Unto the end, In verses, understanding for David.

“The doctrines of the Gospel were well known to holy and blessed David in his capacity of Prophet, and although it was under the Law that he lived his bodily life, he yet filled, as far as in him lay, the requirements of the Apostolic behest and justified the witness borne to him by God in the words: I have found a man after My own heart, David, the son of Jesse. He did not avenge himself upon his foes by war, he did not oppose force of arms to those that laid wait for him, but after the pattern of the Lord, Whose name and Whose meekness alike he foreshadowed, when he was betrayed he entreated, when he was in danger he sang psalms, when he incurred hatred he rejoiced; and for this cause he was found a man after God's own heart. For although twelve legions of angels might have come to the help of the Lord in His hour of passion, yet that He might perfectly fulfil His service of humble obedience, He surrendered Himself to suffering and weakness, only praying with the words: Father into Your hands I commend My spirit. Luke 23:46 After the same pattern, David, whose actual sufferings prophetically foretold the future sufferings of the Lord, opposed not his enemies either by word or act; in obedience to the command of the Gospel, he would not render evil for evil, in imitation of his Master's meekness, in his affliction, in his betrayal, in his fight, he called upon the Lord and was content to use His weapons only in his contest with the ungodly. Now to this Psalm is prefixed a title arising out of an historical event; but before the event is described we are instructed as to the scope, time and application of the incidents underlying it. First we have: For the end of the meaning of that David. Then there follows: When the Ziphims came and said to Saul: behold, is not David hid with us? Thus David's betrayal by the Ziphims awaits for its interpretation the end. This shows that what was actually being done to David contained a type of something yet to come; an innocent man is harassed by railing, a prophet is mocked by reviling words, one approved by God is demanded for execution, a king is betrayed to his foe. So the Lord was betrayed to Herod and Pilate by those very men in whose hands He ought to have been safe. The Psalm then awaits the end for its interpretation, and finds its meaning in the true David, in Whom is the end of the Law, that David who holds the keys and opens with them the gate of knowledge, in fulfilling the things foretold of Him by David. The meaning of the proper name, according to the exact sense of the Hebrew, affords us no small assistance in interpreting the passage. Ziphims mean what we call sprinklings of the face; these were called in Hebrew Ziphims. Now, by the Law, sprinkling was a cleansing from sins; it purified the people through faith by the sprinkling of blood, of which this same blessed David thus speaks: You shall sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed ; the Law, through faith, providing as a temporary substitute, in the blood of whole burnt-offerings, a type of the sprinkling with the blood of the Lord, which was to be. But this people, like the people of the Ziphims, being sprinkled on their face and not in their faith, and receiving the cleansing drops on their lips and not in their hearts, turned faithless and traitors towards their David, as God had foretold by the Prophet: This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. They were ready to betray David because, the faith of their heart being dead, they had performed all the mystical ceremonies of the Law with deceitful face. The suffering of the Prophet David is, according to the account we have given of the title, a type of the Passion of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. This is why his prayer also corresponds in sense with the prayer of Him Who being the Word was made flesh: in such wise that He Who suffered all things after the manner of man, in everything He said, spoke after the manner of man; and He who bore the infirmities and took on Him the sins of men approached God in prayer with the humility proper to men. This interpretation, even though we be unwilling and slow to receive it, is required by the meaning and force of the words, so that there can be no doubt that everything in the Psalm is uttered by David as His mouthpiece. For he says: Save me O God, by Your name. Thus prays in bodily humiliation, using the words of His own Prophet, the Only-begotten Son of God, Who at the same time was claiming again the glory which He had possessed before the ages. He asks to be saved by the Name of God whereby He was called and wherein He was begotten, in order that the Name of God which rightly belonged to His former nature and kind might avail to save Him in that body wherein He had been born. And because the whole of this passage is the utterance of One in the form of a servant— of a servant obedient unto the death of the Cross— which He took upon Him and for which He supplicates the saving