Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 141:5
Let the righteous smite me; [it shall be] a kindness: and let him reprove me; [it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities.
5. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be kindness:
And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil for the head;
Let not my head refuse it:
But still let my prayer be against their evil doings.
From the prayer of Psa 141:4 it is clear that the Psalmist had felt the seductiveness of worldly luxury, and apparently (cp. Psa 141:9) godless men had been endeavouring to entice him to cast in his lot with them. On the other hand it would seem that he had been tempted to resent the correction and reproof of the godly, possibly not always offered in the most conciliatory way. He therefore prays that he may welcome correction as kindness, and reproof as the “ointment and perfume” which “rejoice the heart” (Pro 27:9), alluding no doubt to the oil with which his head would have been anointed at the banquets of the wicked (Amo 6:6). Smite is of course a metaphor for severe correction. Cp. Pro 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” The Book of Proverbs insists constantly on the value of reproof, which the wise man welcomes and the fool resents (Pro 3:11 f.; Pro 13:18; Pro 15:5; Pro 15:31-32; Pro 28:23), and the duty of neighbourly reproof is enjoined in the Law (Lev 19:17). Cp. Ecc 7:5.
The last line is obscure, and the text is possibly corrupt, but the general sense may be, ‘Let me not resent reproof, and associate with the wicked, but let me continue to pray against (or, in the midst of) their evil deeds.’ Neglecting the Heb. accents we might render, Let not my head refuse it, but again! (i.e. let him repeat his reproofs), and let my prayer be against their evil deeds.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let the righteous smite me – This verse is exceedingly difficult and obscure (compare the margin); and there have been almost as many different opinions in regard to its meaning as there have been commentators on the psalm. A large number of these opinions may be seen in Rosenmuller in loc. DeWette explains it, I gladly suffer anything that is unpleasant from my friends, that may be for my good; but the wickedness of my enemies I cannot endure. The Septuagint and Latin Vulgate render it, Let a righteous man correct me with mercy, and he will work convictions in me; but let not the oil of a sinner (for this shall still be my prayer) anoint my head at their pleasure. Thompsons translation. According to this, the sense would be, If the righteous smite me with severity of words I shall take it as an act of kindness and benevolence; on the other hand, the bland words of a sinner, smooth as oil, which wound more than sharp arrows, may God avert from me.
Or, in other words, I had rather be slain by the severe words of the righteous than anointed by the oily and impious words of the wicked. The sense proposed by Hengstenberg (Com. in loc.) is, Even as I through the cloud of wrath can see the sunshine of divine goodness, I will not give myself over to doubt and despair, according to the course of the world, when the hand of the Almighty rests upon me; but I will, and can, and should, in the midst of trouble, be joyful, and that is the high privilege of which I will never be deprived. According to this, the idea is, that the sufferings endured by good people, even at the hand of the wicked, are chastisements inflicted by a gracious God in justice and mercy, and as such may be likened to a festive ointment, which the head of the sufferer should not refuse, as he will still have occasion for consolation to invoke God in the midst of trials yet to be experienced.
The word righteous is evidently employed in the usual sense of the term. It refers to those who love and serve God. The word translated smite – chalam – is rendered broken in Jdg 5:22; Isa 16:8; Isa 28:1 (margin, but rendered by our translators overcome, sc. with wine); smote, Jdg 5:26; Isa 41:7; beaten, Pro 23:35; beating down, 1Sa 14:16; break down, Psa 74:6. It does not elsewhere occur, except in the verse before us. It would apply to any beating or smiting, with the fist, with a hammer, with a weapon of war, and then with words – words of reproof, or expressions of disapprobation. According to the view above taken (Introduction), it is used here with reference to an apprehended rebuke on the part of good people, for not following their advice.
It shall be a kindness – literally, A kindness; that is, an act of kindness. The idea is, that it would be so intended on their part; it should be so received by him. Whatever might be the wisdom of the advice, or the propriety of yielding to it, or whatever they might say if it were not followed, yet he could regard it as on their part only well-intended. If a certain course which they had advised should be rejected, and if by refusing or declining to follow it one should incur their displeasure, yet that ought to be interpreted only as an act well-intended and meant in kindness.
And let him reprove me – As I may anticipate that he will, if his advice is not taken. I must expect to meet this consequence.
It shall be an excellent oil – literally, Oil of the head. That is – like oil which is poured on the head on festive occasions, or when one is crowned, as a priest, or a prophet, or a king. See the notes at Mar 6:13; notes at Luk 4:18-19. Oil thus used for the head, the face, etc., was an indispensable article for the toilet among Orientals. The idea is here that the reproof of the righteous should be received as readily as that which contributed most to comely adorning and comfort; or that which diffused brightness, cheerfulness, joy.
Which shall not break my head – Or rather, Which my head shall not (or, should not) refuse; which it should welcome. The word rendered break should not have been so translated. The Hebrew word – haniy’, is from nu’ – in Hiphil, to negative; to make naught; then to refuse, to decline, to deny. It is rendered discourage in Num 32:7, Num 32:9 (Margin, break); disallow, Num 30:5 (twice), Num 30:8, Num 30:11; make of none effect, Psa 33:10; break, in the passage before us. It does not elsewhere occur. The idea is, If such reproof comes on me for the faithful doing of what I regard as wise and best, I ought no more to reject it than the head would refuse the oil poured on it, to make the person healthful and comely.
