his soul in blessing, and now he could quietly hope and wait for His salvation.

He is there, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high — God's anointed King on His holy hill of Zion. And in the psalm He says that this is where He hears from: from His holy hill. Knowing that He hears us out of His holy hill is what gives real rest. It is what makes a man able not to fear the ten thousands of people lined up around him, but to keep looking at Him.

The word used for "people" in the singular usually means Israel... In Psalm 3:6 the word is am, Israel.

Notice again that we are in the last days here. Though the godly man is surrounded by his enemies, he rests in peace. By prophecy he sees their destruction, and blessing on Israel. The psalm expresses confidence in God when hostile numbers press in and there is nothing else to fall back on. Christ has surely entered fully into this.

This faith is beautiful. It is real, fully warranted, and certain to be proved right in the end. Yet as we follow these psalms to their close, we find how many painful experiences may come first. The childlike instinct has to grow into the settled knowledge of a grown man. Only then does "I will not be afraid" become something the soul holds onto for good.

No enemy is so trying as the traitor among God's people; and the nearer to the king, the more pain, sorrow, and shame there is. The king had known more than one deep humiliation, but never one so heartbreaking, and so public, as this. Yet David's sorrow was far from pure. In Christ the same sorrow was purer and deeper in every way.

He looks to the Lord to arise and act for him. He is looking ahead to the time when God sets all his enemies aside in judgment. Then the Lord's people reach their final blessing.

Faith makes the things hoped for sure and solid, and so David saw all his enemies struck down and defeated. He was already enjoying the victory, because he knew that God had taken up his cause. It is a great thing for the soul to lean on the Lord with unshaken trust at the worst moment. It leaves everything in His hands. We so easily think something depends on our own energy and activity, and in this way we shut the Lord out.

"You have broken the teeth of the ungodly." This is a picture of breaking their power to devour those they counted as enemies. Psalm 22:13 says, "They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion." Acts 7:54 shows the other side of it. The religious leaders of Israel had arrested Stephen. They hated being exposed as enemies of God, and they "ground their teeth at him." Break a man's teeth, and he can no longer grind them, however much he would like to.

In verse 4 he had cried to the Lord for his own protection. Now he is sure of it, so he asks for the defeat of his enemies (v. 7). He even grasps the answer in advance: "For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone." Such a blow leaves a man far less bold. God answered this prayer more fully than David wanted. David had asked for Absalom to be spared (2 Sam. 18:5), and he was not.

In Psalm 3, verse 7, the Messiah and the godly share one common interest. The ungodly are active and in power. The right to rule belongs to the Messiah, but the ungodly still refuse it. Meanwhile the faithful few are oppressed and suffering.

The soul's experiences here, and the desires it expresses, show that the psalm has in view a godly Jew. He is waiting for blessing on earth in the coming kingdom age. That blessing comes when God judges the nations living at that time. The Christian's blessings are heavenly. He does not reach his full and final blessing through the judgment of his enemies. He reaches it when the Lord comes to take him to heaven.

The end is now reached, and the lesson of the whole psalm is proclaimed. It falls into two parts: "Salvation belongs to the Lord: Your blessing is upon Your people." Notice first that a more accurate rendering is: "Salvation is from, or of, the Lord." This is the very lesson Jonah learned in the belly of the fish. Remember what happened: the moment the words passed from his lips, the Lord spoke to the fish, and it threw Jonah up onto the dry land. To teach them this precious truth is the object of all God's dealings with His people.

Through all their sin and failure, as with David, Jonah, and Peter, God always has this end in view. The lesson must be learned; but oh, what sorrowful experiences many of God's saints have to pass through in order to gain it. They have to be sifted, broken down, and disciplined, so that they may discover there is no help for them but in God... Do not rest, dear reader, until you have learned this blessed truth, for it is the secret of a calm, victorious, and holy life.

"Salvation is of the Lord," from first to last. It is free, unconditional, everlasting salvation. It reaches down to where the sinner is in all his guilt, ruin, and degradation. It lifts him up to where God is, in all His holiness, truth, and righteousness. And it lasts for ever. God the Father is its source, God the Son is its channel, and God the Holy Spirit is the power of application and enjoyment. It is all of God, from beginning to end, from the foundation to the topmost stone, from everlasting to everlasting.

It is not doubt but faith that made him say, "Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek; You have broken the teeth of the wicked." His confidence runs ahead of the facts, and in the spirit of prophecy sees the end from the beginning. "To the Lord belongs salvation; Your blessing is upon Your people." The Christian can sing an even higher song. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

The eventual triumph of the Lord is certain: "Salvation belongs to the Lord" (v. 8). That triumph also includes the blessing of all His people, for they are just as secure from defeat as their Lord is. Selah!

Do we really understand, deep in our souls, what God is doing? In everything He puts us through He has only one aim for us, and only one aim for Christ. As to us it is blessing; as to Christ it is glory... The blessed Lord glorified God in this world, and God has glorified Him in heavenly glory. So He has all the glory, and we have all the blessing. His glory is the measure of our blessing... The blessing we are set in here answers to the glory He is in at God's right hand.

This psalm, like many others, goes on showing the kindness of God in the face of trial and persecution. It is addressed to the Chief Musician, who is certainly the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 2:12 shows this, where the Lord says, "in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." It is He who takes the lead in the musical offering of praise to God. The first verse is addressed to the Chief Musician. It is a prayer in which the psalmist knows he is speaking to the "God of my righteousness."

The first part of the psalm declares that the righteous One is for the righteous. The key-note here is righteousness. The "God of my righteousness" is the God to whom all my righteousness looks — as it must, if it is to be righteousness. God, known by the soul, is the only basis of all that is right, and He makes it sure. Apart from that, all virtues are only zeros, which gain value only when a digit stands in front of them.

This psalm gives us another very important principle. It is the effect of a good conscience when we call on God in our distress. It is not a good conscience in the sense of being justified from sin. It is a conscience that is good in practice, and it gives confidence towards God. If our heart does not condemn us, says the apostle, we have confidence towards God. "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness." He does not say, Justify me, O God of my righteousness, but, Hear me… It is not that God will not hear us out of deep sorrow for sin; this is another thing. Integrity of heart gives confidence in the day of trouble, because the spirit sees God.

"You have enlarged me when I was in distress." The word for "distress" in the original is the same as the word for "trouble" in Psalm 3:1. It seems to carry the thought of tightness, narrowness, pressure.

No "distress" can be anything but troublesome and painful. Yet if God takes it into His hands and uses it as a press, it greatly enlarges us. Trouble in itself does not enlarge; it is going through trouble with God that enlarges. It is when He takes up the trouble and skilfully uses it as a press that the blessing results.

This prayer also relates to God's previous answer, when He had relieved the psalmist in his distress. For this reason he can count on the mercy of the Lord in hearing his prayer (v. 1). Do we not also find this? As God answers our prayers again and again, our confidence grows that He hears when our need drives us to pray.

Distress is not sent from God for the sake of suffering but for the sake of enlargement. In times of distress, God sympathises with His own.

Pressure crushes us down and narrows the way. Yet God's mercy makes up for it, where we own Him as the God of our circumstances and take those circumstances as His ordering. Then the pressure broadens our spiritual vision. It enlarges the heart toward others. It increases the knowledge of God.

The expression "sons of men" means men of high rank. It refers to the great ones of the earth who have rejected God's Anointed. The King was Israel's distinctive glory. In rejecting the King, the sons of men had turned the glory of the godly remnant into shame. As a result the nation was given over to vanity and a lie. Their own counsels and ways would prove to be nothing but empty deceptions.

It was not merely evil done to a man, but to him whom God had set over His people to be His king. Yet their heart went out to a worthless thing, their zeal was spent on a false object.

In Psalm 4, David, enlarged in soul, learned to tell the difference between the "godly" and the "sons of men." The sons of men turned his "glory" into shame. Jehovah was David's glory, as the third Psalm has told us. But Jehovah was nothing to them — indeed, worse than nothing in their eyes. Vanity was what appealed to their hearts, and the things they chased after were nothing but a lie. From all of that, those who feared God were separate.

The Hebrew word is commonly translated 'lies.' Psalm 4:2; Psalm 5:6. The word 'leasing' comes from the Anglo-Saxon leas, meaning 'false.'

Knowing this experience of God's favour, the psalmist turns to plead with the sons of men. They know nothing of that favour. But they do know the opposite experience in the paths they have chosen. He can appeal to them as consciously loving vanity, and seeking after a lie — after what never fulfils the promise it makes. Surely this is knowledge enough to stop men mocking and insulting the believer's glory, which rests on experiences they can know nothing about.

"How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?" It is almost astounding how much time people give to what has no lasting value at all. They give it to what is simply false! Does experience with such things not teach them that there is no real satisfaction in them at all? How long indeed!

In Psalm 4:2-5 David had appealed to the ungodly to turn from evil and put their trust in the Lord. But in Psalm 5 there is a clear change. There he appeals to God against the ungodly. This surely shows that the ungodly have refused the appeal of the grace of God, and no hope is held out for them.

This psalm gives us another very important principle. It shows what a good conscience does when we call on God in our distress. This is not the good conscience of a person justified from sin. It is a conscience kept good in daily life, and it gives confidence towards God… His glory and honour came from God. How true this was of Christ! Man turned it into shame, and sought after vanity. Still, under the government of Him who cannot deny Himself, one thing remained forever true: He has set apart the godly for Himself.

It is not the offended dignity of the king. The one who receives grace looks for grace, even if he is a king — and all the more, because Jehovah set him apart to Himself.

The meaning of the word is to be separated or set apart for a purpose. There is a verse in Psalm 4 which conveys the thought: "The LORD has set apart the godly for Himself."

Psalm 4 is about depending on God by calling on Him. In verse 3, God marks out the godly, not the nation.

Why is there such a difference between the godly and the ungodly? Because the Lord has set apart the godly as His own possession. If the ungodly would only weigh this serious fact, they might stop turning the believer's glory into shame. The psalmist is not ashamed to insist before unbelievers that the Lord will hear his prayers.

This psalm gives us another very important principle. It shows what a good conscience does when we call on God in our distress. This is not the good conscience of being justified from sin. It is a good conscience in practice, and it gives us confidence towards God… Yet one thing stayed true and unchanged: God rules, He cannot deny Himself, and He has set apart the godly for Himself… This is always true. But when we walk in godliness we have that confidence now. Our eye sees God clearly, and then we know He will hear us.

If he prayed, he counted on the answer. He does not plead the offended dignity of a king, nor the claims of a priest set apart to God. A man who has received grace looks for grace, even if he is a king — and all the more because the LORD set him apart for Himself. Who can tell how fully Christ entered into this?

God has set apart the godly one for Himself, and first of all the gracious Lord Himself. Those who are renewed see it by spiritual understanding.

The bride's garden is closed to everyone else. The royal seal is on the King's fountain, and the living waters flow for Him alone. "Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself." (Ps. 4:3) No stranger may tamper with what carries the King's seal… He cannot accept a divided heart.

We cannot and dare not walk with the ungodly… But let us be careful not to separate from the godly. Psalm 4:3 tells me that "the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself." That is the comfort of the man of God in his distress. God cannot be against the godly… But if I reject the godly, I am at odds with the One who has set them "apart for Himself."

"The LORD has set apart the godly for Himself." If that is the root of confidence, will you always hold it as certain that "the LORD hears when I call to Him"? Right now there may be no doubt, and there should be none. But will it be as clear on a dark and cloudy day as it is in today's sunshine?… When the storm stirs up the depths of the heart, will everything it brings up be "godliness"?

The psalm shows us beautifully how this confidence is kept. The soul learns that, while failure surrounds it on every side, God has set apart the godly for Himself. He hears their cry. He alone can sustain the soul.

Finally the psalmist warns them to "Tremble and sin not" (as one translation puts it). Let them tremble before a righteous God and give up their sins. Let the loneliness of the night hours be a time for self-judgment. Then, having repented of their evil, let them offer sacrifices of righteousness and put their trust in the Lord.

The Hebrew word translated "stand in awe" means "to be moved," or "to be disturbed." So it sometimes means "to be moved with anger," or "to be angry" (see Proverbs 29:9; Isaiah 37:28). It also means "to be moved with grief" (2 Samuel 19:1), or "to be moved with fear," "to tremble," or "to quake." So the context must show which feeling is meant. We conclude that the English translation, rather than the old Greek version, expresses the sense of the Hebrew. Paul citing the Greek wording of Psalm 4:4 (if it is a quotation) does not endorse that translation of the psalm. The Spirit led him to use the words in Ephesians 4:26, and there they are inspired words, rightly given in English as, "Be angry and do not sin."

There is such a thing as being rightly angry. But that anger is indignation against the evil, not against the person doing it. Behind it there is grief because of the evil. So we read of the Lord that He looked on the wicked leaders of the synagogue "with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart" (Mark 3:5). The anger of the flesh always has self in view. It is not grief because of evil, but resentment against someone who has been offensive. Anger against evil will lead to grief that finds its resource in turning to God, where the soul finds rest.

In the dead of night let them meditate within their own hearts and be still. The constant whirl of activity in so many people is really an effort to silence the serious questions of conscience. They need some time of silence before God to search their own hearts. If they did this, it might lead them to judge their sinful ways and turn to the Lord.

He tells them only to shut out the empty thoughts that pull at them, to withdraw into themselves, and to consult only their own hearts on their bed at night. The pursuit of pleasure only shows that there is no enjoyment of happiness. It may kill time and keep them from thinking. But if they did think, they would find that the weariness and emptiness they felt were the necessary fruit of departing from God, of sin which had ruined everything. Their own hearts held this secret, and would tell it, if they would only take them as their advisers.

The godly man, as here, may go to bed and sleep (v. 8). But he warns others to go to bed, to talk there with their own hearts, and to search their spirits (v. 4). He knows his own full right to rest in God undisturbed, for "God gives to His beloved sleep." The Lord Jesus knew this in experience, even when winds and waves tossed the ship on the sea of Galilee. (See Mark 4)

Finally the warning comes: "Tremble and sin not." Let them tremble before a righteous God and give up their sins. Let the loneliness of the night hours be a time for self-judgment. And having repented of their evil, let them offer sacrifices of righteousness and put their trust in the Lord.

We read, "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!" Here the godly man looks for relief out of distress, because God stays true to the way He has revealed Himself. That is what he treats as his title to be helped, while he walks in fear and faith. The sacrifices of righteousness carry the same force. They are sacrifices offered according to the true character in which God had revealed Himself — in Israel, of course, according to the law, but with the reverence, purpose, and honesty of heart that suited coming to God this way, and that suited knowing what He was.

Conscience would then convince them that sin is real, and that no form of ritual service could ever deal with it. They must offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put their trust in the Lord. These two things are very much the lesson of the first two psalms.

But the Scriptures speak of other sacrifices too — or perhaps of the same sacrifices described in another way. Psalm 4:5 and Deuteronomy 33:19 speak of "sacrifices of righteousness." Psalm 51:17 says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." It may be that the sweetest fragrance rises to God from a broken spirit. It may also be that some of the sorrows of God's people that puzzle us now have this fragrance in view.

Then they might indeed offer acceptable sacrifices to God — not the sacrifices of the wicked, but the sacrifices of righteousness (v. 5), which Psalm 51:17 explains. In keeping with this comes the call to "put your trust in the Lord." This is a decided action of faith. It is not just one act of faith, but an attitude taken up for good.

The Lord does not fail to direct the gracious godly man (verses 4, 5). So self-judgment, honest worship, and confidence are all nurtured.

There will be power to act on others also — calling the people to the mountain to offer the sacrifices of righteousness. All of this rests on the fact that they themselves will draw on the riches of the seas and on hidden treasures. The principle is always the same. It is our privilege to rejoice in the Lord, whatever comes, and to draw from those eternal springs and hidden treasures that are found in Himself. Then our souls will be ready to call others to taste and see that the Lord is good.

The pursuit of vanity does not bring any satisfaction to the sons of men. The very reverse. It leaves them sadly discontented. They end up in just the same frame of mind as Solomon, who came to the conclusion that everything was empty and left the spirit frustrated. So their cry is, "Who will show us any good?" They ask it with the air of people who believe there is no real answer, because there is no real good to find. Many asked that question, just as many said of David that there was no hope for him in God. Both the claim and the question clearly sprang from the same root of complete unbelief. Yet there was help for David in God, and only there. Absolute and eternal good exists, and some can show it when challenged. David accepted the challenge and went on to show the good. He knew it not only in theory, but by experience.

The soul is always pushed to the point of saying, "Who will show us any good?" There is nothing that stays as the support of the soul. You find yourself outside Eden; God seems not to be for us; Satan is against us. You have to be driven there to understand that everything around is far from God, with no good to be seen in yourself and no resource outside yourself.

We have nasa, "to lift up." It can mean to forgive — to lift the sins away in the mind of the person offended. It can also mean to show favour by lifting up the face of the person being favoured. Ps. 4:6.

When the soul rests entirely on the Eternal and has nothing but God, it enters into peace and joy. It is easy to bless God when the circumstances are as we wish. But if God leaves us there, He leaves us far from Him, taken up with the things that perish. If man is content with what he finds here below, he is content with death, with what passes away.

The Son of God, of whom Solomon was a picture, alone can answer this hard question. Listen to His apostle in Phil. 3:8: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." The heart of such a man was clearly at rest. In the knowledge of Christ he had found eternal good. Apart from Him the search for satisfaction is only chasing the wind. The WORK of Christ is God's answer to the guilty man, and the PERSON of Christ to the disappointed man.

No "good" is to be found in the darkness of this world: to get it we must stand in the light of God. David knew this, but how much more should we know it, since we are in the light of His face, fully shining in Christ. In the coming of our Lord Jesus the very face of God has indeed been lifted upon us, and not merely His "back parts" as in the case of Moses.

The mocking words "who will show us any good?" — the challenge of unbelief — are met by prayer and the assurance of faith. "Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O LORD!" We shall find later that this is a favourite prayer of the Jewish saints in the tribulation. (See Psalm 80.)

Evil is everywhere and the wicked appear to prosper, so many are tempted to say, "Who will show us some good?" Faith sees differently. The favour of God — the light of His face — belongs to a suffering few, and it is far better than the outward prosperity of the wicked.

When the soul rests entirely on the Eternal and has nothing but God, it enters into peace and joy. It is easy to bless God when the circumstances are as we wish. But if God leaves us there, He leaves us far from Him, preoccupied with the things that perish.

First, there is gladness. But note carefully where that gladness comes from. Its source is God, so it does not depend on the things of earth. It is gladness in the heart, not the shallow, frothy kind the world deals in. It was God who put it into the heart of David.

God is the satisfying portion of His people. He is not only a "shield about" them, but a "light" — a glory within the soul, true gladness. The soul does not produce it, and neither does man's work.

"You have put more joy in my heart" (Ps. 4:7). Worldly joys put gladness on the face. The rich Corinthians "boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart" (2 Cor. 5:12). But the Spirit of God puts gladness into the heart. Divine joys are heart joys.

Wine, the grape, is a picture of human joy and human strength. Harvest time always meant celebration, songs and gladness. Workers gathered the grapes, and the juice burst from the vats. It was the time of joy… it was only reminding them of the happiest times in nature, the fullest natural joy, and comparing that with a fuller, deeper joy.

When earthly blessings increase, people are usually very happy. But a sense of the nearness of the Lord gives a far deeper gladness than any increase of material riches can give. This stays true even when someone lacks material things badly. The prophet Habakkuk says so plainly: "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation."

Grain and wine make the hearts of men glad. But He could say, "You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." … No men in Philippi were happier than Paul and Silas, though men had beaten them cruelly and locked them in a dungeon. They had nothing to comfort them but the love of God. That was more than all the rest of the city had, and it filled their lips with praise.

The fourth Psalm is linked to the third. The third is "a Morning Psalm" and the fourth "an Evening Hymn."

For this reason the psalmist can say, "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety" (v.8). This is not the sleep of exhaustion, but that of confiding faith. Those whose riches grow are more likely to lie awake at night. They worry about how to keep their wealth, or how to spend it.

Faith sees that God shines His face on a small group of suffering people who stay true to Him. That favour is far better than the outward success of the wicked. God's favour brings a gladness into the heart that is far greater than the enjoyment of things we own here and now. Enjoying this favour, the soul can lie down in peace and safety. The evil of the world no longer keeps it anxious.

And then we can tell of the gladness and peace and safety, which have been brought to us by the gospel. Only perhaps we should reverse their order, and speak of safety, peace and gladness.

Third, the presence of the Lord kept him safe. Others might threaten him and put him in danger, but the Lord, and the Lord alone, made him dwell in safety.

David wrote in Ps. 4:8: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." One older translation puts a different sense in its margin: "You, Lord, though I am alone, make me dwell in safety." Elijah at the brook Cherith could have said the same. No wild animal or enemy could harm him. He was alone, but he was there because the Lord had told him to be, and he stayed under the Lord's watchful eye.

The godly man, as here, can go to bed and sleep (v. 8). But he tells others to go to bed and there talk with their own hearts and search themselves (v. 4). He knows he has every right to rest in God, undisturbed, for "He gives to His beloved sleep." The Lord Jesus lived this out. He slept while wind and waves tossed the boat on the Sea of Galilee. (See Mark 4)

Christian, He gives that pillow to us, and we may find sweet rest in the middle of trouble. He says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27), and He also said "My Father and your Father, my God and your God" (John 20:17). And if fear rises in the heart, and the cry breaks out, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?", the answer is this: "casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

Psalm 5 brings this before us: "Give ear to my words, O Lord." This is not a general request. The words are weighed before Him, and the thoughts too. The soul's thinking goes on in His presence — "Consider my meditation." Self-will has no room to press its own aim on the Lord when the prayer is, as in Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight."

The point here is not so much the act of directing prayer to the Lord. It is the ordered, watchful state of soul that claims His ear and attention. Evil may be all around, and the soul knows that "He has no pleasure in wickedness." But the soul is not taken up with the evil. It is taken up with the Lord, and this produces holy fear.

The psalm opens by expressing the soul's daily dependence on God. The appeal to God as "my King" involves the government of God, just as "my God" suggests the character of God.

The third Psalm expresses trust in God as a shield; the fourth prays to the God of righteousness. "Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God." This is a fresh and more intense prayer, because evil increases and abounds. The cry is to God as King. David calls Him King, as the Jewish remnant will pray to the King and look for the coming of the King. The Church looks for the Lord, for the Bridegroom.

Psalm 5 presents the cry of the godly. It appeals to the character of God, which must answer to the character of the godly, as the very reason He must hear him and judge the wicked. If the godly love godliness, surely the Lord does; if the godly hate wickedness, surely He does.

Can David have confidence that God hears him? Yes indeed, for he bases his confidence on the very character of God, who takes no pleasure in wickedness, and cannot allow evil any place in His presence (v. 4). His patience with evil is not by any means indulgence, nor indifference.

It expresses the cry of the godly to God for judgment — a feeling that belongs to the Jewish position, and wholly right when the day draws near for God to vindicate His people... In due time He will hear, and He will judge the wicked on the earth when His kingdom comes in open power. We who are one with Christ in heaven look for Him to take us to be where He is, and we pray for grace as He did, even for His blinded murderers.

If it is right for God to destroy, as it surely is, it is not wrong in itself to ask Him to do so. More than that: here it is a Spirit-taught prayer, and God answers it. As the Lord says, "And will not God give justice to His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long over them? I tell you, He will give justice to them speedily."

The psalm opens by expressing the soul's daily dependence on God... Calling God "my King" brings in the government of God, just as "my God" points to the character of God.

God has spoken of Himself as King so often. We cannot think He would have done that unless it mattered for us to know Him in this character.

It is a fresh and more intense prayer, because evil increases and abounds. The cry is to God as King. David calls Him King, as the Jewish remnant will pray to the King and look for the coming of the King. The Church looks for the Lord, for the Bridegroom. Scripture never calls the Lord Jesus Christ the King of the Church.

It voices the cry of the godly to God for judgment. That was a typically Jewish feeling, and it is wholly right when the day draws near for God to vindicate His people... In its due time He will surely hear and judge the wicked on the earth when His public kingdom comes... We, who are one with Christ in heaven, look for Him to come and take us to be where He is, and we pray for grace as He did, even for those who blindly murdered Him.

If it is right for God to destroy, and it surely is, then asking Him to do so is not wrong in itself... So, when Elijah asked for fire from heaven to consume those that were sent to take him, the fire came. God put His seal upon that prayer, terrible as it was. Yet the disciples asked the same thing about the Samaritans: "Lord, shall we call down fire from heaven to consume them, as Elijah did?" The Lord rebuked them instead of backing them: "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of."

Notice that these early psalms, like others, picture the godly under the pressure of evil all around them. They turn to the Lord because of it — not as a last resort, but as their first thought... Evil may be everywhere, and they know that "He has no pleasure in wickedness." Yet the soul is taken up not with the evil but with the Lord, and this produces holy fear.

David may not have grasped the full meaning of all he wrote. Yet verse 2 shows that he is really speaking to the Lord Jesus, who is both his King and his God. The same truth is often clear in the Psalms.

You need to remember that in prayer you are speaking to God... Prayer is the heart turned toward God in earnest requests for the blessing we need... He is God as well as Father. So a spirit of reverence fits us, and no true prayer is without it. We should not forget that the privileges of grace never remove or wipe out our responsibilities as creatures.

Notice that these early psalms, like others, picture the godly under the pressure of evil all around them. They turn to the Lord because of it. This is not a last resort but their first thought: "In the morning You will hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I will order my prayer to You, and will watch." (See the Revised Version.) The thought here is not so much the fact of directing the prayer to the Lord. It is the ordered, watchful state of soul that claims His ear and attention. Evil may be all around, but the soul is not occupied with evil. It is occupied with the Lord, and that produces holy fear.

God is who He is, so the prayer of the one who asks must take account of His character. The words become "ordered" words, spoken as in His presence. There is earnestness, and expectancy of the mercy he asks for.

The Psalmist's words give the meaning, "In the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and will watch" (Ps. 5:3). So do the prophet's words: "I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint." (Hab. 2:1.) This watching comes from two things together: a sense of our own weakness, and a sense of His wise and holy guardianship and guidance.

Someone has written somewhere, 'Look in — distress; look out — distraction; look up — delight'. The psalmist knew where to look. He did not look up until he had first looked to the One his heart desired, in absolute confident prayer. That prayer was the expression of complete, utter dependence on Him.

The psalm opens with an expression of the soul's daily dependence on God. The appeal to God as "my King" involves the government of God, just as "my God" suggests the character of God.

David may not have understood the significance of all he wrote. Yet verse 2 shows that he is really addressing the Lord Jesus, who is both his King and his God. This same truth is often evident in the Psalms.

Verse 8 of the previous psalm spoke of David lying down to sleep in peace, confident of the Lord's safekeeping. Now in the morning (v. 3) he commits himself again to the Lord's preserving mercy. He looks up, above the level of the circumstances that surrounded him.

It is a very good habit to have our hearts and thoughts occupied with the Lord and His Word from the moment we wake in the morning… You will always recognise a spiritual and fruitful believer. His lifestyle is an organised lifestyle. Many men of God in the Bible got up early in the morning to do what the Lord required of them. Of the Lord Jesus we read that He rose "very early in the morning, while it was still dark," to pray. This is indeed the secret of the victorious life — a life of prayer and study of the Word of God.

Psalm 5 sets out the cry of the godly. God's character must answer to the character of the godly. So the psalm appeals to that character: it requires Him to hear the godly man and judge the wicked. If the godly love godliness, surely the Lord does; if the godly hate wickedness, surely He does.

The second part dwells on His nature as set against evil. He is not like one of the mighty ones of the nations, who combine power with pleasure in wickedness. Evil cannot dwell with Him for even the briefest moment.

Can David have confidence that God hears him? Yes indeed. He bases his confidence on the very character of God, who takes no pleasure in wickedness and cannot allow evil any place in His presence. His patience with evil is not by any means indulgence, nor indifference.

His power clearly has no limit. Yet His love governs Him, and in matters of morality there are certain things He cannot do. "He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). "God cannot be tempted with evil" (James 1:13)… His own nature governs Him so completely that He can do nothing opposed to justice. He has not merely bound Himself to use His almighty power in line with justice. Justice is part of His moral nature, so He cannot act otherwise.

Look at God as righteousness, as having "purer eyes than to see evil". A true sense of sin would make us feel that we could not come into His presence. Defiled as we are, we could not appear before His holy majesty. There is no true sense of sin, no real effect of His presence on the conscience, until we feel this… In justice, He ought not to allow such people in His presence. But Christ gives Himself for these sins. Having put them away, He appears in the presence of God in the power and worth of that work.

The sense of God's holiness produces fear of the Holy One. Only abundant mercy allows anyone to come to God's house… And how shall we have "confidence to enter the holy places," or draw near to God at all, except "by the blood of Jesus"?

He could not dwell where evil was deliberately and openly approved. Blessed be His name, He can and does bear with weakness. But His eyes are too pure to look at evil, and He cannot look on wrongdoing. Evil cannot dwell with Him, nor can He have fellowship with it. It would mean denying His very nature; and He cannot deny Himself.

Psalm 5 presents the cry of the godly. God's character must answer to the character of the godly, and the psalmist appeals to it as requiring God to hear him and judge the wicked. If the godly love godliness, surely Jehovah does; if the godly hate wickedness, surely He does.

On Psalm 5:5, where the verb is yatsab, Delitzsch writes: "It is said of such people that they cannot keep their position when they come into view before the eye of God."

Before that throne, then, the sinner in his sins cannot stand. "The wicked will not stand in the judgment." The point here is not that his standing has been a bad one, or that he must change it. On the contrary, the psalm plainly states that as a sinner, as a foolish person, he has no standing before a God of judgment — that is, before His throne.

His patience with evil is not indulgence, and it is not indifference. Proud boasters will not stand in His sight. Those who do evil can only expect hatred, because of the hateful character they have formed. Those who speak falsehood must reap the result of it: destruction.

The godly recognise God's holiness and share it by hating what is evil. His confidence is in a God who hates sin and evil, a holy God. He has no pleasure in wickedness or in folly. Falsehood He hates and liars He will destroy. Such are the enemies of God and his enemies also.

God's government has a standing rule: the foolish (or the proud) will not be established in His sight, for His eyes are too pure to look on evil. But the grand fulfilment of this truth waits for the coming of the day of Christ. When Jehovah's arm awakes, it will overthrow the proud in the imaginations of their heart.

God has set the godly apart for Himself, so of necessity He "hates all evildoers." Here, for the first time, the psalmist pleads against them, and no longer with them. It is one of those psalms whose words most Christians find hard to make their own. No wonder they cannot square "Destroy them, O God" with their Lord's "Father, forgive them."

The wicked cannot stand, but every believer has a standing that is unassailable. What is the ground of this standing? Is it his good experience, his enjoyment of divine things, his energy in service, his happy state? Not at all! He stands in grace — the grace revealed in the gospel.

