Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 142:7
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
7. Bring my soul out of prison ] Probably to be understood figuratively, ‘bring my soul out of distress’ (Psa 143:11). Cp. Isa 42:7, of the Exile; Psa 107:10. But it may mean that he was actually in prison. Cp. Psa 143:3.
praise thy name ] Give thanks unto thy name, as in Psa 140:13.
the righteous shall compass me about ] The loyal worshippers of Jehovah will gather round him to share in his thanksgivings. Cp. Psa 22:22 ff. The meaning of the verb however is not certain, and some authorities, both ancient and modern, render, as in R.V. marg., crown themselves because of me, i.e. rejoice in my deliverance; but this explanation is improbable, as is also the rendering of the LXX, “the righteous will wait for me, till thou hast recompensed me.” There were then some ‘righteous’ men left; the Psalmist was not so absolutely isolated as his complaint in Psa 142:4 seemed to shew; but probably friends and sympathisers were in no position to help him in his present distress, and practically he was alone, like Elijah in the wilderness.
because thou dealest bountifully with me ] Cp. Psa 13:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Bring my soul out of prison – Bring me out of my present condition which is like a prison. I am as it were shut up; I am encompassed with foes; I do not know how to escape. Compare Psa 25:17.
That I may praise thy name – Not merely for my own sake, but that I may have occasion more abundantly to praise thee; that thus thou mayest be honored; an object at all times much more important than our own welfare – even than our salvation.
The righteous shall compass me about – They shall come to me with congratulations and with expressions of rejoicing. They will desire my society, my friendship, my influence, and will regard it as a privilege and an honor to be associated with me. David looked to this as an object to be desired. He wished to be associated with the righteous; to enjoy their friendship; to have their good opinion; to be reckoned as one of them here and forever. Compare the notes at Psa 26:9. It is an honor – a felicity to be desired – to be associated with good people, to possess their esteem; to have their sympathy, their prayers, and their affections; to share their joys here, and their triumphs in the world to come.
For thou shalt deal bountifully with me – Or, when thou shalt deal bountifully with me. When thou dost show me this favor, then the righteous will come around me in this manner. They will see that I am a friend of God, and they will desire to be associated with me as his friend.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 142:7
Bring my soul out of prison.
The soul in prison
I. The prison into which so many souls are cast. David said, In the way wherein I walked, the hunters laid a snare for me. No one had better intentions than David; and I believe that nobody has better intentions than ourselves. But the best of wishes will do us little benefit unless we have brave resolves. To intend well is one thing; but if the intention stop short of action, it is worth nothing. When we intend well without practical resolution, it seems as if a trap were laid for us. We are oftenest caught in what seems our strongest point because we do not guard and watch ourselves where we are unconscious of weakness. Therefore, we all need to take heed lest we also be caught tripping. David further said, The hunters are stonger than I. What makes our enemies strong? It is ones own weakness, the result of sin. David again cries, Bring my soul out of prison! It is a blessed thing when a man feels that his inclination to sin is like having his soul in prison. What man who is worthy of the name would not prefer liberty to bondage?
II. The way to get ones soul out of prison. We read in Bunyans marvellous parable that when Christian had been beaten sore by a giant and thrust into Doubting Castle, he gave himself up to misery and despair. But one day he said, Why, what a fool am I to stay here in all this wretchedness, when I have in my breast a key to unlock the gates of Doubting Castle. And taking out the key he found it fitted the lock, and he escaped. It was, says Bunyan, a key called Promise. This should teach us that when we seek in Gods Word and find His promises, they are to us as a key to open the door of the prison into which our sins have thrust us. Would you have this priceless, this wonderful key always within your reach? Then hold on to Gods promises, which apply to every individual case. (W. Birch.)
Man, morally considered
I. Mans moral imprisonment. All sinners are in a state of bondage. They are spirits in prison. Like fallen angels they are in chains of darkness.
1. A state of darkness. Justice shuts out the light from the prisoner in the cell. How morally benighted is the unregenerate soul l Having the understanding darkened.
