Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 66:14
Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
14. Wherewith my lips opened,
And which my mouth spake, when I was in distress.
For the first line cp. Jdg 11:35 f; but there is no reason to suppose that rash vows are here meant.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Which my lips have uttered … – Margin, opened. The Hebrew word, however – patsah – means properly to tear apart; to rend; and then, to open wide, as the mouth, for example – or the throat, – as wild beasts do, Psa 22:13. Then it means to open the mouth in scorn Lam 2:16; Lam 3:46; and then, to utter hasty words, Job 35:16. The idea would be expressed by us by the phrases to bolt or blurt out; to utter hastily; or, to utter from a heart full and overflowing to utter with very little care as to the language employed. It is the fullness of the heart which would be suggested by the word, and not a nice choice of expressions. The idea is, that the heart was full; and that the vows were made under the influence of deep emotion, when the heart was so full that it could not but speak, and when there was very little attention to the language. It was not a calm and studied selection of words. Such vows are not less acceptable to God than those which are made in the best-selected language. Not a little of the most popular sacred poetry in all tongues is of this nature; and when refined down to the nicest rules of art it ceases to be popular, or to meet the needs of the soul, and is laid aside. The psalmist here means to say, that though these vows were the result of deep feeling – of warm, gushing emotion – rather than of calm and thoughtful reflection, yet there was no disposition to disown or repudiate them now. They were made in the depth of feeling – in real sincerity – and there was a purpose fairly to carry them out.
When I was in trouble – When the people were in captivity, languishing in a foreign land. Vows made in trouble – in sickness, in bereavement, in times of public calamity – should be faithfully performed when health and prosperity visit us again; but, alas, how often are they forgotten!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 14. When I was in trouble.] This is generally the time when good resolutions are formed, and vows made; but how often are these forgotten when affliction and calamity are removed!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Hitherto he spoke in the plural number, but now he begins to speak in the singular number; but still the speech is continued of the same person or persons; only sometimes the whole body speaks, and sometimes one man speaks in the name of all the rest.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Which my lips have uttered,…. Or “opened” e; publicly and distinctly declared, and from which there is no going back; see
Jud 11:33;
and my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble; this refers to the time when the people of God were under antichristian tyranny and bondage; and when they vowed and promised, that, if the Lord would deliver them, they would give him all praise and glory.
e “aperuerunt”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) Uttered.Literally, opened.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 66:14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
Ver. 14. Which my lips have uttered ] Heb. have opened, that is, which I have uttered diductis labiis, with lips wide open. Videmus qualiter vota nuncupari soleant, saith Vatablus, Here we see after what sort vows use to be made, when we are under any pressing affliction; but when once delivered, how heavily many come off in point of payment.
And my mouth hath spoken when I was in trouble
– Reddere victimas
Aedemque votivam memento:
Nos humilem feriemus agnam.
Which. Figure of speech Ellipsis (App-6) = “which [vows]”.
uttered = opened. Figure of speech Ellipsis (App-6) = “opened [and vowed]”.
uttered: Heb. opened, Jdg 11:35, Jdg 11:36
mouth: Num 30:2, Num 30:8, Num 30:12
when: Gen 28:20-22, Gen 35:3, 1Sa 1:11, 2Sa 22:7
Reciprocal: Deu 23:21 – General Deu 23:23 – That which Jdg 11:31 – shall surely Job 22:27 – pay thy Psa 56:12 – Thy Psa 119:57 – I have Psa 119:106 – sworn Psa 132:2 – he sware Psa 132:7 – will go Ecc 5:4 – pay
TESTIMONY FOR GOD
O come hither, and hearken, all ye that fear God: and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul.
Psa 66:14 (Prayer Book Version)
Gratitude towards God and generosity towards manthese are two of the marked features in the character of David. In the text he gathers, as it were, a little select congregation around him of those who, like himself, had had experience of Gods goodness. He asks them to join with him in praising and blessing God; and he instructs them, and strengthens them, and encourages them by recounting to them what God had done for himself.
I. We declare with thankfulness what God hath done for our souls in the act of redeeming us.God sent His Son to bless us in turning every one of us from his iniquities. Salvation is a free gift. It is the gift of free and full pardon for all the bad life that is past, and the pledge and the power of a better life to come.
II. The gift of the Holy Scriptures is the second thing that God hath done for our souls.The best way of showing our gratitude for so great a blessing is to use it well.
III. It is not merely as separate persons, one by one, that God has furnished us with blessings made ready to our souls.We are members of a great society. The Holy Catholic Church is a part of the system of our religion. We have sacraments, and common prayer, and public instruction, and mutual help.
IV. We have the supreme blessing of the grace of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of providential care.
V. We advance one step further, and enter the inner circle of all.At this point especially the words of the psalm are addressed to those who fear God, and it is only they who can thoroughly enter into their meaning. O come hither and hearken, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what He hath done for my soul. This desire to help others is a certain mark of true conversion. Gratitude to God will find its natural development in generosity to man.
Dean Howson.
Illustration
The testimony of the individual is for the strengthening of the faith of Gods own, in order that they may be more perfectly equipped for their testimony to those without. In the story of Gods dealing with his people there is a recognition of His government through all the differing experiences of their history. By deliverance and by distress, by triumph and trial, He has conducted them to a wealthy place. Very full of comfort is the individual realisation, following as it does this larger experience. In the economy of God the lonely man is not lost in the multitude, and the solo of his praise is as precious as is the chorus of their worship.
Psa 67:3
GODS NAME BE PRAISED!
Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Psa 67:3
Time begins and time ends with praise; and though during its course there may seem to be many an interval of dreary silence, yet God never wants praise. He inhabiteth the praises of eternity, and even here on earth praise waiteth for Him among His people. The whole of the course of Gods saints is full of praise.
I. And is there not ample reason?What though sin seem to have marred the Creators glorious work? Is it not a glorious work still? The heavens, with all their wonders of brightness, glorify Him; the earth, with her ten thousand processes of life and organisation, is full of His power, and wisdom, and love; and man is the noblest proof of all these combined. If Gods ordinary and creation mercies should warm our hearts and find utterance of praise from our lips, how should those hearts glow with fire, and those lips burst forth in songs of joy, when we remember that all our choicest blessings are not His ordinary creation gifts, but special bestowals of undeserved mercy and inconceivable love.
II. Let all the people praise Thee.What though to some be denied the gift of praising Him with the lips? There is a more abiding and a worthier praise than this. A thousand secret strains of melody are uttered in His ear by the consistency and devotion of holy lives, more grateful than all the offerings of the voice; and these praises all can sing.
III. Let all the people praise Thee, not only in the church, nor on the Lords Day only, but through all the vicissitudes of daily life.Some in their families; others in the mean and humble dwellings of the poor; others, again, in the busy haunts of commerce and amidst the crowding and crushing of the selfish worldthese all may praise Him, these and many more. Remember His own solemn words, think of them in the light of Christs redemption, and ponder them at the foot of His cross: Whoso offereth praise, he honoureth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.
Dean Alford.
Illustration
In this psalm there is a fine merging of prayer and praise. Its dominant note is that of prayer. It is prayer, moreover, on the highest level. It asks for personal blessing, but its deepest passion is that all peoples may be blessed and led to praise. If it was a harvest festival song, as the first part of Psa 67:6 would seem to indicate, then the local occasion is graciously submerged in a far wider outlook. The singer, even more remarkably than in the preceding psalm, recognises the true function of the Holy Nation.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary