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1.
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Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer. Compare Psa.
55:1,2, another “Absalom” psalm: “Give ear to my
prayer”.
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Prayer (Hebrew sichah) is a rather
uncommon word, which may be translated “complaint” (s.w. 55:17; Job
15:4).
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Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Not
“from the enemy”, but from the paralyzing fear or
“dread” provoked by the situation of that enemy’s hostility:
i.e. Ahithophel’s words — “I will come upon him while he is
weary... and will make him afraid” (2 Sam. 17:2).
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2.
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Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the
insurrection of the workers of iniquity. That is, from their covert
plotting, followed by their open rebellion (2 Sam. 15:1-12; 17:1-14).
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The workers of iniquity are so described also in
another “Absalom” psalm (6:8). They are “those who make sin
their labour, their daily employment” (Clarke).
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3.
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Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to
shoot their arrows, even bitter words. The campaign of slander against the
king (2 Sam. 15:1-6; 16:5-13). Compare similar figures of speech in Psa. 55:21;
57:4; 59:7.
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4.
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That they may shoot... suddenly do they shoot at him
(cp. 10:8,9). Here the Hebrew is yarach, which also means
‘to teach a lesson’. John Thomas has an interesting section on this
juxtaposition of ideas, in Eureka, vol. 2, pp. 128-131 — as does
Harry Whittaker in Revelation, A Biblical Approach, p. 75.
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And fear not. They showed no fear of David because of
his dire sickness. Neither did they show any fear of God.
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5.
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Who shall see them? As in v. 4, not David, nor God (2
Sam. 15:1-12).
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6.
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They search out iniquities. That is, the iniquities of
David, so as to blacken his character. And there were iniquities to make
capital of!
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Both the inward (thought) of everyone (of them)
and the heart, is deep. Notice the italics in this verse. The depths of
wickedness in the human heart — particularly one like Absalom’s, so
festering with malignity — is unfathomable. In the words of Jeremiah:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can
know it?” (17:9). Also,
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“Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their
counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth
us? and who knoweth us?” (Isa. 29:15).
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7.
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God shall shoot at them with an arrow. God’s
unseen angel-marksman intervening on David’s side, bringing divine
retribution in kind (contrast vv. 3,4) to his enemies. Here is described the
fate of Absalom (2 Sam. 18:9-15). “The godly man will always have at least
one friend to avenge the wrongs done him” (Caryl).
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8.
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All that see them shall flee away. The sudden collapse
of support for the revolution: 2 Sam. 18:8,17 (cp. Num. 16:24). Another possible
meaning (there being two nearly identical Hebrew verbs) is “shall shake
their heads” (NIV), that is, in derision at their failure (Jer. 48:27) or
in shocked concern (Jer. 31:18; Job 16:4). Leupold has: “All that saw them
shuddered”.
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9.
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And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God;
for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The outcome of this revolution
and its failure will be beneficial; it will do all the nation good. “When
thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness” (Isa. 26:9).
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10.
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The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in
him; and all the upright in heart shall glory. The prayer of v. 1 is now
answered. The righteous is singular (David); all the upright is
plural (his loyal supporters).
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2.
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The insurrection against the King of the Jews: Luke
19:14,27. This is the s.w. as the “tumultuous assembly” described in
Psa. 2:1 (AV mg.).
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The workers of iniquity are summarily dismissed:
“Depart from me ... I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23).
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3.
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They whet their tongue. A vivid figure for diligent
unremitting plotting and preparation: John 11:50.
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4.
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They shoot at him. See earlier note on v. 4, and
contrasting v. 7 below. Compare Matt. 22: the leaders of Israel with their
clever, entangling questions.
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5.
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Who shall see them? Although “men of God”,
the adversaries of the Lord Jesus were essentially godless. The profession of
religion — even the unabashed and insistent profession of religion —
is no guarantee of godliness, or even of honesty and integrity.
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6.
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They search out iniquities. Against Christ his enemies
sent forth spies, “laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out
of his mouth, that they might accuse him” (Luke 11:54). “And they
watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that
they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power
and authority of the governor” (20:20). But even so they could not convict
him of even one sin (John 8:46)! And still they exerted every ounce of diligence
they possessed to pin guilt upon one they knew to be innocent:
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“Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council,
sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death: but found none:
yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none” (Matt.
26:59,60).
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7.
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But God shall shoot at them. “Joseph, a type of
Christ, has been ‘shot at’ by the archers who hated him; but his own
bow, held by hands ‘made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of
Jacob’, has prevailed (Gen. 49:22-24). Jesus Christ, the man whom Yahweh
‘made strong for Himself’, was as a ‘polished arrow’ in
Yahweh’s quiver, and he has destroyed the enemy (Isa. 49:1,2)” (Ern
Wilson).
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8.
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So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon
themselves. They had made their tongues so “sharp” (v. 3) that
they cut their own throats! “His blood be upon us and upon our
children” (Matt. 27:25) were words which, had they believed in Jesus,
would have operated with all the blessing of a Passover lamb, delivering them
from the wrath to come. But instead, they acted as a terrible curse!
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9.
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All men has special reference to Gentiles becoming
aware of God’s judgments upon Israel, and learning lessons
therefrom.
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The work of God. What may appear to be mere human
contrivance is seen, with the eye of faith, to be God at work (Acts 2:23,24)
— “He hath done this” (Psa. 22:31).
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10.
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The righteous (singular) is Christ; and all the
upright are those who trust in him.
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