Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 89:50
Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; [how] I do bear in my bosom [the reproach of] all the mighty people;
50. the reproach of thy servants ] The taunts which they have to bear as the servants of a God Who, say their enemies, cannot or will not help them. Cp. Psa 74:10; Psa 74:18; Psa 74:22; Psa 79:4; Psa 79:10.
how I do bear &c.] The Massoretic text must be rendered, How I do bear in my bosom all the many peoples. It is grammatically anomalous and gives no satisfactory sense. A simple emendation, which has some support from Ancient Versions, reads thus:
How I bear in my bosom the dishonouring of the peoples.
Cp. the similar phrase with the same word for ‘dishonouring’ (A.V. shame) in Eze 34:29; Eze 36:6; Eze 36:15. As a faithful Israelite he must perforce bear the burden of his people’s shame.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants – Remember this, so as to cause it to pass away; he not forgetful or unmindful of this. Compare Psa 89:47. The psalmist desired that all this might be before the mind of God as a reason why he should help him. These promises had been made to David and his people. They had relied on them, and they were now reproached as having trusted to promises which had never been made. This reproach was consequent on what seemed to be the failure to fulfill those promises; and as this reproach came upon God, and was a reflection on his fidelity, the psalmist prays that he would allow it to come before him.
How I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people – literally, I bear in my bosom all the many people. That is, everything that pertained to them came upon him. All their troubles; all their reverses; all their complaints; all their murmurings, seemed to come upon him. He was held responsible for everything pertaining to them; all this pressed upon his heart. Compare the bitter complaint of Moses in Num 11:11-15. The phrase to bear in the bosom here, is equivalent to bearing it on the heart. Trouble, anxiety, care, sorrow, seem to press on the heart, or fill the bosom with distressing emotions, and lay on it a heavy burden. The allusion here is not merely to reproach, but the meaning is that everything pertaining to the people came on him, and it crushed him down. The burdens of his own people, as well as the reproaches of all around him, came upon him; and he felt that he was not able to bear it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 50. I do bear in my bosom] Our enemies, knowing our confidence, having often heard our boast in thee, and now seeing our low and hopeless estate, mock us for our confidence, and blaspheme thee. This wounds my soul; I cannot bear to hear thy name blasphemed among the heathen. All these mighty people blaspheme the God of Jacob.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I, i.e. we thy servants, as he now said; our king and his people; of whom he speaks as of one person, as is very usual in Holy Scripture. Or the psalmist showeth how particularly and passionately he resented those reproaches which were cast upon their king and kingdom, as if they were east upon himself.
Bear in my bosom: this phrase may denote either, first, the multitude of these reproaches, things being said to be given or received into a mans bosom, which are given or received in great plenty, as Isa 65:6; Luk 6:38; or, secondly, their grievousness, that they pierced him to the very heart, which is sometimes called the bosom, as Ecc 7:9. Of all the mighty people; of the great potentates and princes of the world, who now reproached the house of David with their vain and confident boasting of the everlastingness of their kingdom, which was now in a desperate and lost condition. Or, all the reproaches of many people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
50. bear in my bosomasfeeling the affliction of the people (Ps69:9).
footstepsways (Ps56:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants,…. The apostles of Christ, his servants, and the servants of the living God, that showed unto men the way of salvation, and other saints with them that believed in Christ, and were made willing to serve and follow him; these were now reproached by the Scribes and Pharisees for believing in him, and professing him; and were scoffed and laughed at, when they had crucified him, and laid him in the grave, triumphing over him and them, believing he would never rise again, as he had given out he should, and for which his followers were reproached; and therefore desire the Lord would remember the reproach cast upon Christ, and them, for his sake, and roll it away:
how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; the ecclesiastical and civil rulers of the Jews, their chief priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, who poured out their reproaches very plentifully on the followers of Christ, whom the psalmist here represents; which fell very heavily upon them, as a very great weight and burden, and pressed them sore, and went to their very hearts, and therefore said to be “in their bosom”; and which is mentioned to excite the divine compassion, that he would appear for them, and raise his Son from the dead, as was promised and expected; that their enemies might have no more occasion to reproach him and them: it is in the original, “I bear in my bosom all the many people” c; which some understand of the people of God, and of Christ’s sustaining their persons, and making satisfaction for their sins; but the other sense is preferable: Kimchi supplies the words as we do; and so the Targum, which renders them thus,
“I bear in my bosom all the reproaches of many people.”
