Charles Spurgeon

He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His decrees and the statutes He gave them.

“He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar. We have had mention of the ark and the shekinah, and now of the fiery cloudy pillar, which was another visible token of the presence of God in the midst of Israel.”

O LORD our God, You answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, yet an avenger of their misdeeds.

“Thou answeredst them, 0 Lord our God. A sweet title and a cheering fact. Our covenant God in a very special manner heard his three servants when they pleaded for the people.”

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

“Exalt the Lord our God. A second time the delightful title of Jehovah our God is used, and it is quickly followed by a third. The Psalm is Trinitarian in its whole structure.”

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. This is a repetition of Ps 98:4. The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them.”

Serve the LORD with gladness; come into His presence with joyful songs.

“Serve the Lord with gladness. "Glad homage pay with awful mirth." He is our Lord, and therefore he is to be served; he is our gracious Lord, and therefore to be served with joy.”

Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

“Know ye that the Lord, he is God. Our worship must be intelligent. We ought to know whom we worship and why.”

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. To the occurrence of the word thanksgiving in this place the Psalm probably owes its Title — In all our public service the rendering of thanks must abound; it is like the incense of the temple, which filled the…”

For the LORD is good, and His loving devotion endures forever; His faithfulness continues to all generations.

“For the Lord is good. This sums up his character and contains a mass of reasons for praise. He is good, gracious, kind, bountiful, loving; yea, God is love. He who does not praise the good is not good himself.”

I will sing of Your loving devotion and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praises.

“I will sing of mercy and judgment. He would extol both the love and the severity, the sweets and the bitters, which the Lord had mingled in Iris experience; he would admire the justice and the goodness of the Lord.”

I will ponder the way that is blameless— when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.

“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. To be holy is to be wise; a perfect way is a wise way. David's resolve was excellent, but his practice did not fully tally with it. Alas!”

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

“I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I will neither delight in it, aim at it or endure it. If I have wickedness brought before me by others I will turn away from it, I will not gaze upon it with pleasure.”

A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know nothing of evil.

“A froward heart shall depart from me. He refers both to himself and to those round about him; he would neither be crooked in heart himself, nor employ persons of evil character in his house; if he found such in his court he would chase…”

Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

“Whose privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off. He had known so bitterly the miseries caused by slanderers that he intended to deal severely with such vipers when he came into power, not to revenge his own ills, but to prevent others from…”

My eyes favor the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in the way of integrity shall minister to me.

“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He would seek them out, engage their services, take care of them, and promote them to honour: this is a noble occupation for a king, and one which will…”

No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who tells lies shall stand in my presence.

“He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house. He had power to choose his courtiers, and he meant to exercise it.”

Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

“That I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. As the kingdom of David was only a faint image of the kingdom of Christ, we ought to set Christ before our view; who, although he may bear with many hypocrites…”

Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.

“Early. From some incidental notices of Scripture (2Sa 15:2 Ps 101:8 Je 21:12), it has been inferred that judges ordinarily held their sessions in the morning. In a climate like that of Palestine, such a custom would be natural and convenient.”

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You.

“Hear my prayer, O Lord. Or O Jehovah. Sincere supplicants are not content with praying for praying's sake, they desire really to reach the ear and heart of the great God.”

Do not hide Your face from me in my day of distress. Incline Your ear to me; answer me quickly when I call.

“Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble. Do not seem as if thou didst not see me, or wouldst not own me. Smile now at any rate.”

For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones burn like glowing embers.

“For my days are consumed like smoke. My grief has made life unsubstantial to me, I seem to be but a puff of vapour which has nothing in it, and is soon dissipated.”

My heart is afflicted, and withered like grass; I even forget to eat my bread.

“My heart is smitten, like a plant parched by the fierce heat of a tropical sun, and withered like grass, which dries up when once the scythe has laid it low.”

Through my loud groaning my flesh clings to my bones.

“By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin. He became emaciated with sorrow. He had groaned himself down to a living skeleton, and so in his bodily appearance was the more like the smoke-dried, withered, burnt-up things to which…”

I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

“I am like a pelican of the wilderness, a mournful and even hideous object, the very image of desolation. I am like an owl of the desert; loving solitude, moping among ruins, hooting discordantly.”

I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins.

“IN the 102nd Psalm, the Believer likens himself to an owl, and in the 103rd Psalm, in almost the parallel verse, he is compared to an eagle.”

I lie awake; I am like a lone bird on a housetop.

“I watch, and am like a sparrow alone upon the house top: I keep a solitary vigil as the lone sentry of my nation; my fellows are too selfish, too careless to care for the beloved land, and so like a bird which sits alone…”