For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities – I will not be sullen, displeased, angry, revengeful. I will not refuse to pray for them when trials come upon them, because they have not approved of my course, because they have reproved me for not following their counsel, because they have used words that were like heavy blows. I will cherish no malice; I will not be angry; I will not seek to be revenged. I will not turn away from them when trouble comes on them. I will love them, cherish with gratitude the memory of the kindness they meant, and pray for them in the time when they especially need prayer. Should they now rebuke me rather than pray for me, yet I will not in turn rebuke them in similar trials, but will pray for them, as though nothing of this had happened. Noble spirit – indicative of what should always be the spirit of a good man. Our friends – even our pious friends – may not be always wise in their advice, and they may be severe in their reproofs if we do not follow their counsel; yet let us receive all as well-intended, and let us not in anger, in sullenness, or in revenge, refuse to aid them, and to pray for them in trouble, though they were not wise, and though they used words of severity toward us.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 141:5
Let the righteous . . . reprove me.
The reproof of the righteous
I. The character of one who is qualified to give reproof.
1. One whose life is habitually consistent with his profession.
2. One who is influenced by proper motives.
(1) Aversion to sin.
(2) Love to those whom he reproves.
(3) Concern for the happiness and honour of a Christian brother.
(4) Love to God and zeal for His glory.
II. The manner in which reproof should be received, and the effect it should produce.
1. The manner.
(1) It must be esteemed a kindness.
(2) We must be willing to part with every sin.
(3) We must be truly humble.
2. The effect.
(1) It brings to repentance.
(2) It raises the reputation.
III. The manner in which we should requite those who reprove us. As sanctified reproof constrains us to pray for ourselves it will dispose us to pray for reprovers. A spirit of prayer is never a selfish spirit; it embraces all mankind, and enables us to offer fervent supplications in behalf of our enemies; much more will it dispose us to pray for those whom we love, and to whom we are indebted for acts of kindness. (Essex Remembrancer.)
Advantages of Christian reproof
I. The obligation to this duty (Lev 19:17; Pro 9:8; Pro 24:15; Luk 17:3; 1Ti 5:20; 2Ti 4:2).
III. The character of those who are to administer reproof to others. Let the righteous smite me. Let the sincere, humble, constant Christian, who is blameless and harmless, the child of God, without rebuke, let him administer reproof. Let the conscientious man, who endeavours to keep himself always in the love of God, who is a pattern of righteousness and peace, reprove and rebuke others. This is Christian reproof, and has the weight which God designed it to have.
III. The spirit is which it is to be administered.
1. It must be in the spirit of true Christian meekness.
(1) Mingled with a sincere and tender compassion for the offender there must be a humbling conviction of our own frailty and liability to sin, and while we reprove him we must cherish a holy fear of falling ourselves.
(2) All harshness, abruptness, overbearing and censoriousness are utterly opposed to the spirit in which Christian rebuke is to be administered.
2. It must be administered in a spirit of real kindness and brotherly love for the individual reproved, and with a sincere desire to do him good.
3. It is to be administered in a spirit of firmness and fidelity. This is not inconsistent with Christian meekness and gentleness, nor with fraternal kindness and tender benevolent desire to do our offending brother goad.
IV. The happy effects to be realized.
1. It will free the Christian who performs this duty from being partaker of other mens sins, and will give him a peace of conscience which he cannot otherwise enjoy.
2. It is often the means of breaking the spell and delusions of sin on a brothers mind which have withstood all other influences.
3. It will prevent the evil of talebearing and backbiting.
4. It will promote amongst Christians a spirit of brotherly love and prayerfulness for each other. (D. L. Carroll, D. D.)
How we may bring our hearts to bear reproofs
I. How reproofs may be duly received.
1. It is desirable on many accounts that he who reproves us be himself a righteous person, and be of us esteemed so to be; for as such an one alone will or can have a due sense of the evil reproved, with a right principle and end in the discharge of his own duty, so the minds of them that are reproved are, by their sense of his integrity, excluded from those insinuations of evasions which prejudices and suggestions of just causes of reflections on their reprover will offer unto them. Especially, without the exercise of singular wisdom and humility, will all the advantages of a just reproof be lost where the allowed practice of greater sins and evils than that reproved is daily chargeable on the reprover.
2. The nature of a reproof is either–
(1) Authoritative.
(a) Ministerial.
(b) Parental.
(c) Despotical.
(2) Or fraternal.
(3) Or friendly.
3. The matter of a reproof is duly to be weighed by him who designs any benefit thereby.
II. Why we ought to receive reproofs orderly or regularly given unto us, esteeming them a singular privilege.
1. Mutual reproofs for the curing of evil and preventing of danger in one another are prime dictates of the law of nature and that obligation which our participation in the same being, offspring, original, and end, to seek the good of each other, doth lay upon us.
2. Whereas the light of nature is variously obscured and its directive power debilitated in us, God hath renewed on us an obligation unto this duty by particular institutions, both under the Old Testament and the New.
3. A due consideration of the use, benefit, and advantage of them will give them a ready admission into our minds and affections. Who knows how many souls that are now at rest with God have been prevented by reproofs, as the outward means, from going down into the pit? Unto how many have they been an occasion of conversion and sincere turning unto God!
III. What considerations may further us in their due improvement.
1. If there be not open evidence onto the contrary, it is our duty to judge that every reproof is given us in a way of duty. This will take off offence with respect unto the reprover, which, unjustly taken, is an assured entrance into a way of losing all benefit and advantage by the reproof.
2. Take heed of cherishing habitually such disorders, vices, and distempers of mind as are contrary unto this duty and will frustrate the design of it. Such are–
(1) Hastiness of spirit.
(2) Pride and haughtiness of mind.
3. Reckon assuredly that a fault, a miscarriage which any one is duly reproved for, if the reproof be not received and improved as it ought, is not only aggravated, but accumulated with a new crime, and marked with a dangerous token of an incurable evil (Pro 29:1).
4. It is useful unto the same end immediately to compare the reproof with the word of truth. This is the measure, standard, and directory of all duties, whereunto in all dubious cases we should immediately retreat for advice and counsel.
5. The best way to keep our souls in a readiness rightly to receive, and duly to reprove such reproofs, as may regularly be given us by any, is to keep and preserve our souls and spirits in a constant awe and reverence of the reproofs of God, which are recorded in His Word.