c “omnes multos populos”, Montanus; “omnes, quam multi sunt, populos”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
50. O Lord! remember the reproach of thy servants. They again allege, that they are held in derision by the ungodly, — a consideration which had no small influence in moving God to compassion: for the more grievous and troublesome a temptation it is, to have the wicked deriding our patience, that, after having made us believe that God is not true in what he has promised, they may precipitate us into despair; the more ready is he to aid us, that our feeble minds may not yield to the temptation. The prophet does not simply mean that the reproaches of his enemies are to him intolerable, but that God must repress their insolence in deriding the faith and patience of the godly, in order that those who trust in him may not be put to shame. He enhances still more the same sentiment in the second clause, telling us, that he was assailed with all kind of reproaches by many peoples, or by the great peoples, for the Hebrew word רבים, rabbim, signifies both great and many
Moreover, it is not without cause, that, after having spoken in general of the servants of God, he changes the plural into the singular number. He does this, that each of the faithful in particular may be the more earnestly stirred up to the duty of prayer. The expression, in my bosom, is very emphatic. It is as if he had said, The wicked do not throw from a distance their insulting words, but they vomit them, so to speak, upon the children of God, who are thus constrained to receive them into their bosom, and to bear patiently this base treatment. Such is the perversity of the time in which we live, that we have need to apply the same doctrine to ourselves; for the earth is full of profane and proud despisers of God, who cease not to make themselves merry at our expense. And as Satan is a master well qualified to teach them this kind of rhetoric, the calamities of the Church always furnish them with matter for exercising it. Some take bosom for the secret affection of the heart; but this exposition seems to be too refined.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(50)
The phrase, bear in my bosom, is explained by Psa. 79:12.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
50. Reproach One of the keenest points of the existing chastisement.
I do bear in my bosom So perfectly identified is the psalmist with God’s people that the thrust which was aimed at them is received in his own bosom. So Jer 15:15. But the language is applied, in a higher sense, to Christ. See Psa 69:9; Rom 15:3.
All the mighty people Either all the powerful nations who now reproached the Hebrews, or, taking the words prophetically, all the mighty powers of the world who persecute the true Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 89:50. How I do bear in my bosom, &c. How I bear in my bosom all wherewith mighty nations, Psa 89:51. Wherewith thine enemies, O Lord, reproach; wherewith they reproach the steps of thine anointed. Mudge; who observes, that by this translation an elegant repetition of the sentence is made, as in the song of Deborah and other places. The steps may mean the measures, “Whatever thine anointed does, or wherever he goes, they set him at defiance; they speak opprobriously:” But perhaps it maybe understood more simply, “They pursue the footsteps of thy anointed, wherever he treads, with defiance and opprobrious language.” The mention of himself here, and in the 47th verse, shews the author to be of consequence. According to the Chaldee, this means the slowness of the footsteps of the Messiah. The Jews were reproached by their enemies, as if the promises upon which they so firmly depended, with relation to their Messiah, whom they expected to rescue and redeem them out of their captivity, had now utterly deceived them. See Houbigant.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The Psalmist opens with praise, notwithstanding the desolations before him, which so deeply affected and afflicted him; for no troubles should untune our hearts: we can be in no state or condition, when we have not matter for a spiritual song; and shall get more ease of heart by praising than complaining.
1. The Psalmist declares his purpose to celebrate with ceaseless praise the mercies and faithfulness of the Lord. However dark the present providences of God appeared, he doubted not his boundless mercy, nor distrusted his faithfulness; and therefore not only his lips should praise, but he would make known God’s mercy and truth, and leave them upon record to future generations.
2. He professes his own faith and hope in God. For I have said, confiding in God’s promise, in opposition to all appearances, Mercy shall be built up for ever, the tabernacle of David be revived from its ruins, and flourish through God’s mercy: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens, his promises to the faithful enduring as the heavens, and his faithfulness most eminently proved, when his saints shall be taken up to heaven; and herein with unshaken confidence he rested.
2nd, The Psalmist reiterates the praises of God; and most worthy he appears to be adored, and had in everlasting remembrance.