2. A state of confinement. Materialism–intemperance–avarice–prejudice–unholy associations and habits manacle his faculties.
3. A state of criminality. A prisoner is under sentence of condemnation. So every sinner is a moral criminal, condemned alike by God and by his own conscience.
II. Mans moral liberation. Bring my soul out of prison.
1. A consciousness of its wretched condition. O wretched man that I am, etc. How can I become free? Who can level those massive walls, who can break those fetters?
2. A consciousness that God alone can deliver. Bring my soul. He feels he cannot emancipate himself, nor can his fellow-men effect his deliverance. Hence to Him he looks who came to preach deliverance to the captive, etc.
III. Mans moral mission. That I may praise Thy name.
1. Deep in the heart of all men is the feeling of obligation to worship God.
2. Moral misery consists in this, the soul feeling its obligation to worship, and yet unable to do so through the enthralling influence of its corruptions. Hence the text may be regarded as the prayer of every sin-convicted soul.
(1) I must worship Thee; my conscience urges this as an essential condition of my peace.
(2) I cannot worship Thee in my state of moral captivity.
(3) Come Thou, therefore, to my deliverance and set me free. (Homilist.)
A cry from prison
I. A wretched condition. Some of the prisons in which we sometimes find ourselves confined. Fearfulness.
(1) Lest our conversion is only a sham.
(2) Lest we may not be finally saved.
(3) Dread of death.
2. Carelessness.
(1) About our souls prosperity.
(2) As to the use of our privileges.
3. Discontentedness.
4. Selfishness.
(1) In belief.
(2) In prayers.
(3) In efforts.
II. A suitable petition. It is expressive of–
1. Consciousness. The spiritual dead feel not their awful condition.
2. Helplessness. We can do nothing; but He is faithful who has promised.
3. Tenderness. Bring. The invalid cannot bear harsh treatment. And our compassionate Lord deals gently with us. Doubtless David had former proof of this, hence his present cry. Further, this would necessitate Gods coming Himself, not even trusting His loved ones to His ministering spirits. Come Lord Thyself, and bring my soul out of prison. Then it was a petition of–
4. Completeness. Bring my soul out. It is well for our souls, when we get so dissatisfied with our prisons as to want to leave them entirely.
III. A justifying reason. How could David praise Gods name?
1. By making known His wondrous power.
2. By living near to God.
3. By warning others of their danger. (A. H. Stote.)
Bring my soul out of prison
I. The mercy implored. Consider it as the language of
1. An awakened sinner.
2. A disconsolate Christian, when oppressed or persecuted, or under trouble.
II. The end for which this mercy was desired. Mercy wanted calls for prayer; and the earnestness of the prayer should correspond with the magnitude of the blessing we implore. Mercy received requires praise; and the more importunate the prayer, the more animated will be the praise in return.
1. Praise may be considered as mental.
2. Vocal.
3. Practical. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
.
Psa 143:1-12
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Bring my soul out of prison] Bring naphshi, my life, out of this cave in which it is now imprisoned; Saul and his men being in possession of the entrance.
The righteous shall compass me about] yachtiru, they shall crown me; perhaps meaning that the pious Jews, on the death of Saul, would cheerfully join together to make him king, being convinced that God, by his bountiful dealings with him, intended that it should be so. The old Psalter, which is imperfect from the twenty-first verse of Psalm cxix. (Ps 119:21) to the end of Psalm cxli. (Ps 141:10), concludes this Psalm thus: “Lede my saule oute of corruption of my body; that corrupcion is bodely pyne, in whilk my saule is anguyst; after that in Godes house, sal al be louyng (praising) of the.”
ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SECOND PSALM
The substance of this Psalm is the earnest prayer of the psalmist that he might be delivered from the danger he was in.
The parts are,
I. An exordium, in which he
1. Shows what he did in his trouble; took himself to prayer, Ps 142:1-2.
2. Then his consternation and anxiety of mind, which arose from the malice and craft of his enemies, and want of help from his friends, Ps 142:3-4.
