Charles Spurgeon

God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day.

“"God judgeth the righteous, " he hath not given thee up to be condemned by the lips of persecutors. Thine enemies cannot sit on God's throne, nor blot thy name out of his book.”

If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.

“"If he turn not, he will whet his sword." What blows are those which will be dealt by that long uplifted arm!”

He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.

“Even now the thirsty arrow longs to wet itself with the blood of the persecutor. The bow is bent, the aim is taken, the arrow is fitted to the string, and what, O sinner, if the arrow should be let fly at thee even now!”

Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

“In three graphic pictures we see the slanderer's history. A woman in travail furnishes the first metaphor. "He travaileth with iniquity."”

His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

“The rod which he lifted on high, has smitten his own back. He shot an arrow upward, and it has "returned upon his own head." He hurled a stone at another and it has "come down upon his own pate."”

I will thank the LORD for His righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

“We conclude with the joyful contrast. In this all these Psalms are agreed; they all exhibit the blessedness of the righteous, and make its colours the more glowing by contrast with the miseries of the wicked. The bright jewel sparkles in a black foil.”

You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.

“These verses may set forth man's position among the creatures before he fell; but as they are, by the apostle Paul, appropriated to man as represented by the Lord Jesus, it is best to give most weight to that meaning.”

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

“Here, like a good composer, the poet returns to his key-note, falling back, as it were, into his first state of wondering adoration.”

I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

“Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which to praise the goodness of the Lord. Birds extol the Creator in notes of overflowing joy, the cattle low forth his praise with tumult of happiness, and the fish leap up in his worship with excess…”

You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.

“God rebukes before he destroys, but when he once comes to blows with the wicked he ceases not until he has dashed them in pieces so small that their very name is forgotten, and like a noisome snuff their remembrance is put out for ever…”

The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.

“Here the Psalmist exults over the fallen foe. He bends as it were, over his prostrate form, and insults his once vaunted strength. He plucks the boaster's song out of his mouth, and sings it for him in derision.”

But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.

“The enduring existence and unchanging dominion of our Jehovah, are the firm foundations of our joy. The enemy and his destructions shall come to a perpetual end, but God and his throne shall endure for ever. The eternity of divine sovereignty yields unfailing consolation.”

He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.

“Whatever earthly courts may do, heaven's throne ministers judgment in uprightness. Partiality and respect of persons are things unknown in the dealings of the Holy One of Israel.”

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

“He who gives no quarter to the wicked in the day of judgment, is the defence and refuge of his saints in the day of trouble.”

Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

“Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the name of God. This most excellent knowledge leads to the most excellent grace of faith.”

For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

“When an inquest is held concerning the blood of the oppressed, the martyred saints will have the first remembrance; he will avenge his own elect.”

Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift me up from the gates of death,

“Memories of the past and confidences concerning the future conducted the man of God to the mercy seat to plead for the needs of the present. Between praising and praying he divided all his time. How could he have spent it more profitably?”

that I may declare all Your praises— that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.

“We must not overlook David's object in desiring mercy, it is God's glory: "that I may show forth all thy praise."”

The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah

“Jehovah is known by the judgment which he executeth; his holiness and abhorrence of sin is thus displayed.”

For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.

“Mercy is as ready to her work as ever justice can be. Needy souls fear that they are forgotten; well, if it be so, let them rejoice that they shall not alway be so.”

Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your presence.

“Prayers are the believer's weapons of war. When the battle is too hard for us, we call in our great ally, who, as it were, lies in ambush until faith gives the signal by crying out, "Arise, O Lord."”

Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah

“One would think that men would not grow so vain as to deny themselves to be but men, but it appears to be a lesson which only a divine schoolmaster can teach to some proud spirits.”

Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

“To the tearful eye of the sufferer the Lord seemed to stand still, as if he calmly looked on, and did not sympathize with his afflicted one.”

In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.

“The second verse contains the formal indictment against the wicked: "The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor." The accusation divides itself into two distinct charges, —pride and tyranny; the one the root and cause of the other.”

For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

“The indictment being read, and the petition presented, the evidence is now heard upon the first count. The evidence is very full and conclusive upon the matter of pride, and no jury could hesitate to give a verdict against the prisoner at the bar.”