Bible Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 1. I waited patiently ] Such renderings as I waited, yea I waited, or, I waited waitingly (Vulg. expectans expectavi) are closer to the original. Cp. Psa 38:15; Psa 39:7: and the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 40:1”

O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more. 13. O spare me ] So Jerome, parce mihi. But more exactly, Look away from me. Cheyne renders, ‘avert thy frown.’ that I may recover strength ] Lit. brighten up, as the sky when the clouds clear. Parallels for … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:13”

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I [am] a stranger with thee, [and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were]. 12. hold not thy peace ] Restoration to health will be an answer. But the word may be rendered, as in R.V. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:12”

When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man [is] vanity. Selah. 11. When thou with rebukes dost chasten a man for iniquity, Thou wastest like a moth his desirableness: Nought but vanity are all men. The A.V. obscures the correspondence of … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:11”

Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. 10. stroke ] The same word as that rendered plague in Psa 38:11. Cp. Job 9:34. I am consumed &c.] By the conflict of thy hand am I consumed. ‘I’ stands in emphatic contrast with ‘thy hand’. When the power … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:10”

I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst [it]. 9. This verse may refer to the silence with which he bore the taunts of his enemies ( Psa 39:2; Psa 38:13-14); or it may be the expression of perfect resignation to the will of God: I am dumb, I will not open … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:9”

Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. 8. The Psalmist prays to be delivered not merely from his present afflictions but from the power of the sins which he recognises as the cause of them. Sin gets hold of its victim and brings him into punishment. Cp. Psa … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:8”

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope [is] in thee. 7. And now ] Or, Now therefore (Psa 2:10), introduces a conclusion from a preceding statement. what wait I for ] What have I waited and still am waiting for? or, What (else) could I have waited for? the form of the question … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:7”

Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up [riches], and knoweth not who shall gather them. 6. Only as a phantom doth each walk to and fro: Only for vanity do they turmoil: One heapeth up, and he will not know who doth gather the hoard. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:6”

Behold, thou hast made my days [as] a handbreadth; and mine age [is] as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state [is] altogether vanity. Selah. 5. as a handbreadth ] Better, a few handbreadths long. The shortest measure is enough to reckon life by. The ‘handbreadth’ = four ‘fingers’ (Jer 52:21 compared … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 39:5”