II. His address and petition to God, Ps 142:5-7. 1. The two first verses show the psalmist’s intention. “I cried unto the Lord,” c. 2. “I poured out my supplication,” &c.
This he amplifies, –
1. From his vehemence: “I cried, I supplicated.”
2. From the object: “Unto the Lord.” I invoked him, and no other.
3. From the instrument: “With my voice.”
4. From his humility in prayer. It was a supplication.
5. From his free and full confession: “I poured out,” &c.
6. From his sincerity and confidence in God.
The reason was: –
1. This I did “when my spirit was overwhelmed,” &c. There being no sufficiency in me, I betook myself to the all-sufficient God.
2. “For thou knowest my path,” &c. My actions and intentions.
The craft and subtlety of his enemies, especially Saul.
1. “In the way wherein I walked,” &c. My vocation.
2. “Have they privily laid,” &c. Saul gave him his daughter Michal to be a snare to him and a dowry he must have of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that David might fall by their hands.
His destitution in the time of trouble.
1. “I looked on my right hand,” c. But no friend was near: “There was no man,” &c. The miserable have few friends.
2. “Refuge failed me,” &c. I had no place of safety.
3. “No man cared,” &c. Regarded my life, or cared if I perished.
II. The psalmist, having no human help, calls upon God.
1. “Thou art my refuge,” &c. My hiding-place.
2. “Thou art my portion,” &c. While I live in this world.
Then he sends up his prayer, fortified by a double argument.
1. From the lamentable condition he was brought into: “I was brought low,” &c.
2. From the malice and power of his enemies: “Deliver me,” &c.
Again he renews his prayer, and presses it from the final cause: “Bring my soul,” &c.
Upon which follow two effects: –
1. His gratitude: “That I may praise thy name.”
2. That of others: “The righteous shall compass me,” &c. Come unto me.
3. The reason for this: “For thou shalt deal bountifully with me.” Bestow favours upon me, having delivered me from my former miseries which men seeing, who are commonly the friends of prosperity, will magnify and resort to me.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Bring my soul out of prison; bring me safe out of this cave, wherein I am imprisoned, and set me at perfect liberty.
Shall compass me about; shall flock to me from all parts, partly out of curiosity to see such a spectacle and miracle of Gods power and mercy; and partly to rejoice and bless God with me and for me, and for all the benefits which they expect from my government.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. (Compare Ps25:17).
that I may praiseliterally,”for praising,” or, “that Thy name may be praised,”that is, by the righteous, who shall surround me with sympathizingjoy (Ps 35:27).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Bring my soul out of prison,…. Not out of purgatory, to which some Popish writers wrest these words very absurdly; nor out of the prison of his body, as Joseph Ben Gorion p; knowing that none but God had a power of removing it from thence; but out of the cave, where he was detained as in a prison, while Saul and his men were about the mouth of it; or rather out of all his straits, distresses, and difficulties, which surrounded and pressed him on all sides, as if he was in a prison;
that I may praise thy name; this release he desired not so much for his own sake, that he might be at ease and liberty, but that he might have fresh occasion to praise the Lord, and an opportunity of doing it publicly, in the assembly and congregation of the people;
the righteous shall compass me about; in a circle, like a crown, as the word q signifies; when delivered, they should flock to him and come about him, to see him and look at him, as a miracle of mercy, whose deliverance was marvellous; and to congratulate him upon it, and to join with him in praises unto God for it. The Targum is,
“for my sake the righteous will make to thee a crown of praise.”
And to the same purpose Jarchi,
“for my sake the righteous shall surround thee, and praise thy name.”
Aben Ezra interprets it,
“they shall glory as if the royal crown was on their heads;”
for thou shalt deal bountifully with me; in delivering him from his enemies, settling him on the throne, and bestowing upon him all the blessings of Providence and grace; see Ps 116:7; and thus the psalm is concluded with a strong expression of faith in the Lord, though in such a low estate.
p Hist. Heb. l. 6. c. 20. p. 610. q “coronabunt”, Pagninus, Montanus; “vel in me tanquam eoronati triumphabunt”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(7) Out of prison.This expression, which must certainly be figurative of distress (comp. Psa. 143:11), probably led to the inscription.
