Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:4
They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away.
4. The number and the virulence of his foes, and the groundlessness of their hostility. For the language comp. Psa 40:12; Psa 35:19; Psa 38:19. The quotation in Joh 15:25 agrees with the LXX.
moe ] This archaism for ‘more,’ which has disappeared from modern Bibles, is restored by Scrivener in accordance with the original edition of 1611.
they that would destroy me ] R.V., they that would cut me off. Ewald and others follow the Syr. in reading this line, ‘More numerous than my bones are they that are mine enemies falsely.’ The parallelism of the first two lines of the verse is improved by the change, which involves only a slight alteration of the consonants; but the comparison is not a natural one, and the reading of the text is supported by the use of the same verb in Lam 3:53, in a closely similar context (note Lam 3:52; Lam 3:54).
wrongfully ] Lit. falsely. Their hostility is based upon misconception and misrepresentation.
then I restored ] Or, as R.V. marg., I had to restore. ‘Then’ may refer to some signal instance prominent in the Psalmist’s recollection.
that which I took not away ] That which I had not plundered. Perhaps a proverbial expression for the extreme of injured innocence. He was accused of being an extortioner and oppressor of the poor who must be made to disgorge his ill-gotten gains (Eze 33:15). Cp. Eliphaz’ charges against Job (Job 22:6 ff.), and Zophar’s picture of the wicked man compelled to make restitution (Job 20:18 ff.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They that hate me without a cause – Without any just reason; without any provocation on my part. There were many such in the case of David, for to those who rose up against him in the time of Saul, and to Absalom also, he had given no real occasion of offence. An expression similar to the one used here occurs in Psa 35:19. See the notes at that passage. The language is applied to the Saviour Joh 15:25, not as having had original reference to him, but as language which received its most perfect fulfillment in the treatment which he received from his enemies. See the notes at Joh 15:25.
Are more than the hairs of mine head – The number is so great that it cannot be estimated.
They that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty – literally, More than the hairs of my head are my haters falsely (those who hate me falsely); strong are those destroying me; my enemies. The idea is, that those who were numbered among his foes without any just provocation on his part were so numerous and strong that he could not contend with them.
Then I restored that which I took not away – Prof. Alexander renders this, What I did not rob, then must I restore. This seems to have a proverbial cast, and the idea is, that under this pressure of circumstances – borne down by numbers – he was compelled to give up what he had not taken away from others. They regarded and treated him as a bad man – as if he had been a robber; and they compelled him to give up what he possessed, as if he had no right to it, or as if he had obtained it by robbery. This does not seem to refer to anything that was voluntary on his part – as if, for the sake of peace, he had proposed to give up that to which they had no claim, or to surrender his just rights, but to the act of compulsion by which he was forced to surrender what he had, as if he had been a public offender. How far it is proper to yield to an unjust claim for the sake of peace, or to act as if we had done wrong, rather than to have controversy or strife, is a point which, if this interpretation is correct, is not settled by this passage. It seems here to have been merely a question of power.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 69:4
I restored that which I took not away.
Christ restoring what He took not away
I. What it is which was taken away, and from whom.
1. Glory was taken from God.
(1) The glory of God shining forth in the holy government of His reasonable creatures, was taken away by sin.
(2) That glory which we are tied to give to God, was withheld by sin.
2. There was righteousness, holiness, and happiness taken from man.
II. Wherein it appears that Christ did not take these things from either.
1. It is plain, as to God, that He never took any glory from Him; for He never did anything dishonourable or offensive to God (Joh 8:29).
2. It is also clear, as to man, that He took not away any righteousness, holiness, or happiness from him (Isa 53:9; Act 10:33; Luk 9:56).
3. The Scripture therefore speaks of Christs being cut off, but not for Himself (Dan 9:26). Though He suffered in His own Person, He did not suffer on His own account (1Pe 3:18).
4. The innocency of Christ was conspicuous in His very sufferings (Act 13:28).
III. How did Christ restore those things which He took not away? In general, by His active and passive obedience; for both are concerned in this matter, and contribute their joint influence towards the great and blessed work of which I am now speaking.
IV. Why did Christ make it His work to restore what He took not away?
1. It was a necessary work, a work which must be done, in order to His being a Saviour.
2. It was a work impossible for any mere creature to do; so that if Christ did not, it could not have been done by any person besides Him.
3. Christ was ordained of God to this work, and in that respect there was a necessity of His accomplishing it (Joh 9:4).
4. The infinite love of Christ to sinners did sweetly incline Him to this work. (T. Cruse.)
A robbery committed, and restitution made, both to God and man
I. Premise two or three things for clearing of the way.
1. When God made man, He bestowed all manner of goods upon him, that were necessary to make him live comfortably here, and to make him eternally happy hereafter.
