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a.
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Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun were the three who organized the
temple choirs and orchestras: 1 Chronicles 16:5,41,42.
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b.
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These three were from each of the sections of the tribe of
Levi: i.e. Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. Jeduthun led the third section:
1 Chronicles 26:10-12.
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c.
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His name means “Praising (i.e. ‘Judah’)
Ethan” or “Ethan the man of praise”: 1 Chronicles 15:17;
25:1,3; Psalm 89, title. Almost certainly Jeduthun and Ethan were the same man
(1 Chron. 16:41; cp. 6:44 with 25:1-3).
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d.
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Jeduthun was responsible for Psalms 38, 61, 76, and 89. Hence
he was called the King’s Seer (2 Chron. 35:15; 1 Kings 4:31).
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e.
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Since he was the father of Obed-edom (1 Chron. 16:38), did he
advise about the bringing of the ark to Zion, after the initial
bungling?
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1.
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Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. “The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James
5:16).
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2.
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From the end of the earth (eretz = Land)
will I cry unto thee. David was now a long way from Jerusalem —
perhaps at Mahanaim in Gilead, on the other side of the Jordan (2 Sam. 17:27).
Even though inhabited by Israelites, such lands were not considered altogether
part of the land of promise (Num. 32:29-33).
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When my heart is overwhelmed. There are signs that
David’s morale was near to collapse. And so he especially needed such
exhortation as: “Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke
18:1).
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The rock (tsur: cp. Psa. 62:2,6,7) in the
temple area, one of the symbols of God’s presence among His people.
“Is there a God (Eloah) beside me? yea, there is no
God (tsur = Rock: AV mg.); I know not any” (Isa. 44:8). So
also Isaiah calls God “the Rock (tsur) of Ages” (26:4,
mg.) — or the eternal Rock.
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3.
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Thou hast been a shelter (refuge: RSV) for me. A
shelter provided through the loyalty of Barzillai.
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The enemy was, of course, his own son
Absalom.
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4.
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I will abide in thy tabernacle. This is appropriate to
David’s reign. The temple was not yet built.
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I will trust in the covert (shelter: RSV, NIV) of
thy wings. An allusion to the wings of the cherubim of glory in the
sanctuary. This is the “secret place” of Psa. 27:5, and the
“shadow of thy wings” (57:1, notes and references).
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Selah. This psalm has several references to the
sanctuary and its rock and its service: vv. 2,4,7,8.
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6.
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Thou wilt prolong the king’s life. The first of
four phrases emphasizing how David was saved from his serious illness (Psa. 41)
and from the threat of destruction by the rebels. All this is of course in
contrast to God’s treatment of David’s predecessor Saul.
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And his years as many generations. An allusion to the
great promise in 2 Samuel 7. So also mercy and truth (v. 7; Mic.
7:20).
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7.
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He (i.e. the king) shall abide before God for ever.
The Davidic king who is to reign for ever “before thee” (2 Sam.
7:16), that is, in David’s presence.
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1,2.
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Generally reminiscent of 22:1,2.
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2.
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The rock that is higher than I. The Son was always
“subject to the Father” (2 Cor. 15:28); the Son himself needed
salvation (Heb. 2:14; 5:7-9; etc.). In seeking the salvation and will of his
Father, Jesus truly built his “house” of faith upon the
“Rock” (Matt. 7:24-27). And so, in overcoming, he ultimately
became “the Rock” himself (1 Cor. 10:4) — “a man
[who] shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the
tempest... as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isa.
32:2).
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3.
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A shelter... a strong tower. Consider the times Jesus
spent in prayer to his Father.
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4.
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I will abide in thy tabernacle. Christ’s
ascension?
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5,8.
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My vows. What did Christ vow? “Then said I, Lo, I
come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O
God” (Heb. 10:7-9). This involved Christ’s witnessing to the praises
of his God in the midst of the “great congregation” (Psa. 22:25;
65:1; 116:14; Heb. 2:12).
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5.
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Thou hast given me the heritage. He is the heir of the
promises (cp. Psa. 16:5; 37:11,29).
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6.
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Thou wilt prolong the king’s life. Appropriate to
his resurrection and eternal life (cp. 21:4).
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His years as many generations. Compare the Messianic
prophecies of 22:30,31 and Isa. 53:10, for quite similar language. Also see Psa.
72:15-17 and 89:29-37.
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7.
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He shall abide before God for ever, as a priest as well
as a king: “after the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16). Also,
of course, see 2 Sam. 7:16 again.
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2.
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From the ends of the earth will I cry unto thee.
Consider believers in God away from home: Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Naaman’s wife’s maid, Paul a prisoner in Rome, John
an exile in Patmos.
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The rock that is higher than I. Compare Psa. 59:1. RV
mg. Has “too high for me” — suggesting a God whose thoughts
and ways are infinitely beyond those of man (Isa. 55:8,9), although such
consideration should not exempt man from seeking them!
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3.
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A strong tower. King Uzziah built towers in the desert
because “he had much cattle” (2 Chron. 26:10; cp. 27:4), and it was
necessary for his shepherds to have places of safety and outlook from time to
time, from which to resist the inevitable marauders. Watchtowers were also built
in vineyards for similar purposes (Matt. 21:33). Figuratively, the name of
Yahweh is a “strong tower” for the righteous (Prov.
18:10).
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7.
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O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him.
“Bid steadfast love and faithfulness watch over him”
(RSV).
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