1 To the Overseer. -- By a servant of Jehovah, by David. The transgression of the wicked Is affirming within my heart, `Fear of God is not before his eyes,
To the Overseer. -- By a servant of Jehovah, by David, who hath spoken to Jehovah the words of this song in the day Jehovah delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, and he saith: -- I love Thee, O Jehovah, my strength.
A revelation of Jesus Christ, that God gave to him, to shew to his servants what things it behoveth to come to pass quickly; and he did signify `it', having sent through his messenger to his servant John,
Judas, of Jesus Christ a servant, and brother of James, to those sanctified in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ kept -- called,
God they profess to know, and in the works they deny `Him', being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work disapproved.
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of the choice ones of God, and an acknowledging of truth that `is' according to piety,
`Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad, for from the fruit is the tree known. `Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things -- being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.
From their fruits ye shall know them; do `men' gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs? so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits. A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits. Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire: therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.
In kindness and truth pardoned is iniquity, And in the fear of Jehovah Turn thou aside from evil.
The fear of Jehovah `is' to hate evil; Pride, and arrogance, and an evil way, And a froward mouth, I have hated.
Praise ye Jah! O the happiness of one fearing Jehovah, In His commands he hath delighted greatly.
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, a habitation Thou -- Thou hast been, To us -- in generation and generation,
And Moses, servant of the Lord, dieth there, in the land of Moab, according to the command of Jehovah;
And Abraham saith, `Because I said, `Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 36
Commentary on Psalms 36 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 36
It is uncertain when, and upon what occasion, David penned this psalm, probably when he was struck at either by Saul or by Absalom; for in it he complains of the malice of his enemies against him, but triumphs in the goodness of God to him. We are here led to consider, and it will do us good to consider seriously,
If, in singing this psalm, our hearts be duly affected with the hatred of sin and satisfaction in God's lovingkindness, we sing it with grace and understanding.
To the chief Musician. A psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
Psa 36:1-4
David, in the title of this psalm, is styled the servant of the Lord; why in this, and not in any other, except in Ps. 18 (title), no reason can be given; but so he was, not only as every good man is God's servant, but as a king, as a prophet, as one employed in serving the interests of God's kingdom among men more immediately and more eminently than any other in his day. He glories in it, Ps. 116:16. It is no disparagement, but an honour, to the greatest of men, to be the servants of the great God; it is the highest preferment a man is capable of in this world.
David, in these verses, describes the wickedness of the wicked; whether he means his persecutors in particular, or all notorious gross sinners in general, is not certain. But we have here sin in its causes and sin in its colours, in its root and in its branches.
Some think that David, in all this, particularly means Saul, who had cast off the fear of God and left off all goodness, who pretended kindness to him when he gave him his daughter to wife, but at the same time was devising mischief against him. But we are under no necessity of limiting ourselves so in the exposition of it; there are too many among us to whom the description agrees, which is to be greatly lamented.
Psa 36:5-12
David, having looked round with grief upon the wickedness of the wicked, here looks up with comfort upon the goodness of God, a subject as delightful as the former was distasteful and very proper to be set in the balance against it. Observe,