Charles Spurgeon

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. At the passover, before his passion, our Lord sang one of the grand old Psalms of praise; but what is the music of his heart now, in the midst of…”

Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

“Blessed. This is an exclamation similar to that of the first Psalm, "Oh, the happiness of the man." God's blessings are emphatic, "I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, "indeed and in very truth. Is that man that maketh the Lord his trust.”

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they…

“Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done. Creation, providence, and redemption, teem with wonders as the sea with life. Our special attention is called by this passage to the marvels which cluster around the cross and flash from it.”

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require.

“Here we enter upon one of the most wonderful passages in the whole of the Old Testament, a passage in which the incarnate Son of God is seen not through a glass darkly, but as it were face to face.”

I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

“I delight to do thy will, O my God. Our blessed Lord alone could completely do the will of God.”

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; behold, I do not seal my lips, as You, O LORD, do know.

“I have preached righteousness in the great congregation. The purest morality and the highest holiness were preached by Jesus. Righteousness divine was his theme. Our Lord's whole life was a sermon, eloquent beyond compare, and it is heard each day by myriads.”

I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation; I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulness from the great assembly.

“I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. On the contrary, "Never man spake like this man." God's divine plan of making men righteous was well known to him, and he plainly taught it.”

O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me; Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

“Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord. Alas! these were to be for awhile withheld from our Lord while on the accursed tree, but meanwhile in his great agony he seeks for gentle dealing; and the coming of the angel to strengthen…”

For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.

“For innumerable evils have compassed me about. On every side he was beset with evils; countless woes environed the great Substitute for our sins. Our sins were innumerable, and so were his griefs.”

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; hurry, O LORD, to help me.

“Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me. How touching! How humble! How plaintive! The words thrill us as we think that after this sort our Lord and Master prayed.”

May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.

“Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it. Whether we read this as a prayer or a prophecy it matters not, for the powers of sin, and death, and hell, may well be ashamed as they see the…”

May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be appalled at their own shame.

“Let them be desolate, or amazed; even as Jesus was desolate in his agony, so let his enemies be in their despair when he defeats them.”

May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation always say, “The LORD be magnified!”

“Let all those that seek thee, rejoice and be glad in thee. We have done with Ebal and turn to Gerizim. Here our Lord pronounces benedictions on his people.”

But I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my helper and deliverer; O my God, do not delay.

“But I am poor and needy. The man of sorrows closes with another appeal, based upon his affliction and poverty. Yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Sweet was this solace to the holy heart of the great sufferer.”

Blessed is the one who cares for the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.

“Blessed is he that considereth the poor. This is the third Psalm opening with a benediction, and there is a growth in it beyond the first two.”

The LORD will protect and preserve him; He will bless him in the land and refuse to surrender him to the will of his foes.

“The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive. His noblest life shall be immortal, and even his mortal life shall be sacredly guarded by the power of Jehovah.”

The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.

“The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing. The everlasting arms shall stay up his soul as friendly hands and downy pillows stay up the body of the sick.”

I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

“I said —said it in earnest prayer— Lord, be merciful unto me. Prove now thy gracious dealings with my soul in adversity, since thou didst aforetime give me grace to act liberally in my prosperity.”

My enemies say with malice: “When will he die and be forgotten?”

“Mine enemies speak evil of me. It was their nature to do and speak evil; it was not possible that the child of God could escape them.”

My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.

“And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity. His visits of sympathy are visitations of mockery. When the fox calls on the sick lamb his words are soft, but he licks his lips in hope of the carcass.”

All who hate me whisper against me; they imagine the worst for me:

“All that hate me whisper together against me. The spy meets his comrades in conclave and sets them all a whispering. Why could they not speak out? Were they afraid of the sick warrior?”

“A vile disease has been poured into him; he will never get up from where he lies!”

“An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him. They whisper that some curse has fallen upon him, and is riveted to him. They insinuate that a foul secret stains his character, the ghost whereof haunts his house, and never can be laid.”

Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

“Yea. Here is the climax of the sufferer's woe, and he places before it the emphatic affirmation, as if he thought that such villainy would scarcely be believed. Mine own familiar friend.”

But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them.

“But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me. How the hunted and affrighted soul turns to her God! How she seems to take breath with a "but, thou!"”

By this I know that You delight in me, for my enemy does not triumph over me.

“We are all cheered by tokens for good, and the psalmist felt it to be an auspicious omen, that after all his deep depression he was not utterly given over to his foe. By this I know that thou favourest me.”