6. We shall fail in this duty unless we are always accompanied with a deep sense of our frailty, weakness, readiness to halt, or miscarry, and thereon a necessity of all the ordinances and visitations of God, which are designed to preserve our souls. (J. Owen, D. D.)
A wise reprover
Mr. John Wesley, having to travel some distance in a stage coach, fell in with a pleasant-tempered, well-informed officer. His conversation was sprightly and entertaining, but frequently mingled with oaths. When they were about to take the next stage, Mr. Wesley took the officer aside, and, after expressing the pleasure he had enjoyed in his company, told him he was thereby encouraged to ask of him a very great favour. I would take a pleasure in obliging you, said the officer, and I am sure you will not make an unreasonable request. Then, said Mr. Wesley, as we have to travel together some time, I beg that, if I should so far forget myself as to swear, you will kindly reprove me. The officer immediately saw the motive, and felt the force of the request, and, with a smile, said, None but Mr. Wesley could have conceived a reproof in such a manner. (Weekly Pulpit.)
For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.—
Intercessory prayer
Passage difficult, but we take the meaning of our Authorized Version, and would speak–
I. Of the duty of intercession for the people of God.
1. Take as our first key-note the word obligation. The new nature in us teaches us this as does the law of the elect household. And our membership of the body of Christ, and our obligation to the intercession of others, urge this.
2. Honour. It is this to be permitted to pray for the saints, for so we are brought into close fellowship with Christ. Especially when we think what we once were–beggars for ourselves at mercys door. Avail yourselves of this honour.
3. Excellence. Such intercession benefits those who use it, for it will suggest go you to know your brethren, and will bring love with it; and will lead you to kinder judgments, and to self-watchfulness. Have we not cause to be ashamed on account of our neglect of this duty?
4. Extent. He would pray for those who had displeased him; who had said, perhaps, severe things to him. And especially when they were in trouble. Men of the world leave their companions when they get into trouble as the herd leave the wounded deer. But we should stand by such.
II. For sinners also we should intercede. It is the most essential thing we can do. We cannot change their hearts. Such prayer will fit you to become Gods instrument, and will make you go to work hopefully. It is a very horrible thing to think of persons being buried alive, put underground by their friends in their coffins while yet there was breath in their bodies. Let us mind that we never bury a soul alive; I am afraid we are in the habit of doing it. We judge of such an one that he will never be converted, all effort would be useless. But we have no right thus to seal a souls death-warrant or to limit the grace of God. In this prayer all can aid. Some things many of you cannot do, but this all can. And especially when sinners come into calamities. We may win them then. Let us all intercede more. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Let the righteous smite me] This verse is extremely difficult in the original. The following translation, in which the Syriac, Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic nearly agree, appears to me to be the best: “Let the righteous chastise me in mercy, and instruct me: but let not the oil of the wicked anoint my head. It shall not adorn ( yani, from navah) my head; for still my prayer shall be against their wicked works.”
The oil of the wicked may here mean his smooth flattering speeches; and the psalmist intimates that he would rather suffer the cutting reproof of the righteous than the oily talk of the flatterer. If this were the case, how few are there now-a-days of his mind! On referring to Bishop Horsley, I find his translation is something similar to my own: –
Let the just one smite me, let the pious remove me.
Let not the ointment of the impious anoint my head.
But still I will intrude in their calamities.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Smite me, to wit, with his tongue by reproofs, as the next clause explains it, which are called wounds, Pro 27:6. As I pray unto thee that thou wouldst keep me from sinful practices, so I beg it of all just men, that if I do transgress, or if by the arts and slanders of mine enemies any of them are made to believe that I am guilty of evil designs against Saul, or of any other wickedness, that they would freely admonish and reprove me for it. And their reproofs shall please me better than the dainties of the wicked last mentioned, Psa 114:4.
It shall be a kindness; I shall be so far from being offended with it as an act of entity or ill will, as they may suspect, that I shall esteem it an act and sign of true friendship.
It shall be an excellent oil; or, it shall be as the oil of the head, as it is in the Hebrew, i.e. which is poured upon the head, as the manner was in great feasts and solemnities.
Not break my head; not Inert or disturb it, but, on the contrary, shall heal and greatly refresh and delight it; which is here understood by a known figure called meiosis, whereby more is intended than is expressed, as Pro 17:21, and oft elsewhere.
In their calamities; either,
1. In the calamities of those righteous persons who reproved and censured him. So this is an evidence of what he last said, that he should take their reproofs for a kindness, because when they came into such calamities as those wherein he was involved, as all righteous men must expect sufferings at one time or other, he would not insult over them, nor censure them, but pity them, and pray for them. Or,
2. In the calamities of his enemies, of which he speaks in the next words. And so this may be added as a reason why he did so freely offer himself to the righteous to be reproved by them, if he or his cause were so bad as his enemies made them, because he was well assured that he was sincere and his cause good, and that God would bring him out of all his calamities, and bring his enemies into such calamities that they should need and desire his prayers, which also he would willingly grant to them; and then all good men would be fully satisfied of the justice of his person and cause.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Let the righteous smite me, [it shall be] a kindness,…. Or, “smite me in kindness” a. In love; in a loving and friendly manner, which makes reproofs the more agreeable and effectual. Not the righteous God, as Arama; though he does sometimes smite his people for their sins, Isa 57:17; that is, reproves, corrects, and chastises them, and that in love and for their good; and therefore such smitings and corrections should be taken in good part by them, and received as fatherly chastisements, and as instances of his paternal care of them, and love to them; but rather righteous and good men; who, when there is occasion for it, should reprove and rebuke one another; but then it should be in a kind and tender manner, and with the spirit of meekness; and such reproofs should be as kindly received: “for faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”,
Pr 27:6. Or, “let the righteous beat me with kindness” or “goodness” b; with precepts of goodness, by inculcating good things into him; which he should take, as if he overwhelmed and loaded him with benefits; even though it was like striking with a hammer, as the word signifies;
and let him, reprove me; which explains what is meant by smiting;
[it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head; give no pain nor uneasiness to his head or his heart, but rather supple and heal the wounds sin reproved for has made. The Targum is,
“the oil of the anointing of the sanctuary shall not cease from my head;”
with which he was anointed king; and signifies that he should enjoy the dignity, and continue in it. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, “the oil of the ungodly”, or “sinners”: meaning their flattering words, which, though smooth as oil, were deceitful; and therefore he deprecates them, “let not the oil of the wicked”, c. as being hurtful and pernicious
for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities; that is, when the righteous, that smote and reproved him for his good, should be in any distress; such a grateful sense should he retain of their favour in reproving him, that he would pray for them, that they might be delivered out of it; which would show that he took it kindly at their hand. Or, “in their evils”, or “against them” c; which some understand of the evil practices of wicked men; which the psalmist prayed against, and that he might be kept and delivered from.