Compass me about.The Hebrew word here employed is used in a hostile sense in Psa. 22:12; Jdg. 20:43; Hab. 1:4. It is better, therefore, to follow the LXX. and render:
In my case the righteous are waiting
Till, &c
This sense waiting for, besides being favoured by the construction, suits well the passage, Pro. 14:18.
The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent wait for knowledge,
and is Aquilas rendering there of the word as it is here.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Bring my soul out of prison There is no necessity for understanding , ( masger,) prison, in a figurative sense for affliction, distress, and making Psa 25:17; Psa 143:11, parallels. The word never takes that sense, but either signifies prison, jail, place of confinement, (as Isa 24:22; Isa 42:7,) or a smith, one that works in iron. We have already seen that the Philistines had seized, arrested David, (see note on title of Psalms 56,) and the history shows that he was detained by force when he would have escaped. 1Sa 21:10-15. Indeed, his escape was due solely to the providence of God, as Psalms 34, 56 fully declare.
The righteous shall compass me about David is not alone. He belongs to the spiritual “commonwealth of Israel,” the universal Church. The divine treatment of him will set forth a principle which shall affect all who trust in God. With him, therefore, the true-hearted Church will sympathize, and upon his deliverance they will surround him with joyful gratulations; or, giving the word the sense of crowning, triumph, as in Pro 14:18, they shall deck themselves as with crowns they shall triumph.
Psa 142:7. The righteous shall encompass me, &c.
From me the righteous shall their hopes confirm, When I the object of thy care appear. FENWICK. REFLECTIONS.No place or time is unseasonable for prayer. When Engedi, or Adullam was his oratory, David still found sweet communion with God, threatening as his danger seemed. We have,
1. His complaints, which out of the fulness of his heart he poured forth before the Lord. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and shewed before him my trouble, to which from Saul his bloody persecutor he was exposed. It was enough to spread it before the Lord, whose tender mercies knew how to pity him, and his power to relieve him. Note; They who have a God of all grace to fly to, may safely leave in his hand all their troubles.
2. He appeals to God for his own simplicity. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path: when reduced to the deepest distress, I still fled to no wrong methods to extricate myself. In the way wherein I walked, have they privily laid a snare for me, seeking to entrap me every step I take. Note; When our consciences condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.
3. He was without help from man. His friends grew shy and were ashamed to own him; and, abandoned as it were to ruin, refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. Thus was Jesus forsaken, rejected, denied, when alone he trod the wine-press of the wrath of God.
4. When human help failed him, still God was his refuge, and portion in the land of the living, and to him he directed his prayer: and if God be our refuge, we need fear no danger; if he be our portion, we need wish for nothing more in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low, under affliction and distress: deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I, and I must without divine help be utterly swallowed up by them. Bring my soul out of prison, out of my straits and difficulties; that I may praise thy name. The righteous shall compass me about, admiring the mercy shown in his deliverance, and joining with him in his praises; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me; saving him from his enemies, fixing him on the throne, and fulfilling all the desires of his heart. Note; (1.) We cannot be brought so low, but God can help us; and, though fettered in the bonds of corruption or temptation, he can open our prison-doors, and will, if we persevere in crying to him. Let us never despair. (2.) The mercies that our brethren enjoy should excite our praises, as members of the same body.
DISCOURSE: 737 Psa 142:7. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name!
GREAT are the changes which, from time to time, we observe in the material world; namely, from darkness to light, from barrenness to fertility, from death to life. Such likewise take place in the spiritual world; for men, by the Gospel, are turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. Nor is this spiritual change less visible than the other. There are signs whereby we may know that we have passed from death unto life, and been translated from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of Gods dear Son. When David penned the psalm before us, he was hid in a cave, and was every moment in danger of being discovered and destroyed by his potent enemy, King Saul. But there was also a spiritual bondage to which he was reduced by means of the persecutions he endured; and hence he offers the petition in my text, Bring my soul out of prison! And for what end did he desire this deliverance? Was it merely on account of the relief which it would afford to him? No: he had higher and nobler feelings; and was actuated by a concern for Gods honour far more than by any personal consideration whatever. I.
