Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 119:119
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
119. Thou puttest away ] God removes the wicked, as the refiner of metals throws away the dross. Cp. Jer 6:28-30; Eze 22:18-19; Mal 3:2-3. LXX however reads I reckon, and Aq., Symm., Jer. thou reckonest ( for ). The former does not suit the next line, but the latter may be the true reading.
therefore I love thy testimonies ] That I may avoid their fate: or perhaps, because I see thy righteousness manifested in these judgements. Cp. the next verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth – Margin, causest to cease. Literally: Dross … thou makest all the wicked of the earth to cease. They are seen by the psalmist as dross, and then he says that God had treated them as such.
Like dross – The scoriae of metals, or of a furnace. This dross is cast out as of no value. So the wicked are regarded by God.
Therefore I love thy testimonies – I love a law which condemns sin. I love a government which ferrets out and punishes the guilty. This is a leading object with all just governments; and this we approve in all governments. As the divine government makes this an object, and as it will accomplish this more perfectly than any other administration so it is more worthy of confidence than any other. As it is the only government that does this perfectly, so it is the only one that is worthy of unlimited confidence.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross] There is no true metal in them: when they are tried by the refining fire, they are burnt up; they fly off in fumes, and come to no amount. There is probably an allusion here to the scum or scoriae at the surface of melting metals, which is swept oft previously to casting the metal into the mould.
Therefore I love thy testimonies.] Thy testimonies will stand; and thy people will stand; because thou who didst give the one, and who upholdest the other, art pure, immovable, and eternal.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou puttest away; thou removest them from thy presence, and from the society of thy people, and from the land of the living.
Like dross; which, though for a season it be mixed with gold or silver, is not only separated from it as a useless and contemptible thing, but also is utterly consumed by fire.
Therefore I love thy testimonies; because they are the best preservatives against wickedness, and against those dreadful punishments attending upon it, of which he professeth his fear in the next verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross,…. Which is of no worth and value, useless and unprofitable; which is cast into the fire, and separated from the choice metal. This expresses the character and state of wicked men; who are of no account with God, are of no profit and advantage to him; nor to men, but harmful and pernicious; are cast into the fire of God’s judgments here, and into everlasting burnings hereafter; and will be separated from the righteous, and have no part and lot with them: these seem to be hypocrites also, who have made a show of being gold and silver, when they were nothing but dross; and being reprobate silver, were rejected of God as such;
therefore I love thy testimonies; which discover such persons when brought to be tried by them; and which require purity of heart and life, and caution against evil ways and evil men, and are a means of preserving from them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
119. Thou hast made all the wicked of the earth to cease as dross. The meaning of this verse is similar to that of the preceding. By the similitude employed, there is described a sudden and an unexpected change, when their imaginative glory and happiness become dissipated in smoke. It is to be observed, that the vengeance of God against the wicked is not all at once manifested, so that they completely perish, or are exterminated from the earth; but as God, in rooting them out one after another, shows himself to be the judge of the world, and that he is purging the earth of them, it is not wonderful to find the prophet speaking of their destruction in this manner; for the Hebrew verbs often denote a continued act. As God, then, executes his judgments by little and little, and often suspends punishment until he see that the wicked abuse his long-suffering; it becomes us, on our part, to continue patiently waiting until, as a heathen writer observes, he compensate the delay of the punishment, by its severity when inflicted. It is abundantly evident, that the particle of similitude, as, is to be supplied before the word dross (440) Nor do I reject the opinion of those who assert, that the wicked are compared to dross, because, so long as they are mingled among the faithful as dregs, they infect and contaminate them; but when they are removed as scum, the purity of the godly shines forth with improved lustre. In the second place, the prophet adds, that the judgments of God were not without fruit in him, since they led him to love the doctrine of the law the more. Those who are not induced to commit themselves to the protection of God, whenever, by lifting up his hand, he shows that the world is governed by his power, must certainly be very perverse; but when, of his own good pleasure, he offers himself to us by his word, those who do not make haste to embrace so great a boon are stupid indeed. On the other hand, when he connives for a long time at the wickedness of men, devout affection, which should ravish us with the love of God’s word, languishes.