a , Sept. “in misericordia”, V. L. “benigne ac clementer”, Michaelis. b “benignitate”, Tigurine version; “bonitate”, Gejerus; “seu praeceptis bonitatis”, Gussetius, p. 212. c “in malis eorum”, Montanus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius “adversus mala eorum”, Musculus, Michaelis; so some in Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thus far the Psalm is comparatively easy of exposition; but now it becomes difficult, yet not hopelessly so. David, thoroughly conscious of his sins against God and of his imperfection as a monarch, says, in opposition to the abuse which he is now suffering, that he would gladly accept any friendly reproof: “let a righteous man smite in kindness and reprove me – head-oil (i.e., oil upon the head, to which such reproof is likened) shall my head not refuse.” So we render it, following the accents, and not as Hupfeld, Kurtz, and Hitzig do: “if a righteous man smites me, it is love; if he reproves me, an anointing of the head is it unto me;” in connection with which the designation of the subject with would be twice wanting, which is more than is admissible. stands here as an abstract substantive: the righteous man, whoever he may be, in antithesis, namely, to the rebels and to the people who have joined them. Amyraldus, Maurer, and Hengstenberg understand it of God; but it only occurs of God as an attribute, and never as a direct appellation. , as in Jer 31:3, is equivalent to , cum benignitate = benigne . What is meant is, as in Job 6:14, what Paul (Gal 6:1) styles . and , tundere , is used of the strokes of earnest but well-meant reproof, which is called “the blows of a friend” in Pro 27:6. Such reproof shall be to him as head-oil (Psa 23:5; Psa 133:2), which his head does not despise. , written defectively for , like , in Psa 55:16, , 1Ki 21:29 and frequently; (root , Arab. n’ , with the nasal n , which also expresses the negation in the Indo-Germanic languages) here signifies to deny, as in Psa 33:10 to bring to nought, to destroy. On the other hand, the lxx renders , which is also followed by the Syriac and Jerome, perhaps after the Arabic nawiya , to become or to be fat, which is, however, altogether foreign to the Aramaic, and is, moreover, only used of fatness of the body, and in fact of camels. The meaning of the figure is this: well-meant reproof shall be acceptable and spiritually useful to him. The confirmation follows, which is enigmatical both in meaning and expression. This is the cipher of a whole clause, and the following is related to this as the Waw that introduces the apodosis, not to as in 2Ch 24:20, since no progression and connection is discernible if is taken as a subordinating quia . We interpret thus: for it is still so (the matter still stands thus), that my prayer is against their wickednesses; i.e., that I use no weapon but that of prayer against these, therefore let me always be in that spiritual state of mind which is alive to well-meant reproof. Mendelssohn’s rendering is similar: I still pray, whilst they practise infamy. On cf. Zec 8:20 (vid., Khler), and Pro 24:27 . He who has prayed God in Psa 141:3 to set a watch upon his mouth is dumb in the presence of those who now have dominion, and seeks to keep himself clear of their sinful doings, whereas he willingly allows himself to be chastened by the righteous; and the more silent he is towards the world (see Amo 5:13), the more constant is he in his intercourse with God. But there will come a time when those who now behave as lords shall fall a prey to the revenge of the people who have been misled by them; and on the other hand, the confession of the salvation, and of the order of the salvation, of God, that has hitherto been put to silence, will again be able to make itself freely heard, and find a ready hearing.
As Psa 141:6 says, the new rulers fall a prey to the indignation of the people and are thrown down the precipices, whilst the people, having again come to their right mind, obey the words of David and find them pleasant and beneficial (vid., Pro 15:26; Pro 16:24). is to be explained according to 2Ki 9:33. The casting of persons down from the rock was not an unusual mode of execution (2Ch 25:12). are the sides (Psa 140:6; Jdg 11:26) of the rock, after which the expression of the lxx, which has been misunderstood by Jerome, is intended to be understood;
(Note: Beda Pieringer in his Psalterium Romana Lyra Radditum (Ratisbonae 1859) interprets , absorpti , i.e., operti sunt loco ad petram pertinente signiferi turpis consilii eorum .)