Under what circumstances we may well offer this petition
It is not needful that we should be immured in a dungeon, or shut up in a cave, from whence there seems to be no way of escape. We may offer this petition,
1.
Under the pressure of unpardoned guilt
[Truly, a soul under the dread of Gods everlasting wrath is in a state of sore bondage. All in an unforgiven state are said to be concluded, or shut up, under sin [Note: Rom 11:32.]: and, in fact, there are no bonds so painful as those which sin has forged for a guilty conscience. Hear David, under a sense of guilt: When I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer [Note: Psa 32:3-4. See also Psa 40:11-12.]. Indeed, whoever has felt the burthen of sin, and how impossible it is for any but God to take it off, will pant for the glorious liberty of the children of God, and rejoice from his inmost soul in that promise, that the Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, will make us free [Note: Joh 8:32; Joh 8:36.].]
2.
Under those various trials to which, as Christians, we are exposed
[All are more or less under persecution from man. And what bondage that brings, the psalm before us will abundantly declare. In truth, the embarrassment occasioned to children by their ungodly parents, to servants by their oppressive masters, and to subjects by persecuting magistrates, exceeds all that can be conceived: for, who can draw the precise line between our duty to God and to man, when their conflicting orders seem to render a resistance to the one or to the other of these governors unavoidable? And to what sad alternatives have the children of God been often brought, through the enactment of unrighteous laws!
Under temptation from Satan, too, are multitudes reduced to sad extremities! Behold the Apostle Paul, when under the buffetings of Satan; with what repeated cries he pleads with God for deliverance [Note: 2Co 12:7-8.]! Even our blessed Lord himself was so harassed by this wicked adversary, that he scarcely knew what to say, or what to do: Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name [Note: Joh 12:27-28.]. And who can tell what thousands have suffered through the devices of this great adversary, and from the fiery darts with which he has pierced their souls [Note: Eph 6:11; Eph 6:16.]?
Nor must I omit to mention the yet sorer bondage which is sometimes experienced through desertion from God. For wise and gracious reasons, God is sometimes pleased to hide his face from his people, and for a season to appear to them as an enemy and an avenger. Hear the complaint of Heman, in the 88th Psalm: My soul is full of troubles; and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me; and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? I am afflicted, and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; Thy terrors have cut me off [Note: Psa 88:3; Psa 88:6-7; Psa 88:14-16.]. But hear our blessed Lord himself, from whom all that man could inflict drew no complaint; yet, in the hour of dereliction from his heavenly Father, he poured forth this bitter cry: My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me [Note: Mat 27:46.]? And so it is with many a pious soul, when the arrows of the Almighty are within them, the poison whereof drinketh up their spirit; and when the terrors of God do set themselves in array against them [Note: Job 6:4.].
In all these instances, then, the afflicted soul may well pour forth the petition in my text: Bring my soul out of prison!] II.
What, in offering it, should be the chief object of our desire
I am far from saying that deliverance is not to be desired for its own sake: for God himself condescends to acknowledge, that, whatever be the ultimate design of his chastisements, affliction is not at the present joyous, but grievous [Note: Heb 12:11.]: and to require man to be so divested of all personal feeling as not to desire ease and freedom for their own sake, is, in my apprehension, an unscriptural refinement. But, beyond a doubt, we should, in all our desires, have a higher object in view, even as our Lord had when praying for the removal of the bitter cup, yea, and praying for it with strong crying and tears [Note: Heb 5:7.]; he was content to drink it, that Gods will might be done, and his name be glorified [Note: Mat 26:38-44.]. Thus David in my text prays, Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name! This was uppermost in his mind, even when his life was in the utmost jeopardy: and this must always be the most influential principle in our minds.
1.