(440) “Before the noun סגים, rendered dross, the particle כ, of similitude, is understood, so that the Psalmist says, ‘Thou hast entirely removed (made to cease) all the wicked of the earth as dross,’ which is removed from metals by fusion, or from corn by winnowing. The society of men is as a mass of metal in which the wicked are as rust and dross. The judgments of God, which are searching, will cause a separation of the dross from the metal, and thus He will destroy the one and preserve the other.” — Phillips
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(119) Thou puttest away.For this common Scriptural figure comp. Jer. 6:28-30; Eze. 22:18-20. This is indeed a process which is continually going on, and it is one test of the true religious character that it can discern it at work under the seeming contradictions of the world. Where apparently vice succeeds and prospers it is really marked out for expulsion,
To those who
All treasures and all gain esteem as dross;
And dignities and powers, all but the Highest.
MILTON.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 119:119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
Ver. 119. Thou pullest away all the wicked of the earth like dross ] Consuming them in the fire of thy wrath, and casting them out as refuse; see Isa 1:25 vel quasi rubiginem existimasti, thou hast reckoned them as rust (Kimchi); whereas the saints are preciously esteemed, as the least filings of gold are.
Therefore I love thy testimonies
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Thou puttest away. Septuagint and Vulg, read “I have accounted”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 119:119-121. Thou putteth away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
Eastern kings cannot often say as much as this, but David had been a just king. This was for his comfort when he himself came under unjust treatment. I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors. It is of the same tenor as another prayer: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. God often deals with men as they deal with others: With the forward, he will show himself forward; Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. May our conduct be such that, though we plead no merit, yet we may dare to mention it in prayer.
Psa 119:122. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me.
As nearly as I remember, this is the only verse which does not mention the law or the Word of God. Here you have a surety, and that is something even better. If the law fails us, the surety stands us in good stead. How I like to think of God the surety of his people! When there is a trial against them, and the oppressor is heavy upon them, they can come to God to be a surety for them in the great action of life. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me. My Master is surety for his servants; his servant is sure enough.
Psa 119:123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.
I have looked until I have looked my eyes out: I am weary with waiting, with watching, with weeping: Mine eyes fail for thy salvation. Some do not even look for him. Here is a man who looked until his very eyes gave out.
Psa 119:124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.
He is a just man; he can plead that he has done justly; but he does not ask to be dealt with according to justice: Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy as far as any one of us can get. If you have been greatly sanctified, have walked very near to God, I would not advise you still to go beyond this prayer: Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy. Singular is the next sentence: And teach me thy statutes. It is a great mercy to be taught the ways of God, to understand his way, to understand the practical part of it, the statutes. To be made holy is a high honour, a great privilege. When you are seeking great favors of God, ask for great holiness.
Psa 119:125. I am thy servant;
He called himself servant many times before; and in this wonderful passage this is the third time. He is delighted to be the servant of God. He says little about being a king; he says a great deal about being a servant: I am thy servant.
Psa 119:125. Give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
You know, generally a teacher finds the teaching; the pupil has to find understanding But here is a prayer: Give me understanding. The last verse he asked to be taught; here he asks to have an understanding given to him. What a God we have to deal with! And when we are taught of the Lord, how effectually we are taught: he not only gives the facts, but gives the understanding with which to get at their meaning.
Psa 119:126. It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
When men begin to exercise a destructive criticism upon the Word of God, it is time for God to work. When Gods law is held in small esteem, when men go their own way, call vice by the name of pleasure, It is time for thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void thy law.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Thou: When Thou triest them in the refining fire, they are burnt up, fly off in fumes, or in scorie, which Thou sweepest away.
puttest away: Heb. causest to cease, 1Sa 15:23, Jer 6:30, Eze 22:18-22, Mal 3:2, Mal 3:3, Mat 3:12, Mat 7:23, Mat 13:40-42, Mat 13:49, Mat 13:50
therefore: Psa 119:111, Psa 119:126-128
Reciprocal: Mal 4:1 – and all the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
119:119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth [like] {e} dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.
(e) Which infected your people, as dross does metal.