they are therefore the sides of the rock conceived of as it were as the hands of the body of rock, if we are not rather with Bttcher to compare the expressions and construed with verbs of abandoning and casting down, Lam 1:14; Job 16:11, and frequently. In Psa 141:7 there follows a further statement of the issue on the side of David and his followers: instar findentis et secantis terram ( with Beth, elsewhere in the hostile signification of irrumpere ) dispersa sunt ossa nostra ad ostium ( as in Pro 8:3) orci ; Symmachus: , ; Quinta: . . . Assuming the very extreme, it is a look of hope into the future: should his bones and the bones of his followers be even scattered about the mouth of Shel (cf. the Syrian picture of Shel: “the dust upon its threshold al – escufteh ,” Deutsche Morgenlnd. Zeitschrift, xx. 513), their soul below, their bones above – it would nevertheless be only as when on in ploughing cleaves the earth; i.e., they do not lie there in order that they may continue lying, but that they may rise up anew, as the seed that is sown sprouts up out of the upturned earth. lxx Codd. Vat. et Sinait. , beside which, however, is found the reading ( Cod. Alex. by a second hand, and the Syriac, Arabic, and Aethiopic versions), as Bttcher also, pro ineptissimo utcunque , thinks must be read, understanding this, according to 2Ch 25:12 extrem., of the mangled bodies of those cast down from the rock. We here discern the hope of a resurrection, if not directly, at least (cf. Oehler in Herzog’s Real-Encyclopdie, concluding volume, S. 422) as am emblem of victory in spite of having succumbed. That which authorizes this interpretation lies in the figure of the husbandman, and in the conditional clause (Psa 141:8), which leads to the true point of the comparison; for as a complaint concerning a defeat that had been suffered: “so are our bones scattered for the mouth of the grave (in order to be swallowed up by it),” Psa 141:7, would be alien and isolated with respect to what precedes and what follows.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Reproofs of the Righteous; Complaints and Petitions. | |
5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. 6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. 7 Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. 8 But mine eyes are unto thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. 9 Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I withal escape.
Here, I. David desires to be told of his faults. His enemies reproached him with that which was false, which he could not but complain of; yet, at the same time, he desired his friends would reprove him for that which was really amiss in him, particularly if there was any thing that gave the least colour to those reproaches (v. 5): let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness. The righteous God (so some); “I will welcome the rebukes of his providence, and be so far from quarrelling with them that I will receive them as tokens of love and improve them as means of grace, and will pray for those that are the instruments of my trouble.” But it is commonly taken for the reproofs given by righteous men; and it best becomes those that are themselves righteous to reprove the unrighteousness of others, and from them reproof will be best taken. But if the reproof be just, though the reprover be not so, we must make a good use of it and learn obedience by it. We are here taught how to receive the reproofs of the righteous and wise. 1. We must desire to be reproved for whatever is amiss in us, or is done amiss by us: “Lord, put it into the heart of the righteous to smite me and reprove me. If my own heart does not smite me, as it ought, let my friend do it; let me never fall under that dreadful judgment of being let alone in sin.” 2. We must account it a piece of friendship. We must not only bear it patiently, but take it as a kindness; for reproofs of instruction are the way of life (Prov. vi. 23), are means of good to us, to bring us to repentance for the sins we have committed, and to prevent relapses into sin. Though reproofs cut, it is in order to a cure, and therefore they are much more desirable than the kisses of an enemy (Prov. xxvii. 6) or the song of fools, Eccl. vii. 5. David blessed God for Abigail’s seasonable admonition, 1 Sam. xxv. 32. 3. We must reckon ourselves helped and healed by it: It shall be as an excellent oil to a wound, to mollify it and close it up; it shall not break my head, as some reckon it to do, who could as well bear to have their heads broken as to be told of their faults; but, says David, “I am not of that mind; it is my sin that has broken my head, that has broken my bones, Ps. li. 8. The reproof is an excellent oil, to cure the bruises sin has given me. It shall not break my head, if it may but help to break my heart.” 4. We must requite the kindness of those that deal thus faithfully, thus friendly with us, at least by our prayers for them in their calamities, and hereby we must show that we take it kindly. Dr. Hammond gives quite another reading of this verse: “Reproach will bruise me that am righteous, and rebuke me; but that poisonous oil shall not break my head (shall not destroy me, shall not do me the mischief intended), for yet my prayer shall be in their mischiefs, that God would preserve me from them, and my prayer shall not be in vain.”
II. David hopes his persecutors will, some time or other, bear to be told of their faults, as he was willing to be told of his (v. 6): “When their judges” (Saul and his officers who judged and condemned David, and would themselves be sole judges) “are overthrown in stony places, among the rocks in the wilderness, then they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.” Some think this refers to the relentings that were in Saul’s breast when he said, with tears, Is this thy voice, my son David?1Sa 24:16; 1Sa 26:21. Or we may take it more generally: even judges, great as they are, may come to be overthrown. Those that make the greatest figure in this world do not always meet with level smooth ways through it. And those that slighted the word of God before will relish it, and be glad of it, when they are in affliction, for that opens the ear to instruction. When the world is bitter the word is sweet. Oppressed innocency cannot gain a hearing with those that live in pomp and pleasure, but when they come to be overthrown themselves they will have more compassionate thoughts of the afflicted.
III. David complains of the great extremity to which he and his friends were reduced (v. 7): Our bones are scattered at the grave’s mouth, out of which they are thrown up, so long have we been dead, or into which they are ready to be thrown, so near are we to the pit; and they are as little regarded as chips among the hewers of wood, which are thrown in neglected heaps: As one that cuts and cleaves the earth (so some read it), alluding to the ploughman who tears the earth in pieces with his plough-share, Ps. cxxix. 3. Can these dry bones live?
IV. David casts himself upon God, and depends upon him for deliverance: “But my eyes are unto thee (v. 8); for, when the case is ever so deplorable, thou canst redress all the grievances. From thee I expect relief, bad as things are, and in thee is my trust.” Those that have their eye towards God may have their hopes in him.
