Charles Spurgeon

In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.

“Observe, this is not so much a prayer as a resolution, " 'My voice shalt thou hear;' I will not be dumb, I will not be silent, I will not withhold my speech, I will cry to thee for the fire that dwells within compels…”

For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; no evil can dwell with You.

“And now the Psalmist having thus expressed his resolution to pray, you hear him putting up his prayer. He is pleading against his cruel and wicked enemies. He uses a most mighty argument.”

The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all workers of iniquity.

“"The foolish shall not stand in thy sight." Sinners are fools written large. A little sin is a great folly, and the greatest of all folly is great sin. Such sinful fools as these must be banished from the court of heaven.”

You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

“Observe, that evil speakers must be punished as well as evil workers, for "thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing." All liars shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.”

But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple.

“With this verse the first part of the Psalm ends. The Psalmist has bent his knee in prayer; he has described before God, as an argument for his deliverance, the character and the fate of the wicked; and now he contrasts this with the condition…”

Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.

“Now we come to the second part, in which the Psalmist repeats his arguments, and goes over the same ground again. "Lead me, O Lord, "as a little child is led by its father, as a blind man is guided by his friend.”

For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

“This description of depraved man has been copied by the Apostle Paul, and, together with some other quotations, he has placed it in the second chapter of Romans, as being an accurate description of the whole human race, not of David's enemies only, but of…”

Declare them guilty, O God; let them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many transgressions, for they have rebelled against You.

“"Against thee:" not against me. If they were my enemies I would forgive them, but I cannot forgive thine. We are to forgive our enemies, but God's enemies it is not in our power to forgive.”

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.

“Joy is the privilege of the believer. When sinners are destroyed our rejoicing shall be full. They laugh first and weep ever after; we weep now, but shall rejoice eternally.”

For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.

“Jehovah has ordained his people the heirs of blessedness, and nothing shall rob them of their inheritance. With all the fulness of his power he will bless them, and all his attributes shall unite to satiate them with divine contentment.”

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your wrath.

“Having read through the first division, in order to see it as a whole, we will now look at it verse by verse. "O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger."”

Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.

“"Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak." Though I deserve destruction, yet let thy mercy pity my frailty. This is the right way to plead with God if we would prevail.”

Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.

“"O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed." Here he prays for healing, not merely the mitigation of the ills he endured, but their entire removal, and the curing of the wounds which had arisen therefrom.”

Turn, O LORD, and deliver my soul; save me because of Your loving devotion.

“"Return, O Lord; deliver my soul." As God's absence was the main cause of his misery, so his return would be enough to deliver him from his trouble. "Oh save me for thy mercies' sake."”

For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?

“And now David was in great fear of death—death temporal, and perhaps death eternal. Read the passage as you will, the following verse is full of power. "For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"”

I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

“The Psalmist gives a fearful description of his long agony: "I am weary with my groaning." He has groaned till his throat was hoarse; he had cried for mercy till prayer became a labour. God's people may groan, but they may not grumble.”

My eyes fail from grief; they grow dim because of all my foes.

“"I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all my enemies." As an old man's eye grows dim with years, so, says David, my eye is grown red and feeble through weeping.”

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

“Hitherto, all has been mournful and disconsolate, but now— Your harps, ye trembling saints, Down from the willows take." Ye must have your times of weeping, but let them be short. Get ye up, get ye up, from your dunghills!”

The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

“"The Lord hath heard my supplication." The Holy Spirit had wrought into the Psalmist's mind the confidence that his prayer was heard. This is frequently the privilege of the saints.”

All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace.

“"Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed." This is rather a prophecy than an imprecation, it may be read in the future, "All my enemies shall be ashamed and sore vexed."”

O LORD my God, I take refuge in You; save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,

“David appears before God to plead with him against the Accuser, who had charged him with treason and treachery. The case is here opened with an avowal of confidence in God.”

or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

“"Lest he tear my soul." Here is the plea of fear co-working with the plea of faith. There was one among David's foes mightier that the rest, who had both dignity, strength, and ferocity, and was, therefore, "like a lion."”

Let the assembled peoples gather around You; take Your seat over them on high.

“"So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about." Thy saints shall crowd to thy tribunal with their complaints, or shall surround it with their solemn homage: "for their sakes therefore return thou on high."”

Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.

“He sees a smile of complacency upon the face of the King, and in the name of all the assembled congregation he cries aloud, "Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just."”

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

“The judge has heard the cause, has cleared the guiltless, and uttered his voice against the persecutors. Let us draw near, and learn the results of the great assize.”