The frame of mind itself is most desirable
[A man possessing a spirit of gratitude and praise cannot but be happy. Under the greatest sufferings, it will alleviate our pain, and enable us to rejoice under the heaviest tribulations. We see Paul and Silas, when immured in a prison, with their feet fastened in the stocks, and their backs torn with scourges, singing praises to God at midnight: and who, I ask, were the happier, they, or their ungodly persecutors? We wonder not, then, that David, under all his troubles, laid the chief stress on this, as the ground on which he sought deliverance: Have mercy upon me, O Lord! consider the trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death; that I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation [Note: Psa 9:13-14.].]
2.
It is that frame by which we most glorify our God
[This frame of mind shews the power and efficacy of divine grace. A man whose soul is thus made free, whatever be the bondage in which his body is held, is free indeed. This is the state of mind which is pre-eminently characteristic of the true Christian, who neither lives to himself, nor dies to himself; but living, lives unto the Lord; and dying, dies unto the Lord; that, whether living or dying, he may be the Lords [Note: Rom 14:7-8.]. In a word, then only do we honour our profession aright, when our one great concern is, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ [Note: 1Pe 4:11.].]
3.
It is that frame by which we are best prepared for heaven
[Heaven is a state of incessant praise. The heavenly hosts rest not day nor night from pouring forth their acclamations and hosannahs to God and to the Lamb. And here, we are tuning our harps, and beginning to learn their song. Now, the very end for which God sends us affliction is, to purge away our dross, and to prepare us for heaven; and therefore we then best answer his design in afflicting us, when we take occasion from our troubles to abound more and more in thanksgiving to our God. Application Be thankful that you are where you may offer this petition, with a certainty that it shall be answered
[We read of spirits in prison, to whom deliverance can never come [Note: 1Pe 3:19.]. But you, Beloved, are prisoners of hope, to whom mercy maybe accorded, not only double the amount of all your desert of punishment, but double the amount of all your most sanguine expectations [Note: Zec 9:12.]. Your blessed Saviour came on purpose to deliver you [Note: Isa 42:7; Isa 61:1-3.]; and if only you cry to him, he will save your souls with a great deliverance.]
2.
If you have experienced deliverance, be sure you improve it for the honour of your God
[When our Lord healed the cripple, he said to him, Behold, thou art made whole! sin no more. So, if you are brought forth from bondage of any kind, take care not to use your liberty as a cloak of licentiousness, but as the servants of God [Note: 1Pe 2:16.], that ye may run with more enlargement the way of his commandments.]
REFLECTIONS
Pause , my soul, over this sweet Psalm, and take from it, for thy constant meditation, the many precious instructions it holds forth unto thee. Look again and again at Jesus, as thou ponderest over the several verses, and behold thy Lord in the trying situations here described. And when thou hast gathered, under the Spirit’s teaching, the several sweets this beautiful flower of scripture affords, feed upon the honey for thine own food, under exercises in the tribulated path. What though thou art reduced in circumstances, and thy spirit be overwhelmed within thee; though thou, like thy Saviour, cast find none on thy right hand, that will know thee; and on the left, evils, arising from sin, Satan, and the world, would bear thee down; say, is not Christ upon the throne? And doth he not see thee, know thee; nay, hath he not appointed thy very state to be what it is, on purpose to make thee know thy need and his love? O, blessed Lord! though all refuge fail me, and no man careth for my soul, thou carest for it, for thou hast bought it with thy blood, and thou wilt preserve it with thy glace; thou wilt be my portion, my God, my Saviour, my Jesus. Thou wilt bring me out of all the prison-houses of sin here, and death hereafter, and I shall praise thy name. Yes, my Lord! the end is sure. I shall behold thy face in righteousness; still look to Jesus, and I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
Psa 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison ] i.e. Out of this distress, wherewith I am no less straitened than if in prison.
