Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 89:46
How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself forever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
46. How long, Jehovah, wilt thou hide thyself for ever?
(How long) shall thy wrath burn like fire?
A repetition of Psa 79:5, with slight variations.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
46 51. The Psalmist appeals to God to withdraw His wrath and remove this contradiction, pleading the shortness of life and the taunts of God’s enemies as grounds for a speedy answer.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
How long, Lord? – How long is this to continue? Can it be that this is to continue always? Is there to be no change for the better? Are the promises which have been made, never to be fulfilled? Compare Psa 13:1, note; Psa 77:7-9, notes.
Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? – Thy favor. Wilt thou never come forth and manifest thyself as the Helper of those who trust in thee?
Shall thy wrath burn like fire? – Fire which entirely consumes; fire which never ceases as long as there is anything to burn; fire which never puts itself out, but which wholly destroys that on which it preys.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 46. How long, Lord?] The promise cannot utterly fail. When then, O Lord, wilt thou restore the kingdom to Israel?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
46. How long, c.(ComparePsa 13:1 Psa 88:14;Jer 4:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
How long, Lord, wilt thou hide thyself? for ever?…. When God hides his face front his people, though it is but for a little while, it seems long, and a kind of an eternity to them; and so it seemed to the man Christ Jesus; and indeed what he endured, when his Father hid his face from him, was of the same kind with an eternal absence; see Ps 13:1,
shall thy wrath burn like fire? it did so when Christ bore the sins of his people, and all the punishment due unto them; when his strength was dried up like a potsherd; when he, the antitype of the passover lamb roasted with fire, was sacrificed for us; all which is entirely consistent with God’s everlasting and invariable love to him, as his own Son. [See comments on Ps 89:38].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
After this statement of the present condition of things the psalmist begins to pray for the removal of all that is thus contradictory to the promise. The plaintive question, Psa 89:47, with the exception of one word, is verbatim the same as Psa 79:5. The wrath to which quousque refers, makes itself to be felt, as the intensifying (vid., Psa 13:2) implies, in the intensity and duration of everlasting wrath. is this temporal life which glides past secretly and unnoticed (Psa 17:14); and is not equivalent to (instead of which by way of emphasis only can be said), but stands for – according to the sense equivalent to , Psa 39:5, cf. Psa 39:6. The conjecture of Houbigant and modern expositors, (cf. Psa 89:51), is not needed, since the inverted position of the words is just the same as in Psa 39:5. In Psa 89:48 it is not pointed , “wherefore (Job 10:2; Job 13:14) hast Thou in vain (Psa 127:1) created?” (Hengstenberg), but , on account of or for what a nothing ( belonging together as adjective and substantive, as in Psa 30:10; Job 26:14) hast Thou created all the children of men? (De Wette, Hupfeld, and Hitzig). , of the ground of a matter and direct motive, which is better suited to the question in Psa 89:49 than the other way of taking it: the life of all men passes on into death and Hades; why then might not God, within this brief space of time, this handbreadth, manifest Himself to His creatures as the merciful and kind, and not as the always angry God? The music strikes in here, and how can it do so otherwise than in elegiac mesto? If God’s justice tarries and fails in this present world, then the Old Testament faith becomes sorely tempted and tried, because it is not able to find consolation in the life beyond. Thus it is with the faith of the poet in the present juncture of affairs, the outward appearance of which is in such perplexing contradiction to the loving-kindness sworn to David and also hitherto vouchsafed. has not the sense in this passage of the promises of favour, as in 2Ch 6:42, but proofs of favour; glances back at the long period of the reigns of David and of Solomon.
(Note: The Pasek between and is not designed merely to remove the limited predicate from the Lord, who is indeed the First and the Last, but also to secure its pronunciation to the guttural Aleph, which might be easily passed over after Mem; cf. Gen 1:27; Gen 21:17; Gen 30:20; Gen 42:21, and frequently.)
