Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 63:7
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Because thou hast been my help – Because thou hast interposed to defend me in danger. The idea is, that he had experienced the divine interposition in times of danger, and that this was a reason why he should still confide in God. The argument is, that Gods mercy and favor in the past is a reason why we should confide in him in time to come.
Therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice – Under the shadow or protection of thy wings will I feel safe. See the notes at Psa 17:8. Compare Psa 36:7; Psa 57:1; Psa 61:4.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 63:7-8
Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.
The remembrance of past mercies an inducement to present confidence in God
This psalm is not one of complaint or sorrow, nor of settled joy, but of the transition from the one to the other. David has just recovered his confidence in God, and feeling assured that his soul will soon find rest and confidence in Him. Believers, now, are often in this state of mind, in this transition state. Oh, let us see to it that we go forward, as David did, and not backward into deeper gloom; for this is possible: we may sink down as well as rise. That we may rise, note how David acted in such case.
I. He states a fact–Thou hast been my help. And surely we can say this; indeed, we must say it, for the Lord has been our help. When in our sin, He became our Saviour, and by His Holy Spirit turned us to Himself. We have had other helpers, but none such as He. And every true believer recognizes this. Others practically regard themselves as their own real helpers, not God.
II. A resolution founded on the fact. Because . . . therefore in the shadow of, etc. The shadow of Thy wings signifies the parental protection of God, His watchfulness, love and tenderness. The whole sentence expresses–
1. The most assured safety in God. As the chickens deem themselves safe while under the wing of the mother-bird, so are Gods people safe under His protection. And not only safe from danger, but hidden from it: it cannot find them.
2. A determination in the psalmist to fly to God for safety. When he says he will rejoice in the shadow of Gods wings, he plainly intimates that he will betake himself there (Psa 57:1; Psa 143:9). We are not to look for Gods mercy without seeking it. The name of God is a strong tower, but the righteous will, must, run into it, would he be safe. The everlasting wings are spread out for us, we must run and keep beneath them would we be safe.
3. An anticipation of pleasure and joy in Gods protection. I will rejoice, not merely be safe, but be happy. He is not going to a shelter he is driven to, but to a home he loves. These two ideas of safety and comfort in God are ever kept together in Davids mind (Psa 23:4; Psa 90:1-17 :l). And–
4. This resolution is grounded on the fact the psalmist set out with. Because Thou hast been, etc. It is a poor use to make of Gods mercies to get only a present comfort from them; the memory of them ought to be treasured up for use in future trials.
III. The earnestness with which the psalmist carries his resolution into effect. My soul followeth hard after Thee. In affliction we are apt to be languid and wanting in all energy, It seems to say, If I am to have comfort, the Lord must come and bring it to me, I cannot turn to Him and seek it. But how different Davids thought. Oh, let us rouse ourselves, determine to use a holy violence with ourselves when we are in affliction. What we want is such an enjoyment of God as will leave us neither time nor inclination to dwell upon our troubles. Let all remember, there is rest and happiness in God, and especially for every penitent contrite soul. (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The sheltering wing
I. We have a grateful record. Thou hast been my help.
1. God awakened us from our folly and sin.
2. God helped us when we sought pardon and deliverance from the burden of sin.
3. And when we have been in despair God has been our help.
4. And when we were without strength, sick, or in peril of ruin. And to render us this help Christ died on the cross.
II. It is a safe shelter. In the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. Likewise the Christian, remembering that God has been his help up to the present time, shelters himself from temptation, trouble, and trial, knowing that He who has delivered him in the past will not leave him in the toils of the present or the hardships of the future. God shelters us from the allurements of this world. We need a shelter from the darkness and trouble of the present life.
III. An expression of joy. I will rejoice. O, ye Christians, rejoice, likewise, for God is your Keeper. (W. Birch.)
The argument from experience
The rejoicing told of here is–
I. Reasonable. Because; none can deny this basis of consolation. It is not founded on Gods promise–though that could never be broken–but upon past experience. God has been our help.
II. Personal–My help.
III. Real. It is far more than rest or quiescent peace. The psalms are full of the gladness of the Lord. Much joy is superficial. What depths of melancholy there are in hearts that know not God.
