1<Shiggaion of David; a song which he made to the Lord, about the words of Cush the Benjamite.> O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free; 2So that he may not come rushing on my soul like a lion, wounding it, while there is no one to be my saviour. 3O Lord my God, if I have done this; if my hands have done any wrong; 4If I have given back evil to him who did evil to me, or have taken anything from him who was against me without cause; 5Let my hater go after my soul and take it; let my life be crushed to the earth, and my honour into the dust. (Selah.) 6Come up, Lord, in your wrath; be lifted up against my haters; be awake, my God, give orders for the judging. 7The meeting of the nations will be round you; take your seat, then, over them, on high. 8The Lord will be judge of the peoples; give a decision for me, O Lord, because of my righteousness, and let my virtue have its reward. 9O let the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, but give strength to the upright: for men's minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness. 10God, who is the saviour of the upright in heart, is my breastplate. 11God is the judge of the upright, and is angry with the evil-doers every day. 12If a man is not turned from his evil, he will make his sword sharp; his bow is bent and ready. 13He has made ready for him the instruments of death; he makes his arrows flames of fire. 14That man is a worker of evil; the seed of wrongdoing has given birth to deceit. 15He has made a hole deep in the earth, and is falling into the hole which he has made 16His wrongdoing will come back to him, and his violent behaviour will come down on his head. 17I will give praise to the Lord for his righteousness; I will make a song to the name of the Lord Most High.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The psalmist prays to God to plead his cause, and judge for him. (1-9) He expresses confidence in God, and will give him the glory of his deliverance. (10-17) 1-9 David flees to God for succour. But Christ alone could call on Heaven to attest his uprightness in all things. All His works were wrought in righteousness; and the prince of this world found nothing whereof justly to accuse him. Yet for our sakes, submitting to be charged as guilty, he suffered all evils, but, being innocent, he triumphed over them all. The plea is, "For the righteous God trieth the hearts and the reins." He knows the secret wickedness of the wicked, and how to bring it to an end; he is witness to the secret sincerity of the just, and has ways of establishing it. When a man has made peace with God about all his sins, upon the terms of grace and mercy, through the sacrifice of the Mediator, he may, in comparison with his enemies, appeal to God's justice to decide. 10-17 David is confident that he shall find God his powerful Saviour. The destruction of sinners may be prevented by their conversion; for it is threatened, If he turn not from his evil way, let him expect it will be his ruin. But amidst the threatenings of wrath, we have a gracious offer of mercy. God gives sinners warning of their danger, and space to repent, and prevent it. He is slow to punish, and long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish. The sinner is described, ver. #14-16|, as taking more pains to ruin his soul than, if directed aright, would save it. This is true, in a sense, of all sinners. Let us look to the Saviour under all our trials. Blessed Lord, give us grace to look to thee in the path of tribulation, going before thy church and people, and marking the way by thine own spotless example. Under all the persecutions which in our lesser trials mark our way, let the looking to Jesus animate our minds and comfort our hearts.