20 They give me back evil for good; they are my haters because I go after the thing which is right.
Not being of the Evil One like Cain, who put his brother to death. And why did he put him to death? Because his works were evil and his brother's works were good.
And Jonathan gave his father Saul a good account of David, and said to him, Let not the king do wrong against his servant, against David; because he has done you no wrong, and all his acts have had a good outcome for you: For he put his life in danger and overcame the Philistine, and the Lord gave all Israel salvation: you saw it and were glad: why then are you sinning against him who has done no wrong, desiring the death of David without cause? And Saul gave ear to the voice of Jonathan, and said with an oath, By the living Lord, he is not to be put to death.
So David and his men went to Keilah, and had a fight with the Philistines, and took away their cattle, and put them to the sword with great destruction. So David was the saviour of the people of Keilah.
Then David said, Will the men of Keilah give me and my men up to Saul? and the Lord said, They will give you up.
Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good.
If I have given back evil to him who did evil to me, or have taken anything from him who was against me without cause;
Is evil to be the reward of good? for they have made a deep hole for my soul. Keep in mind how I took my place before you, to say a good word for them so that your wrath might be turned away from them.
Happy are those who are attacked on account of righteousness: for the kingdom of heaven will be theirs.
Who will do you any damage if you keep your minds fixed on what is good?
Because if it is God's purpose for you to undergo pain, it is better to do so for well-doing than for evil-doing. Because Christ once went through pain for sins, the upright one taking the place of sinners, so that through him we might come back to God; being put to death in the flesh, but given life in the Spirit;
If men say evil things of you because of the name of Christ, happy are you; for the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you. Let no one among you undergo punishment as a taker of life, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as one who is over-interested in other men's business; But if he undergoes punishment as a Christian, that is no shame to him; let him give glory to God in this name.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 38
Commentary on Psalms 38 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 38
This is one of the penitential psalms; it is full of grief and complaint from the beginning to the end. David's sins and his afflictions are the cause of his grief and the matter of his complaints. It should seem he was now sick and in pain, which reminded him of his sins and helped to humble him for them; he was, at the same time, deserted by his friends and persecuted by his enemies; so that the psalm is calculated for the depth of distress and a complication of calamities. He complains,
In singing this psalm we ought to be much affected with the malignity of sin; and, if we have not such troubles as are here described, we know not how soon we may have, and therefore must sing of them by way of preparation and we know that others have them, and therefore we must sing of the by way of sympathy.
A psalm of David to bring to remembrance.
Psa 38:1-11
The title of this psalm is very observable; it is a psalm to bring to remembrance; the 70th psalm, which was likewise penned in a day of affliction, is so entitled. It is designed,
In singing this, and praying it over, whatever burden lies upon our spirits, we would by faith cast it upon God, and all our care concerning it, and then be easy.
Psa 38:12-22
In these verses,