IV. Restful.
V. Prophetic. What can the future bring for which Christ cannot prepare us? This, then, is to be written on our banners, In the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. (W. M. Statham.)
Experience and assurance
I. Experience.
1. David had experienced Divine help. The Roman used to speak of Deus ex machina; God appearing in an unexpected manner in the midst of a history to rescue the hero, and change the scene. This is no figure of speech in the life of faith. Every now and then we have witnessed a distinct interposition, a stretching out of the Divine hand, an inroad of the supernatural. To us has it been true, He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Others might think our experience fanatical, if we were to tell it as we see it; but this we cannot help. To us it has been a real manifestation of the Divine thoughtfulness on our behalf. Looking back upon our lives, we cannot help saying deliberately, and as cool statement of fact–The Lord has been our help.
2. David had often experienced this help. He does not make this statement in reference to one solitary incident in his life, or he would have said, Thou wast once my help; but he sees a continuity in the lovingkindness of the Lord his God. He means, Thou hast all along been my help. In doing his duty as patriot and king, God was his help, and enabled him to walk uprightly in his government. In his sufferings the Lord was his help, and enabled him to be calm and brave. In the time of danger God was his help, and kept him from the hand of the enemy. And now, in this psalm, though David is in the wilderness of Judah, and probably hunted by his own son, yet he sings unto the Lord, Thou hast been my help. I do not want you to stop with David any longer. I beg you, now, to come nearer home, and review your own lives.
3. These helps rendered to David had been very choice ones. He had often been helped in special ways. God had taken great care of him. He was the favourite of Providence, and the darling of Heaven. Has it not been so with some of you? Have you not enjoyed choice morsels of experience? Are there not incidents in your life which you could scarcely tell, lest the hearer should smile at your credulity?
4. Gods help has also been continuous to us. In the time of our darkness we could not see the link; but, looking back, we can see it now.
5. Observe also that the Lord has granted us educative mercy. David says, Because Thou hast been my help. He says not, that He has wrought everything for us, but He has set us working also. You see, if you do a thing for a man, it is well; but if you help him to do it, it may be better for him, for thus he learns the way.
II. Expectation.
1. What we have experienced of Gods goodness is a revelation of Himself: Gods actions are Himself in motion. If, then, we have experienced Gods power, He is powerful; and we know that anything is possible to Him. If I have experienced His acts of faithfulness, I conclude that He is always faithful, and that He will keep His promise and His covenant, and will be true to all those who trust in Him.
2. This reasoning is good, since you have to do with an unchanging God. If you have changeable man to deal with, there will be no logic in your reasoning; but when you think of Jehovah who changeth not, then you may infer great things, and the severest logic will support you. He was my help, He is my help, and therefore He will be my help, even to the end.
3. This kind of argument is very sure to a mans own self, and he is the person most concerned. We know whom we have believed, and we are persuaded that He will not fail us. We know what we do know; and if we cannot tell it to others, we are none the less sure of it ourselves.
4. It is clear that this is an accumulating argument. The young man who has known the Lord twelve months, and experienced a great deliverance, is sure that the Lord is to be trusted. But when he has passed twenty, thirty, or forty years of the same experience, his assurance will be doubly sure. To a believer in Christ every day teems with providences and mercies. This tree beareth its fruit every month, and the fruit feeds faith wondrously.
III. Assurance.
1. Contented assurance. David, grateful for past help, holds himself still, and happily awaits the purpose of the Lord. He manifests no fear, no fret, no hurry, no worry. Neither does be cast his eyes towards man. Thou hast been my help, saith he; and he looks that way.
2. Patient assurance. It is not ours to hasten the Divine vengeance, nor to wish for a personal triumph; but it is ours to feel the bliss of safety in nearness to God.
3. The assurance of faith. Because Thou hast been my help, therefore–what? In the light of Thy countenance will I rejoice? No: he had then but little light; he was in the shadow. The wilderness cut him off from beholding God in the sanctuary. If you cannot see the face of God, His shadow may give you peace. Lord, I will pray to Thee to lift up the light of Thy countenance upon me; but if Thou dost continue to hide Thyself, I will still trust Thee, and be sure that Thou art the same God of grace. Knowing that Thy shadow is full of defence for me, I will rejoice therein.
4. Continued assurance. We read not, in the shadow of Thy wings have I rejoiced, but, I will rejoice. He is rejoicing, and means to go on rejoicing. His joy no man taketh from him. He will rejoice so long as he has a God to rejoice in.
5. The best of all is, this is rejoicing assurance. The text does not say Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I trust, but, in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. That is going further than silent submission, or humble trust. David is in the dark; but, like the nightingale, he sings in it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Davids experience of Gods help
I. Davids experience. Thou hast been my help.
1. This implies his necessity. First, as having much work. Secondly, as having many enemies. Thirdly, as having but little strength. Those which are in these circumstances have need of help to be administered unto them. And this is the case and condition of all Christians.
(1) They have much work, a great deal of business to be despatched by them, which they are not able very well to run through of themselves. Take the meanest Christian that is, and in the lowest rank and order amongst men, yet he has work enough to do if it be but to save his own soul, to live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present world. But if he be anything higher, then it is so much the more; in the family as a master, or in the church as a minister, or as a magistrate in the commonwealth. Here, now, the greater occasions and opportunities that there are of doing good, the greater is the work itself, and the more need of help in it.
(2) They have many enemies. These two they do usually and commonly go together. Much work to be done, and many enemies to oppose themselves against it (1Co 16:9).
(3) They have but little strength, or, indeed none at all.
2. He hath help afforded him by God Himself.
(1) He is a strong helper.
(2) He is a ready helper. He is a God at hand, and not a God afar off, aa the Scripture often expresses Him. When trouble is near, He is near too; which is a matter of very great comfort and encouragement to all those that depend upon Him.
(3) He is the only help also. Theres none can help without Him, nor, indeed, none besides Him. The improvement of this point to ourselves, in a way of application, comes to this purpose–
1. As a word of comfort and consolation to the people of God in all those difficulties and distresses which they are surrounded and encompassed withal; that they have such an One as this to help them, and to relieve them, and to be assistant unto them.
2. We may make use of this point also in a way of excitement, and that to a threefold performance, which is very rationally consequent hereupon.
(1) If God help us, let us then also help Him.
(2) If God help us, let us then also help ourselves.
(3) If God help us, let us then also help one another.
II. The improvement of this experience.
1. Davids purpose or resolution, which he takes up to himself.
(1) By the shadow of Gods wings we are especially to understand His providence and fatherly protection; and we find mention of it often in Scripture (Psa 17:13; Psa 57:1; Psa 36:7). It is an expression of safety. Look, as the chickens are safe while they are under the wings of the hen, even so are Gods people safe while they are under His providence and protection; and there is nothing which is such a defence and safeguard and security to them as this indeed is. Those which are kept by Him, they are kept safely, neither shall they need anything to fear in the days of evil and trouble which are upon them. It is an expression of secrecy. The wing hides and conceals those which are kept under it; as it preserves them from danger, so it likewise keeps them from discovery. Thus does likewise this wing of God (Psa 91:4; Psa 17:8; Psa 31:20; Jer 36:28). It is an expression of tenderness and singular affection (Deu 32:11-12).
(2) While he says that herein he will rejoice, there are these things implied in it, as considerable and pertinent unto it. Recourse unto them. Complacency and contentment in this condition. Thanksgiving and outward expression.
2. The occasion or ground of his resolution; and that is, the experience of Gods former goodness to him. This is signified in the connection of these latter words with the former, because, therefore; because Thou hast been my help hitherto, therefore will I rejoice in Thy protection for time to come. Heres the force of Davids reasoning; and the reason it holds good upon a twofold consideration. First, in a way of confidence. Secondly, in a way of acknowledgment. I will trust in Thee, and still wait upon Thee in a way of dependence. And again, Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. That is, I will publish this protection which I have from Thee in a way of thankfulness. According to the first notion so there is this in it, that good Christians do improve former experiences to future dependence. According to the second notion, so there is this in it, that good Christians, where they do receive mercies from God, will be there careful to acknowledge and to be thankful for them. (T. Horton, D. D.)
A joyful syllogism
I. The cause.
1. A grateful memory. One glad necessity of the new life is, Thou shalt remember all the way, etc. Unbelief, on the other hand, has a bad memory (Psa 106:13).
