Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 7:9
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
9. More exactly:
O that the evil of wicked men might come to an end, and that thou wouldest establish the righteous;
For a trier of hearts and reins is God the righteous.
The last clause adds the ground upon which the hope and prayer of the first clause is based. God is righteous, and He is a discerner of hearts; there can therefore be no doubt of His will and His ability to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked by an impartial judgement. Cp. 1Sa 16:7; Isa 11:3-4. According to the ancient exegetical tradition represented by the Hebrew accents (Wickes’ Treatise on the Accentuation &c., p. 43), the first clause should be rendered, O let evil make an end of the wicked, and it is certainly a striking truth that the punishment of the wicked springs out of their own misdeeds: comp. Psa 7:14 ff., and perhaps Psa 34:21: but the sense given by the LXX, Jerome, and the English Versions is probably right.
trieth the hearts and reins ] A favourite thought with Jeremiah: see ch. Jer 11:20, Jer 17:10, Jer 20:12; cp. Rev 2:23. The heart is regarded in the O.T. as the organ of thought and will, which determines the man’s moral and religious character, the reins (kidneys) as the seat of the emotions: see Delitzsch, Biblical Psychology, xiii.; and Oehler, Old Testament Theology, 71.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9, 10. His own personal need is but one small part of the great cause, and he passes on to pray for the larger hope of the universal destruction of evil and triumph of the righteous.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to and end – Of all the wicked; wickedness not in this particular case only, but wickedness of all forms, and in all lands. The prayer here is a natural one; when a man becomes impressed with a sense of the evil of sin in one form, he wishes that the world may be delivered from it in all forms and altogether.
But establish the just – The righteous. This stands in contrast with his desire in regard to the wicked. He prays that the righteous may be confirmed in their integrity, and that their plans may succeed. This prayer is as universal as the former, and is, in fact, a prayer that the world may come under the dominion of the principles of truth and holiness.
For the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins – That is, the hearts and reins of all people. He understands the character of all people; he is intimately acquainted with all their thoughts, and purposes, and feelings. To search or try the heart and the reins is an expression frequently used in the Bible to denote that God is intimately acquainted with all the thoughts and feelings of people; that is, that he thoroughly understands the character of all people. The word heart in the Scriptures is often used to denote the seat of the thoughts; and the word reins seems to be used to denote the most secret feelings, purposes, and devices of the soul – as if lodged deep in our nature, or covered in the most hidden and concealed portions of the man. The word reins, with us, denotes the kidneys. In the Scriptures the word seems to be used, in a general sense, to denote the inward parts, as the seat of the affections and passions.
The Hebrew word kilyah, means the same as the word reins with us – the kidneys, Exo 29:13, Exo 29:22; Job 16:13; Isa 34:6; Deu 32:14. From some cause, the Hebrews seem to have regarded the reins as the seat of the affections and passions, though perhaps only in the sense that they thus spoke of the inward parts, and meant to denote the deepest purposes of the soul – as if utterly concealed from the eye. These deep thoughts and feelings, so unknown to other people, are all known intimately to God, and thus the character of every man is clearly understood by him, and he can judge every man aright. The phrase used here – of trying the hearts and reins – is one that is often employed to describe the Omniscience of God. Compare Jer 11:20; Jer 17:10; Jer 20:12; Psa 26:2; Psa 139:13; Rev 2:23. The particular idea here is, that as God searches the hearts of all people, and understands the secret purposes of the soul, he is able to judge aright, and to determine correctly in regard to their character, or to administer his government on the principles of exact justice. Such is the ground of the prayer in this case, that God, who knew the character of all people, would confirm those who are truly righteous, and would bring the wickedness of the ungodly to an end.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 7:9-16
Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end.
The self-destroying power of wickedness
The accents require Psa 7:9 to be rendered, Let wickedness make an end of the wicked, but that introduces an irrelevant thought of the suicidal nature of evil. It may be significant that the Psalmists prayer is not for the destruction of the wicked, but of their wickedness. Such annihilation of evil is the great end of Gods judgment, and its consequence will be the establishment of the righteous. Again, the prayer strengthens itself by the thought of God as righteous, and as trying the hearts and reins (the seat of feeling). In the presence of rampant, and all but triumphant evil, a man needs to feed hopes of its overthrow, that would else seem vainest dreams, by gazing on the righteousness and searching power of God The last section is a vision of the judgment prayed for, and may be supposed to be addressed to the enemy. If so, the hunted man towers above them, and becomes a rebuker. The character of God underlies the fact of judgment, as it had encouraged the prayer for it. What he had said to himself when his head drooped he now, as a prophet, peals out to men as making retribution sure: God is a righteous judge, yea, a God that hath indignation every day. The absence of an object specified for the indignation makes its inevitable flow wherever there is evil the more vividly certain. If He is such, then of course follows the destruction of everyone who turns not. Retribution is set forth with solemn vigour under four figures.
1. God is as an armed enemy sharpening His sword in preparation for action, a work of time which in the Hebrew is represented as in process, and bending His bow, which is represented as a completed act. Another second and the arrow will whiz. So the stern picture is drawn of God as in the moment before the outburst of His punitive energy–the sword sharpened, the bow bent, the arrows fitted, the burning stuff being smeared on their tips. What will happen when all this preparation blazes into action?
2. Verse 14: A figure of the automatic action of evil in bringing punishment. It is the Old Testament version of Sin when it is finished bringeth forth death. The evil-doer is boldly represented as travailing with iniquity, and that metaphor is broken up into two parts, He hath conceived mischief, and He hath brought forth falsehood. The falsehood, which is the thing actually produced, is so called, not because it deceives others, but because it mocks its producer with false hopes, and never fulfils his purposes. This is but the highly metaphorical way of saying that a sinner never does what he means to do, but that the end of all his plans is disappointment. The law of the universe condemns him to feed on ashes, and to make and trust in lies.
3. The idea in falsehood, namely, the failure of evil to accomplish its doers purpose. Crafty attempts to trap others have an ugly habit of snaring the contriver. The irony of fortune tumbles the hunter into the pitfall dug by him for his prey.
4. Verse 16: The incidence of his evil on the evil-doer as being certain as the fall of a stone thrown straight up, which will infallibly come back in the line of its ascent. Retribution is as sure as gravitation, especially if there is an Unseen Hand above, which adds impetus and direction to the falling weight. All these metaphors, dealing with the natural consequences of evil, are adduced as guarantees of Gods judgment, whence it is clear both that the Psalmist is thinking not of some final future judgment, but of the continuous one of daily providence, and that he made no sharp line of demarcation between the supernatural and the natural. The qualities of things and the play of natural events are Gods working. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
A prayer for the ending of wickedness
I. The wickedness of the wicked.
1. It is the genuine fruit of a depraved nature.
2. It displays itself in various forms.
3. It presses into its service the whole man.
4. It has abounded in all ages of the world.
II. When may this wickedness come to an end? The end of a thing is its termination.
1. It comes to an end partially in the individual conversion of sinners to God.
2. It will come to an end generally by the conversion of the world to God.
III. This is a most desirable object.
1. On Gods account.
2. On our own account.
3. On account of those who are the immediate subjects of this wickedness.
IV. What means can be adopted to put an end to it?
1. Give no countenance to wickedness.
2. Warn the wicked of their danger.
3. Pray that their wickedness may come to an end. Wrestle with God in their behalf. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Prayer for the termination of sin
Our text is a prayer, and teaches us–
1. To pray against all sin; to pray it, if possible, out of the world.
2. To pray for all saints, for all good people. If we would be on the Lords side in the day of inquiry, we must by our prayers act in concert with the just.
I. What we are to desire and pray for.
1. That wickedness may come to an end. That wicked principles may be exploded and abandoned. That wicked practices may be prevented and restrained; that though Balsam be still the same, yet he may not be suffered to curse Israel; though Sennacherib has still an inveterate rage against God, yet he may be made to feel that God has a hook in his nose and a bridle in his jaws. Thus let wickedness be ashamed and hide itself, and that it may not be propagated and spread so as to infect others.
2. That God would establish the just in their integrity and retain them in it, is their comfort and hope. In their undertaking against wickedness: that they may not be shaken by any discouragements they meet with.
II. Why this is and ought to be the desire of all good people. Because–
1. Such have concern for the honour of God; and
2. They have tender love to the souls of men.
3. They have great value for the grace of God, for what it has done and is promised to do; and
4. They are hearty well-wishers to their native land.
III. For application of what has been said.
1. Let us address ourselves to God in prayer that He would further the reformation of manners in our land. Let ministers thus pray, and those who are engaged in the societies for reformation support their undertakings by their prayers.
