Charles Spurgeon

The floodwaters have risen, O LORD; the rivers have raised their voice; the seas lift up their pounding waves.

“The floods have lifted up, 0 Lord. Men have raged like angry waves of the sea, but vain has been their tumult.”

Above the roar of many waters— the mighty breakers of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic.

“The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters. The utmost of their power is to him but a sound and he can readily master it, therefore he calls it a noise by way of contempt.”

Your testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, for all the days to come.

“Thy testimonies are very sure. As in providence the throne of God is fixed beyond all risk, so in revelation his truth is beyond all question. Other teachings are uncertain, but the revelations of heaven are infallible.”

O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.

“O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; 0 God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself: or, God of retribution, Jehovah, God of retribution, shine forth! A very natural prayer when innocence is trampled down, and wickedness exalted on high.”

Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render a reward to the proud.

“Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth. Ascend thy judgment seat and be acknowledged as the ruler of men: and, moreover, raise thyself as men do who are about to strike with all their might; for the abounding sin of mankind requires a heavy…”

How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked exult?

“Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? Shall wrong for ever rule? Are slavery, robbery, tyranny, never to cease?”

They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.

“How long shall they utter and speak hard things? The ungodly are not content with deeds of injustice, but they add hard speeches, boasting, threatening, and insulting over the saints. Will the Lord for ever endure this?”

They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.

“They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, grinding them with oppression, crushing them with contempt. Yet the men they break in pieces are God's own people, and they are persecuted because they are so; this is a strong plea for the divine interposition.”

They kill the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.

“They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. They deal most arrogantly with those who are the most evident objects of compassion.”

They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”

“Yet they say, the Lord shall not see. This was the reason of their arrogance, and the climax of their wickedness: they were blindly wicked because they dreamed of a blind God.”

Take notice, O senseless among the people! O fools, when will you be wise?

“Understand, ye brutish among the people. They said that God did not note, and now, using the same word in the original, the psalmist calls on the wicked to note, and have regard to the truth.”

He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?

“He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He fashioned that marvellous organ, and fixed it in the most convenient place near to the brain, and is he deaf himself?”

He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline? He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?

“He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He reproves whole nations, can he not reprove individuals? All history shows that he visits national sin with national judgment, and can he not deal with single persons?”

The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.

“Whether men admit or deny that God knows, one thing is here declared, namely, that The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”

Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, and teach from Your law,

“Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord. The psalmist's mind is growing quiet. He no longer complains to God or argues with men, but tunes his harp to softer melodies, for his faith perceives that with the most afflicted believer all is well.”

to grant him relief from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.

“That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. The chastening hand and instructive book are sanctified to us, so that we learn to rest in the Lord.”

For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.

“For the Lord will not cast off his people. He may cast them down, but he never can cast them off.”

Surely judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

“But judgment shall return unto righteousness. The great Judge will come, the reign of righteousness will commence, the course of affairs will yet be turned into the right channel, and then all the godly will rejoice.”

Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand for me against the workers of iniquity?

“Notwithstanding the psalmist's persuasion that all would be well eventually, he could not at the time perceive any one who would stand side by side with him in opposing evil; no champion of the right was forthcoming, the faithful failed from among men.”

Unless the LORD had been my helper, I would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

“Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. Without Jehovah's help, the psalmist declares that he should have died outright, and gone into the silent land, where no more testimonies can be borne for the living God.”

If I say, “My foot is slipping,” Your loving devotion, O LORD, supports me.

“When I said, My foot slippeth—is slipping even now: I perceived my danger, and cried out in horror, and then, at the very moment of my extremity, came the needed help, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.”

When anxiety overwhelms me, Your consolation delights my soul.

“In the multitude of my thoughts within me. When I am tossed to and fro with various reasonings, distractions, questions, and forebodings, I will fly to my true rest, for thy comforts delight my soul.”

Can a corrupt throne be Your ally— one devising mischief by decree?

“Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? Such thrones there are, and they plead a right divine, but their claim is groundless, a fraud upon mankind and a blasphemy of heaven.”

They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

“They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, so many are there of them that they crowd their assemblies, and carry their hard measures with enthusiasm; they are the popular party, and are eager to put down the saints.”

But the LORD has been my stronghold, and my God is my rock of refuge.

“Let the wicked gather as they may, the psalmist is not afraid, but sweetly sings, The Lord is my defence, and my God is the rock of my refuge. Firm as a rock is Jehovah's love, and there do we betake ourselves for shelter.”