2. A personal possession. My God. The soul lifts its hand, not to grasp abstract truth, nor a doctrinal system, but a personal God. Mix in holier company, rise to higher employments, the Christian may and shall; but to rise to higher rank is impossible, for here and now we are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ.
3. A present joy. How precarious the present life of man! Riches fly, comforts die, friends fail, thrones reel, crowns fall, death levels; but those things which cannot be shaken remain (Heb 12:27).
II. The effect.
1. Refuge–ample, accessible, friendly.
2. Rest. The helpless leaning on the helper; the sinful on the sinless; the aching, guilty head, resting on the bosom of Christ. (Homilist.)
The saint rejoicing in Divine help
I. The help which the Lord hath given and experience recorded.
II. The shadow of the wings in which those to whom the Lord has been their help, hope He will be their help in all times to come. Here is all that favour, and mercy, and kindness, and good-will toward men, which the cherubims with their wings covering the mercy-seat prefigured.
III. The joy and gladness which hope of help in God raises in the shadow of His wings. This arises–
1. From what pious men see in the shadow of His wings. In all events and occurrences, they see not instruments, but perfections; not men, but God, sanctifying Himself, and magnifying Himself in exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. This view of His administration, under covert of which they have sheltered themselves, raises and enlivens their joy, and creates and confirms their hopes of all things issuing in His glory and their good.
2. From what they hear (Psa 62:11-12).
3. From what they believe. Under the wings of the overshadowing providence of God is an eminent seat where His people sit and rejoice in His salvation.
4. From what they receive. The Lord is kind to His people in the shadow of His wings, and lets them want for nothing (Psa 84:11). (A. Shanks.)
What the Lord is to His people
1. A place of refuge. The shadow of Thy wings.
2. A fountain of joy. The mercy-seat shadowed with the wings of the cherubims brought to his remembrance God, whom he believed to be gracious and merciful, and filled him with joy in committing himself to the care and protection of His overshadowing providence. The same sacred symbol reminds us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and should fill us with all joy and peace in sheltering ourselves under His care and love.
3. A very present help. In believing, in praying, in doing, in suffering, were ye not helped? and it is your duty and honour to acknowledge it to His praise.
4. A quiet and sure habitation.
5. A treasure which faileth not. (A. Shanks.)
Ways in which God helps us
This verse, like an old Roman deity, has two faces, one looking backward and the other forward–the backward look of testimony and the forward look of trust. To the Romans, Janus presided over all beginnings; he opened the year, and the first month is called January after him. They represented him with two faces because every door looked two ways, and he was the opener. It would be well if we could in our soul-life put this text where the Romans saw Janus. I propose, therefore, to remind you of some of the common, usual ways in which we receive help for life, and to give these facts the religious interpretation, to regard such help as help from God. It is evident, is it not, that we could not start life without help, that we begin in utter dependence? And what is the fact, then? The fact, then, is that other lives are at our service, that when we can do nothing for ourselves everything is done for us. The mother did not make her own heart; the God who gave it her I will adore as One who plans to help me in the most wonderful of all ways. And when you come to do what men call helping yourself, making your own way, even then you are only using the various helps which are provided for you. Do you start life on the level on which a child started, say 100,000 years ago? If not, what makes the difference? That difference is made by the upward struggle of humanity from that time to this, and you are a debtor to every one who contributed to that progress. Every individual has a certain inheritance, a certain capital from the experience of the race. The gains which the ages have won are in some measure worked into the very constitution of your being. Primitive man could not, by any effort, have used his hand for purposes for which you can use yours without difficulty. You have an immense advantage there, and you got it how? Through the gradual growth of skilful manipulation during thousands of years. Natural evolution is the manifestation of mind in method; it is Gods way of doing things; it is upward creation. And further. The victories which others have won, the achievements of the past, are not only in some measure worked into the very make of our being, but they also constitute the environment of our life. Do you ever think of the