2. Satan, by this time, having fallen, like a star, from heaven to earth, filled with envy, enters into a resolution, if it were possible, to commit a robbery upon man, and to strike at Gods sovereignty through mans side; and accordingly–
3. Satan prevailed upon our first parents, and beguiled them; and thereby the covenant of works was broken.
4. The covenant of works being broken, and man having entered into a rebellion against God with the devil, he justly forfeited all the spiritual and temporal goods that God bestowed upon him, and likewise lost his title to a happy eternity, and became the enemys vassal; and thus the enemy robbed him of all the goods that God bestowed upon him.
5. The eternal Son of God having a delight in the sons of men, and beholding them in this miserable plight, enters upon a resolution that He will take on mans nature, and that He will in mans nature be avenged upon that serpent that hath beguiled our first parents, and spoiled them of their patrimony. And accordingly, in the fulness of time, He comes, and is manifested to destroy the works of the devil, and to recover all the stolen goods.
II. Inquire into the robbery that was committed by sin and Satan, both upon God and upon man.
1. To begin with the robbery that was committed upon God. It was the devils great drift, by tempting man to sin against God, to rob God of His glory.
2. Inquire into the goods that wore stolen from man by sin and Satan. Hero we may see a melancholy scene. The glory of the human nature was quite marred by sin. Sin hath robbed us of heaven, and made us heirs of hell and wrath. In short, sin hath disordered and disjointed the whole creation.
III. Make it appear that our glorious Immanuel makes a restitution of what was taken away both from God and from man. He restores unto God His due, and restores unto man his loss.
IV. Inquire into the time when Christ did all this: when did He restore that which He took not away? (Gal 4:4-5).
V. Inquire into the reasons of the doctrine. Why was it that our Lord restored what He took not away? Why did He restore these goods that sin and Satan took away both from God and man?
1. Because it was His Fathers pleasure.
2. Because it contributed very much to enhance His mediatorial glory.
3. Because of His regard to the holy law of God.
4. Because His delights were with the sons of men.
5. That He might still the enemy and the avenger, that is, the devil.
VI. Application.
1. Is it so that Christ restores what He took not away? Then, hence see, what a generous Kinsman we have of Him; He never took away anything from us, and yet He restores all to the spoiling of His own soul, and pouring it out unto death.
2. This doctrine serves to let us see into the meaning of (Rom 8:3). He condemned sin. Why, or how did He it? Why, sin is a robber, and is it not just that a robber should be condemned to die? Well, Christ condemns sin, and yet He saves the sinner.
3. Hence see what a criminal correspondence it is that the generality of the children of men have with sin. It is dangerous to haunt and harbour robbers; and yet will you keep a robber in your bosom.
4. If sin be such a robber of God and man, then see how reasonable the command is, to crucify sin, and to mortify the deeds of the body.
5. From this doctrine see what way Christ takes in order to carry on His mediatory work of making peace betwixt God and man.
6. From the doctrine we may likewise see, that the believer in Christ is the wisest man in the world, however the world may look upon him as a fool. Why? because he comes to Christ, and gets restitution of all the losses he suffered either by the sin of the first Adam or his own.
7. See the folly and madness of the sin of unbelief (Joh 5:40).
8. See the folly of the legalist, that goes about to make restitution to God, and to himself, of what was taken away by sin. But consider, that by the works of the law no flesh living can be justified; you will never repair your own losses, nor the dishonour you have done to God, but only by coming to Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (E. Erskine.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Then I restored that which I took not away.] I think, with Calmet, that this is a sort of proverbial expression, like such as these, “Those who suffered the wrong, pay the costs.” Delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi. “Kings sin, and the people are punished.” “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Our fathers have grievously sinned against the Lord, and we their posterity suffer for it. See on Ps 69:12. Some have applied it to our Lord. I restored, by my suffering and death, that image of God and the Divine favour, which I took not away. That is, In my human nature I expiated the crime that human beings had committed against God. But such applications are very gratuitous.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Without a cause; without any injury or occasion given them by me.