Psalm 5 presents the cry of the godly. His prayer appeals to the character of God, which must answer to the character of the godly. That character makes it necessary for God to hear him and to judge the wicked. If the godly love godliness, certainly Jehovah does; if the godly hate wickedness, certainly He does.

The psalmist thinks first of God. His prayer rests on this: the righteous character of God makes it impossible for God to pass over sin, and the government of God demands that He judge the wicked. God cannot take pleasure in wickedness, and He cannot let evil exist in His presence. So under God's government the man who does evil must come under judgment, and under the abhorrence of God (4-6).

"The bloodthirsty and deceitful man" is the man whose wickedness goes as far as murder. He uses every clever trick to hide his evil, but the Lord will expose it, for He abhors such characters (v. 6).

By being bloodthirsty, they show themselves to be against people; by being deceitful, they reveal their hatred toward God.

The second part dwells on God's nature as set against evil. He is not like one of the mighty rulers of the nations, who joins power with pleasure in wickedness. Evil cannot live with Him for even the shortest moment. The boaster, who claims more than is true, cannot stand before the searching eyes of the God who knows all things. And He hates those who do what is worthless and empty. In the end those who act out a lie perish, and the righteous Judge shows His abhorrence of the violence that men join to their deceit.

In the book of Psalms prophecy describes him by his character, as "the man of the earth" (Ps. 10:18) and as "the bloody and deceitful man" (Ps. 5:6). These descriptions fit wicked people in general in the coming crisis. Yet there is one person, and only one, to whom they can refer in the fullest sense. It is the character of the Antichrist, and not his person, that these and other Psalms set before us.

The godly recognize God's holiness and share it by hating iniquity. The godly man's confidence is in a holy God who hates sin and iniquity. He hates falsehood, and He will destroy liars. The bloody and deceitful man mentioned in verse 6 is the first mention of the man of sin, the false Christ, who will persecute Jewish believers in the future. And how beautiful it is to see faith breaking through the gathering storm clouds again. Faith sees the final victory.

The Jew has his portion on the earth. He "looks for the removal of the violent and deceitful man, in order for his own comfort and rest. Not so the Christian. He leaves the violent man here and goes to heaven" (JND). This explains the prayer for judgment on enemies found in this psalm and in many others. The Christian is to pray for his enemies. So the psalm does not present Christian experience, though the righteous character of God and the principles of His government, set out in the psalm, remain true for ever.

How beautiful is the difference in one who has the true fear of God before his eyes! He comes boldly into the house of God in the multitude of God's mercy. He gains entrance only by God's mercy. Yet in the confidence of that mercy he is at perfect liberty, so his worship is spontaneous and real. In New Testament language, he worships the Father "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23).

The godly recognize God's holiness and share it by hating iniquity. His confidence is in a God who hates sin and iniquity, a holy God... And how beautiful it is to see faith breaking through the gathering storm clouds again — "But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you." Faith sees the final victory.

As for the godly man, the psalmist recognizes that he can only enter into God's house — the presence of God — on the ground of mercy.

Our souls, if we are saints of God, will breathe, "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared" — or worshipped (Psalm 130:3-4). All service of the name of our God comes of this; and our thankful acceptance of forgiveness... is our entrance into His temple, our taking up of that character in which alone we can do service in the heavenly temple, that is, of pardoned sinners.

Evil may be all around, and there is the awareness that God is "not a God who delights in wickedness." But the soul is not occupied with evil; it is occupied with the Lord. So holy fear grows — "I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you." This does not produce indifference to evil. It produces the fitting conduct toward it.

But note that Psalm 5 shows how the Spirit of Christ looks past present circumstances and on to what is prophetic. In David's time there was no house and no temple. Circumstances may have prompted the words used in the Psalms and elsewhere, but those words go far beyond them.

Furthermore the psalmist worships toward Jehovah's holy temple. This shows that the godly man is not yet established in the land. Like Daniel, though not in the temple, he prays toward it, in the faith of Solomon's prayer. Solomon had asked that God would hear His people if they prayed in their time of trouble. They were to pray toward the city that God had chosen, and toward the house built for the glory of His Name.

The psalmist has been in God's presence as a worshiper. He wants no contrary attitude when he walks before men, so he calls on God to lead him in His righteousness. Every believer should desire and pray for a walk that matches his worship.

As for the godly man, the psalmist recognizes that he can only enter into God's house — the presence of God — on the ground of mercy. Nevertheless, in the presence of his enemies, he looks to God to lead him in righteousness, and that God's way may be made plain before his face (7-8).

The psalmist has been in the presence of God as a worshiper. He wants no contrary attitude when he walks before men. So he calls on God to lead him in His righteousness. Every believer should desire and pray for a walk that matches his worship.

Sheep are passive creatures and can do little for themselves. Believers are the same in the work of their salvation. In themselves they know no more of the way of salvation than sheep do. So they cannot walk unless they are taught and led. "Teach me, O LORD" (Ps. 119:33); "Lead me in Your truth" (Ps. 25:5). Like a blind man holding out his hand to his guide, so they ask: "Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness" (Ps. 5:8). Leading may suppose some willingness; but we must be drawn: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). There is a word of special grace that is more than teaching, leading and drawing. That word is leaning: "Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her Beloved?" There is a word beyond even that, and it is bearing. When the good Shepherd has found the lost sheep, "he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (Luke 15:5).

This does not make us indifferent to evil. It produces the conduct that suits it: "Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of those who observe me; make Your way straight before my face." The Lord has a way of His own, and His will is good and acceptable. But we need to learn it in the presence of watchful enemies, so that we do not dishonour Him.

He feels his weakness under the gaze of those keen and hostile eyes that watch for him to stumble. So he prays that God will lead him along His own path, made straight before his face. That path is the only way of security and peace and power, for God is in it.

God delights to make His way straight before our eyes. It is a way that turns neither to the right nor to the left. It goes straight on toward the Lord Jesus in glory. If we set our eyes on Him, we shall not turn aside from single-hearted devotion to the Lord. Such a path would be a clear rebuke to those whose words hold no faithfulness and whose inner motives were only to destroy.

Prayer for guidance stands first: "Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies." The psalm then describes what these enemies will be and what their character is, above all the future enemies of Israel. Prayer for judgment follows.

Surely every believer should desire and pray for a walk consistent with his worship. God delights to make His way straight before our eyes. It is a way that turns neither to the right nor to the left, but goes straight on toward the Lord Jesus in glory. Such a path would be a clear reproof to them. There is no faithfulness in their mouths, and their inward motives were only those of destruction. How did David know these motives? Because they showed themselves by their words, their throat being a virtual grave.

The ungodly are marked by corruption before men and rebellion toward God. Flattery is on their tongues; rebellion is in their hearts. The godly man looks to God to carry out judgment on them (9-10).

These enemies of the righteous lie all around. Their tongue is smooth but slippery, their throat a yawning grave, with depths inside that no one can fathom. Such is the divine picture — and we may be very sure, therefore, that it is not an exaggerated one — of man away from God. What a swamp to swallow up the unwary! What a contradiction to the fixed, clear certainty of the truth of God!

Much of what man says is hypocritical. Still, it is true in the main that when he speaks he expresses what he is, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). So we read, "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive; the venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness" (Rom. 3:13-14). All these things come out of the heart, the seat of life, "and they defile a person" (Matt. 15:18).

Man is brought into court. God brings forward a series of charges He has against him. They are not taken from one psalm or prophet only, but pieces collected from different parts of the Scriptures, so as to give the different characters of man. Some charges might seem to be spoken only against notorious sinners: "Their throat is an open grave." But others must apply to all. Take verse 17: "The way of peace they have not known." What man of Adam's race ever knew the way of peace? See how he winds up the trial: "Every mouth stopped, and all the world become guilty before God."

The throat discloses the utter corruption of the flesh — it is an open grave. This corruption shows itself by lying lips.

The law speaks of what comes out of the mouth of the unconverted sinner, and we shudder at its faithful testimony. The law speaks to the man under it, so that his mouth may be stopped. A gateway open for such a flood of wickedness had better be shut up forever. But if faith purifies the heart, and grace fills the lips, what flows out will be a delight to the hearer.

The psalmist thinks first of God. His prayer rests on the righteous character of God, which makes it impossible for God to pass over sin. And the government of God demands that God judge the wicked. God is such that He cannot take pleasure in wickedness, or allow evil to exist in His presence. So under God's government the man who does evil must come under God's judgment, and God loathes him.

As we have seen, the psalmist no longer prays for men who are set in their wickedness. He prays instead that God will bring on them the judgment they deserve: "let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out" (v. 10). This will happen in the end. It is the only answer God has left where grace is refused and rebellion goes on.

Treat them as guilty, O God; they shall fall from their counsels; in the multitude of their transgressions cast them down; for they have rebelled against you.

The prayer, "Destroy them, O God; for they have rebelled against you," is not wrong when you test it by what is right in itself. If it is right for God to destroy, and it is, then it is not wrong to ask Him to do it. More than that, this prayer is taught by the Spirit, and God answers it. As the Lord says: "And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? … I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily." (Luke 18:7-8.) So when the prophet Elijah asked for fire from heaven to burn up the men sent to arrest him, the fire came. God put His seal on that prayer, terrible as it was.

We do well to remember this. These verses (9, 10) describe the moral state of sinners when sin has come to its full growth and is ripe for judgment. The New Testament quotes that description (Rom. 3:13), along with other passages like it, to show what human nature is like once it has turned from God, according to the verdict of the law. "They have rebelled against you" is the witness of the Spirit of truth and holiness, when He calls for judgment to go ahead against those who work evil.

The psalm shows plainly how different the earthly blessing of the godly Jew is from the heavenly blessings of the Christian. The Jew has his portion on the earth, so he "looks for the removal of the violent and deceitful man, so that he himself may have comfort and rest. Not so the Christian. He leaves the violent man here and goes to heaven" (JND). That explains the prayer for judgment on enemies in this psalm, and in many others. The Christian is to pray for his enemies.

The psalm describes these enemies, above all the future enemies of Israel, and what they are like. Then comes the prayer for judgment. This is the first prayer here that calls down judgment (verse 10). This prayer, and the others like it, will be prayed in the final days of this age, when the wicked are ripe for judgment. God will answer it. Then the righteous will be delivered and will have joy (verses 11, 12).

From verse 11 we have a happy contrast to the picture just given. Now comes the celebration of Jehovah's name for the blessed ways His grace has shown itself. He covers and defends. His name is the joyful boast of His saints, whose sanctification is Himself. His favour is around them for ever, as a shield of sure deliverance.

But this judgment of the ungodly will free the godly from the grip of evil men.

Let them ever shout for joy because You defend them (that is, He covers or protects them).

Then those who trust the Lord will rejoice greatly. They rejoice not only because He delivered them, but because He has vindicated the honour of His name. So believers have reason to shout for joy — not only because He defended them, but because they love the great Defender. They rejoice in the Lord.

It is God Himself in whom he rejoices, and whom His works make known; it is His name which he celebrates in psalms. This is the joy of joys. With changeable man it is not so, but what God has done truly shows Himself, His nature — and that is what His "Name" means.

Psalm 5 is the assurance that if the godly love godliness, God certainly does. Jehovah will hate the bloodthirsty and deceitful. Jehovah will bless the righteous.

This is an appeal to God to judge the wicked, so that the godly may enter into their blessing. The appeal rests on God's righteous government and His unchanging character.

The Jew, having his portion on the earth, "looks for the removal of the violent and deceitful man, in order for his own comfort and rest. Not so the Christian. He leaves the violent man here and goes to heaven" (J. N. Darby). This explains the prayer for judgment on enemies in this psalm and in many others. The Christian is to pray for his enemies. So the psalm does not present Christian experience. Yet what it sets out — the righteous character of God and the principles of His government — remains true for ever.

We cannot stress too much the importance of this simple trust in the Lord — just leaning on Him every day and every hour of the day.

And God must step in for His own. When wickedness bands together against the righteous, can there be any question which side He will be on? Can He give up the world to riot and misrule? No: He has promises to fulfil, and blessings for the earth itself. These can only stand together with the removal of the wicked from it… The last verse gives once more the reason for this action of His government, and the ground for the joy that He does step in.

Psalm 5 presents the cry of the godly. It appeals to the character of God, which must answer to the character of the godly, and so He must hear him and judge the wicked. If the godly love godliness, surely Jehovah does; if the godly hate wickedness, surely He does.

The word "crowns" could be rendered "encircled for protection" or "surrounded." Psalm 5:12 puts it that way — "For you, Lord, will bless the righteous; with favour you will surround him as with a shield." The same word appears again in Psalm 103, where the psalmist breaks out: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits… who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good."

How good it is to find that God is often called in Scripture the Shield of His people! "Fear not, Abram," God said, "I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." (Gen. 15:1.) The living God is His people's shield. What rest, what security this gives! Behind His wide shield we have nothing to fear.

Believers have reason to shout for joy, not only because He has defended them, but because they love the great Defender. They rejoice in the Lord (v. 11). For they recognise that it is He who blesses the righteous, both delivering them and surrounding them with His favour as a constant shield (v. 12).

From verse 11 we have a happy contrast to the picture before it, in the celebration of Jehovah's name according to the blessed showings of His grace. He covers and defends. His name is the joyful boast of His saints, whose sanctification is Himself. His favour is around them for ever, as a shield of sure deliverance. The Christian knows the meaning of this, and tastes its sweet blessing in Jesus.

In Psalm 6 the remnant stand on different ground. They are oppressed. Their soul is troubled, and extreme distress presses on their spirit. Their conscience is not yet clear, so they fear that Jehovah may be against them in anger. They ask that Jehovah would not rebuke them in anger, or discipline them in hot displeasure. As a nation they had deserved that anger, but the redeemed heart begs to be spared it. They look to be saved through mercy and saved from death, and they call on the wicked to leave, for Jehovah has heard.

This is the state Psalm 6 puts before us. The soul pleads the distress and loneliness it is lying under. It looks for mercy, and asks that the rebuke may not be in anger. It has confidence in God, even while it thinks that the rebuke of His anger would be only the natural result. It admits this would be just, yet it rests in faith on grace and says, How long? God cannot cast off for ever those who trust in Him: light will spring up. There is a relationship with God, and faith counts on it... When the believer has peace, he looks at discipline, even when it is justly severe, as a sure sign of God's favour. So his horror of sin is of a much purer kind, because it hates the sin and not its consequences.

The malice of enemies is at work. Indeed, as we can plainly see, God has used that malice to bring the soul where it is. But the soul feels it as His displeasure. When this presses, the anguish of the thought leaves room for nothing else, and the enemies themselves are almost forgotten. It is a cry of repentance and brokenness of heart: for Jehovah's wrath cannot be causeless, any more than powerless.

Note that this is not a personal confession of sin. The soul is oppressed by enemies. Looking at Jehovah's anger and displeasure, it cries to Him for deliverance, so that the oppression of the wicked may not take on that character. The righteous man is suffering from man, and he pleads against death from the hand of Jehovah. He looks to God to be for him, and not against him in his trouble. It is the cry of distress, not of confession.

A Hebrew word in the headings of Ps. 6 and Ps. 12, and in 1 Chr. 15:21. In the margin these passages read 'on the eighth,' and the Greek Old Testament agrees. It was probably an instrument of eight strings (from shemoneh, 'eight'). Gesenius says it means 'octave', and so the lowest notes of the scale, sung by men.

In Psalm 6, the Remnant, the godly man, pressed by the wicked, pleads with God that His anger, which the nation deserves, should not rest on him... Christ fully entered this sorrow of the righteous man in Israel, pressed by the power of enemies. He was willing and obedient to be born into the middle of it, but not part of it. This Psalm is still the condition of the godly man — the Remnant — into which Christ enters with perfect sympathy. He who sympathises with sorrow does not have the sorrow, but has a nature and a place in which He is able to enter into it.

"O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath." (David, Ps. 6:1)... What good would a prayer book or a written form of prayer have been to men in such circumstances? The distresses of the heart none can anticipate. All that is artificial only adds to the sorrow.

In Psalm 6 the remnant take another ground. They are oppressed. Their soul is in anguish. Distress presses on their spirit to the limit. Their conscience is not cleared, so they fear that Jehovah might be against them in anger. They ask Him not to rebuke them in anger or discipline them in hot displeasure. As a nation they had deserved that, but the redeemed heart shrinks from it. Yet they look to be saved through mercy and saved from death.

So the soul pleads, and pleads on, for He is gracious, laying bare its grief and even the effect of it on the body. Is He not Creator? Has He not made the body? Does He not feel, who has given the very capacity of feeling? The wasting flesh, the shaking bones, all the strong helpers bowed down by this distress — what a faith this shows! More than it might seem, that faith knows the tender pity of the One it deals with.

He knows that God's anger is righteous, and that David deserved His hot displeasure. But it reaches so deep into his soul that he cries out for mercy (v. 2). He pleads that he is weak and can barely bear the anguish he suffers. Physical suffering seems to be involved here too. Trouble reaches his bones, the framework of the body, as well as his soul (v. 3).

Note that this is not a personal confession of sin. Enemies oppress the soul, and it looks at Jehovah's anger and displeasure. So it cries to Him for deliverance, so that the oppression of the wicked may not take that character. The righteous man is suffering from man, and he pleads against death from the hand of Jehovah. He looks to God to be for him, and not against him in his trouble. It is the cry of distress, not of confession.

Our hearts can hear the strong crying and tears of Him who, though He was a Son, learned obedience through what He suffered. The opening sentence of the psalm points straight to the cross. All these sufferings led towards that point. Only the anticipation of it could draw such prayers from such a Sufferer.

The Psalms keep appealing to the mercy of God. They always put His mercy before His righteousness, as it will be with Israel in that day. This is what marks them out: "God prepares their heart," for they must come in under mercy. That is the case in Psalm 6 itself, where it says, "Save me for Your mercy's sake." This sets aside the whole principle of applying the psalm to Christ.

In any day of failure it is right to own God's discipline of His people and to throw ourselves on His mercy. Yet the experience of this psalm is that of an earthly saint. The Christian looks for blessing in resurrection, beyond death, in a heavenly scene. The psalmist looks for blessing on earth without going into death.

He knows that God's anger is righteous, and that His hot displeasure is what David deserved. But it reaches so deep into his soul that he cries out for mercy (v. 2). He pleads that he is weak and can barely bear the anguish he suffers. Physical suffering seems to be involved here too, for the trouble reaches his bones (the framework of the body) as well as his soul (v. 3).

Enemies have clearly caused the pain and distress he suffers. Yet he realizes that the hand of God is behind this, so he is dealing with God Himself, not with enemies.

Here we have the deep soul exercise of the godly expressed. In the middle of the trials and sorrows they search their hearts. God uses the persecution of the enemies to bring His people into the dust. And so they feel the trial and sorrow that passes over them as divine displeasure against sin.

The soul has owned that God is righteous in chastening it. Now it pleads for God to step in — first, on the ground of mercy; second, on the ground that God cannot be indifferent to the distress of His own. He will put a limit to this distress. Therefore faith can ask, "O Lord, how long?"

So affliction weighs heavily on the people of God, and they are not enjoying all the privileges which faith knows belong to them. Then faith says, "How long, O Lord!" On the one hand, such a person cannot rest content with the troubles the people of God are under. On the other, he knows that it is impossible for God to abandon His people… When under chastening, if there is no faith to use this expression, a worse one takes its place: "I have loved strangers, and after them will I go."

It may be noted that this is not a personal confession of sin. The soul is oppressed by enemies, and looks at Jehovah's anger and displeasure. So it cries to Him for deliverance, that the oppression of the wicked may not take that character… It is the cry of distress, not of confession — though it comes from a place where one was liable to meet with anger and displeasure.

In Psalm 6, the Remnant — the godly man, pressed by the wicked — pleads with God that His anger, due to the people, should not rest on him… Christ entered fully into this sorrow of the righteous man in Israel, pressed by the power of enemies… This Psalm is still the condition of the godly man, and Christ enters into it with perfect sympathy. He who sympathises with sorrow does not have the sorrow. But He has a nature and a place that make Him able to enter into it.

With growing confidence the soul looks to the Lord to return in blessing. It asks Him to deliver his soul from going down into death and the grave, so that he might live on the earth for the praise of the Lord.

Note that this is not a personal confession of sin. Enemies crush the soul. Looking at Jehovah's anger and displeasure, it cries to Him for deliverance, so that the oppression of the wicked may not take on that character. The righteous man is suffering from man, and he pleads against death at the hand of Jehovah. He looks to God to be for him, and not against him in his trouble. It is the cry of distress, not of confession, though it comes from one who was liable to meet anger and displeasure. Death here has no character of atonement. It is the result of God's government, and the righteous ask Him to step in on the ground of mercy.

Verse 4: in the psalms where the remnant speaks, mercy comes before righteousness. In Psalm 4, where it is more the Lord Himself, righteousness comes before mercy.

What is remarkable in the Psalms is that they appeal again and again to the mercy of God. They put it always before His righteousness, as it will be with Israel in that day. It is this that marks them out: "God prepares their heart," for they must come in under mercy... And this is the case in Psalm 6 itself, the psalm this writer comments on. It says, "save me for the sake of your steadfast love." That sets aside his whole principle of applying the psalm to Christ.

The psalmist asks the Lord to save him for the sake of His steadfast love. This is not a claim of keeping the law. Will the Lord delay until death overtakes the sufferer? How could he have any remembrance of the Lord then? Today believers know that even death does not cancel the work of God's grace in any way. Old Testament believers did not have that clear revelation.

It pleads the distress and desolation it is lying under, looks for mercy, and asks that the rebuke may not be in anger. It owns that the rebuke of His anger would be just, yet resting in faith on grace it says, How long? God cannot cast off for ever those who trust in Him: light will spring up. There is relationship with God, and faith counts on it. So the heart can plead its extreme sorrow and trial with a God whose compassion it knows.

Words like those of verse 4 have been on the lips of orthodox Jews for years: "Turn, O LORD, deliver my life!" Many cry for the return of their Messiah. They have not realised that their only Messiah is the Lord Jesus. If they had realised this, they would long ago have been delivered.

It is right in any day of failure to own the chastening of God's people and to cast ourselves on the mercy of God. Yet the experience of the psalm is that of an earthly saint. The Christian looks for his blessing in resurrection, beyond death, in a heavenly scene. The psalmist looks for blessing on earth without going into death.

In Psalm 6 the remnant — the faithful few in Israel — take different ground. They are oppressed and their soul is troubled. Extreme distress presses on their spirit, and because their conscience is not cleared, they fear that Jehovah may be against them in anger... But they look to be saved through mercy and saved from death, and they call on the wicked to leave, for Jehovah has heard.

Sheol is called in Greek Hades, the place or state of departed spirits.

This (so misunderstood today) gives the key to those sayings in the Psalms and elsewhere which materialism would twist for its own ends: "For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol [that is, hades — it is not 'the grave'] who will give you praise?"

With growing confidence the soul looks to the Lord to return in blessing. He asks the Lord to deliver his soul from going down into death and the grave, so that he may live on the earth for the praise of the Lord.

Jesus pleads in the Psalms (see also Ps. 6:5, Ps. 30:9, Ps. 115:17) to be delivered from death, on the ground that the dead could not praise God, and the grave could not declare Him. For God is not the God of the dead but of the living... And so Jesus cries for deliverance on this most blessed plea, that God is known not in death but in life.

We see how the government of God applies to this world. In that government, when death falls on someone, it has the character of cutting off. This was fully true for the Jew, as we see in Hezekiah and even in Job. But it is true in a measure for the Christian too... The psalm does not look beyond death, except into darkness, and neither does the government of God.

A godly Israelite's ambition was to swell that great hallelujah chorus, the one the last five psalms give us, in the very scene those psalms look forward to. To celebrate God's praises on earth, to bring up children for the service of His sanctuary, to go up to that temple where the glory of Jehovah dwelt in visible form — for him all of this was tied to every thought of Jehovah's praise... Death would cut that declaration short, and make those praises stop.

Today believers know that even death does not in any way cancel the work of God's grace, but Old Testament believers did not have a clear revelation of this. "In Sheol who will give you praise?" But though the body of the believer may be in the grave, his soul and spirit will be with the Lord, and there he will thank Him without end.

This is another meditation by night. (See v. 6) But it is of deeper sorrow than the fifth. In a symbolic sense it was midnight, and in it the same person pleads to be delivered from the grave. And He pleads against the power of death on this ground: if death closes the scene, God will be forgotten. For He is not the God of the dead. (See Isa. 38)

The malice of enemies is at work. Yes — as we may clearly see, it is what God has used to bring the soul where it is. But the soul feels it as His displeasure. When this presses, the anguish of the thought leaves room for nothing else, and the enemies themselves are almost forgotten. It is a cry of repentance and brokenness of heart. For Jehovah's wrath cannot be without cause, any more than without power.

Meanwhile the psalmist becomes worn out with his groaning and his bed is drenched with tears. Yet these are not tears of repentance, but those of feeling his deep distress (v. 6). "My eye wastes away because of grief." Of course, this is figurative. His grief weakened his sight — that is, when pain becomes great, we fail to see things as they really are (v. 7).

He lets out freely all his emotion, the grief that convulses him and unmans him. In the realization of it he floods his couch with tears. He fades away, and shrivels in premature decay. But this is the lowest depth, and having reached it and taken it before God, the shadow passes from the soul.

But there is deeper distress. There is groaning, the couch is covered with tears, the eyes are sunken because of grief. The remnant is put into the place of dust, and that is the place of blessing and deliverance.

The enemies are still around. The circumstances seem to have changed little. The answer is from God in his heart: what now are the enemies? They are only "workers of vanity" — powerless with all their seeming might. His supplication is heard, and his soul confirmed.

Into this sorrow too of the righteous man in Israel, pressed by the power of enemies, Christ fully entered. He was willing and obedient to be born into the middle of it, but not in the middle of it. This Psalm is still the condition of the godly man — the Remnant — and Christ enters into it with perfect sympathy. He who sympathises with sorrow does not have the sorrow. He has a nature and a place that make Him able to enter into it.

"My eye wastes away because of grief." Of course, this is figurative. His grief blurred his sight — that is, when pain becomes great, we fail to see things as they really are. The eye becomes old because of enemies. Just as old age weakens the frame, so the constant pressure of his enemies weakened his discernment. The pressure of spiritual enemies will have a similar effect on us if we neglect to put on "the whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11).

It is not a personal confession of sin here. The soul is oppressed by enemies. Looking at Jehovah's anger and displeasure, it cries to Him for deliverance. It asks that the oppression of the wicked may not take on that character. The righteous man is suffering from man, and he pleads against death from the hand of Jehovah. He looks to God to be for him, and not against him in his trouble. It is the cry of distress, not of confession, though it comes from someone who was liable to meet anger and displeasure.

Though submitting to the chastening of the Lord, the soul realizes that the unrepentant mass of the nation is opposed to him as his enemies. To stand alone in the middle of an opposing nation, as Jeremiah did in his day, causes the soul acute anguish.

In Psalm 6 it is not the iniquities but the grief and prostration of spirit — and that in the presence of these same enemies — which bring the weeping souls of the remnant to the gates of death… here they are encouraged by the comforting testimony for their hearts in that day: "Jehovah has heard."

We must call to mind a little more clearly the circumstances out of which these tearful prayers were sent up to God. We get a glimpse of them in the seventh verse… The daily contradiction of sinners against Himself was only a part of the patience of the Son of God. He stood as a target for the reproach of the ungodly day by day. This was because, in perfect obedience, He bore continual testimony as man to the God whom they outwardly claimed to know… So He was hated in return for His love. He walked, in His devoted obedience to the Father's will, in a path where no human company was possible.

In Psalm 6 the remnant, the godly man pressed by the wicked, pleads with God that His anger, due to the people, should not rest on him. … Christ fully entered into this sorrow of the righteous man in Israel, pressed by the power of enemies. … He who sympathises with sorrow does not have the sorrow. But He has a nature and a place in which He is able to enter into it.

He lets out all his emotion freely — the grief that shakes him and robs him of his courage. Feeling it, he floods his couch with tears. He fades away, and shrivels in premature decay. But this is the lowest depth, and having reached it and taken it before God, the shadow passes from the soul.

The enemies are still around, so circumstances seem hardly altered. The answer comes from God in his heart: what are the enemies now? They are only "workers of vanity" — powerless for all their apparent might. His prayer is heard, and his soul is steadied.

(vv. 8-10) Through these exercises the soul comes to know the personal favour of the Lord. He realizes that the Lord has not forgotten his tears, that He has heard his pleas, and that He has received his prayer. But he also foresees that this will mean shame and defeat for his enemies.

When a believing soul is under trial, turning to God as its resource and hope is the natural movement of faith... But there is another case. The trial is still healthy and gracious, yet it holds something that makes trusting love toward God harder. I mean when the trial comes from the conduct of the person suffering. If I have brought trial on myself by sin, how hard it is to see love in it! How hard not to groan, knowing that it is the fruit of sin and a deserved rebuke, and that we therefore have no right to think of love in it! Yet where can we turn but to Him? And how can we ask Him to deliver us, when He is the One we have offended?

Faith holds back this despairing feeling, but it does not take away the sense of sin, or of how just the rebuke is. It trusts God and His love and goodness, which now take the character of mercy toward the spirit of the sufferer. The sense of sin is deeper, the dread of what may follow is less, and the humbled heart trusts God in spite of everything.

At last David grasps something of the truth of James 4:7, which tells us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." His anguish has led him to submit, so he can tell his enemies to depart. The psalm ends in the confidence that God has heard his prayer and that all his enemies are put to flight. They are not only defeated; they are put to shame suddenly — as suddenly as the Lord Jesus will appear in glory.

Faith again is victorious. The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping; heard the voice of my supplication; He will receive my prayer. The last verse is prophetic. All the enemies will be ashamed, they shall be suddenly ashamed. That will be when the Lord returns to save His people.

In Psalm 6 the faithful remnant, the godly man, is pressed by the wicked. He pleads with God that His anger, which the people deserve, should not rest on him. Surrounded by enemies, he knows what the people deserve, and he sees God's anger as bringing him down to death — and then the wicked would triumph. But the Lord hears him and delivers him from his enemies. Christ fully entered this sorrow of the righteous man in Israel, pressed by the power of enemies... This Psalm is still the condition of the godly man, and Christ enters into it with perfect sympathy. The One who sympathises with sorrow does not have the sorrow Himself, but He has a nature and a place that make Him able to enter into it.

This is not a personal confession of sin. The soul is oppressed by enemies. Looking at the LORD's anger and displeasure, it cries to Him for deliverance, so that the oppression of the wicked may not take that character... It is the cry of distress, not of confession — though it comes from one who might well meet with anger and displeasure.

(vv. 8-10) Through these exercises of soul he comes to know the Lord's personal favour. He realizes that the Lord has not forgotten his tears, has heard his pleas, and has received his prayer. But he also foresees that this will bring shame and defeat on his enemies.