2. And let us follow prayer with endeavour. You who are rich and of station in the world be favoured to appear in person to uphold this work. Your influence is a talent you must account for. Assure yourselves that the cause of religion and piety is the cause of God and must prevail. (Matthew Henry.)
For the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
The searching Divine test
The one thought of Gods judgment seems to run through the Psalm. To understand the Psalm aright we must refer it altogether to the assurance that God will ultimately clear those who are falsely accused of anything in this world, which they feel and know that they have never committed. Often evil does seem to prevail over good. In the end God will justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. This assurance may uphold faithful men in all times of difficulty, trial, and persecution. Oftentimes God brings it to pass upon wicked men that they perish by the very way and means they designed for the destruction of the righteous. It is not merely that God knows every way of all men; it is not merely that His eye readeth, as it does, the very thoughts and intents of every heart amongst us: it is that He trieth each separate thought and intent of that heart, He weighs every word; He marks every little variation and complexion of mans thoughts, and words, and works, and intents. He registers it all, because He will one day judge the world in righteousness. To say to ourselves, The righteous God trieth the very heart and reins, will make us think more of what we call little sins, and it will make us value more and more every greater or less opportunity of receiving grace or of doing good. It will make us also watch more carefully the springs and intents of our hearts. (W. J. Stracey, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. The wickedness of the wicked] The iniquity of Saul’s conduct.
But establish the just] Show the people my uprightness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Let the malice of mine enemies cease, put a stop to their wicked practices, either by changing their hearts, or by tying their hands, or some other way; say to it, as thou dost to the sea, Hitherto hast thou gone, but thou shalt go no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. Or,
The wickedness of the wicked shall have an end; not an end of perfection, which is to be accomplished; but all end of termination, it shall cease; and an end of destruction, it shall be rooted out. Or, Let, I pray thee, wickedness consume the wicked, i.e. those that are maliciously and incorrigibly such. And so this prayer is opposed to that following prayer for the just. And such prayers against some wicked men we find used by prophetical persons, which are not rashly to be drawn into precedent by ordinary persons.
Establish; or, and thou wilt establish, or confirm, or uphold; which is opposed to that coming to an end or consuming last mentioned.
The just; all just persons and causes, and mine in particular, which is so.
The righteous God trieth the heart and reins; and therefore he knows that I have not so much as a thought or a desire of that mischief which Cush and others report I am designing against Saul.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. the hearts and reinstheaffections and motives of men, or the seat of them (compare Psa 16:7;Psa 26:2); as we use heart andbosom or breast.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,…. Which will not be till the measure of it is fully up, and that will not be till the wicked are no more; for, as long as they are in the world they will be committing wickedness, and like the troubled sea continually cast up the mire and dirt of sin; and they will remain to the end of the world, till the new Jerusalem church state shall take place, when all the Lord’s people will be righteous, and there will not be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts, nor a pricking brier or grieving thorn in all the land; for, in the new earth will no sinner be, but righteous persons only; and for this state the psalmist may be thought to pray; however by this petition and the following he expresses his hatred of sin and love of righteousness: some choose to render the words c, “let wickedness now consume the wicked”; as in the issue it will, unless the grace of God takes place; some sins consume the bodies, others the estates of wicked men, and some both; and all are the means of destroying both body and soul in hell, if grace prevent not; this may be considered as a declaration of what will be, being a prophetic petition d;
but establish the just; or righteous one; meaning himself, and every other who is made righteous, not by his own righteousness, but by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him; and who needs not to have his righteousness established, which is in itself stable, firm, and sure, and cannot be more so; it is an everlasting one, and cannot be abolished, but abides for ever, and will answer for him in a time to come; but his faith to be established more and more in its exercise on this righteousness: nor do the persons of the just need establishing, or can they be more stable than they are, as considered in Christ, as they are the objects of God’s everlasting love, secured in the covenant of grace, and built on Christ the foundation; but the graces of faith, hope, and love, need daily establishing on their proper object, they being weak, fickle, and inconstant in their acts; and the saints need more and more establishing in the doctrines of the Gospel, and in their adherence to the cause of God and Christ and true religion; and it is God’s work to establish them, to whom the psalmist applies; see 1Pe 5:10;
for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins; he is righteous himself in his nature, and in all his works, and he knows who are righteous and who are wicked; he knows the hearts, thoughts, affections, and inward principles of all men, and the springs of all their actions; he looks not at outward appearances, but at the heart; and as he can distinguish between the one and the other, he is capable of punishing the wicked and of confirming the righteous, consistent with the truth of his perfections.