Restored that which I took not away; either because they unjustly and violently forced me to it, or because I was willing to do it to my own wrong for peace sake. By this one kind of wrong he understands all those injuries and violences which they practised against him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. hate me, &c.(CompareJoh 15:25). On the number andpower of his enemies (compare Ps40:12).
then I restored . . .awaythat is, he suffered wrongfully under the imputation ofrobbery.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They that hate me without a cause,…. As the Jews did; see
Joh 15:18; for he did no injury to the persons or properties of men; but went about continually doing good, both to their souls and bodies; so that he merited their highest esteem and love, and not their hatred; and yet they were his implacable enemies; see Lu 19:14;
are more than the hairs of mine head; they were a multitude that came to take him in the garden; and it was the multitude that the priests and Pharisees instigated to ask for the release of Barabbas, and the crucifixion of Jesus; and a vast number of people followed him to the cross, and insulted him on it; the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together against him;
they that would destroy me; as the Jews sought to do often before his time was come;
[being] mine enemies wrongfully; without cause, as before; or through lies and falsehoods told of him, and spread about concerning him:
are mighty; lively and strong, as David’s enemies were, Ps 38:19. The great men of the earth, kings and princes, as Herod and Pontius Pilate, and also the infernal principalities and powers, who were concerned in contriving those lies, and putting them into the minds of men; for Satan is the father of lies and falsehood;
then I restored [that] which I took not away; by rapine, force, and violence, as the word w signifies; and which was done by others. Thus, for instance, Christ restored the glory of God, of which he was robbed, and which was taken away by the sin of man; by veiling his own glory, not seeking that, but his Father’s; and by working out the salvation of his people, in such a manner as that all the divine perfections were glorified by it; hence, “glory to God in the highest”, Lu 2:14. He satisfied justice he had never injured, though others had; he fulfilled a law, and bore the penalty of it, which he never broke; and made satisfaction for sins he never committed; and brought in a righteousness he had not taken away; and provided a better inheritance than what was lost by Adam: and all this was done at the time of his sufferings and death, and by the means of them.
w “rapui”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. They who hate me without cause are more in number than the hairs of my head The Psalmist now expresses without figure what he had said under the metaphors of the mire and of the impetuous rushing of the waters. Persecuted as he was by so great a multitude of enemies, he had too good reason to be afraid of death in innumerable ways. Nor is his language hyperbolical, when he represents his enemies as more in number than the hairs of his head, since he was mortally hated and detested by the whole kingdom, it being the universal belief that he was a base and wicked traitor to his country. Farther, we know from the sacred history how numerous and powerful the armies were which Saul sent forth to pursue him. He expresses the mortal hatred which they bore to him, when he tells us that they were intently set upon his destruction, being eagerly desirous to have him cut off by a violent death; and yet he avows that he had done nothing to merit such unrelenting persecution. The Hebrew word חנם , chinnam, which we have rendered, without cause, and which some translate, for nothing, intimates that they were impelled by a strong desire to do him injury, although he had not done them even the slightest wrong, nor given them the smallest provocation by ill usage of any kind. For this reason he applies to his enemies the appellation שקר, sheker, that is, liars, because they had no just ground to make war upon him, although they pretended the contrary. Let us, therefore, after his example, if at any time we are subjected to persecution, study to have the support arising from the testimony of a good conscience, and to be able freely to protest before God, that the hatred which our enemies cherish against us is altogether causeless. This implies a self-control to which it is very difficult for a man to inure himself; but the more difficult it is, the more strenuous ought to be his efforts to attain it. It is mere effeminacy to regard it as an intolerable evil to be unrighteously afflicted; and the folly of this is very happily exposed by that noble answer of Socrates to his wife, who, having one day lamented, in prison, that he was condemned wrongfully, received from him this reply, “What then — would you rather that I should have suffered death for my offenses?” Farther, David adds, that he not only had to suffer the wrongs of violence, but had also to bear much reviling and contumely, as if he had been convicted of many crimes; a trial which, to an ingenuous mind, is more bitter and hard to bear than a hundred deaths. Many are to be found resolutely prepared to encounter death, who are by no means prepared to exhibit equal fortitude in the endurance of shame. Farther, David was not only despoiled of his goods by the violence of robbers, but he had been also mangled in his person, as if he had been a thief and a robber: That which I took not by spoil, then I restored it (71) When his enemies thus plundered and maltreated him, they doubtless boasted that they were acting as the judges of a perverse and wicked man; and we know that they were held in honorable estimation as judges. Let us therefore learn from this example to prepare ourselves not only to bear patiently all losses and troubles, yea, even death itself; but also shame and reproach, if at any time we are loaded with unfounded accusations. Christ himself, the fountain of all righteousness and holiness, was not exempted from foul calumny, why then should we be dismayed when we meet with a similar trial? It may well fortify our minds against it when we consider, that to persevere steadfastly in the practice of righteousness, although such is the reward which we receive from the world, is the genuine test of our integrity.