This is not a personal confession of sin. The soul is oppressed by enemies. Looking at Jehovah's anger and displeasure, he cries to Him for deliverance, so that the oppression of the wicked may not take on that character. The righteous man is suffering from man, and he pleads against death from the hand of Jehovah. He looks to God to be for him, and not against him in his trouble. It is the cry of distress, not of confession — though it comes from a place where one might well meet anger and displeasure.

They are oppressed and their soul is troubled. Extreme distress presses on their spirit. Their conscience is not yet cleared, and so they fear that Jehovah might be against them in anger... But they look to be saved through mercy, saved from death. They call on the wicked to depart, because Jehovah has heard.

At last David realizes in some measure the truth of James 4:7: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." His anguish has led to submission, so he can tell his enemies to leave (v. 8). The psalm ends with the confidence that God has heard his prayer and that every enemy will flee. They will not only be defeated; they will be put to shame in a moment — as suddenly as the Lord Jesus will appear in glory.

Faith is victorious again. The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping; He has heard my plea; He will receive my prayer. The last verse is prophetic. All the enemies will be ashamed, they shall be suddenly ashamed. That will be when the Lord returns to save His people.

Our Lord went through the night, as Psalm 22 reads in older translations: "I cry... in the night, and am not silent" (v. 2). Here the psalmist cried in the night, and it seems that he was heard. Messiah cried in the night and was not heard. Why was this? Because He was there bearing that heavy load of sin as a sacrifice, to establish the will of God, and for the blessing of all those who trust in Him.

In the last part of the psalm we find this. The enemies are still around, so circumstances seem hardly altered. The answer has come from God into his heart. What are the enemies now? They are only "workers of vanity" — powerless for all their apparent strength. God has heard his plea, and his soul is steady. He can then be sure of the defeat of his enemies, and of their final confusion.

Though he submits to the chastening of the Lord, the soul realises that most of the nation has not repented and stands against him as an enemy. To stand alone in the middle of a hostile nation, as Jeremiah did in his day, brings the soul deep anguish.

So in Psalm 6 it is not the sins, but the grief and the crushing of spirit — and that in front of these same enemies — which bring the weeping souls of the remnant to the gates of death... Here they are encouraged by the comforting testimony for their hearts in that day: "Jehovah has heard." But the cry is here because of "all my enemies," and yet the hand of God is looked to in it. This is not chastening on man at a distance. It is a cry that is acceptable, and heard because the Spirit of Christ is in it, and heard in the judgment of their enemies: note this.

Faith is victorious again. The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping; heard the voice of my supplication; He will receive my prayer. The last verse is prophetic. All the enemies will be ashamed, they shall be suddenly ashamed. That will be when the Lord returns to save His people.

At last David grasps something of the truth of James 4:7, which tells us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." His anguish has led to submission. So he can tell his enemies to depart (v. 8). The psalm ends with the confidence that God has heard his prayer, and that all his enemies are put to flight. They are not only defeated, but put to shame suddenly — as suddenly as the Lord Jesus will appear in glory.

All my enemies shall be greatly ashamed and terrified; they shall turn back, they shall be ashamed suddenly.

But the Christian is taught, by example and by command, to pray for his enemies and to return good for evil. How then can he use language like Psalm 55:15? ... Passages appear all through the Psalms that are wholly unsuitable on the lips of a Christian, though they fit the age they have in view. Here are a few examples: Ps. 2:9; Ps. 3:7; Ps. 6:10...

The word Shiggaion is said to mean a "wandering ode." Perhaps it was a loud hymn, in which enthusiasm carries the writer away. That would not be out of keeping with the character of this psalm. History tells us nothing about Cush. That agrees with the wording "a Benjamite," not "the Benjamite," which would mean some noted person. On the other hand, Cush, "the black" or sun-burnt, may be a symbolic name, a riddle to read through; and in any case we must take it so.

We have no account of the work of Cush. But we know King Saul was a Benjamite, and the psalm sounds as though it refers to David's suffering when Saul hunted him. It is good, however, that David never speaks directly against Saul, either in his history or in his psalms. He was careful to give honour to God's anointed king.

In the first division of the psalm, faith takes refuge in God from man. It shelters itself as in a rock in the unchangeableness of its covenant-God. All through the last psalm that same unchangeableness might seem to be against it, yet Jehovah was the name faith clung to and pleaded. Now it rests in its shelter in the Abiding One. Will He cast off this soul that trusts Him? No; "the name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."

The confidence of the soul in God when persecuted by an enemy who, blinded by hatred, acts in violence, without mercy and without reason, like a lion.

Psalm 6 gives the sense of having deserved rebuke and blame, when one looks at Jehovah for oneself. It looks for rescue from what weighs on it. Psalm 7 looks for rescue from the outward persecutor, on whom judgment will come.

In Psalm 6 there is the recognition of God's chastisement, and therefore the appeal to the mercy of God. In this psalm it is suffering for well-doing, and so the appeal is to the righteousness of God… Christ alone suffered for well-doing in perfection — "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:22-23). The Christian is called to suffer for well-doing… So in like circumstances the Christian can take up the confidence this psalm expresses, without using the call for judgment on his enemies (1 Peter 4:19).

Such was his cry and such his confidence. So whatever the trial, the resource of the saint in each case is God. He speaks to God, who is not and will not be indifferent to the sorrows and trials of His people. What a comfort to be able to speak to God!

The word Shiggaion is said to mean a "wandering ode" — perhaps a loud, enthusiastic hymn, one where the writer's own feeling carries him away. Of Cush we know nothing historically. On the other hand, Cush, meaning "black" or sun-burnt, may be a symbolic name, a riddle to be read through. The Benjamite held power in those days of David that the psalm belongs to, so at least that much connects Cush with the unhappy Saul. In days to come a darker power will have arisen in Israel, whose words will be against both God and His people alike.

A Benjamite enemy of David. Psalm 7 title. Some think the name points to Shimei, as the margin at 2 Samuel 16:5 suggests. Others think it is Saul.

The confidence of the soul in God when persecuted by an enemy that, blinded by hatred, acts in violence, without mercy and reason, like a lion.

Outside, the "lion" lies in wait, and there is "none to deliver." Only the LORD can deliver from those cruel and pitiless jaws; and surely the experience will be repeated: "For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked."

Here the soul knows its own integrity. More than that, it knows it went beyond what righteousness required, showing kindness to those who were his enemies without cause.

It is good that David never speaks directly against Saul, either in his history or in his psalms. He was careful to give honour to God's anointed king.

Verses 1–5 seem to express a personal prayer of the Messiah to the LORD, against the violent and deceitful man. The life of Jesus was ever in His hand. His persecutors were on every side. They watched for His words; they sought to take Him; they took up stones to throw at Him... Jesus is Himself the Truth and the Light of life. His presence scattered the darkness of Satan's counsel and the emptiness of human teaching, and laid men's consciences open in the sight of God. But this is what ruined nature dreads most and resents most. So the closing testimony of Him who went about doing good was, "they have seen and hated both me and my Father."

Psalm 5 rests on what the righteous man senses of the character of God. That character must stand against the wicked, and must own the man who cries to Him in righteousness. Psalm 6 gives the sense of having deserved rebuke and blame, when a man looks at the LORD in relation to himself. Psalm 7 looks to being saved from the outward persecutor, on whom judgment will come.

"Shiggayon of David which he sang to Jehovah because of the words of Cush, the Benjamite" is the title. It is a song from a time of wandering. Whether Cush means Saul or Shimei can be questioned.

In Psalm 6 he realized that God was dealing with him through enemies because of his own poor condition. But in Psalm 7 the persecution has no cause. Saul persecuted David for no fault of David's; only Saul's hatred was to blame. Saul had said to his servants, "There is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day" (1 Sam. 22:8). But this was a lie. David was not lying in wait for Saul. He was hiding from Saul, who wanted to kill him.

David would not refuse any just punishment for evil, if he was guilty of it, and would gladly appeal to God as the Judge of the matter.

He knows it is unjust persecution he is suffering. If he had done evil to others he might well be treated in this way.

Then comes his declaration of innocence as far as these enemies are concerned. That matters enormously in view of the government of God. "With the measure you use it will be measured to you" is still true under the reign of grace itself... Happy, then, are those who can plead what the psalmist pleads here: the enemy's malice is completely unprovoked. As far as he is concerned, there are no debts to settle. He can say more than this. David's conduct toward Saul clearly supplies the words here — he can say, "I have delivered the one who oppressed me without cause." He then seals this with a solemn appeal to Him who knows the truth: let the enemy have his way with him if this is not so.

In Psalm 7 the righteous man calls for judgment on the ground of his righteousness. That righteousness is integrity and grace, not self-righteousness, and it has to do with God's government. Such righteousness does exist.

Wrongly accused, he turns to God, who is His people's resource at all times. If he had wronged others, he might well deserve punishment... "Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity that is in me." (What Christian could ask this?)... So whatever the trial, the believer's resource in every case is God. He speaks to God, who is not and will not be indifferent to the sorrows and trials of His people. What a comfort to be able to speak to God!

In Psalm 6 he realized that God was dealing with him through enemies because of his own poor condition. In Psalm 7 the persecution has no cause. Saul persecuted David not because of any fault in David, but only because of Saul's own hatred. Saul had said to his servants, "None of you is sorry for me. None of you tells me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day" (1 Sam. 22:8). But this was a lie. David was not lying in wait for Saul. He was hiding from Saul, who wanted to kill him.

Falsely accused, he turns to God, the resource for His people at all times. If he had wronged others, he might well deserve punishment... So whatever the trial, the believer's resource is God. He speaks to Him, and God is not and will not be indifferent to the sorrows and trials of His people. What a comfort to be able to speak to God!

He would not refuse any just punishment for evil, if he was guilty of it, and was glad to appeal to God as the Judge of the matter. How many of God's faithful servants have suffered unjust treatment from wicked men, and how many have even died as martyrs!

Happy are those, then, who can plead what the psalmist pleads here: that the enemy's malice is completely unprovoked. As far as he is concerned, he owes the enemy nothing. He can say more than this. David's conduct toward Saul is plainly what supplies the words here — he can say, "I set free the man who oppressed me without cause." He then seals this with a solemn appeal to Him who knows the truth: if it is not so, let the enemy have his way with him, tread his life down to the earth, and lay his glory in the dust.

"Today your own eyes have seen how the LORD gave you into my hand in the cave. Some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, I will not raise my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed... So know and see that there is no evil or wrongdoing in my hand. I have not sinned against you, yet you hunt me down to take my life."

In Psalm 7 the righteous man calls for judgment on the ground of his righteousness. That righteousness is integrity and grace, not self-righteousness. It is righteousness in respect of God's government, and such righteousness does exist.

History tells us nothing about Cush... On the other hand, Cush, which means "black" or "sun-burnt," may be a symbolic name, a riddle to be read through... In days to come a darker power will have arisen in Israel, whose "words" will be against both God and His people. This "wicked one" will be consumed by the breath of the Lord's mouth and destroyed by the appearing of His presence (2 Thess. 2).

He would not refuse any just punishment for evil, if he was guilty of it. He would gladly appeal to God as the Judge of the matter. Indeed, how many of God's faithful servants have suffered unjustly at the hands of wicked men, and how many even suffer martyrdom!

In Psalm 6 he realized that God was dealing with him by means of enemies because of his own poor condition. But in Psalm 7 the persecution is without cause. Saul persecuted David for no fault on David's part; only Saul's hatred was to blame. Saul had said to his servants, "There is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day" (1 Sam. 22:8). But this was a lie. David was not lying in wait for Saul; he was hiding from Saul, who wanted to kill him.

Happy are those, then, who can plead what the psalmist pleads here: that this malice of the enemy is completely unprovoked. As far as he is concerned, there is nothing owing, nothing to make up for. And he can say more than this. David's conduct toward Saul is clearly what lies behind the words here — he can say, "I have rescued the man who oppressed me without cause." He then seals it with a solemn appeal to Him who knows the truth: if this is not so, let the enemy have his way with him — tread his life down to the earth, and lay his glory in the dust.

Verses 1-5 seem to express a personal prayer of Messiah to Jehovah, against the violent and deceitful man. The life of Jesus was ever in His hand. His persecutors were on every side. They watched for His words; they sought to take Him; they took up stones to cast at Him... In these verses, and in those that follow, the Holy One willingly and perfectly lays open His spotless heart and conscience before God.

It is true that God honors the integrity that honestly honors Him... though generally it is wiser for us to appeal simply to the pure grace of God rather than base our appeals on our integrity. If we have not been guilty of evil and are accused of it, we naturally desire to be vindicated. Yet even the Lord Jesus was not publicly vindicated while He was on earth, though His resurrection was a perfect vindication from God.

Then comes his declaration of innocence toward these enemies. That matters enormously, given the way God governs the world. "With the measure you use it will be measured to you" is still true under the reign of grace itself, and it was the lips of perfect grace that said it. … Happy, then, are those who can plead what the psalmist pleads here: nothing provoked the enemy's malice. As far as he is concerned, there are no debts to settle. In fact, he can say more than this. We can see David's conduct toward Saul behind the words here — he can say, "I have delivered him who without cause oppressed me."

(vv. 6-7) Basing his appeal on the knowledge that God has commanded judgment for the wicked, the soul pleads that the time is ripe for God to act against the raging of His enemies, and for the sake of God's persecuted people. As a result Jehovah would dwell among a praising people.

Now he breaks out in an eager prayer for Jehovah to come in. He asks Him to set up His throne in judgment, gather the nations round Him, and in that great assembly judge his cause openly and do him right. In fact, this is what will happen at the close of the period the psalm looks forward to. But the judgment will not be a courtroom session. It will be an outbreak of divine wrath, like the flash of the storm that the Lord Himself uses as a picture of His coming. (Matt. 24:27.)

Psalm 7 appeals to Jehovah on the ground that the godly have dealt righteously, and more than righteously, with their enemies. It asks that Jehovah may arise and awake to the judgment He has commanded. In this way, by delivering the remnant through judgment, the assembly of the various nations of the earth would gather around Him. He would then judge the peoples, which brings out the future judgment.

So in Psalm 7 Christ pleads among the people in His righteousness. He calls on Jehovah to awake to the judgment He has commanded, and to lift Himself up in anger against the rage of His enemies. Christ, as He was, did not do this and could not. He did the opposite, for higher and more glorious reasons, and the Church cannot do it now either. … Yet the Spirit of Christ knew full well His right to this righteous vengeance. But He had a higher work to do. He could have asked His Father and received twelve legions of angels. But the scriptures had to be fulfilled. … He had come to save men's lives, not to destroy them; and He prayed for His ignorant enemies.

He has to admit that the New Testament keeps the command form, instead of changing it into the future. … But the criticism is as bad as the doctrine. The wording stands the same in Hebrew as in English, and in every other language. It is the difference in divine dealing which clears it all up without violence. When God is judging enemies as He did of old and will again, His people share in it in measure. Now He is displaying sovereign grace, and another spirit of action suits them.

Psalm 7 appeals to Jehovah. Its ground is the righteous, more than righteous, way the godly have dealt with their enemies. It asks that Jehovah may arise and awake to the judgment He has commanded. In this way, by delivering the remnant through judgment, the assembly of the various nations of the earth would gather around Him. He would then judge the peoples, and so bring out the future judgment plainly.