help of the Name that belongs to God, and being sure of salvation by that Name, He immediately adds: and judge Me by Your power. For now as the reward for His humility in emptying Himself and assuming the form of a servant, in the same humility in which He had assumed it, He was asking to resume the form which He shared with God, having saved to bear the Name of God that humanity in which as God He had obediently condescended to be born. And in order to teach us that the dignity of this Name whereby He prayed to be saved is something more than an empty title, He prays to be judged by the power of God. For a right award is the essential result of judgment, as the Scripture says: Becoming obedient unto death , yea, the death of the Cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and gave unto Him the name which is above every name. Thus, first of all the name which is above every name is given unto Him; then next, this is a judgment of decisive force, because by the power of God, He, Who after being God had died as man, rose again from death as man to be God, as the Apostle says: He was crucified from weakness, yet He lives by the power of God 2 Corinthians 13:4 , and again: For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes. Romans 1:16 For by the power of the Judgment human weakness is rescued to bear God's name and nature; and thus as the reward for His obedience He is exalted by the power of this judgment unto the saving protection of God's name; whence He possesses both the Name and the Power of God. Again, if the Prophet had begun this utterance in the way men generally speak, he would have asked to be judged by mercy or kindness, not by power. But judgment by power was a necessity in the case of One Who being the Son of God was born of a virgin to be Son of Man, and Who now being Son of Man was to have the Name and power of the Son of God restored to Him by the power of judgment.”

“There are two ways to interpret the affirmation that he "shall judge the living and the dead." On the one hand, we may understand by "the living" those who are not yet dead but who will be found living in the flesh when he comes; and we may understand by "the dead" those who have left the body or who shall have left it before his coming. Or, on the other hand, "the living" may signify "the righteous," and "the dead" may signify "the unrighteous"—since the righteous are to be judged as well as the unrighteous. For sometimes the judgment of God is passed on the evil people, as in the word, "But they who have done evil [shall come forth] to the resurrection of judgment." And sometimes it is passed on the good, as in the word, "Save me, O God, by your name, and judge me in your strength." Indeed, it is by the judgment of God that the distinction between good and evil is made, to the end that, being freed from evil and not destroyed with the evildoers, the good may be set apart at his right hand. This is why the psalmist cried, "Judge me, O God," and, as if to explain what he had said, "and defend my cause against an unholy nation."”

“"God, by your name." Above, in other Psalms, the Psalmist dwelt upon the iniquity of sinners as regards the affection for sin and contempt of God; here he sets forth the persecution which he suffers from them. The title: "Unto the end, an understanding of David, among songs." The first part of the title is plain. The second touches upon the history which is written in 1 Kings 23, when David came to the desert of the city of Ziph, and the men of that city accused David to Saul, and Saul persecuted him, yet was not able to seize him; whence this accusation did not harm David, in which it is signified that the Ziphites — that is, those who flourish in this world; Isaiah: "the glory of the world is like the flower of the field" — accuse the saints, yet are not able to harm them, because the saint is hidden among the Ziphites, since the saint does not flourish among sinners, but his flourishing is in what is hidden — namely, the flowers of honesty. Colossians 3: "your life is hidden with Christ." David therefore treats in this Psalm of the good who are hidden among the wicked and suffer persecution from them. This Psalm, then, is divided into three parts. First he sets forth a prayer. Second he shows the necessity of praying, at "for strangers." Third he sets forth a recompense, at "I will freely sacrifice." Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets down the petition. Second he sets down the granting of it, at "God, hear." His petition turns on two things. For first he asks on his own behalf. Second, on behalf of his enemies. For on his own behalf he asks that he be saved, not through his own merits but on account of love of the divine name. Whence he says: "God, in your name save me." Acts 4: "there is no other name given under heaven," and so on. Proverbs 18: "the name of the Lord is a most strong tower." On behalf of his adversaries he asks for judgment, which can be understood in three ways. In one way, of the judgment of discernment — namely, that his cause be examined. Psalm: "judge me, God, and discern." In another way, that it be understood of the judgment of persecution — namely, that according to his justice God judge him, freeing him from evils. Isaiah 12: "he shall judge the poor in justice." In another way, of the judgment of condemnation. And this he does not ask out of desire for vengeance, but by conforming himself to divine justice. Or he says this by foreseeing the judgment of the wicked. And this is what he says: "and in your power judge me, God; hear my prayer." Here the granting of the prayer is set down. In prayer there are two things: namely, that which is asked for, and the asking itself. Now sometimes God grants what is asked for, and not the asking itself, because that which is asked for, one obtains from grace and mercy, and these are gifts given by God. But the asking itself sometimes proceeds from a sinner, and therefore is not granted, because it is not acceptable to God. And therefore he asks, namely, that his prayer or petition be fulfilled, when he says: "God, hear my prayer," and that God perceive his words with his ears — "with your ears perceive the words of my mouth" — which happens when God accepts and approves his words. Psalm: "my words with your ears," and so on. "For strangers have risen up." Here he sets down the necessity of praying, where he dwells upon the persecution of his enemies: first from their disposition, second from their power, third from their contempt of God. From their disposition: because when someone entirely a stranger to another persecutes him, this is dangerous, since he rises up against him without mercy; and therefore he says, "for strangers" — that is, demons, or sinners. If it be referred to any righteous man, "they have risen up against me" without any compassion or mercy. But those can be called strangers who conduct themselves otherwise than friends do, just as Saul was a stranger to David, and the Ziphites who accused him to Saul. Job 19: "my acquaintances have withdrawn from me like strangers." From their power: because when a weak man attacks, one can defend oneself; but these are strong, "for the strong have sought my soul." 1 Kings 24: "Saul chose three thousand men to pursue David." Or "the strong," that is, demons. Luke 11: "when a strong man armed," that is, the devil, and so on. From contempt of God: because sometimes someone desists from persecution insofar as he is held back by love of God. But these do not desist even for this reason, whence he says, "and they have not set God before their sight." Psalm: "for he said in his heart: God will not require it." "For behold, God helps me." Here he shows that he has been heard in prayer. And first he shows that he has been heard as to one thing. Second he sets down being heard as to other things, at "turn away the evils." It was said above that the prayer was on his own behalf when he said "save me," and for his enemies when he said "in your power." First, then, he says he was heard on his own behalf, for he says he was saved; and then he spoke of the enemies who rose up against him and who sought his soul, and in both respects he has been saved. For against the insult of his enemies he says, "behold, God helps me" — that is, he affords me help. Isaiah 50: "the Lord God is my helper." Against this — that they seek my soul — he says, "the Lord is the upholder of my soul," as if to say: the Lord has saved me by taking me up into his protection. Wisdom 3: "the souls of the just are in the hand of God." Psalm: "but you, Lord, are the upholder," and so on. "Turn away the evils upon my enemies." Here he asks to be heard on behalf of his enemies. And he asks two things corresponding to the two things they were doing to him: they were persecuting him, and they were seeking to kill him; and therefore he asks that they themselves suffer persecution and be killed. As to the first he says, "turn away" — namely, from me — "upon my enemies the evils" which they seek to bring upon me, as if to say: turn back upon them those evils which they wish to bring upon me. As to the second he says, "destroy them," that is, cause them to be destroyed, that is, killed; "and this in your power" — or, "in your power," that is, on account of your power. But this seems to be against the word of Christ, who says: "pray for those who persecute you." It must be said that all these imprecations which are read in the prophets can be understood in three ways. In one way, by way of pronouncement, because they were speaking by the Spirit of God and foretelling future things — by way of speech, as if he said "turn away," etc., that is, "you will turn away." Whence in the Hebrew it is found in the present tense, "you turn away." In another way, according to conformity with divine justice. Third, according to spiritual denunciation: sinners, when they cease to sin, then they die and cease to be sinners. And this is to be prayed for continually. "I will freely sacrifice to you." Here he sets down the recompense. And first the recompense is set