(71) “There is an apparent impropriety in the language of this verse, though the sense is perfectly clear. It is a proverbial expression, to mark the injustice and extortion of the enemies that are referred to, who compelled the speaker, without any right, to yield up his goods to persons to whom he was not indebted.” — Walford. Horsley observes, that this last clause is a proverbial expression, the meaning of which is, “I have been accountable for the crimes of others.” Dr Adam Clarke also remarks, that this is a sort of proverbial expression like these: “Those who suffered the wrong pay the costs” — “Kings sin and the people are punished.” This pre-eminently applies to Christ, who was perfectly holy, but who, by bearing the punishment due to the guilt of man, made satisfaction to Divine justice for sins which he never committed, and restored those blessings which he never took away.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) They that would destroy me . . .Properly, my exterminators. It seems a piece of hypercriticism to object to this as too strong a word. It is a very allowable prolepsis. At the same time the parallelism would be improved by adopting, as Ewald suggests, the Syriac reading my enemies without are more numerous than my bones, and the construction would be the same as in Psa. 40:12.
Wrongfully.Better, without cause. Comp. Psa. 35:19.
Then I restored.Rather, what I did not steal I must then restore, possibly a proverbial saying to express harsh and unjust treatment. Comp. Ps. Xxxv. 11; Jer. 15:10.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. They that hate me These bear a threefold distinction.
1. They are more than the hairs of mine head. Psa 39:12.
2. They are mighty,
3. They hate without cause wrongfully. The whole psalm is highly Messianic, and our Lord directly refers to this latter description of his enemies, Joh 15:25. Then I restored that, etc. I surrendered that which I had never taken, and which they had no right to demand. I was made legally answerable for acts which I never committed. See Jer 10:15. The language seems to be used proverbially. Bishop Mant versifies it:
“For rapine, which my hands ne’er knew,
Content I paid the atonement due.”
How true of David! How much more true of Christ!
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 69:4. I restored that which I took not away What I have not taken away, I restore upon the spot. i.e. “I have been so far from provoking their malice, that I have been content, rather than quarrel with them, to part with my own right, and to make them satisfaction for wrongs which I never did them.” The Liturgy version, which is followed by many, begins the fifth verse with this clause: to which the next is supposed to refer: O God thou knowest my simpleness, &c. as much as to say, “Thou knowest the simplicity of my heart, and that though I have been guilty of offences towards thee, yet have I never injured those who thus cruelly hate and persecute me.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
What a blessed verse is here! Amidst all the opposition and contradiction of sinners against himself, Jesus manifested that character, by which Jehovah had pointed him out to the church by the prophet; Thou shalt be called the Repairer of the breach, the Restorer of the paths to dwell in; Isa 58:12 . But what was it Christ restored? Nay, all that was lost. Adam, by sin, had taken away God’s glory, and his own glory and happiness. He had robbed God of his glory, God’s law of its due, himself of God’s image and of God’s favour. Sin had brought in death, spiritual and eternal; and he, and all his descendants, stood tremblingly exposed to everlasting misery. All these, and more, Jesus restored. As man’s Surety and man’s Representative, called to those offices by the authority of Jehovah, the Lord Christ restored to God his glory, and to man God’s image and favour; and having destroyed sin, death, hell, and the grave, he restored to his redeemed a better paradise than our nature had lost! Hail! oh, thou blessed Restorer of all our long-lost privileges.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away.
Ver. 4. They that hate me without a cause, &c. ] Christ, besides his inward fears and griefs caused by the sense of his Father’s wrath for our sins, was set against and assaulted both by men and devils (in that three hours’ darkness especially) with utmost might and malice.
Then I restored that which I took not away.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hate me without a cause. Compare Psa 35:19. Quoted in Joh 15:25.
mighty. The Syriac, by supplying the letter Ayin, reads “stronger than my bones”, thus completing the alternation of this verse.
Then. Ginsburg suggests “I” (emphatic) instead of “Then”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
hate: Joh 15:25, 1Pe 2:22
more than: Psa 40:12
being: Psa 7:3-5, Psa 35:12, Psa 35:19, Psa 38:19, Psa 38:20, Psa 109:3-5
then I: Isa 53:4-7, 2Co 5:21, 1Pe 2:24, 1Pe 3:18
Reciprocal: Gen 37:4 – hated him Lev 5:16 – make 1Sa 19:5 – without a cause 1Sa 26:18 – Wherefore Psa 18:17 – them Psa 25:3 – without Psa 59:3 – not Psa 119:78 – without Isa 52:4 – without Isa 53:6 – laid on him the iniquity of us all Lam 3:52 – without Mat 5:22 – without Mar 15:14 – And Luk 23:5 – they 1Pe 2:19 – suffering
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies {e} wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I {f} took not away.
(e) Condemning me as guilty.
(f) They judged me a thief, though innocent, and gave my goods to others, as though I had stolen them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
David faced numerous critics that he described hyperbolically as innumerable. His enemies were very powerful people. He had to make concessions to them that were unwarranted.
Jesus Christ suffered this type of opposition as well. He referred to His sufferings as a fulfillment of what David had written here and elsewhere (Psa 35:19) in Joh 15:25.