Now he breaks out in an eager prayer. He asks Jehovah to come in, to set up His throne in judgment, and to gather the nations around Him. There, in that great assembly, he asks Him to judge his cause in the open and give him justice. In fact, this is what will take place at the close of the period the psalm looks ahead to. But the judgment will not be a formal court session. It will be a burst of divine wrath, like the flash of a storm — the picture the Lord Himself uses for His coming. (Matt. 24:27.)

He is clear of every charge the enemy could bring against him. So he cries, "Arise, O Jehovah, in Your anger; lift Yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me to the judgment You have commanded. Then the assembly of the peoples will gather around You. For their sakes, return on high" — that is, take Your place again on Your heavenly throne.

But when the Lord does arise and come to His people, the assembly of the people will surround Him in worship and adoration. He will not remain on the earth. That is why the psalm says, "For their sakes, therefore, return on high" (v. 7). The Lord Jesus went up to heaven after His resurrection, just as He had told His disciples beforehand: "I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away" (John 16:7). In the same way, it will be to Israel's advantage that He returns on high and governs from that place of perfect truth.

(vv. 6-7) He appeals on the ground that God has commanded judgment for the wicked. So the soul pleads that the time is ripe for God to act against the raging of His enemies, and to act for the sake of His persecuted people. As a result Jehovah would dwell in the midst of a praising people.

In verses 6, 7, and 9, the personal voice of the Messiah is less clearly marked than in the verses before. These verses seem instead to express the desires of His Spirit for the suffering people of Immanuel. Their final blessing can only come when Jehovah rises up and shakes the earth with terrible power. Messiah is now at the right hand of God, waiting until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet (Heb. 10:13). No truth is more important than this for understanding the Psalms correctly… Verse 7 declares the result of that judgment: the whole world's submission to Jehovah and His Christ.

At the present time this is not our prayer. As long as the day of grace lasts, we should pray for our enemies.

A third trial is slander (Ps. 7:3-5). Falsely accused, he turns to God, the resource of His people at all times. If he had wronged others, he might well deserve punishment. But he is clear of any charge the enemy could bring against him, and so he cries out… So whatever the trial, the believer's resource in every case is God. He speaks to God, and God is not and will not be indifferent to the sorrows and trials of His people. What a comfort to be able to speak to God!

The kidneys, used as a picture of the inward thoughts and feelings. Ps. 7:9; Ps. 139:13; Jer. 17:10; Rev. 2:23.

First comes the plea of integrity, which goes with faith and is its fruit as well. Sure that this is truly his condition, he can appeal to God to test him: to make proof of his reins (his inmost thoughts) and his heart.

The judgment of evil will set up the reign of righteousness among a people who are not righteous on the outside only. In character they will agree with the righteous God who "tries the hearts and reins." The soul longs for the reign of the wicked to end, and for the righteous man to be established.

The psalmist turns from the thought of his own vindication and deliverance, and cries out for evil to cease on the earth. He asks that the righteous be established in it, and that God, who knows men perfectly, test everyone in the innermost truth of heart and reins. The great tribulation, which our Lord speaks of, will accomplish this — not only in Israel, which will be at the centre of it, but largely also in the nations around it.

On Ps. 7:9, "Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end!" — this is the groan of a soul feeling the strong hand of oppression. It has no reference to eternal judgment.

"Oh, let the wrong of the wicked come to an end, And establish Thou the righteous [Man]" (Ps. 7:9). "Even so, come, LORD JESUS"!

Long ago, under the law, God was always seen as the Searcher of the heart, the One who tests the inner thoughts of people. And He searched then to reward each one according to his work (see 1 Chron. 28:9; Ps. 7:9; Jer. 17:10). But the apostle reveals God as the Searcher of the heart with another aim… His search does not end in finding evil, but good — good that He owns as answering to Himself, not evil to be judged and punished. (Rom. 8:27.)

The word of man flatters our nature and entertains our mind. The word of God tries the reins and the heart. It wakes and searches the conscience. It proves what I am and where I am. And, more important still, it holds out the remedy for my soul's disease. That remedy is Jesus and the resurrection.

In verses 10-13, the tone changes from pleading to confident expectation of God. The Lord's character is known and unchangeable. He is the God of truth and righteousness. That character promises a final triumph over the wicked one to the soul that waits patiently for His own time.

The same spirit of godly fear revives the memory of the past in David's conscience in a striking way. It leads him to see and admit the hand of God in what he then suffered from the malicious anger of his enemy. That same fear also enables him to place the God of his salvation as a shield of defence between his enemy and himself. With a broken spirit, but a fully trusting heart, he can commit himself to Him.

The wicked seek to establish themselves, but will be put to shame, while the just are firmly established by God. "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." Those who stand the test will be established; those who fail will fall under judgment. So the godly in Israel will say, "My defence is of God, who saves the upright in heart." This will be the final outcome of the great tribulation for a redeemed Israel.

In Psalm 7 the righteous man calls for judgment on the ground of his righteousness. That righteousness means integrity and grace. It is not self-righteousness. It is righteousness in view of God's government, and such a righteousness does exist.

God is not and will not be indifferent to the sorrows and trials of His people. What a comfort to be able to speak to God!

The godly soul waits in the middle of abounding evil for God to step in. What holds it up is knowing the character of God and His governmental dealings. God saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge. Far from being indifferent to evil, God is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance, but if the wicked "turn not", the sword of judgment is ready for its work.

The soul may well rejoice if it can say, about that day, "My shield is upon God, who saves the upright in heart!" Who indeed but He could use the shield for anyone at such a time?

The godly soul waits in the middle of abounding evil for God to step in. What holds it up is knowing the character of God and the way He governs. God saves the upright in heart; God is a righteous judge; so far from being indifferent to evil, God is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance, but if the wicked "do not turn," the sword of judgment is ready for its work.

The psalm goes on to consider the government of God. That government is for righteousness, though it is patient. Both the righteous and the wicked may misunderstand that patience. Though patient, His anger burns against the impenitent, stored up day by day, until at last it flames out. The sword is being sharpened; the bent bow makes no sound until the arrow flies — then it is a weapon of death, all aflame with divine vengeance.

Righteousness becomes wrath — not hatred — when evil stands in front of judicial authority acting in righteousness. The righteous Lord loves righteousness; but God is a righteous judge, and God is angry every day. And now wrath is revealed from heaven as surely as infinite love is. In sovereign grace He rises above the sin, and loves with no motive outside Himself. His only motive is in His own nature, and it is part of His glory. Man must have a motive for loving. God has none but in Himself.

Verse 10 showed the psalmist's confidence. That confidence is fully justified, because "God is a just Judge." He governs in pure righteousness, and so He "is angry with the wicked every day." He does give the wicked a chance to "turn back." But if that man does not turn back, God sharpens His sword to be "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12), a sword that even discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Who can escape the penetrating power of such an instrument?

Psalm 7 appeals to Jehovah... that Jehovah may arise and awake to the judgment He has commanded... He would then judge the peoples, so clearly bringing out the future judgment. Another point comes out here. The Lord judges the righteous man. If a man does not turn, but goes on in his wickedness, His wrath will follow him.

Behind the truth of propitiation lies a basic fact: God is angry at sin, and that anger shows itself in punishment. Here is the real reason why every teacher of "modern" tendencies avoids the subject, even if he does not go so far as to deny it flatly or explain it away. And yet how often it is repeated in Scripture!

Is not God "angry with the wicked every day"? Is not sin hateful to Him?... Yet notice the glorious, surprising contrast: "But after the kindness and love of God toward man appeared." Divine love exceeds human depravity.

He would then judge the peoples, and this brings out the future judgment clearly. Another point comes out here. The Lord judges the righteous man. If a man does not turn, but goes on in his wickedness, His wrath will follow him.

While evil is everywhere, the godly soul waits for God to step in. What holds it up is knowing God's character and how He governs. God saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge. Far from being indifferent to evil, God is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance. But if the wicked "turn not," the sword of judgment is ready for its work against the man who works evil, who plans harm, and who speaks what is false. Under the government of God, the man who plans harm falls into the pit he dug for others.

The psalm goes on to look at the government of God, which works for righteousness. Yet it is patient in a way that both the righteous and the wicked may misread. Though He is patient, His anger burns against those who will not repent. Day by day it builds, until at last it breaks out in flame. He sharpens the sword. The bent bow makes no sound until the arrow flies: then it is a weapon of death, blazing with God's vengeance.

Verse 10 shows the psalmist's confidence, and that confidence is fully justified: "God is a just Judge." He governs in pure righteousness, and so He "is angry with the wicked every day" (v. 11). He does give the wicked man his chance to "turn back." But if he does not turn back, God sharpens His sword to be "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Hebrews 4:12), discerning even the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Who can escape the piercing power of such a weapon?

Psalm 7 looks at Christ and the faithful remnant in conscious integrity — Christ's own place, not the place He took for others, and the remnant's place as renewed through grace. So the cry here is not for rescue or mercy, which would save them and shame their enemies by goodness, but for righteousness: Jehovah will judge the peoples. He will rise up in His anger and sharpen His sword against the wicked, as He establishes the just.

God's judgment will surely come, though in His goodness it may be delayed a long time. In His goodness God holds back from judging and bears with evil for a long time… So how do people treat this patience of God? Sadly, they despise the riches of His goodness. Because He "holds back," they think God will never judge. Because He is "patient," they think God does not care about evil… God gives room to repent — and that shows repentance is necessary for each person to be right with God.

The godly soul waits in the middle of abounding evil for God to step in. What holds it up is knowing the character of God and how He governs. God saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge. He is not indifferent to evil: He is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance, but if the wicked "turn not," the sword of judgment is ready for its work against the one who works evil, who plans trouble, and speaks lies.

Psalm 7:13, "He ordains His arrows against the persecutors." Better: "He makes his arrows burning ones," that is, to consume His enemies.

"He also prepares for Himself instruments of death" (v. 13). God can use whatever means He wants to carry out the judgment of His enemies. God split the earth apart, and it swallowed Korah and his rebellious company (Num. 16:31-32). Or Elijah, depending on God, called down fire from heaven. It consumed two companies of fifty men each who came to arrest him (2 Kings 1:10-12). So God's arrows are made into fiery shafts: His government is firm and decided.

The psalm goes on to consider the government of God. That government is for righteousness. Yet it is patient, and both the righteous and the wicked may misread that patience. Though patient, His anger burns against those who will not repent. It is stored up day by day, until at last it flames out. The sword is being sharpened. The bent bow makes no sound until the arrow flies. Then it is a weapon of death, all aflame with divine vengeance.

In verses 10-13 the tone changes. Pleading gives way to confident, believing expectation. The Lord's character is known and unchanging: He is the God of truth and righteousness. That assures the soul which waits patiently for His timing: the triumph over the wicked one will come at last. Judgment is prepared according to truth against the evildoer (Rom. 2:2). God has ordained His arrow to reach its mark. The bow has long been ready, but He draws it slowly, because His patience is great. In the meantime He judges the righteous now, according to the truth and holiness of His eternal Name (1 Peter 1:17; 4:17-19).

God is holy. He waits in long-suffering mercy, not willing that any should perish. But there is a limit to this long-suffering… Come now to the refuge that God has provided. Believe on His Son.

The godly soul waits for God to step in while evil abounds all around. What holds it up is knowing the character of God and His governmental dealings. God saves the upright in heart; God is a righteous judge; so far from being indifferent to evil, God is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance. But if the wicked "turn not," the sword of judgment is ready for its work against the one who labours with iniquity, who conceives mischief, and utters what is false.

The character of the wicked is exposed in his actions: he "brings forth iniquity," for he conceives trouble (v. 14). This is no sudden slip into wrongdoing. It is a planned intention to cause trouble, and so falsehood goes with it. That deceit seeks to hide his motives by well-planned actions, such as Absalom used when plotting to overthrow his father David (2 Sam. 15:1-12).

Lust is the mother of sin. If it works it brings forth sin, and sin carried to completion brings forth death.

The result as to the enemy of the righteous shows the hand that is over him. He toils to produce what is vain labour, has his toil for his pains, an end which deceives the labourer. It is not merely vain, it is his own undoing: the ditch dug for another is the trap to catch the digger. And so the fruit of his toil he harvests in an unwelcome way and in the most perfect retribution: for God is Master of all, and will be glorified in all.

They had laboured with iniquity, conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. They made a pit, and dug it, and fell into the ditch that they had made. Their mischief returned on their own head, and their violent dealing came down on their own head (Ps. 7:14-16). They fell easy victims to the hunger of the beasts of prey. How true it is that "He catches the wise in their craftiness" (Job 5:13).

Prophetically it sets out the experience of the godly Jew under the persecution of Antichrist. He is clearly in view in verses 14 to 16. Christ is the only One who suffered perfectly for doing good — "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:22-23). … So in the same circumstances the Christian can take up the confidence of this psalm, without using its call for judgment on his enemies.

The godly soul waits in the middle of abounding evil for God to step in. What holds it up is knowing the character of God and how He governs. God saves the upright in heart; God is a righteous judge; so far from being indifferent to evil, God is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance. But if the wicked "will not turn back," the sword of judgment is ready for its work. That work is against the one who labours with iniquity, who conceives mischief, and speaks what is false. In the government of God the one who devises mischief will fall into the pit he has dug for others.

Though patient, His anger burns against those who will not repent. It is stored up day by day, until at last it flames out. The sword is being sharpened. The bent bow makes no sound until the arrow flies. Then it is a weapon of death, all aflame with divine vengeance.

The character of the wicked is exposed in his actions: he "brings forth iniquity," for he conceives trouble (v. 14). This is no sudden slip into wrongdoing. The trouble was intended and planned in advance, so falsehood comes with it — the deceit that tries to hide his motives behind well-planned actions. Absalom used such actions when plotting the overthrow of his father David. The coming antichrist will be of the same character. But just as Absalom in effect prepared a pit for his own downfall, so the antichrist will fall by his own proud plotting against the Lord.

He toils to produce what is vain labour, has his toil for his pains, an end which deceives the labourer. It is not merely vain, it is his own undoing: the ditch dug for another is the trap to catch the digger. So he harvests the fruit of his toil in an unwelcome way, in the most perfect retribution — for God is Master of all, and will be glorified in all.

The man to whom grace has given clear, single-minded sight sees the way straight before him. The wicked man needs no executioner: he will die by his own evil.

They laboured with iniquity, conceived mischief, and gave birth to falsehood. They made a pit and fell into it themselves (Ps. 7:14-16). They fell easy victims to the hunger of the beasts of prey. How true it is that "He catches the wise in their craftiness" (Job 5:13).

This still instructs us, for this has been God's way, and will be so still. Daniel's accusers are themselves thrown into the den they had prepared for him. And the flame of the fire killed the men who threw the captives into the furnace. And so it is foretold of the enemies and apostates of the last days in this world's history: "Their own iniquity shall be brought upon them" (Ps. 7, Ps. 9, Ps. 10, Ps. 35, Ps. 57, Ps. 141). Satan himself, who has the power of death, is destroyed through death.

The deceiver himself must come under the curse of God. He must also hear that from the weak woman he deceived, One will come who will end his wicked schemes and destroy his power forever. A Deliverer is promised. He is to be the seed of the woman. The humbling of the enemy is to be absolute. The victory of God is to be complete. Truly the triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless lasts only a moment (Job 20:5)… His head is to be bruised.

The result as to the enemy of the righteous shows the hand that is over him. He works hard, but the labour is empty. His only reward is the toil itself, and the outcome cheats the worker. It is not just empty, it is his own undoing: the ditch dug for another is the trap to catch the digger. So he harvests the fruit of his toil in an unwelcome way, and the retribution is perfect: God is Master of all, and He will be glorified in all.

The psalm goes on to consider the government of God. That government is for righteousness, though it is patient. Both sides may misunderstand that patience — righteous and wicked alike. Though patient, His anger burns against the impenitent, day by day stored up, until at last it flames forth. The sword is being sharpened. The bent bow makes no sound until the arrow flies. Then it is a weapon of death, all aflame with divine vengeance.

The godly soul waits in the middle of abounding evil for God to step in. What sustains him is knowing the character of God and His governmental dealings. God saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge. He is so far from being indifferent to evil that He is angry with the wicked every day. God gives space for repentance. But if the wicked "turn not," the sword of judgment is ready for its work. It is ready for the one who labours with iniquity, who conceives mischief, and speaks what is false. In the government of God the one who devises mischief will fall into the pit that he has dug for others.

They had laboured with iniquity, conceived mischief, and given birth to lies. They made a pit, dug it out, and fell into the hole they had made. Their mischief returned upon their own head, and their violence came down upon their own skull (Ps. 7:14-16). They fell easy victims to the hungry beasts of prey. How true it is that "He catches the wise in their craftiness" (Job 5:13).

Notice what Adoni-bezek did. He went through the ordeal of losing his thumbs and his great toes, which left him crippled. Yet he traced what had happened to him back to God: "God has repaid me." The boomerang he had so often thrown at others had hit himself. This is always so.

A Deliverer is promised. The humiliation of the enemy is to be absolute. The victory of God is to be complete. Truly the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite lasts only a moment (Job 20:5). "He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends" (Ps. 7:15-16). His head is to be bruised.

But here, as the day approaches, He looks ahead more fully and with greater glory to the destruction of the great enemy. That destruction is his fall into the ditch that he made for others. Like the dawn, it is the herald of the day. The gathering of the congregation around the Lord will follow, and that is what this psalm looks for.

A word of praise closes this series of Psalms. In them the millennial name of Jehovah is given: "The Most High." We see that the overthrow of the wicked brings the praise of Jehovah, as it will be heard on earth when He has come back. Look back over these Psalms, beginning with the Third. We have a morning hymn (3), then an evening hymn (4). Then comes a night experience (5), followed by the deepest night (6). Then the morning breaks, when the Judge arises and the wickedness of the wicked comes to an end (7).

Their praise will not be according to their preferences, however, but according to the Lord's righteousness. Their song of praise will rise to the One who is "the Lord Most High," a title particularly fitted to His exaltation in the millennium. He will then reign in absolute righteousness. That is a contrast to the compromising of righteousness so common in governments today.

Psalm 7 looks at Christ and the remnant in conscious integrity. This is Christ's actual place, not one He took; and it is the remnant's place, renewed through grace. So it is not deliverance or mercy that is looked for, saving and putting the enemies to shame in goodness. It is righteousness. Jehovah shall judge the peoples. He will arise in His anger and sharpen His sword against the wicked, as He establishes the just.

Elyon, "the Most High," is another name of God. It can stand alone, as in Deuteronomy 32:8. Or another name of God is added to it, and it becomes "the most high God," Genesis 14:20, or "the LORD Most High," Psalm 7:17. It is not confined to Israel, for He is "the Most High over all the earth," Psalm 83:18.

"The Most High" appears here for the first time in the Psalms. It is God's millennial Name, as supreme in government and blessing. Jehovah is in the assembly of the peoples, and ministers judgment. He is therefore the Anointed of Psalm 2.

In the last verse, we seem to hear the voice of Jesus as Melchizedek, the King of righteousness and peace, and Priest of the Most High God (Hebrews 7:2). The coming age is the appointed setting for that particular side of Messiah's glory as mediator. In it He will stand in an open relation, on one side to the Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and on the other side to man, as the royal Minister of priestly mediation and blessing. Genesis 14:18-20 gives us the picture of it.

This Psalm closes this mysterious season. For now we reach the second morning — the eighth day, the day of resurrection — the opening of the kingdom, or "the day of the Lord."… It is the praise that was vowed just before (see Psalm 7:17), now that the wicked have come to an end and the congregation has been gathered.

We have now come to Psalm 8. It closes this unfolding of the state of the remnant, and of God's purposes about the rejected Anointed of Jehovah. The now delivered remnant is still the speaker. "O Jehovah, our Lord!" The heathen have risen up against Him in vain! It is not now a king in Zion — though that will surely be true — but a glory set above the heavens. It is not now only the people of the great King who are blessed. Wherever the children of men live, Jehovah's name, Israel's Lord, is great.

Don't these and many other Scriptures identify the Father, the Son and the Spirit — these three ever-glorious Persons — not only with "ELOHIM" (Genesis 1:1 and elsewhere), but also with the "LORD our Lord" of Psalm 8:1, 9? In Hebrew that is "JEHOVAH our ADONAHY" — a plural. His Name of excellence is to be spread abroad over all the earth, and His glory is above the heavens.

The name of Jehovah our Lord is excellent. Beyond all question it excels every other name. The highest heaven acknowledges that excellence in full; all the earth does not yet. Over most of the earth people still blaspheme it. A day is coming when the words of the first and last verses of Psalm 8 will come true in glory. But for that day we have to wait.

Today we would have to exclaim instead, "O Lord our Lord, how dishonoured is Your name in all the earth!" There is a reason for this. Our short Psalm names the source of the trouble in one word — "man." Having done so, it passes on at once to dwell upon the great Person who is going to make the name of the Lord excellent in all the earth — "the Son of Man."

In Psalm 8:1 we meet this word — "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your Name in all the earth! You have set (ordained) Your glory above the heavens." This word first appears in Genesis 1:17, where we read that God set "two great lights" in the sky. The verb here is in the middle voice, reflexive, the glory of the action belonging to the One who performed it.

It is not the glory of moon and stars spread over the heavens, such as the psalmist speaks of in the third verse, but a glory above all created things, however wonderful.

The earth where people live is not yet put under Him, as our Scripture tells us. Yet when we look at Him crowned with glory and honour on high, faith already sees the divine glory set in Him above the heavens. That is the pledge that all the earth will soon own His name as excellent, as it really is.

Most take it to be the name of a musical instrument, perhaps used by the Gittites, the people of Gath. Even so, an element in it does point to thoughts like "wine-pressing". Scripture ties that idea again and again to judgment followed by gladness in the hearts of God's people, because God has vindicated His righteousness.

The religious leaders themselves saw His wonderful works of power and grace, and to their great annoyance they heard the children's cry. Jesus defended the children in their simplicity, quoting the verse from Psalm 8 as fulfilled in them. The Psalm says "established strength," while He applied it by saying "perfected praise." Either way the thought is the same: God does what He wants, and receives the praise He looks for, through small and weak things. This makes it clear that the strength and the praise come from Himself.

Strength is founded, praise is perfected, out of the mouths of babies and infants. By divine power, grace makes its new-born vessel of mercy, and that vessel prepares pure songs of perfect praise, in which the Lord alone is exalted and everything that would exalt itself is brought low... His believing people, who are described as "new-born babies," now offer the fruit of perfect praise to God, and He accepts it.

The hostility of the leading men, who spoke and acted for the people, now came into the open, and they formally refused their rightful Lord and King... The Lord rebuked them with a passage from Psalm 8, which on this occasion fitted perfectly. It was meant both to rebuke the Jews, by giving them, for the present, the place of the enemy and the avenger, and to present Him, the rejected Messiah, before them in His full and proper glories.

Even in the days of His humiliation, babies and infants speaking His praise stilled the enemy and the avenger. The Father saw to it that, if the Lord was despised and rejected by men for His sake, there would still be a testimony to His glory.

David also saw man set aside, so that God might give and establish His Word out of the mouth of even babies and infants. "The enemy and the avenger" — who may be the same as "the man of the earth" in Psalm 10 — will be stilled, not by the efforts of mortal man, but by God Himself, working through the weakest and least important instruments. That work is reserved for the Son of Man Himself.

So the enemy is silenced by more than the praise of babies and infants... He Himself will "strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked" (see Isaiah 11:4). But for this He will establish praise out of the mouth of babies and infants — that is, I have no doubt, of newly converted souls, humbled and brought down to feel the littleness and weakness this implies. So we see clearly why He must produce such praise before the kingdom can come: the heirs of it must be made ready.

The heavens above speak of His greatness without a word. But it is out of the mouths of babies and infants that He has established strength and perfected praise... It is weakness that can celebrate the strength of God, and He puts His strength to work only for weakness.

Hebrews 2 quotes the wonderful Psalm 8. This Psalm is clearly a night Psalm. David says, "When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place." This is surely meant to teach a spiritual lesson. The sun is not mentioned. It was the night of Judaism; the day of Christianity had not arrived. The moon and stars told of light, and in the case of the moon, reflected light. So the types and prophecies told of the coming day. Their light was reflected. Faint as it was, they were the forerunner of the coming day.

It is a night scene of Scripture, for the Psalmist does not see the sun shining, but the moon and the stars. And during this world's night the Christian can look up in faith and see the glory of God above the heavens in Jesus. Soon the night will pass, then the sun will shine.

The book of nature reveals God's fingers; the book of revelation His heart. The first tells us of His originality, design, forethought and unlimited power. The second reveals Himself — His heart, His love, His design in creating man, and His ways in blessing Him.

We marvel at God's fingers. We stand in silent awe at the wonders of creation. Man works hard to perfect his inventions, one slow step at a time. God created things that were perfect from the first moment of creation. Man corrects his mistakes. God makes none.

It is a very solemn thing. The men who have learned most of God's wonders by searching the earth and the sky still stay ignorant of His glory as Creator, despite all the knowledge they have gained. They see the wonders of creation, but have not learned what David learned so long ago... Man does not find out God by searching. As we read in Hebrews 11:3, "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God." Someone who knows nothing about the natural sciences, if taught by God through His word, holds God's secret about His handiwork. The most advanced student, if ignorant of God as revealed in Christ, knows nothing of it.

Behold the moon; its light is dim in His holy presence. The sparkling stars are not clean in His sight. How much less is sinful man — a worm of the dust!... The light of the moon and stars is not so strong, yet the darkness around it makes it shine out all the more. This is true above all of the eastern skies over the dry lands beside the deserts. The moon and stars speak of God in a special way, and by contrast bring home to man his nothingness.

God has such marvellous things before Him as the moon and the stars. Why then does He give such a large place in His mind to man, and to the son of man? All Scripture bears witness to it: man has a place in the thoughts of God that even angels do not have, for all their greater glory and might. How do we explain this? What is the answer to the Psalmist's question? The Spirit of God gives us the answer in Hebrews 2:5-10. There He quotes the words of this psalm and applies them to Christ. He is the man who fills the mind of God; He is the ideal Son of man for whom all dominion is purposed.

When I think of all the might and the wisdom on display in the heavens, what am I? "What is man" — any man, great or small — "that You are mindful of him? or the son of man" — man in the abstract, the ideal man — "that You visit him?" We might well say that of man as the creature of God. In one sense, by certain measures, he is one of the least of God's creatures.

What made the psalmist choose two distinct names for man? The English version does not make this distinction plain; but the Hebrew does. Adam means simply man — man as God created him out of the dust of the earth, man before the fall. He is the one "who is the figure of Him who was to come" (Rom. 5:14). Enosh means man as well, but man as frail, fallen, dying, passing away.

He used a Hebrew word which has the sense of "frail man" or "mortal man." Well, what is he worth? Clearly he is worth nothing. What then shall we say of the Son of Man? Ah! now we have a very different story. Even in the psalm David changed the word for man, and wrote "the Son of Adam"; and this we know our Lord was, as seen in Luke 3:38. He is worth everything. Though He was once made a little lower than the angels, He is to be crowned with splendour and given complete rule, with all things under His feet.

Then, in Psalm 8, "What is man," that God is going to make His own Son a man, and set Him over everything? … And here, in Psalm 144, it is, "What is man," that God should be so careful over this wicked people?

The question brings out the littleness of man: the answer the greatness of Christ, the Son of Man. When David looks at the moon and the stars, he feels how small he is beside their vastness, and cries out, "What is man?" Look at man fallen, and he is very small. Look at man as God purposed him, set out in Christ, the Son of Man, and he is very great.

How is it that God takes knowledge of us, that He actually visits us? Why is it that the angels do not occupy a place in the thoughts and purposes of God such as man occupies? We ask again, Why? and we find the answer in the blessed Son of God, in Jesus… Man is lower than the angels in the order of creation, so Jesus has taken His place lower than they. And when we ask, Why did He take that place? — in the answer we read our salvation.

The Son of man there spoken of is not Adam, but Christ. The divine purpose is there declared to set Him over all the works of God's hand. The first man had this grant of power from God (Gen. 1:26-28), but failed to act for His glory. He sold himself into the hand of the enemy, and became his tool and slave. In God's own time the Second Man will take up the government of the whole world. He will glorify God fully, and bring full blessing to everyone under His rule.

Its opening sentence, "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!" gives the key to its meaning. This is no longer a question of Israel or of the Messiah. The whole earth is in view, and God puts all things under the feet of the SON OF MAN. Since Adam was not the Son of Man, it would be plain, even if we had no further light on the subject, that someone greater than Adam is set before us here.

The Revised Version (following the Geneva Bible of 1560) translates Ps. 8:5 "a little lower than God." But "Elohim" (or "God") is often used for "gods," or "mighty ones," and here, as in Ps. 97:7, it clearly means angels. The Septuagint translates it that way, and Heb. 2:7 confirms it… Angels have no Redeemer… We learn from this that angels stand on a higher scale than man, but He passed them by twice. He passed them coming down, when He was made a little lower than the angels; and He passed them again going up.

He was made a little lower than the angels so that He could suffer death, and He is crowned with glory and honour. He has suffered death, and He is crowned as the reward for His work. In that work He fully glorified God in the very place where God had been dishonoured, and He saved man — those who believe in Him — where man was lost.

God put everything under man's hand. Man was the head of God's creation, according to His purpose. But if that was true at creation, we are reminded again that the fall has come in. The sceptre man should have held over all creation has dropped from his hand… He can confess that he is lower than the angels. But when it comes to being crowned with glory and honor over the works of God's hands, if he is honest he has to admit that such lordship is in name only, and is partial.

The first man could not keep the gift of dominion, because he himself became the defeated slave of sin and death. That gift has passed, with a heavenly addition, into the hands of the second Man. In general the language of Psalm 8 describes the rule given in paradise, but it reaches much further than that… God's gift to Him takes in things in heaven as well as things on earth.

According to Hebrews 2:6, the prophecy is not yet fulfilled. But in the partial fulfilment of what is still to come, the church holds the pledge of its final completion. Not all things are under Jesus yet. Meanwhile Jesus is already crowned with glory and honour — certain proof that what remains will be fulfilled at the right time.

This brings us to Psalm 8 — a very important one in the ways of God. Its opening sentence gives the key to its meaning: "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" This is no longer a question of Israel or of the Messiah. The whole earth is in view, and God puts all things under the feet of the SON OF MAN. Adam was not the Son of Man. So even with no further light on the subject, it is plain that someone greater than Adam is set out here.

The Son of man spoken of in Psalm 8 is not Adam, but Christ. God's purpose declared there is to set Him over all the works of His hand. The first man had this grant of power from God (Gen. 1:26-28), but failed to act for His glory. He sold himself into the hand of the enemy, and became his tool and slave. In God's own time the Second Man will take up the government of the whole world. He will give God perfect glory, and bring full blessing to all under His rule.

The Lord takes this title for Himself according to that psalm, after His rejection as King in Zion (Psalm 2), and He takes it in resurrection. He takes the headship and inheritance, with its load of sin and guilt on it; and He inherits it not only as His by right, but by redemption also. He takes it as the Redeemer-Heir.

He humbled Himself as no one else ever could, and He is crowned with glory and honour above all. The crown is given now, but we do not yet see all things put under Him. But unseen by man, He already holds this supremacy in place and title, according to Psalm 8:6 (7). The New Testament refers to that verse three times. His supremacy is so universal that only one is excepted: He who subjected all things to Him. God left nothing outside Christ's rule, as His actual seat on the throne of God, the Father's throne, shows.

In Psalm 8, the things put under His feet do not appear to go wider than rule over the whole earth, whatever might have been in the mind of the Spirit… But in the letter to the Ephesians the circle clearly widens to include things in heaven as well as things on earth… His rule will have no limits. It will be as wide as the whole universe, for as Paul teaches, nothing is excepted except Him, God the Father, who put all things under Him (1 Cor. 15:27).

Meanwhile, Scripture lets us know that God makes the church one with Him, as the body with its Head, sharing His exaltation over all things. This is why there is delay. As we all know, God is forming the body now, while Christ sits and waits in the heavens… For He will not reign alone. He, the Heir of all things, has joint-heirs. As Romans 8 says… "and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

But the name of Jehovah has never yet become majestic in all the earth. Our psalm announces that it will be glorified everywhere here on earth. That will happen when Christ takes the government of the universe… We do not yet see this with our eyes. But by faith we do see Jesus already crowned, the witness and pledge of all the rest (Heb. 2).

The psalm names domesticated animals first — sheep and oxen — then "the beasts of the field," that is, wild animals. To these it adds birds of the air and all sea life. These will all be perfectly subject to the Lord Jesus in the age to come. They were subject to Adam before he sinned. But God did not tell Noah they were subject to him. He said instead, "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea" (Gen. 9:2).

God gives the universal dominion over all His works to the man of His counsel, as we find in Ps. 8. So God gave the first Adam, the created man, a universal lordship over this scene, as it came from its Creator's hands. He forfeited it when he fell by sin.

God's purpose was not to establish the first Adam, who had failed, but the Second Adam as Head of creation — and that because of His sufferings. It is because He was made a little lower than the angels that God has made "Him to rule over the works of [His] hands."

Of course, the further statement that all things are put under His feet involves far more than these creatures. All the earth was to come under His dominion, as well as the cattle, the birds, and the fish of the sea. Even when He came down to earth and men asked about paying the temple tax, He could command a fish and it obeyed Him. Daniel never said that the emperor Nebuchadnezzar was given dominion over the fish of the sea (Dan. 2:38)!

He quotes the whole psalm, to put the matter beyond question. Then he says: "At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him." Anyone could see that, even the most casual observer. So how was the psalm to be fulfilled? He goes on to show: "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour." So Jesus is the Man, the Son of Man (which Adam was not), under whom all things will be put.

All things are not yet put in subjection to Jesus. But in the meantime, Jesus is already crowned with glory and honour. That is certain proof that what remains will be fulfilled in due time.

The ferocity of the wild beasts is restrained, and man's supremacy established. All nature is made subject to the Son of man — the Second Man… So "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat… and a little child shall lead them" (Isa. 11:6).

From the first, God made His intention plain: man should rule this whole lower creation. "Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen. 1:28). These were God's words to Adam... He failed almost at once. The enemy deceived him. He betrayed himself, and the creation God had set him over, into the enemy's hands. Did that frustrate or set aside God's purpose to put the earth under man's rule? No. The eighth Psalm testifies of a "Son of man," who will inherit all the dominion first entrusted to Adam.

If David had written simply of man, we might have supposed he meant Adam. But the words "the Son of Man" rule out our first parent. Adam was a man, yet he was not a son of man... Scripture speaks of only three heads — Adam, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam had universal sway on earth. Nebuchadnezzar ruled only a limited sphere. God put men, birds, and beasts under him (Dan. 2:38), but he had no dominion over the waters and their creatures. So the mention of the fishes in the Psalm rules him out as the one David wrote about.

Notice, God did not give Nebuchadnezzar the fish of the sea. Why? Because the Man of Psalm 8 had not yet come, who had the power over the fish of the sea. You must go to the 17th chapter of Matthew for that, where Peter felt troubled and wanted money for the tax. The Lord said to him, "Go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel" (Matt. 17:27). It was only the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, who had power over the fish of the sea.

But what did David know about the fish of the sea? He was used to looking after sheep! That is how the critics talk. Rather they should ask, what does David's God know about them? Far more than the best of scientific scholars! He made them all. Long centuries ago He made David write those words, "the paths of the seas." Men have only just found out that fish have their paths in the seas, just as we have ours on the land!

We must not suppose that the things put under the feet of the Son of Man cover the same extent in every scripture that mentions them. In Psalm 8, whatever the Spirit may have had in mind, they do not seem to go wider than dominion over the whole earth... But in the letter to the Ephesians the circle clearly widens to include things in heaven as well as things on earth... His rule will have no limit. It will be as wide as the whole universe. As Paul teaches, nothing is left out except God the Father Himself, who put all things under Him (1 Cor. 15:27).

Who is this "Son of man"? And when will He exercise and enjoy this dominion? Hebrews 2 answers us: "It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking... At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see Jesus... crowned with glory and honor." This dominion belongs to the age to come. The One who will exercise and enjoy it is the "Son of man," now crowned with glory and honor.

Again, the ferocity of the wild beasts is restrained, and man's supremacy established. To the Son of man — the Second Man — all nature is made subject... So "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat... and a little child shall lead them" (Isa. 11:6-8).

In all this we are slow learners, but the general thought is plain. No wonder the psalm ends where it begins. The whole is clasped together by the bond that has joined God with man. That bond has made His name excellent in all the earth — and with a glory, too, set above the heavens!

Psalm 8 is the full result in Christ, shown as Son of man, to the glory of Jehovah, the Adonai of Israel. I have no doubt Christ is owned as such here. So the rule given to man over all things and Jehovah's rule in Israel are joined together. Yet it reaches far wider still, because both are established in the person of the Son of God.

Today we would have to cry out instead: O Lord our Lord, how dishonoured is Your name in all the earth! There is a reason for this, and our short Psalm identifies the source of the mischief in one word — "man." Having done so, it passes on at once to dwell on the great Person who is going to make the name of the Lord excellent in all the earth — "the Son of Man."

Psalm 8 is not accomplished yet… His name is dishonoured, and His word is questioned and despised. But soon this ancient word of the Spirit will be made good in all places of His dominion.

It is not now merely the people of the great King who are blessed. Wherever the children of men live, Jehovah's name, Israel's Lord, is great. Is it now a matter of setting the Christ on His holy hill of Zion? No, it is setting the Son of man, not merely over the children of men, but over everything His hand has created in all places of His dominion. He is set over all the works of His hand, and nothing is left out. There is one exception only: the One who put all things under Him.

It will not be with the Son of Man as it is with others. They may be raised to a place of authority, and still have those under them in constant rebellion, refusing to submit. The Son of Man will not only have dominion over all; all will be perfectly subject to Him… So when other names are forgotten, His Name will be excellent in all the earth.

According to Hebrews 2:6, the prophecy is not yet accomplished. But the church already holds a partial accomplishment of what is still to come, and that is the pledge of its final completion. All things are not yet put in subjection to Jesus. In the meantime, Jesus is already crowned with glory and honour — certain proof that the rest will be fulfilled at the right time.

This psalm shows the righteous judgment of God. Even so, it begins with vibrant praise, untouched by anything foreign. So we see the end from the beginning. Many psalms follow this pattern. The rejoicing end comes first, then the struggles that led to that end. The psalmist praises God with all his heart: nothing can intrude on this worshipping adoration. He gladly declares all the wondrous works of the Lord, whether in creation, in redemption, or in the new creation.

Both the Old and New Testaments show this in their general tone. But to mark how very important it is, we find it stated again and again in plain terms. The psalmist desires more than once to praise Jehovah with his "whole heart" (Ps. 9:1; 111:1; 138:1). And the Christian, with higher privileges and greater responsibilities, is not to fall behind the Jew.

The psalmist praises the Lord, not only with lip profession, but with his whole heart — an undistracted heart taken up with its object.

The psalm begins with an outburst of praise to the Most High — that millennial name of God with which the seventh psalm ended. Israel's tongue is loosed, the whole heart united in this praise. It is Jehovah who now appears as this — the covenant God, the Living and Unchangeable. His wondrous works have made Him known, and those works were the means of Israel's own deliverance. With their newly opened mouth, Israel will declare them. David the Israelite led such songs long ago, and he leads them still. And Christ, the true David whom he pictured, will lead them "in the midst of the assembly," in the days to come.

Jehovah is the covenant name for Israel. Most High is the name that marks the kingdom in power, when heaven and earth are shown to be His.

Psalm 9 presents to us Jehovah, the Most High. These names of God connect with the Jews, and with the millennial fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham. He delivers the people by judgment from the oppression of the nations, and destroys the wicked. The delivered Jew celebrates this goodness, which has upheld the right and cause of the righteous. The Spirit of Christ speaks fully in this, as having taken up their interests. It is really His right. If the Jew has any, it is through Him. If they say it, He has put the words in their mouth.

Muth-Labben is one of the terms in the inspired headings of the Psalms whose meaning is unclear. Scholars have not agreed on a satisfactory meaning for the word. But the best evidence from the language favours the translation "the Death of the" (or His) "Son." The Septuagint gives it as: "Concerning the secret things of the Son."

This psalm shows the righteous judgment of God, yet it still begins with vibrant praise, untouched by anything foreign. So we see the end from the beginning. Many psalms follow this pattern. The rejoicing end comes first, then the exercises that led to that end. The psalmist praises God with all his heart: nothing can intrude on this worshipping adoration. He gladly declares all the wondrous works of the Lord, whether in creation, in redemption, or in the new creation. All these are works of majestic power and grace. So he will rejoice and exult in the Lord personally, and sing psalms to His name. Again he gives the Lord the title "Most High." This shows that the end in view is the millennial glory of Christ — a glory that will never give place to any other.

The speaker repeats, confirms, and enlarges the song of praise. It is God Himself in whom he rejoices, and whom His works make known; it is His name that he celebrates in psalms. This is indeed the joy of joys. With changeable man it is not so. What He has done is the real showing of Himself, of His nature — and that is what His "Name" means. So we can know Him better than we can know ourselves: for the heart of man, "who can know it?"

I have been looking into the force of the Hebrew words for Most High. In the end it clearly refers to God in the millennium as the supreme God then displayed, to the exclusion of what is false. That is the force of the word. He is the One who holds the place of the one true God, above all others and excluding all others, exalted as supreme in government. Jehovah is, as we know, the God who is in relationship with Israel, but He is the supreme God, the Most High. The full statement of the title, and the time of taking it, is in Genesis 14:19-20, 22. Israel's enemies are utterly defeated and handed over to him, and the heir of promise is blessed by Him who possesses heaven and earth. He is supreme, and has taken all things into His possession.

In the beautiful outburst "I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High" (verse 2), the Psalmist was using a double title in advance. It belongs to God when the promises are fulfilled in the Millennium. The blessings from God to man, and from man to God, will be handled through a mediator in Christ. He alone is able and worthy to bear the double glory of royal power and priestly grace. Yet at the same time this Psalm is a choice treasure for believers to enjoy today. They live in earthly circumstances, even though their calling is heavenly.

The godly Jew looks ahead to deliverance from all his enemies by the brightness of the Lord's coming. He recounts the marvellous works of the Lord, and celebrates the praise of Jehovah as the Most High.

The blessings of the psalm are introduced by the presence of the Lord, and the brightness of His coming in glory. In the days when He was lowly on earth, His enemies "drew back and fell to the ground" in His presence. In the day of His coming glory they will not only stumble at His presence — they will stumble and perish.

All that follows in the psalm is the result of Christ's presence. "Your presence" is the key to the psalm.

This is righteous deliverance for the righteous: the oppressor has no claim that God's government can recognize. The power is effective, and once the work of deliverance begins, it is carried right through. When the enemies turn back, they stumble and perish, for God is there. Israel can now say, "You have maintained my just cause," and the One who does so clearly sits on the throne.

Scripture gives vivid pictures of the enemy falling and perishing at the presence of God (v. 5), in days when God stepped in to judge. (See Psalm 94; Ex. 14:24-25; John 18:6) Here that falling is anticipated in the ruin and downfall of the great godless, anti-Christian enemy of the last day. (See Rev. 19) The nations will then learn with terror that they are "but men" (v. 20), though they had drunk in and practised the old lie of the serpent, "you shall be as gods."

During the Tribulation, the King of the North will devastate Israel as he passes through the country on his way toward Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia (Dan. 11:40-43). But he will "turn back" (v. 3) when he hears news from the east and from the north, and will rush back to Israel with great fury, but it will be only to meet his end with none to help him (Dan. 11:44). His army will "stumble and perish before Your presence," because at Jerusalem the Lord Jesus will go out to destroy the King of the North and his armies. So He will maintain the right and the cause of the godly remnant of Israel (v. 4), sitting on the throne and judging in righteousness.

To convert the wicked, by the announcement of the grace of God, is the gospel; what we have been reading is something quite different. Once the gospel has run its course, Christ will demand righteous judgment against the world… If God did not carry out judgment, evil would only grow worse and worse, with no comfort for the faithful. God does not carry it out until the evil has reached its full height.

This psalm shows the righteous judgment of God, yet it begins with vibrant praise, with nothing foreign mixed in. So the end is seen from the beginning. Many psalms follow this pattern. The joyful end comes first, then the struggles that led up to it.

Messiah, by the Spirit, speaking in the oppressed faithful few, acknowledges the righteousness of Jehovah in judgment, as He sits on the throne judging right.

Psalm 9 has one subject: the throne of righteousness that the earth has long wanted to see and never found. The world has refused Christ, the King of righteousness, and has looked for all kinds of substitutes for Him in vain. It must be but in vain! Yet the "desire of all nations" shall come, and shall be found in Him.

The first effect of the presence of the Lord will be to vindicate the godly and maintain their cause. Evil moves forward and wins for a time — at the Cross, during the absence of Christ, and most of all in the last days. That might give the impression that God is either indifferent to evil, or powerless to stop its course. But Christ will be present in glory, and His enemies will be destroyed as a result. This will make it clear that God has not been indifferent to the way men have treated Christ and those who are His. When the faithful few say, "You have maintained my right and my cause," they express not only what is true for themselves, but what is true of Christ.

Notice the great difference here. On one side is the celebration of the righteousness of God, sitting on the throne, judging right, and vindicating the righteous man against the oppressor. On the other side is Christ on the cross, who was not vindicated on the earth, but declares Himself forsaken of God… The righteousness that judged the oppressor was carried out by God, who alone is truly righteous and has power. Yet its sphere and measure lay in earthly government, and in telling apart the righteous and the wicked among men, the oppressed and the oppressor… Clearly grasping this difference is a key to the whole way of thinking in the Psalms.

To convert the wicked by announcing the grace of God is the gospel. What we have been reading is something quite different. Once the gospel has run its course, Christ will demand righteous judgment against the world… If God did not carry out judgment, the evil would only grow worse and worse, and the faithful would have no comfort. God does not carry it out until the evil has reached its height.

How sad that the disorder we see in the world tends to produce the same disorder even in those who dread and hate it! It works like an infectious disease: the fear of catching it makes you more likely to catch it. How the simple lesson needs repeating in our ears again and again — that "God sits on the throne, judging right." How little we honestly accept this first assumption of faith! And if we hesitate here, the vision fails, the heart sickens and faints, and our strength collapses.