c “consumat nunc vel quaeso malum impios”, Muscuius, Vatablus, so Jarchi, Kimchi, Ben Melech. d “Consumat nunc malum impios”, Pagninus, Montanus, Hammond so Obadiah Gaon.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 7:10-11) In this strophe we hear the calm language of courageous trust, to which the rising and calmly subsiding caesural schema is particularly adapted. He is now concerned about the cessation of evil: Oh let it come to an end ( intransitive as in Psa 12:2; Psa 77:9)…. His prayer is therefore not directed against the individuals as such but against the wickedness that is in them. This Psalm is the key to all Psalms which contain prayers against one’s enemies. Just in the same manner is intended to express a wish; it is one of the comparatively rare voluntatives of the 2 pers. (Ew. 229): and mayst Thou be pleased to establish…. To the termination of evil which is desired corresponds, in a positive form of expression, the desired security and establishment of the righteous, whom it had injured and whose continuance was endangered by it. is the beginning of a circumstantial clause, introduced by , but without the personal pronoun, which is not unfrequently omitted both in the leading participial clause, as in Isa 29:8 (which see), and in the minor participial clause as here (cf. Psa 55:20): cum sis = quoniam es . The reins are the seat of the emotions, just as the heart is the seat of the thoughts and feelings. Reins and heart lie naked before God-a description of the only kardiognoo’stees, which is repeated in Jer 11:20; Jer 20:12, Rev 2:23. In the thesis the adjective is used with in the sing. as in Psa 78:56, cf. Ps 58:12. God is the righteous God, and by his knowledge of the inmost part He is fully capable of always showing Himself both righteous in anger and righteous in mercy according to the requirements and necessity of the case. Therefore David can courageously add , my shield doth God carry; Psa 89:19) would signify: He has it, it (my shield) belongs to Him, (1Ch 18:7) signifies: He bears it, or if one takes shield in the sense of protection: He has taken my protection upon Himself, has undertaken it (as in Psa 62:8, cf. Jdg 19:20), as He is in general the Saviour of all who are devoted to Him with an upright heart, i.e., a heart sincere, guileless (cf. Psa 32:1 with Psa 7:2). is intentionally repeated at the end of the first two lines – the favourite palindrome, found more especially in Isa 40:1. And to the mixed character of this Psalm belongs the fact of its being both Elohimic and Jehovic. From the calm language of heartfelt trust in God the next strophe passes over into the language of earnest warning, which is again more excited and somewhat after the style of didactic poetry.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
9 Let the malice of the wicked come to an endow I beseech thee. David, in the first place, prays that God would restrain the malice of his enemies, and bring it to an end; from which it follows, that his affliction had been of long duration. Others suppose that this is rather a dreadful imprecation, and they explain the Hebrew word גמר, gamar, somewhat differently. Instead of rendering it to cease, and to come to an end, as I have done, they understand it to make to cease, which is equivalent to destroy or to consume. (109) Thus, according to them, David wishes that God would cause the mischief which the wicked devise to fall upon their own heads: Let the wickedness of the wicked consume them But, in my opinion, the former interpretation is the more simple, namely, that David beseeches God to bring his troubles to a termination. Accordingly there follows immediately after the corresponding prayer Direct thou the righteous, or establish him; for it is of little importance which of these two readings we adopt. The meaning is, that God would re-establish and uphold the righteous, who are wrongfully oppressed, and thus make it evident that they are continued in their estate by the power of God, notwithstanding the persecution to which they are subjected.— For God searcheth the hearts The Hebrew copulative is here very properly translated by the causal particle for, since David, without doubt, adds this clause as an argument to enforce his prayer. He now declares, for the third time, that, trusting to the testimony of a good conscience, he comes before God with confidence; but here he expresses something more than he had done before, namely, that he not only showed his innocence, by his external conduct, but had also cultivated purity in the secret affection of his heart. He seems to set this confidence in opposition to the insolence and boasting of his enemies, by whom, it is probable, such calumnies had been circulated among the people concerning him, as constrained him in his deep affliction to present his heart and reins to be tried by God. Perhaps, also, he speaks in this manner, in order to divest them of all those plausible but false and deceitful pretenses, which they made use of for the purpose of deceiving men, and if they succeeded in doing this they were satisfied. (110) He shows that, although they might triumph before the world, and receive the applause of the multitude, they, nevertheless, gained nothing, inasmuch as they would, by and by, have to make their appearance before the judgment-seat of God, where the question would not be, What were their titles? or, What was the splendour of their actions? but how it stood as to the purity of their hearts.
