John Gill

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

“Purge me with hyssop,.... Or "thou shalt purge me with hyssop" (f); or "expiate me"; which was used in sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb on the door posts of the Israelites in Egypt, that the destroying angel might pass over them, Exo 12:22…”

Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.

“Deliver me from blood guiltiness,.... Or "from bloods" (q); meaning not the corruption of nature; see Eze 16:6; though to be rid of that, and to be free from the guilt and condemnation of it, is very desirable, Rom 7:24; but either from capital punishment…”

Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.

“Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs,.... Abundance of mischiefs, in a variety of ways, against many persons, even all good men.”

You love evil more than good, falsehood more than speaking truth. Selah

“Thou lovest evil more than good,.... Indeed not good at all; such comparatives being strong negatives; see Psa 118:8; a wicked man loves evil, and nothing else; his carnal mind being enmity to all that is good and lying rather than to speak righteousness; as…”

You love every word that devours, O deceitful tongue.

“Thou lovest all devouring words,.... Or "words of swallowing up" (y); such as lies, calumnies, and detractions are, which devour the characters and reputations of men, and are the cause sometimes of their utter ruin and destruction; of the devouring and blasphemous words of antichrist…”

The righteous will see and fear; they will mock the evildoer, saying,

“The righteous also shall see,.... The Targum adds, "the punishment of the wicked"; particularly what is before predicted of Doeg.”

“Look at the man who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his wealth and strengthened himself by destruction.”

“Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength,.... The Targum renders it, "that made not the Word of the Lord his strength".”

God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

“God looked down from heaven upon the children of men,.... In Psa 14:2, it is read, "the Lord" or "Jehovah"; in everything else there is an agreement in this verse; See Gill on Psa 14:2; to see if there were any that did understand; the…”

All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

“Every one of them is gone back,.... From God, and the way of his commandments. In Psa 14:3, it is, "they are all gone aside"; See Gill on Psa 14:3; they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon God.

“Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge?.... In Psa 14:4, it is, "have all the workers", &c. There are none of them but what have, unless given up to judicial blindness, and hardness of heart, to believe a lie, as antichrist and his followers, 2Th…”

For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life— men with no regard for God. Selah

“For strangers are risen up against me,.... Meaning such as Doeg the Edomite, or Heathen soldiers, that Saul had hired and took into his army, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; and such as these rose up against David's antitype, the Messiah, Psa…”

He will reward my enemies with evil. In Your faithfulness, destroy them.

“He shall reward evil unto mine enemies,.... That eyed him as Saul did; that observed his haunts, where he resorted, and who were with him, as the Ziphites did under Saul's direction; as the Word (m) here used for "enemies" signifies: the mischief they had…”

Freely I will sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

“I will freely sacrifice unto thee,.... Not legal sacrifices; no, nor freewill offerings the law gives directions about, though the allusion is to them; but the freewill offerings of his mouth, Psa 119:108; the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, on account of help, salvation, and…”

Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and distraught

“Attend unto me, and hear me,.... So as to answer, and that immediately and directly, his case requiring present help; I mourn in my complaint; or "in my meditation" (p); solitary thoughts, and melancholy views of things.”

I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.

“And I said, oh that I had wings like a dove,.... The psalmist pitches upon this creature, partly to suggest that his enemies pursuing him were like the ravenous hawk, and he like the harmless, innocent, and trembling dove; and partly because of its swiftness…”

O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

“Destroy, O Lord,.... Or "swallow up" (s), as Pharaoh and his host were swallowed up in the Red sea; or as Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were swallowed up in the earth; so all the enemies of Christ and his church will be destroyed; and death…”

Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

“Wickedness is in the midst thereof,.... All manner of wickedness; abominable wickedness; wickedness as arrived to its highest pitch, and as having filled up its measure; see Eze 9:4; deceit and guile depart not from her streets; where truth was fallen, and equity could not…”

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.

“But it was thou,.... The Targum is, "but thou Ahithophel"; of whom the words are literally to be understood, and so they are in the Talmud (u); and mystically and typically of Judas; a man mine equal; "a man", and not a beast, nor a…”

Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

“Let death seize upon them,.... Ahithophel and his accomplices, Judas and the men with him; as a mighty man, as the king of terrors, and shake them to pieces.”

But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.

“As for me, I will call upon God,.... Not upon a creature, on idols and images, on angels or saints departed; but upon God, in his time of trouble, for salvation and deliverance from enemies; who is able to save.”

Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray,.... These being the stated times of prayer with the Jews, and which continued to later ages, Dan 6:10.”

He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

“He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,.... That is, God had preserved his life, and delivered him safe and sound from many a battle which was fought against him, and might seem at first to go against him…”

My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.

“He hath put forth his hands,.... The psalmist returns and describes, in this verse Psa 55:3, the cruelty, perfidy, and hypocrisy of his false friend; who had stretched forth his hands against such as be at peace with him, or he pretended to be at…”

His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.

“The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,.... Such were the words of Ahithophel, when in counsel with David; and such the words of Judas, when he said to Christ, "hail, master", and kissed him, Mat 26:49; but war was in his heart; even…”

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord,.... These are either the words of the Holy Ghost to David, according to Jarchi; or of David to his own soul in distress, and may be directed to any good man in like circumstances.”