V. He prays that God would succour and relieve him as his necessity required. 1. That he would comfort him: “Leave not my soul desolate and destitute; still let me see where my help is.” 2. That he would prevent the designs of his enemies against him (v. 9): “Keep me from being taken in the snare they have laid for me; give me to discover it and to evade it.” Be the gin placed with ever so much subtlety, God can and will secure his people from being taken in it. 3. That God would, in justice, turn the designs of his enemies upon themselves, and, in mercy, deliver him from being ruined by them (v. 10): let the wicked fall into their own net, the net which, intentionally, they procured for me, but which, meritoriously, they prepared for themselves. Nec lex est justioir ulla quam necis artifices arte perire sua–No law can be more just than that the architects of destruction should perish by their own contrivances. All that are bound over to God’s justice are held in the cords of their own iniquity. But let me at the same time obtain a discharge. The entangling and ensnaring of the wicked sometimes prove the escape and enlargement of the righteous.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
5. Let the righteous smite me, etc. While Satan tempts the wicked by his allurements, they, at the same time, deceive one another by flattery, which leads David to declare, that he would much rather be awakened to his duty by the severe rod of reproof, than be seduced through pleasing falsehoods. Among those who hold religion in contempt no reproof is administered to one who has contracted any sin, and, therefore, if we have any concern for our spiritual safety we will connect ourselves with good men, who restore such as have fallen by upright admonition, and bring back those who have erred to the right way. It is not agreeable to corrupt nature to be reproved when we sin, but, David had brought himself to that degree of docility and self-denial which led him to consider no reproof distasteful which he knew to proceed from the spirit of kindness. As there is some ambiguity in the words, we may see to ascertain the proper meaning of them. The noun חסד, chesed, can very well be resolved into the adverb — the righteous shall smite me mercifully, or in mercy, supplying the preposition. And this is the meaning adopted by most interpreters, that David reckoned as the best ointment such reproofs as breathed charity and kindness, or proceeded from a kind and dispassionate spirit. Should this reading be preferred it is to be remembered, that David refers, not so much to the outward manner in which the reproof is to be administered, as to the frame of the heart. However how good men may be, and whatever severity of language they may employ in admonishing those who have erred, they are still actuated by the force of brotherly affection. My, the very severity is, in fact, occasioned by their holy anxiety and fear of their brother’s safety. The righteous act mercifully under all this apparent sharpness and severity — as the wicked, on the other hand, act cruelly who censure only in a very gentle manner. By noticing this feature in reproof, David besides would distinguish that kind of it which takes its rise in sincere affection, from invectives which proceed from hatred or private animosity, as Solomon says. (Pro 10:12.) The other rendering of the words, however, which I have adopted, is equally suitable —
Let the righteous censure me, it shall be mercy, or, I will reckon it a benefit, let him reprove me, this shall be precious ointment that will not hurt my head.
The last clause some interpret in another way — the oil of the head let it not break my head, that is, let not the wicked seduce me to destruction by their pleasing flatteries. (239) By the oil they understand the pernicious adulations by which the wicked would ruin us, and plunge us deeper and deeper in destruction, while they seem to administer pleasure. This would make the passage convey a fuller meaning, That while David was pliable and yielding in the matter of reproof, he fled from flattery as from the fatal songs of the Sirens. However sweet praise may be to the taste at first, every one who lends an ear to flattery, drinks in a poison which will presently diffuse itself through the whole heart. Let us learn by David’s example to reject all flatteries, prone as we are naturally to receive them, and to renounce waywardness and obstinacy, lest we should put away from us those corrections which are wholesome remedies for our vices. For such is the infatuated love men have to their own destruction, that even when forced to condemn themselves they wish to have the approbation of the world. And why? that by superinducing torpor of conscience, they may, by their own spontaneous act, devote themselves to ruin.
For yet my prayer, etc. Three explanations of this clause have been suggested. According to some the meaning of it is, that, as we are ever ready to be corrupted by bad example, David here prays, that he might not decline to their evils, or the evils which they practiced. The second sense assigned is, that David, recognizing their mischievous devices, prays that he may be kept by the Lord from their wickedness. The third sense, that recognizing them as reduced to desperate calamities, he prays that the just vengeance of God might be executed upon them according to their deserts. The very opposite meaning might seem the more suitable, that David was not prevented by their obstinacy in wickedness from praying for their welfare. For there is the adverb yet emphatically inserted. Or, what if David is to be considered as predicting their unfortunate end, intimating, that though the ungodly now riot in excess, they shall shortly be arrested, and that before long his compassion would be exercised towards them? The way in which the words stand connected favors this view; for he does not say — yet my prayer shall be in their calamities, but rather separately, “ yet, or, yet a little while, and then my power shall be in their calamities.” As David was in danger of being tempted to yield to similarly vain courses with them, he very properly suggests a sustaining motive to his soul, why he should retain his integrity, that erelong they would be overtaken with so awful a destruction as to entreat compassion from him and others of the people of God.
(239) “ Que l’huile de la teste ne rompe point ma teste, c’est a dire, que les meschans ne m’amadouent point par leurs flatteries a ma perdition et ruine.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) The difficulties of the psalm thicken here. Render, Let a righteous man smite me, it is a kindness; and let him reprove me, it is oil for the head: my head shall not refuse it though it continue; yet my prayer is against their wickedness.
The word rendered smite is that used of Jaels hammer strokes (Jdg. 5:26). (Comp. Isa. 41:7.) The Hebrew for reprove is probably used in a judicial sense, as in Gen. 31:37; Isa. 2:4; Pro. 24:25, &c. The greatest obscurity attaches to the word rendered above refuse, but in the Authorised Version break, probably because in Psa. 33:10 ( bring to none effect) it is in parallelism with break. The LXX. and Vulg. take it as meaning anoint, rendering (from a different text to ours) let not oil of a wicked man anoint my head. If we might adopt this reading it would remove the difficulty of this part of the verse, and give an excellent parallelism: A righteous man may smite me in mercy and reprove me, but let not a wicked mans oil anoint my head; i.e., I would welcome reproof from the righteous, but reject even the festive oil offered by the wicked. For the rendering wickednesses, instead of calamities, comp. Job. 20:12; Psa. 94:23. For the sense of although given to the conjunction, see Exo. 13:17. The suffix their refers back, of course, to the ungodly in Psa. 141:4. The oil for the head (comp. Psa. 45:7) is a natural emblem of festivity, and the whole sentiment of the passage is tolerably clear. Rather than join in the wicked mirth of a profane banquet, the poet would be the object of continued rebuke and chastisement from one of the godlyhis prayer meanwhile still rising for protection against the allurements held out to tempt him. We probably have sketched here the actual condition of many a Levite between the apostate and the loyal part of the nation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Let the righteous smite me This is preferred to the “dainties” of the wicked, Psa 141:4. Smiting, here, literally means beating as with a hammer, as Jdg 5:26, Psa 74:6; sharp reproof, as it is called in the next line.