(109) “ Les autres estiment plustost que ce soit une vehemente imprecation, et exposent ce mot Hebrieu un peu autrement. Car en lieu que nous le traduisons Cesser et Prendre fin, ils le prenent pour Faire cesser, qui est Destruire et Consumer.”— Fr.
(110) “ Il se peut faire aussi qu’il parle ainsi pour oster toutes ces belles apparances bien fardees dont ils se servoyent pour abuser les hommes et ce leur estoit assez.”— Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) Establish.Literally, let him stand erect.
For the righteous God trieth.Better, thou trier of hearts and reins, thou just God. The Hebrew word translated try is used, like it, for testing metals (Psa. 12:6; Pro. 17:3).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Oh let the wickedness of come to an end A prayer for universal right and justice in the earth, with calm faith in the result, finds expression in Psa 7:9-10. It is not against men, but against wickedness, that David prays: and this is the true key to all the imprecatory psalms.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
Ver. 9. Oh let the wickedness, &c. ] Put a stop to their rage and rancour.
But establish the just
The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wickedness . . . wicked = lawlessness . . . lawless. Hebrew. rasha. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Oh: Psa 9:5, Psa 9:6, Psa 10:15, Psa 10:18, Psa 58:6, Psa 74:10, Psa 74:11, Psa 74:22, Psa 74:23, Isa 37:36-38, Dan 11:45, Act 12:23
but: Psa 37:23, *marg. Psa 40:2, 1Sa 2:9, Rom 16:25, 1Th 3:13, 1Pe 5:10, Jud 1:1
for: Psa 17:3, Psa 44:21, Psa 139:1, 1Sa 16:7, 1Ch 28:9, Jer 11:20, Jer 17:10, Jer 20:12, Rev 2:23
Reciprocal: Jdg 7:4 – I will Jdg 11:27 – be judge 1Sa 24:12 – Lord judge 1Sa 26:23 – render 2Sa 18:19 – avenged him 1Ch 29:17 – triest the heart Job 10:7 – Thou knowest Job 31:6 – Let me be weighed in an even balance Psa 5:10 – let Psa 11:5 – trieth Psa 26:2 – General Psa 31:1 – deliver Psa 59:13 – Consume Psa 94:15 – But Pro 15:11 – the hearts Pro 24:12 – doth not he that Eze 11:5 – for Eze 21:25 – whose Luk 16:15 – God Joh 21:17 – thou knowest that Act 1:24 – Lord Rom 8:27 – And he 1Th 2:4 – but God Heb 4:13 – is there
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 7:9. Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end Let the malice of mine enemies cease: put a stop to their wicked practices, either by changing their hearts or tying their hands: say to it as thou dost to the sea, Hitherto hast thou gone, but thou shalt advance no further. Hebrew, The wickedness of the wicked shall have an end; it shall cease: it shall be rooted out and destroyed. But establish the just Or, And thou wilt establish, or confirm, or uphold the just, all just persons and causes; which is opposed to wickedness coming to an end, last mentioned. For the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins And, therefore, he knows the secret wickedness of the wicked, and how to bring it to an end; and he is a witness to the secret sincerity of the just, and has secret ways of establishing them in it. It is predicted, that wickedness will, in the end, be abolished, and the just immoveably established, by Him who knoweth intimately the very thoughts and desires of both good and bad men, and will give to each their due reward. How can we doubt of this when it has pleased God to afford so many examples and preludes to it in his dispensations of old time? The righteous cause hath already triumphed in Christ; let us not doubt that it will do so in the church. Happy the man whose hope is therefore in God, because he saveth the upright in heart. Horne.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the {h} hearts and reins.
(h) Though they pretend a just cause against me, yet God will judge their hypocrisy.