help you get to live through the great privileges of a free press, of free institutions, of freedom in religion? What are all these? Are they not the purchases of the martyr spirit in bygone times? Men went down to death in order to win freedom to worship God. Again. Think of the help you may get from the lessons of personal experience; from your contact with and observation of things and men. There is scarcely a limit to what we can learn in this world. Some lessons we learn in the sunshine and some in the shadow; some in the thousand glories of a summer morning, and the deep eternal peacefulness of a cloudless sky, and some from the scowl of a tempest amid the barren desolation of the wintry blast; some we learn over the cradle in laughter and song and prophecy, and some at the graveside, in mourning and with tears. Now, I want you to think again that in all the lessons you have learned from your joys and your sorrows, from your defeats and your victories, from your hard struggles as well as from your sojourn near the still waters and in the green pastures–in all these God is the one Helper. He gave you a mind to think, a heart to feel, a world to live in, and a spirit greater than the world, able to look out over its boundaries into another. But is there still no other way in which God helps us? I think there is. It is the way which made the old Hebrews speak so much about angels; which made Paul speak of the Lord appearing to him in the night; which makes some men believe in spirits, and others talk of being struck with an idea, or having an impression. The great fact behind all these is that man often finds help arising within his soul. He may be quite alone, away from friends; he may not be aware of having been helped by any word or counsel from any one, and yet there in solitude he rises to master his trouble. Could that have happened if that man had been really a mere unit, absolutely cut off from the Universal Life? The question itself is absurd. It is only by virtue of his relation to that Universal Life that the man is a man at all. And that power which rises in him, unmediated so far as he knows, wells up from the eternal fountain of Divine life. (F. R. Williams.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Therefore in the shadow of thy wings] I will get into the very secret of thy presence, into the holy of holies, to the mercy-seat, over which the cherubs extend their wings. If the psalmist does not allude to the overshadowing of the mercy-seat by the extended wings of the cherubim, he may have in view, as a metaphor, the young of fowls, seeking shelter, protection, and warmth under the wings of their mothers. See the same metaphor, Ps 61:4. When a bird of prey appears, the chickens will, by natural instinct, run under the wings of their mothers for protection.
The old Psalter translates, And in hiling of thi wenges I sall joy. The paraphrase is curious. “Thou art my helper, in perels; and I can joy in gode dedes in thi hiling, (covering,) for I am thi bride, (bird,) and if thou hil (cover) me noght, the glede (kite) will rawis me, (carry me away.”)
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Remember thee: in the mean time, whilst I cannot enjoy thee, I will quiet and comfort myself with the thoughts and remembrance of thy kindness to me. Upon my bed, Heb. upon my beds, implying that he was frequently forced to change his bed and lodging, being driven from place to place. In the night watches; in the several seasons of the night, which was divided into three or four watches; of which see Exo 14:24; Jdg 7:19; Mar 13:35. When others sleep securely, my sleep is interrupted by my perplexity and grief for my absence from thy house, and when I awake my thoughts are fixed upon thee, &c.
I will rejoice; I will rest securely and joyfully in thy protection.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5-8. Full spiritual blessingssatisfy his desires, and acts of praise fill his thoughts and time.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because thou hast been my help,…. Or, “that thou hast been my help” s; and so the words may be considered as the subject of his meditation in the night watches, at least as a part of it; and as what gave him a great deal of pleasure to reflect upon, how the Lord had been in times past a present help to him in time of trouble;
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice; meaning under the protecting power of God, where he knew he was safe, and therefore had reason to rejoice. The allusion is to the chirping of chickens under the wing of the hen; see Ps 57:1. The Targum is,
“in the shadow of thy Shechinah will I rejoice;”
referring it may be to the Shechinah, or presence of God, between the cherubim, whose wings overshadowed the mercy seat.
s “quod”, Musculus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Confidence in God; David Triumphing in Hope. | |
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. 9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.