Kindness Or, taking the word adverbially, Let the righteous smite me kindly. See the maxim Pro 27:6.
Excellent oil Literally, Oil of the head, and hence refined of excellent quality.
Not break my head Better, My head shall not refuse it. In Hebrew idiom equal to, “it shall cheer and refresh my head” diffuse joy and gladness, which answers to the figurative idea of anointing the head with oil. Psa 23:5; Psa 45:7; Luk 7:46. Or, taking ( noh) in the sense of discourage, depress, as Num 32:7; Num 32:9, we may render: “It [the smiting reproof] shall not depress my head” not bow it down as if in sorrow or shame.
For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities An ambiguous sentence. The word translated “calamities” may signify either affliction or wickedness. It is best to understand the psalmist as referring to his enemies, and render: “For yet my prayer also shall be against their wickedness;” that is, I return only prayer for their malice.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 141:5. Let the righteous, &c. I. Mr. Peters is of opinion, that David in this verse manifestly alludes to his anointment and designation to the throne. He translates and explains it thus: Let the just man be still upbraiding me with my goodness, and let the ointment of my head be urged against me, it shall not break my head: for hitherto my prayer has been against their wickedness. “As for my part behaviour towards Saul, I can never repent of it, whilst I am conscious I have done my duty. Though my friends and followers, those advocates for strict justice, are still upbraiding me with my excessive piety and goodness; and though the ointment of my head, thy designation of me to the throne, be urged against me, either as a reason why I might justly take the life of Saul, or as the cause that he will never cease to persecute me; yet I trust in thy mercy; it shall not break my head, or bring me to destruction. For hitherto it has not done it; I am safe under thy protection; and yet my prayers are all that I have opposed against the wicked attempts of my enemies.” This writer supposes the last clause of the verse to be elliptical, and that it should be supplied, according to his paraphrase: and he thinks that the verse thus understood very naturally introduces the two next verses, where the mild and dutiful behaviour of David towards Saul, and Saul’s cruelty towards him and his friends, are set together by way of contrast, in the strongest light. See the following notes. II. Mr. Mann and Houbigant nearly agree in the following translation: Let the righteous instruct me in mercy, and reprove me; but let not the oil of the wicked anoint my head: yea, my prayers shall be a witness against their depravity.Ver. 6. Let their judges be overthrown, &c. III. Another writer observes, that breaking the head, in scripture language, means destroying, or utterly subduing. See Gen 3:15. And we may easily suppose David to mean by the expression of excellent oil, the plausible and enticing, but withal treacherous and ensnaring speeches of his idolatrous enemies. He has the same thought, Psa 55:21. His words were softer than oil, yet be they very swords:so the LXX, The oil of the sinner:Ethiopic, The oil of sinners:Syriac, The oil of the ungodlyshall not anoint my head:And the Arabic, I will not anoint my head with the oil of sinners: i.e. “I will not be enticed with their flattering and ensnaring speeches.” The following translation by Mr. Green seems as reasonable as any: Let the righteous man, out of kindness, correct me and reprove me: but let not the fragrant oil of the wicked anoint my head; for my prayer shall ever be against their wicked practices.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Some read this verse very differently froth our present translation. They render it thus: Reproach will bruise me that am righteous, and rebuke but that poisonous oil shall not break my head, that is, shall not hurt me; for yet my prayer shall be in their mischiefs. Supposing that this be the construction of the words (I do not presume to determine that it is) nothing can be more beautiful or expressive in pointing to Christ; to none else can the expression of being righteous be applicable. See Luk_22:63-64; Luk_23:34 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; [it shall be] a kindness: and let him reprove me; [it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities.
Ver. 5. Let the righteous smite me, &c. ] In case I do offend in word or deed, let me never want a faithful reprover, who may smite me as with a hammer (so the word signifieth), reprove me sharply, Pro 23:35 Zec 13:5 Tit 1:13 , cuttingly, as the apostle’s word importeth, yet mildly and lovingly, Gal 6:1 Pro 9:8 ; Pro 19:25 ; Pro 25:12 , with soft words, but hard arguments, .
It shall be a kindness
It shall be an excellent oil
Which shall not break my head
For yet my prayer also shall be in their calamity
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 141:5-7
5Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.
6Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
Psa 141:5 This verse reflects a recurrent theme in Proverbs (cf. Pro 9:8; Pro 19:25; Pro 25:12; also note Ecc 7:5). Instruction and correction from a righteous person are treasured gifts to those who have God’s wisdom.
Psa 141:5 has three imperfects used in a jussive sense.
1. smite – BDB 240, 249, Qal imperfect
2. reprove – BDB 406, KB 410, Hiphil imperfect
3. refuse – BDB 626, KB 677, Hiphil imperative
These are prayer requests!
It is oil upon the head The NRSV, TEV, NJB, and REB follow the LXX, but let not the sinner’s oil anoint my head. Psa 141:5-7 is very difficult in Hebrew. There are many divergent translations. Best to get the general sense and move on to the next strophe!
in kindness This is the important covenant term hesed. See SPECIAL TOPIC: LOVINGKINDNESS (HESED) .