1. Heaven and earth must celebrate his glory. The heavens, with all their bright inhabitants, shall praise thy wonders, or, that wonderful work of thine, the covenant of grace established in Christ with lost sinners, or that stupendous incarnation of the Son of God: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints, earth as well as heaven unites in adoration, and saints seek to emulate the service of angels; and most especially bounden are they to join in the song of praise, when assembled in the great congregation, where God has promised the especial presence of his grace, and is to be approached with filial reverence and godly fear. Note; They who ever hope for heaven, must begin the service upon earth. If we have now no joy in God’s worship and praises, how can we expect happiness there, where this is the everlasting employment of the glorified soul.
2. Most abundant reason there is, why God should be thus adored,
[1.] Because his greatness is beyond compare. Heaven yields none like him; the highest archangels are infinitely more beneath his perfection, than they are above the worm, the meanest worm which crawls: much less can earth, among its mightiest sons, produce a rival to Him who sitteth on the circle of the heavens, and the inhabitants of the world are but as grasshoppers before him.
[2.] His strength and faithfulness are most transcendantly great. None can do what he doth, nor did ever any trust him and were disappointed. Several instances of this his almighty power are here given:
(1.) In his controul of the most unruly elements, Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them: he hath appointed their bounds; and though the foaming billows lift their heads, they cannot pass them, but in an instant at his word subside, and creep in murmurs to the shore. By this act of omnipotence did Jesus manifest his godhead and glory. Mat 8:24-27.
(2.) In his victories over Egypt, and his people’s enemies, when Pharaoh, that Rahab, that proud one, was destroyed, and all his hosts, as corpses, scattered on the shore; an emblem of the victories of Jesus over Satan and the powers of darkness, and of his destruction of the anti-christian foe, when Babylon mystical, as Rahab, shall be broken in pieces.
(3.) In his universal dominion over all the creatures. The heavens and earth, and all who dwell in them, own his authority, and regard him as their Creator: from pole to pole he is Lord of all, and Tabor and Hermon rejoice in his name, all the fertility, strength, and beauty they possess, are from his gift; and if Tabor, as is generally supposed, was the mount where our Lord was transfigured, it might with peculiar propriety be said to rejoice in him.
(4.) In his providential government. Thou hast a mighty arm, able to save and to destroy; strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand, to preserve, protect, and chastise his faithful people for their good; or to punish and overwhelm his enemies with judgments irresistible; and withal, most holy, just, and good are all his dispensations. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne, the administration of the kingdom of his providence is altogether righteous and equitable. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face; mercy in pardoning the perishing sinner, truth in performing all his promises; and justly do these exalt him, and render him worthy to receive blessing, and glory, and majesty, and might, and dominion, for ever and ever.
3rdly, The blessedness of God’s faithful people is here described; as there is no god like him, so no people so happy as those who know him, love him, and serve him faithfully.
1. They know the joyful sound of gospel grace, like the shout of a victorious army, Num 23:21 or the welcome trump of jubilee, proclaiming victory over sin, death, and hell, and liberty from the bondage of corruption, and speaking pardon, peace, and reconciliation between the offended God and the sinful soul.
2. They shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance, under the special tokens of his favour, enjoying the most endeared communion with him, and walking in the comforts of the Holy Ghost.
3. Their joy shall be permanent. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day, every day they will have cause to do so, in further and clearer manifestations of the divine grace and love; and in the darkest hour, still they may find matter for a spiritual song.
4. Their exultation will be great; endued with divine strength, which will make them more than conquerors over all the enemies of their souls; they will appear glorious in the eyes of God, in that beauty and comeliness which he hath put upon them.
5. Their relation to God makes them both safe and honourable. For the Lord is our defence, or shield, to protect and defend us from every evil; and the Holy One of Israel is our king, to rule and guide us in the paths of peace under his happy sway. Blessed, for ever blessed, are the people who are in such a case!