David, having expressed his desires towards God and his praises of him, here expresses his confidence in him and his joyful expectations from him (v. 7): In the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice, alluding either to the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the ark of the covenant, between which God is said to dwell (“I will rejoice in thy oracles, and in covenant and communion with thee”), or to the wings of a fowl, under which the helpless young ones have shelter, as the eagle’s young ones (Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11), which speaks the divine power, and the young ones of the common hen (Matt. xxiii. 37), which speaks more of divine tenderness. It is a phrase often used in the psalms (Psa 17:8; Psa 36:7; Psa 57:1; Psa 61:4; Psa 91:4), and no where else in this sense, except Ruth ii. 12, where Ruth, when she became a proselyte, is said to trust under the wings of the God of Israel. It is our duty to rejoice in the shadow of God’s wings, which denotes our recourse to him by faith and prayer, as naturally as the chickens, when they are cold or frightened, run by instinct under the wings of the hen. It intimates also our reliance upon him as able and ready to help us and our refreshment and satisfaction in his care and protection. Having committed ourselves to God, we must be easy and pleased, and quiet from the fear of evil. Now let us see further,
I. What were the supports and encouragements of David’s confidence in God. Two things were as props to that hope which the word of God was the only foundation of:–
1. His former experiences of God’s power in relieving him: “Because thou hast been my help when other helps and helpers failed me, therefore I will still rejoice in thy salvation, will trust in thee for the future, and will do it with delight and holy joy. Thou hast been not only my helper, but my help;” for we could never have helped ourselves, nor could any creature have been helpful to us, but by him. Here we may set up our Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto the Lord has helped us, and must therefore resolve that we will never desert him, never distrust him, nor ever droop in our walking with him.
2. The present sense he had of God’s grace carrying him on in these pursuits (v. 8): My soul follows hard after thee, which speaks a very earnest desire and a serious vigorous endeavour to keep up communion with God; if we cannot always have God in our embraces, yet we must always have him in our eye, reaching forth towards him as our prize, Phil. iii. 14. To press hard after God is to follow him closely, as those that are afraid of losing the sight of him, and to follow him swiftly, as those that long to be with him. This David did, and he owns, to the glory of God, Thy right hand upholds me. God upheld him, (1.) Under his afflictions, that he might not sink under them. Underneath are the everlasting arms. (2.) In his devotions. God upheld him in his holy desires and pursuits, that he might not grow weary in well-doing. Those that follow hard after God would soon fail and faint if God’s right hand did not uphold them. It is he that strengthens us in the pursuit of him, quickens our good affections, and comforts us while we have not yet attained what we are in the pursuit of. It is by the power of God (that is his right hand) that we are kept from falling. Now this was a great encouragement to the psalmist to hope that he would, in due time, give him that which he so earnestly desired, because he had by his grace wrought in him those desires and kept them up.
II. What it was that David triumphed in the hopes of.
1. That his enemies should be ruined, Psa 63:9; Psa 63:10. There were those that sought his soul to destroy it, not only his life (which they struck at, both to prevent his coming to the crown and because they envied and hated him for his wisdom, piety, and usefulness), but his soul, which they sought to destroy by banishing him from God’s ordinances, which are the nourishment and support of the soul (so doing what they could to starve it), and by sending him to serve other gods, so doing what they could to poison it, 1 Sam. xxvi. 19. But he foresees and foretels, (1.) That they shall go into the lower parts of the earth, to the grave, to hell; their enmity to David would be their death and their damnation, their ruin, their eternal ruin. (2.) That they shall fall by the sword, by the sword of God’s wrath and his justice, by the sword of man, Job 19:28; Job 19:29. They shall die a violent death, Rev. xiii. 10. This was fulfilled in Saul, who fell by the sword, his own sword; David foretold this, yet he would not execute it when it was in the power of his hand, once and again; for precepts, not prophecies, are our rule. (3.) That they shall be a portion for foxes; either their dead bodies shall be a prey to ravenous beasts (Saul lay a good while unburied) or their houses and estates shall be a habitation for wild beasts, Isa. xxxiv. 14. Such as this will be the doom of Christ’s enemies, that oppose his kingdom and interest in the world; Bring them forth and slay them before me, Luke xix. 27.
2. That he himself should gain his point at last (v. 11), that he should be advanced to the throne to which he had been anointed: The king shall rejoice in God. (1.) He calls himself the king, because he knew himself to be so in the divine purpose and designation; thus Paul, while yet in the conflict, writes himself more than a conqueror, Rom. viii. 37. Believers are made kings, though they are not to have the dominion till the morning of the resurrection. (2.) He doubts not but that though he was now sowing in tears he should reap in joy. The king shall rejoice. (3.) He resolves to make God the Alpha and Omega of all his joys. He shall rejoice in God. Now this is applicable to the glories and joys of the exalted Redeemer. Messiah the Prince shall rejoice in God; he has already entered into the joy set before him, and his glory will be completed at his second coming. Two things would be the good effect of David’s advancement:– [1.] It would be the consolation of his friends. Every one that swears to him (that is, to David), that comes into his interest and takes an oath of allegiance to him, shall glory in his success; or every one that swears by him (that is, by the blessed name of God, and not by any idol, Deut. vi. 13), and then it means all good people, that make a sincere and open profession of God’s name; they shall glory in God; they shall glory in David’s advancement. Those that fear thee will be glad when they see me. Those that heartily espouse the cause of Christ shall glory in its victory at last. If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. [2.] It would be the confutation of his enemies: The mouth of those that speak lies, of Saul, and Doeg, and others that misrepresented David and insulted over him, as if his cause was desperate, shall be quite stopped; they shall not have one word more to say against him, but will be for ever silenced and shamed. Apply this to Christ’s enemies, to those that speak lies to him, as all hypocrites do, that tell him they love him while their hearts are not with him; their mouth shall be stopped with that word, I know you not whence you are; they shall be for ever speechless, Matt. xxii. 12. The mouths of those also that speak lies against him, that pervert the right ways of the Lord and speak ill of his holy religion, will be stopped in that day when the Lord shall come to reckon for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. Christ’s second coming will be the everlasting triumph of all his faithful friends and followers, who may therefore now triumph in the believing hopes of it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(7) Because . . .Better, For thou hast been my helper; and under the shadow, &c. (For the image see Psa. 17:8; Psa. 36:7; Psa. 57:1; Psa. 61:4.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Because therefore His past experience offers assurance to faith of future deliverances. Thus “tribulation worketh patience, experience, hope.” Rom 5:3-4.
Wings Emblem of tender care and protection.
Luk 13:34. The figure always refers to the cherubim whose wings shadowed the “mercy seat.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
What are those wings, under the shadow of which the soul of the believer rejoiceth, but Jesus, represented by the cherubim which shadowed the mercy-seat? Was not this representation in the old church the propitiatory? And in the new, is not God said to have set forth Christ as a propitiation, through faith in his blood? Compare Exo 25:18-22 , with Rom 3:25 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Ver. 7. Because thou hast been my help ] This was the matter of his meditation, and hereby he helped his faith.
Therefore in the shadow of thy wings, &c,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
wings. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6.
rejoice: or, rest.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 63:7-8
Psa 63:7-8
“For thou hast been my help,
And in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee:
Thy right hand upholdeth me.”
“In the shadow of thy wings” (Psa 63:7). “It is our duty to rejoice in the shadow of God’s wings. This denotes our recourse to Him through faith and prayer, as naturally as little chickens flee from the cold to the protection of the hen’s wings. Christ himself adopted this beautiful metaphor (Mat 23:37).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 63:7. Shadow of wings is figurative, comparing the shelter afforded by the Lord to that of a large bird. As a birdling would find comfort under the wings of its mother, so David found a feeling of security with his Lord.
Psa 63:8. Soul is used to include the whole being of David. The word is often so used in the Bible. (Gen 12:13; Exo 12:15; Lev 4:2; Act 27:37; 1Pe 3:20.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Because: Psa 54:3, Psa 54:4
therefore: Psa 5:11, Psa 21:1, Psa 57:1, Psa 61:4, 1Sa 17:37, 2Co 1:10
Reciprocal: Rth 2:12 – wings Psa 17:8 – hide Psa 36:7 – put their Psa 139:18 – when I awake Isa 18:1 – shadowing Isa 26:9 – have I Mat 23:37 – even Heb 13:6 – The Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 63:7. Because thou hast been my help When other helps and helpers failed me; because I have known by experience both thy power and will to save those that trust in thee; therefore, in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice Hebrew, , aranneen, will I sing: I will confide in thee for the future, and will do it with delight and comfort: I will rest securely and joyfully, and will sing thy praises under thy protection. He alludes either to the wings of the cherubim stretched out over the mercy-seat, between which God was said to dwell; or to the wings of a fowl, under which her helpless young ones have shelter. Thus the recollection of past mercies inclines the true believer still to have recourse, in all his dangers and difficulties, to his strong helper, and to put himself and all his affairs under the wings of an overshadowing providence.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
God’s support and provision of safety were the immediate causes of David’s meditation and praise. Again David pictured himself as a bird under the wing of its mother and as a dependent infant held by its parent.