The Asaph Ps 77 and the Tephilla Isa. 63 contain similar complaints, just as in connection with Psa 89:51 one is reminded of the Asaph Psa 79:2, Psa 79:10, and in connection with Psa 89:52 of Psa 79:12. The phrase is used in other instances of loving nurture, Num 11:12; Isa 40:11. In this passage it must have a sense akin to . It is impossible on syntactic grounds to regard as still dependent upon (Ewald) or, as Hupfeld is fond of calling it, as a “post-liminiar” genitive. Can it be that the is perhaps a mutilation of , after Eze 36:15, as Bttcher suggests? We do not need this conjecture. For (1) to carry any one in one’s bosom, if he is an enemy, may signify: to be obliged to cherish him with the vexation proceeding from him (Jer 15:15), without being able to get rid of him; (2) there is no doubt that can, after the manner of numerals, be placed before the substantive to which it belongs, Eze 32:10, Pro 31:29; 1Ch 28:5; Neh 9:28; cf. the other position, e.g., Jer 16:16; (3) consequently may signify the “totality of many peoples” just as well as in Eze 31:6. The poet complains as a member of the nation, as a citizen of the empire, that he is obliged to foster many nations in his bosom, inasmuch as the land of Israel was overwhelmed by the Egyptians and their allies, the Libyans, Troglodytes, and Ethiopians. The which follows in Psa 89:52 cannot now be referred back over Psa 89:51 to ( qua calumnia ), and yet the relative sense, not the confirmatory (because, quoniam ), is at issue. We therefore refer it to , and take as an apposition, as in Psa 139:20: who reproach Thee, (as) Thine enemies, Jahve, who reproach the footsteps ( as in Psa 77:20 with Dag. dirimens , which gives it an emotional turn) of Thine anointed, i.e., they follow him everywhere, wheresoever he may go, and whatsoever he may do. With these significant words, , the Third Book of the Psalms dies away.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
46. How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? After having poured forth his complaints respecting the sad and calamitous condition of the Church, the Psalmist now turns himself to prayer. Whence it follows that the language of lamentation to which he had hitherto given utterance, although it emanated from carnal sense, was nevertheless conjoined with faith. Unbelievers, in the agitation of trouble, may sometimes engage in prayer, yet whatever they ask proceeds from feigned lips. But the prophet, by connecting prayer with his complaints, bears testimony that he had never lost his confidence in the truth of the Divine promises. With respect to this manner of expression, How long, for ever? we have spoken on Psa 79:5, where we have shown that it denotes a long and continued succession of calamities. Moreover, by asking How long God will hide himself, he tacitly intimates that all will be well as soon as God is pleased to look upon his chosen people with a benignant countenance. In the second clause of the verse, he again mentions as the reason why God did not vouchsafe to look upon them with paternal favor, that his anger was incensed against them. The obvious conclusion from which is, that all the afflictions endured by us proceed from our sins; these being the scourges of an offended God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(46) How long.With this persistent cry of the Maccaban age (see Psa. 74:10), the poet shows that faith is not extinct, though it has a sore struggle with despair.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
46. How long for ever The frequent lament and inquiry of the psalms of the captivity. Psa 74:1; Psa 74:9-10; Psa 75:5; Psa 85:5
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 89:46 How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
Ver. 46. How long, Lord? &c. ] Here faith prevaileth against flesh, and falleth a praying, and at length a praising God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 89:46-48
46How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember what my span of life is;
For what vanity You have created all the sons of men!
48What man can live and not see death?
Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.
Psa 89:46 fire See SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Shall. Supply Ellipsis from preceding line: “[How long] shall”, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
How: Psa 13:1, Psa 13:2, Psa 79:5, Psa 85:5, Psa 90:13
wilt: Psa 10:1, Psa 88:14, Job 23:9, Isa 8:17, Isa 45:15, Hos 5:15
thy wrath: Psa 78:63, Jer 4:4, Jer 21:12, 2Th 1:8, Heb 12:29
Reciprocal: Deu 31:17 – hide my face Job 19:11 – kindled Psa 35:17 – how Psa 74:10 – General Psa 77:7 – the Lord Psa 88:16 – fierce Psa 94:3 – Lord Isa 64:12 – General Lam 2:3 – he burned Lam 5:20 – dost Eze 38:18 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
89:46 How long, {g} LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?
(g) The prophet in joining prayer with his complaint, shows that his faith never failed.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Ethan called on God to remember David and His promises before the king or his line died. In conclusion, he reaffirmed his belief in God’s loyal love and faithfulness (Psa 89:49). However, he asked God to remember His servants and His anointed before long (Psa 89:50-51). All the psalmist could do was wait for God to answer.
When God seems to be acting contrary to His character and promises, the godly should remember that He is loyal and faithful. They should call on Him to act for His own glory and for the welfare of His people. However, they must remember that appearances can often be deceiving, as they were in this case. God was disciplining David; He had not cut him off.
Psa 89:52 concludes Book 3 of the Psalter (Psalms 73-89).