4thly, The covenant that God had made with David is here enlarged upon, as a ground of comfort in the present low estate of the royal family. And herein especial relation is had to Christ, and his church, to whom alone the things here mentioned are entirely applicable. We have,
1. The glorious personage pointed out. Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, to Samuel, who was appointed to anoint David king, 1Sa 16:1., or Nathan, 2Sa 7:4; 2Sa 7:29 or concerning thy Holy One, the Messiah, to whom gave all the prophets witness; and to him most emphatically belongs the character here described: The Mighty One, able to save to the uttermost, chosen out of the people, God’s elect, in whom his soul delighteth; one in our nature, singled out to be united to the eternal Word, and make one Christ: Found and provided of God, anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, for the discharge of all his offices of prophet, priest, and king: Help laid upon him, that he might be fully qualified for the arduous work of the salvation of the faithful into the whole image of God from the depths of wretchedness and weakness into which mankind are fallen; God’s servant willingly undertaking the business assigned him, and exalted by him to the highest place of honour and dignity at his right hand, in our nature, all power being committed to him in heaven and in earth, and angels, principalities, and powers made subject unto him. 2. The great and precious promises made to this mighty and exalted Messiah. [1.] For himself God promises, (1.) That in all his undertakings he shall be supported with the arm of Omnipotence; enabled to encounter and overcome all difficulties; be ready armed against every temptation, and unmoved under every assault. (2.) He shall be made victorious over his enemies. Satan, with all his wiles, shall not prevail, nor be able to exalt upon him more than as the sinner’s surety he undertook to bear. God will beat down all his foes before him, whether the powers of darkness, or the Jewish people who conspired against him, or the antichristian oppressors of his people: all who hate him must be confounded at his feet; bow down, and feel his iron rod breaking them in pieces as a potter’s vessel, and dooming them to the everlasting burnings, the just punishment of their sins. Note; The end of all the enemies of the Redeemer and his people is, to perish for ever. (3.) God will never fail him in his undertaking. My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: all the promises shall be made good to him, and all the blessings engaged for in the covenant of grace be lodged in his hands for his faithful people’s use and benefit; so that out of his fulness we may all receive, and find all the promises of God in him, yea, and Amen. (4.) He shall be advanced to great honour and extensive dominion. In my name shall his horn be exalted, high in power and glory: I will set his hand in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers: both continent and islands, sea and rivers, with all that dwell in them, and occupy their business there, shall own his sway, and submit to his government. (5.) He shall be owned of God as his Son, as his first-born, and enjoy the blessings of that endeared relation. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, by eternal generation, as he is very God of very God; or rather as Mediator, for whom a body was prepared, when in the fulness of time it was fulfilled, This day have I begotten thee, Psa 2:7. My God, whose power and protection were engaged for him and over him, Joh 20:17 and the rock of my salvation, to carry him through his arduous undertaking, and enable him to accomplish it for his own and his faithful people’s glory. Also I will make him my firstborn, the most eminent and exalted in the human nature of all the sons of God, he having in all things the pre-eminence, higher than the kings of the earth, for he is King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev 19:16. His throne exalted over all, and that for ever and ever, for his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
[2.] For his faithful followers, God promises, in general, that his seed shall endure for ever, which cannot well be applied to David and his posterity, which, though the throne long continued in his family, are now no more upon it, unless considered as still subsisting in the Messiah, whose throne is established for ever. But it most properly belongs to faithful believers, the spiritual seed of Christ, who shall have a people, to the praise of the glory of his grace, while sun and moon endureth; and, when these luminaries are extinguished, shall still reign over his faithful people through all the ages of eternity.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; [how] I do bear in my bosom [the reproach of] all the mighty people;
Ver. 50. Remember, Lord ] Thou seemest to have forgotten us and our sufferings, and we would fain remind thee.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 44:13-16, Psa 69:9, Psa 69:19, Psa 69:20, Psa 74:18, Psa 74:22, Psa 79:10-12, Rom 15:3
Reciprocal: 2Ki 20:3 – remember Neh 2:17 – a reproach Job 7:7 – remember Psa 31:11 – I was Psa 74:10 – General Psa 123:3 – for we are Isa 25:8 – rebuke Isa 37:17 – hear Lam 3:19 – Remembering Lam 3:61 – General Lam 5:1 – behold Eze 36:15 – thou bear Heb 11:26 – the reproach
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; [how] I do bear in my {i} bosom [the reproach of] all the mighty people;
(i) He means that God’s enemies not only slandered him behind his back, but also mocked him to his face and as it were cast their injuries in his bosom.