down. Second, the reason for the recompense is set down. He intends to recompense with two things: sacrifice and confession. As to the first he says, "I will freely sacrifice to you." Against this, above he said "if you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it." And it must be said that here he speaks of the sacrifice which is acceptable to God, which is the sacrifice of a contrite spirit and of the chastisement of the body. 1 Corinthians 9: "I chastise my body," and so on. Romans 12: "that you present your bodies a living sacrifice," and so on. The third sacrifice is of better things. Hebrews, the last chapter: "do not forget beneficence and fellowship, for by such sacrifices God is well pleased" — that is, God is appeased. With this threefold sacrifice, then, I will sacrifice to you, freely, that is, with joy. 1 Esdras 3: "in all in which sacrifice was offered of one's own accord." 2 Corinthians 9: "God loves a cheerful giver." As to the second he says, "I will confess to your name, Lord, for" — namely, by an act of thanksgiving. Tobit 12: "bless the God of heaven," that is, give thanks. And why? Not on account of temporal goods, as sinners do, of whom it is said, "he will praise you when you have done well to him." But on account of God's goodness and kindness, and on account of the benefits received, because I have been heard in my petitions. Whence he says he was heard as to what concerns himself, when he says, "for you have delivered me out of all tribulation." And you have heard him as to his enemies, for "my eye has looked down upon my enemies," because they were not able to harm me. Or "looked down," etc., because he despised their felicity and prosperity: "he is brought to nothing," and so on.”

“We may observe here, 1. The great distress that David was now in, which the title gives an account of. The Ziphim came of their own accord, and informed Saul where David was, with a promise to deliver him into his hand. One would have thought that when David had retired into the country he would not be pursued, into a desert country he would not be discovered, and into his own country he would not be betrayed; and yet it seems he was. Never let a good man expect to be safe an easy till he comes to heaven. How treacherous, how officious, were these Ziphim! It is well that God is faithful, for men are not to be trusted, Mic 7:5. 2. His prayer to God for succour and deliverance, Psa 54:1, Psa 54:2. He appeals to God's strength, by which he was able to help him, and to his name, by which he was engaged to help him, and begs he would save him from his enemies and judge him, that is, plead his cause and judge for him. David has no other plea to depend upon than God's name, no other power to depend upon than God's strength, and those he makes his refuge and confidence. This would be the effectual answer of his prayers (Psa 54:2), which even in his flight, when he had not opportunity for solemn address to God, he was ever and anon lifting up to heaven: Hear my prayer, which comes from my heart, and give ear to the words of my mouth. 3. His plea, which is taken from the character of his enemies, Psa 54:3. (1.) They are strangers; such were the Ziphites, unworthy the name of Israelites. "They have used me more basely and barbarously than the Philistines themselves would have done." The worst treatment may be expected from those who, having broken through the bonds of relation and alliance, make themselves strangers. (2.) They are oppressors; such was Saul, who, as a king, should have used his power for the protection of all his good subjects, but abused it for their destruction. Nothing is so grievous as oppression in the seat of judgment, Ecc 3:16. Paul's greatest perils were by his own countrymen and by false brethren (Co2 11:26), and so were David's. (3.) They were very formidable and threatening; they not only hated him and wished him ill, but they rose up against him in a body, joining their power to do him a mischief. (4.) They were very spiteful and malicious: They seek after my soul; they hunt for the precious life; no less will satisfy them. We may, in faith, pray that God would not by his providence give success, lest it should look like giving countenance, to such cruel bloody men. (5.) They were very profane and atheistical, and, for this reason, he thought God was concerned in honour to appear against them: They have not set God before them, that is, they have quite cast off the thoughts of God; they do not consider that his eye is upon them, that, in fighting against his people, they fight against him, nor have they any dread of the certain fatal consequences of such an unequal engagement. Note, From those who do not set God before them no good is to be expected; nay, what wickedness will not such men be guilty of? What bonds of nature, or friendship, or gratitude, or covenant, will hold those that have broken through the fear of God? Selah - Mark this. Let us all be sure to set God before us at all times; for, if we do not we are in danger of becoming desperate.”

“Save me, O God, by thy name,.... That is, by himself, by his power, and of his grace and goodness; the Lord's name is often used for himself. David in his distress applies to his God for salvation and deliverance, who only could give it; which was right; and his prayer was remarkably heard and answered: for when Saul came down upon the first discovery, and beset David and his men all around, just as he was about to seize the prey, tidings came to him of the invasion of the Philistines; which obliged him directly to quit his pursuit of David, and return in haste for the defence of his country, Sa1 23:26; and upon the second discovery, when Saul came again to take him, Saul was delivered into the hands of David, who could have took away his life if he would; but he only took his spear and cruse of water by his bolster, as a proof of his being in his power, Sa1 26:12. Of such avail is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. This prayer is suitable enough to David's antitype and son, the Messiah; see Psa 69:1; and especially to sensible sinners; who, being made acquainted with, their lost and perishing condition, inquire the way of salvation; and finding it is not by works, but by Christ alone, apply in that way for it, and desire that God would save them by his Son; who is his name, in whom his name is, and whose name Jesus, a Saviour, is of God's giving; and this name is a strong tower, whither such souls, sensible of danger, flee and are safe; nor is there any other name in which salvation is, and which is therefore exceeding precious, and like ointment poured forth; see Exo 23:21. Or, "for thy name's sake" (h); for the sake of the glory of his divine perfections; which was displayed in the deliverance of David, and more abundantly in the salvation of lost sinners; such as the wisdom, power, faithfulness, justice, grace and mercy of God. Such a petition shows that man cannot save himself; that no creature, none but God can save him; and that a sensible sinner desires to be saved in such a way that God may be glorified; and judge me by thy strength; David, though innocent, had many charges laid against him; his enemies were lively and strong; he puts his cause into the hands of the Lord, his strong Redeemer, who was able to plead it thoroughly against those that strove with him; so Christ, his antitype, committed his cause to him that judgeth righteously, Pe1 2:23; and so should every believer. (h) "propter nomen tuum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Amama, Michaelis.”

“(Heb.: 54:3-5) This short song is divided into two parts by Sela The first half prays for help and answer. The Name of God is the manifestation of His nature, which has mercy as its central point (for the Name of God is טּוב, v. 8, Ps 52:11), so that בּשׁמך (which is here the parallel word to בּגבוּרתך) is consequently equivalent to בּחסדּך. The obtaining of right for any one (דּין like שׁפט, Psa 7:9, and frequently, עשׂה דּין, Psa 9:5) is attributed to the all-conquering might of God, which is only one side of the divine Name, i.e., of the divine nature which manifests itself in the diversity of its attributes. האזין (Psa 54:4) is construed with ל (cf. אל, Psa 87:2) like הטּה אזן, Psa 78:1. The Targum, misled by Psa 86:14, reads זרים instead of זרים in Psa 54:5. The inscription leads one to think of the Ziphites in particular in connection with "strangers" and "violent men." The two words in most instances denote foreign enemies, Isa 25:2., Psa 29:5; Eze 31:12; but זר is also a stranger in the widest sense, regulated in each instance according to the opposite, e.g., the non-priest, Lev 22:10; and one's fellow-countrymen can also turn out to be עריצים, Jer 15:21. The Ziphites, although Judaeans like David, might be called "strangers," because they had taken the side against David; and "violent men," because they pledged themselves to seize and deliver him up. Under other circumstances this might have been their duty as subjects. In this instance, however, it was godlessness, as Psa 54:5 (cf. Psa 86:14) says. Any one at that time in Israel who feared God more than man, could not lend himself to be made a tool of Saul's blind fury. God had already manifestly enough acknowledged David.”