The righteous shall compass me about my soul: Psa 142:1, *title: Psa 9:3, Psa 9:14, Psa 31:8, Psa 88:4-8, Psa 143:11, Psa 146:7, Isa 61:1, Act 2:24
the righteous: Psa 7:6, Psa 7:7, Psa 22:21-27, Psa 34:2, Psa 107:41, Psa 107:42, Psa 119:74
thou shalt: Psa 13:6, Psa 116:7, Psa 119:17, Jam 5:11
Reciprocal: Psa 35:17 – rescue Psa 35:27 – shout Psa 40:2 – brought Psa 40:3 – many Psa 67:3 – General Psa 119:63 – a companion Psa 119:79 – Let those Act 12:7 – And his Rom 7:23 – and
THE VICTORY OF FAITH
Thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
Psa 142:7
I. These words honoured God.David was in the cave, praying and pouring out complaints. His spirit was overwhelmed; refuge failed him; he was brought very low; the cry was wrung from himDeliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. And even whiles he was speaking in prayer, the Spirit descends; he is strengthened with might in the inner man; and from the dark cavern of Adullam rises the shout of victory, Thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Oh, what honour this put upon Gods faithfulness! When a child is seated on its fathers knee, and says, I am afraid of nothing, the parent delights in his happiness and love; but when the father leaves his child alone, and says, Fear nothing, for I shall come for you, and the minutes pass by, and the time seems long, and the little ones heart is full, and yet he says, I will not fear, for father said he would come; would not these words overheard send a keener thrill of pleasure through that parents breast?
II. What gave the Psalmist this blessed confidence?He knew the bountiful heart of the God he served, that He had all power, riches, wisdom, and willingness. He knew his own pitiful condition, that it would appeal to the tender compassion of the Lord. He remembered, doubtless, former deliverancesthe lion and the bear, the sword of Goliath, and the javelin of Saul, till his complaining was lost in praise: Thou shalt deal bountifully with me. Did David miscalculate? Let his throne and kingdom reply.
Believer, will you not honour God by a like affiance? Have not you the same Father?
Bishop E. H. Bickersteth.
Illustration
Amid the storm and strife, the rapine and wrong, which characterised the Middle Ages, holy souls found God to be what we have now described, and expressed themselves very tenderly in this sense. Hear, for instance, Master Eckart: All that is in the Godhead is ours. It is above all names, above all nature. I ask that God, by His grace, should bring me into union with the essence of His nature. I would enter into that eternal unity which was mine before all time, into a state above all addition or diminution from the world, into the immobility whereby all is moved.
142:7 Bring my soul out of {c} prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall {d} compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
(c) For he was on all sides beset with his enemies as though he had been in a severe prison.
(d) Either to rejoice at my wonderful deliverer, or to set a crown on my head.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Dr. Chandler renders it, The righteous will crown thee with praises on my account, when thou hast rewarded me; and the sense, according to him, is, that when good men should see the kindness of God in the favours bestowed on the Psalmist, they would bring their offerings of thanksgiving, and encompass his altar with their praises. Every part of this psalm shews the propriety of the inscription or title. He expressly mentions his being in a place where he was entirely shut up; where he saw no possible method of escaping, as having no friends who dared to own him and appear for his deliverance, and when every one seemed to desert him, and to have abandoned all care of his safety and life. This he pathetically describes, and in such terms as cannot fail to move the tender affections of every one who considers them. On the first sense of his danger, shut up in a cave, surrounded by three thousand chosen soldiers, closely observed by a watchful enemy, and one that would spare no art or pains to apprehend him, he seems almost to have despaired of himself; declares that his spirit was quite overwhelmed with the greatness of his distress; till at length, recollecting his principles and the promises which God had made him, he earnestly supplicates the protection of God, and assures himself that he should still praise God for his deliverance, and that good men should share his joy, and encompass the altar of God with thanksgiving for the mercy which he had shewn him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
LIBERTY DESIRED
That I may mark this peculiarity in Davids experience, I will shew,
Yet let me shew you,
In every view, then, the desire expressed by David, in our text, was that which we ought most to cherish, as most worthy of our holy profession; as being most excellent in itself, most honourable to God, and most conducive to our eternal happiness.]
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes