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1.
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Fret not thyself because of evildoers, nor be thou envious
be-cause of the workers of iniquity. This is repeated almost verbatim in
Prov. 24:19. Several other verses (Prov. 23:17; 24:1; 3:31; Psa. 73:3) express
the same sentiment.
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Fret not thyself means really “Do not make
yourself hot.” “The promised land is not for murmuring
Israelites” (C.A. Ladson). To fret is to waste energy, and to waste energy
is to rob God.
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2.
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For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither
as the green herb. A telling figure of speech: the brevity of human life:
Psa. 90:5,6; 129:6,7; Isa. 40:6-8; Matt. 6:30; 1 Pet. 1:24.
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3.
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So shalt thou dwell in the Land, which is to see both
the blessing of the righteous and judgment upon the wicked. Abraham was told to
dwell in the Land (Gen. 26:2; contrast 12:10-20). See this important principle
at work in the lives of Jacob and Esau. The former was prepared to make heavy
sacrifices if only he could settle in the Land. Esau, by contrast, cared nothing
for it, and seems to have been quite pleased to leave it altogether (Gen. 31:13;
33:16,17; 35:12; 36:6-8).
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Verily thou shalt be fed is, literally, thou shalt
feed on faithfulness. “Faithfulness” is a word very commonly
associated with the covenants of promise (cp. the preceding phrase). These call
for faith: trust in the Lord. Contrast those who feed on
foolishness (Prov. 15:14).
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5.
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Roll (galal) thy way upon the Lord (RV margin).
Possibly an allusion to the cherubim chariot of the Lord. Ezekiel 1 was called
by the rabbis Merch’vah, the Chariot. Compare Psa. 22:8,
mg.; Prov. 16:3. Also, more generally, see 1 Pet. 5:8: “Cast all
your cares upon him....”
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And he shall bring it to pass is almost identical, in
the Hebrew with Psa. 22:31: “that he hath done this”.
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7.
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Rest in the Lord. Literally Be silent unto the Lord,
but AV has just the right idea, as in Exod. 14:13,14; Isa. 53:7; Lam.
3:24-28; Hab. 2:20; Rom. 8:18,19. A large part of the power of this psalm lies
in the quiet but persistent pressing home of this idea of abiding faith. In
quietness and confidence the believer finds strength (Isa. 30:15).
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Fret not, either in your own soul or in complaining
before the Lord.
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8.
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Cease from anger doubtless means from such anger as v.
7 describes, for there were times when even Jesus was angry (Mark 3:5; Matt.
23:13-33; John 2:17; Psa. 69:9). But for the ordinary disciple it is a fairly
safe rule that all anger is sin: James 1:20.
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To do evil, by following the ways of the godless, and
by ceasing to depend upon God. Here W. Kay reads: It tends only to evil
doing.
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9.
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For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon
the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. In the short term this may not seem
to be at all an accurate summary of human experience, but of ultimate human
destiny, yes!
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10.
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For yet a little while. Again, as in v. 9, the human
perspective makes nonsense of this verse, but God has time on His
side.
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11.
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The meek are not to be confused with the spineless, but
rather are those who resign themselves to God and His leading.
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And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Only rarely in Scripture does peace mean the absence of conflict. Rather,
peace with God and from God is the dominant meaning of the word. Compare v. 37.
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12.
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The wicked....gnasheth....with his teeth. Violent
anger. Acts 7:54 is a perfect illustration of this verse.
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13.
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The Lord shall laugh. Men take themselves so seriously,
but God’s perspective is different (cp. 2:4).
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For he seeth that his day is coming. An allusion to 1
Sam. 26:10: “His (i.e. Saul’s) day shall come to die”. The
word here for “seeth” (LXX) occurs only in Heb. 11:40 (“God
having provided some better thing for us”).
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16.
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Riches. The word (hamon) appears to imply
pomp and circumstance. It is possibly the source of the New Testament word
Mammon. “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the
things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15; Prov. 15:16; 16:8).
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18.
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The Lord knoweth. Psa. 1:6.
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The days of the upright. Literally, the perfect; that
is, the idealists who are resigned to the will of God.
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19.
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They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days
of famine they shall be satisfied. This may have been generally true for
some times and some places, on a material basis. But the passage is universally
true only when read with reference to the hidden spiritual resources of the
godly man.
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20.
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The fat of lambs conjures up the picture of a great
column of smoke ascending up to heaven. The everlasting death of the
unredeemable wicked is the only acceptable sacrifice they can offer (cp. 21:8,9;
Ezek. 39:17; Isa. 34:6; 66:15,16; Zeph. 1:7,8,17; Mal. 4:1). The punishment of
the wicked is death, not endless torment: 104:35; 145:20; Prov. 10:30;
11:31; 13:13; Job 20:7,8; 21:30; Ezek. 18:4; Matt. 21:41; Luke 19:27; Rom. 1:32;
6:23; 2 Thes. 1:9; 2 Pet. 2:12; Heb. 6:8.
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21.
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The righteous sheweth mercy, in the sense of lending
graciously and expecting nothing in return: v. 26; 112:5; Deut. 15:7-11.
Consider Prov. 29:13, LXX: “When creditor and debtor meet together, the
Lord is overseer of them both.”
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22.
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Such as be blessed of him. This word often has the
connotation of forgiveness of sins, as in Gen. 22:18 and Acts 3:25,26. Despite
the nonsensical “promises” of evangelists everywhere, offering every
sort of material “blessing” for those who follow them (and
contribute to their coffers), there is in fact no greater blessing than the
forgiveness of sins! What a pity so few people understand this!
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23.
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The steps. Compare Jer. 10:23: “It is not in man
that walketh to direct his steps”. Even the stumbling and uncertain steps
of a good man are divinely ordered for his ultimate good: Rom. 8:28,31; Prov.
3:5,6.
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Of a good man. Note the italics. Yet the AV is
absolutely right, as the parallelism indicates.
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Are ordered by the Lord: Prov. 20:24; Jer. 10:23. The
good man knows this well enough. Yet some say that this ordering is either by
the wisdom of the Bible (of course!) or by angelic guidance (yes!), and in no
other way (how short-sighted!).
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He (the Lord) delighteth in his way. Yet the
words are just as true in the converse: The good man delights in God’s
way.
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Way, in the New Testament, is the divine designation
for what we today call “the Truth”: Acts 9:2; 18:25,26; 19:9,23;
22:4; Heb. 9:8; 10:20; 2 Pet. 2:2,15,21; Rev. 7:17. This expression may even be
traced all the way back to Gen. 3:24: “the way of the tree of
life”. Consider also the words of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth,
and the life” (John 14:6) puts undoubted stress upon the way
(“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me”), and should
probably be translated: “I am the true way to (the
tree of) life”.
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24.
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Though he fall. Prov. 24:16: “A just man falleth
seven times, and riseth up again.”
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The Lord upholdeth his hand. Jesus went out of his way
to emphasize this truth in the most literal fashion: Mark 1:31; 5:41;
9:27.
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25.
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I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. David urges the simple but
very necessary lesson: Build on your own experience, for I have learned how
important this is. Examples of this valuable principle are very numerous in
Scripture. Some useful examples: Gen. 24:7; 50:20; Num. 22:34; Deut. 1:31; 7:18;
1 Sam. 17:37; and many others (see Psa. 34, Par. 8, references).
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And now am old. John 21:18, s.w. But what a contrast in
idea!
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Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken. Again (as
with vv. 9,10,19, etc.), true in the absolute and ultimate sense, although
apparently untrue for some righteous (even David himself: 1 Sam. 21:3; 25:8) at
any given moment .
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26.
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Literally, his seed is for a blessing — with
possible reference to Abraham and his special “Seed”, in whom all
nations of the earth will ultimately be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 22:18;
Acts 3:25,26).
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27.
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Depart from evil: Psa. 34:12,14; Isa.
1:16,17.
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28.
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Judgment is used here in the sense of sound principle,
or “justice” (RSV, NEB); note the parallelism in both vv. 6 and
30.
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They are preserved for ever. For this the LXX has:
“The righteous are destroyed for ever, and....” Thus, in the
four lines of this verse, the last two are a counterpoint to the first
two.
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29.
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The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for
ever. The righteous will reign with Christ on the earth: Gen. 13:15;
Num. 14:21; Prov. 10:30; 11:31; Isa. 11:9; Dan. 2:44; Zech. 14:16; Matt. 5:5;
Luke 13:28; Rom. 4:13; Rev. 2:26,27. (A small sampling of
proof-texts!)
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30,31.
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A restatement of the Great Shema: Deut.
6:6,7.
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31.
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The law of his God is in his heart does not mean that
his emotions are enthralled, but rather that his mind has grasped the logic of
God’s pronouncements and has made a logical commitment to them.
(“Heart” = “mind” in both Old and New Testaments: Prov.
2:2; Exod. 36:2; 1 Kings 3:9; Jer. 15:16; Luke 5:22; 24:25,32,38; Rom. 10:9;
etc.)
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32.
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The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him
(Psa. 7:2; 10:8,9). And even when there is no intention to kill,
there is delight in character assassination.
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33.
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The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him
when he is judged, i.e. by others: v. 32.
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35.
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I have seen the wicked in great power. Literally, the
text has been interpreted to read: “causing oppression”
(aritz). But probably it should read: “in the Land”
(eretz), thus to conform to the fig tree parable (see Par. 6
below): This is the great tree in the “Land”.
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RV, NIV: Like a green tree in its native soil. This
figure of a wicked nation is not a “bay” tree but a
“fig”! These words foretell the Lord’s cursing of the
fruitless fig tree: Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-14,20-22; cp. Hos. 9:10,16,17;
Ezek. 17:24; Mic. 7:1. This RV and NIV (“native soil”) reading
anticipates “dried up from the roots”. And “I passed
by” (v. 36, LXX) = “as they passed by” (Mark 11:20). Also,
“wait on the Lord” (v. 34) = Christ’s admonition, “Have
faith in God” (Mark 11:22; Matt. 21:21). And “cut off” (v. 34)
suits the New Testament situation perfectly.
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36.
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Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him,
but he was not to be found. The wicked passes off the scene, leaving no
permanent monument or reminder — like the beasts which perish (Psa.
49:11,12,20). In keeping with the fig tree motif, Jesus said, “Every plant
which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up” (Matt.
15:13; cp. 3:10; 7:19).
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38.
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The end of the wicked shall be cut off. Contrast v.
37b.
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40.
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Because they take refuge in him (RV). That
“because” says that the very act of seeking this divine refuge gives
a title to protection. Compare Psalms 16:1; 57:1; 91:9,10; and hence
2:12.
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