The last poetic line seems out of place in relation to the first four lines. The NKJV starts the next strophe (Psa 141:5 f-7) with it.
The NRSV, TEV, and JPSOA have footnotes which say that Psa 141:5-7 are uncertain.
Psa 141:6 the rock This may be
1. a reference to their deaths (cf. 2Ch 25:12)
2. a title for YHWH (i.e., the Rock, cf. Deu 32:18; Psa 18:2; Psa 18:31; Psa 18:46; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; Psa 31:3; Psa 42:9; Psa 71:3; see NAB and NJB translations)
Psa 141:7 the mouth of Sheol The OT holding place of the dead was personified as an animal that devoured (see Special Topic: Sheol ).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the righteous = a righteous one.
an excellent oil = oil for the head. This verse is said to be “extremely obscure” and “corrupt to a degree”. The Figure of speech Metalepsis (App-6) makes all clear; “head”, being first used for hair, and then for the whole person by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part). Hebrew = “as oil on the hair, I will not refuse it”. Note the alternation of lines in this verse.
yet. Same root as “withal” in Psa 141:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 141:5-7
Psa 141:5-7
THE MYSTERIOUS PASSAGE
Psa 141:5-7 are the difficult verses mentioned at the head of this chapter; and we submit the following renditions of these in various versions as the most practical way of discerning what might be meant.
“Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness;
And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head;
Let not my head refuse it:
For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue.
Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock;
And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.
As when one ploweth and cleaveth the earth,
Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.”
(MOFFATT) “When good men wound us and reprove us,
’tis a kindness. I would pray ever to have their good will …
They are given over to their tyrants –
to teach them that the Eternal’s threats are true.
Their bones lie scattered for the grave to swallow,
like stones splintered and crushed upon the road.”
(GOOD NEWS BIBLE) “A good man may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,
but I will never accept honor from evil men.
because I am always praying against their evil deeds.
When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,
The people will admit that my words are true.
Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,
So their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.”
(RSV) “Let a good man strike or rebuke me in kindness,
but let the oil of the wicked never anoint my head;
for my prayer is continually against their wicked deeds.
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
Then shall they learn that the word of the Lord is true.
As a rock which one cleaves and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.”
These examples are enough to demonstrate that the translators simply do not know what these verses mean. Some of the proposed renditions have merit in themselves, but the proposition that any of these renditions is what is stated in the word of the Lord is impossible of any confident acceptance.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 141:5. The best and only comment I will make on this verse is to ask the student to read Pro 27:5-6.
Psa 141:6. The foregoing verse closed with a reference to the calamities of certain people. Now the Psalmist expresses sympathy for them in their calamities, some of which was to have their judges mistreated by being handled roughly, which is the idea in the term stony places. When that occurs David promises to “speak up” in their behalf with sweet words of comfort.
Psa 141:7. This verse is a highly figurative description of the near destruction that certain enemies had wrought. It is compared to a body whose members had been cut and slashed, as wood is carved sometimes, and made fit only for burial.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the righteous: 1Sa 25:31-34, 2Sa 12:7-13, 2Ch 16:7-10, 2Ch 25:16, Pro 6:23, Pro 9:8, Pro 9:9, Pro 15:5, Pro 15:22, Pro 19:25, Pro 25:12, Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6, Gal 2:11-14, Gal 6:1, Rev 3:19
smite: etc. or, smite me kindly and reprove me; let not their precious oil break my head, etc
for yet my: Psa 51:18, Psa 125:4, Mat 5:44, 2Ti 1:16-18, Jam 5:14-16
Reciprocal: Lev 19:17 – rebuke 1Sa 3:17 – I pray thee 1Sa 25:33 – blessed 2Ki 20:14 – What said 2Ch 16:10 – wroth Psa 84:10 – to dwell Psa 133:2 – It is like Pro 13:18 – he Pro 17:10 – General Pro 28:23 – General Ecc 7:5 – better Son 5:7 – they smote Mat 18:15 – go Mar 8:33 – he rebuked Luk 17:3 – rebuke 2Co 7:7 – when Gal 2:14 – I said Gal 4:16 – become Eph 5:11 – but 2Th 3:15 – admonish Tit 1:13 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 141:5. Let the righteous smite me Namely, by reproofs. If at any time, through the frailty of nature, I should be inclined to yield to temptation, let me find, among my attendants or friends, some righteous and faithful person, who, with kind severity, will check and reprove me. It shall be a kindness I shall be so far from being offended with it, as an act of enmity or ill will, that I shall esteem it an act and mark of true friendship. It shall be an excellent oil Hebrews , the oil of the head, that is, as the oil which is poured upon the head as the manner was in great feasts and solemnities, which shall not break my head Nor hurt, but heal, and greatly refresh me. For yet my prayer shall be in their calamities Either, 1st, In the calamities of those persons who reproved and censured him. When they came into such calamities as those wherein he had been involved, he would pity them, and pray for them. Or, he may mean the calamities of his enemies, of which he speaks in the next words. He foresaw that his enemies would be in calamities, and that they would need, and desire his prayers; and he here declares he would willingly grant them: but the Hebrew of this clause may be properly rendered, My prayer shall be against their wickedness.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
141:5 Let the righteous smite me; [it shall be] a kindness: and let {e} him reprove me; [it shall be] an excellent oil, [which] shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also [shall be] in their calamities.
(e) He could abide all corrections that came from a loving heart.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The psalmist expressed openness to the constructive criticisms of the righteous, but he prayed for God to judge the wicked. He believed their leaders would fail, as when an attacking army throws the judges of their enemy from cliffs to destroy them. The wicked would learn that David’s words had been true when God ultimately destroyed them. They would testify that God had overturned them into the grave, as one who plows a field turns the earth over.