Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.

“The hopes of the rebels are thus overthrown, and not only so; the kingdom they opposed is destined to be coextensive with the earth. heathen--or, "nations" (Ps 2:1). and the uttermost parts of the earth-- (Ps 22:27); denotes universality.”

You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”

“His enemies shall be subject to His terrible power (Job 4:9; 2Th 2:8), as His people to His grace (Ps 110:2, 3). rod of iron--denotes severity (Re 2:27). a potter's vessel--when shivered cannot be mended, which will describe utter destruction.”

But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

“But--literally, "and" (Ps 2:6). He repels the reproach by avowing his continued trust. shield--a favorite and often-used figure for protection. my glory--its source. lifter up of mine head--one who raises me from despondency.”

Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

“Arise, O Lord--God is figuratively represented as asleep to denote His apparent indifference (Ps 7:6). The use of "cheekbone" and "teeth" represents his enemies as fierce, like wild beasts ready to devour (Ps 27:2), and smiting their cheekbone (1Ki 22:24) denotes violence and insult.”

But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple.

“But--as in Ps 2:6, literally, "and." house-- (1Ch 9:23), the tabernacle. temple--literally, "palace," applied to God's residence, the Holy of Holies (1Sa 3:3; 2Sa 22:7); the inner part of the tabernacle. toward--not in; the high priest alone was allowed to enter.”

For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

“The wicked are not reliable because by nature they are full of wickedness, or literally, "wickednesses," of every kind (Ro 8:7). sepulchre--a dwelling-place of corruption, emitting moral putridness. flatter--or, "make smooth." their tongue--speaks deceitfully.”

For there is no mention of You in death; who can praise You from Sheol?

“There is no incredulity as to a future state. The contrast is between this scene of life, and the grave or Sheol, the unseen world of the dead. give . . . thanks--or, "praise for mercies."”

Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.

“God is involved as if hitherto careless of him (Ps 3:7; 9:18). rage--the most violent, like a flood rising over a river's banks. the judgment . . . commanded--or, "ordained"; a just decision.”

The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.

“Though not claiming innocence in general, he can confidently do so in this case, and in demanding from the Judge of all the earth a judgment, he virtually asks acquittal.”

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

“In a modified sense, in his present fallen state, man is still invested with some remains of this original dominion.”

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

“Though Selah occurs seventy-three times, this is the only case in which Higgaion is found. In the view which is given here of the retribution on the wicked as an instance of God's wise and holy ordering, we may well pause in adoring wonder and…”

In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.

“The face expresses the self-conceit, whose fruit is practical atheism (Ps 14:1). Such is his confidence in the permanence of his way or course of life, that he disregards God's providential government (out of sight, because he will not look, Isa 26:11), sneers at his…”

His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.

“The malignity and deceit (Ps 140:3) of such are followed by acts combining cunning, fraud, and violence (compare Pr 1:11, 18), aptly illustrated by the habits of the lion, and of hunters taking their prey.”

Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

“He expresses his abhorrence of those who seek other sources of happiness or objects of worship, and, by characterizing their rites by drink offerings of blood, clearly denotes idolaters.”

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

“God is the chief good, and supplies all need (De 10:9). portion of mine inheritance and of my cup--may contain an allusion to the daily supply of food, and also to the inheritance of Levi (De 18:1, 2). maintainest--or, drawest out my lot--enlargest it.”

You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

“31:16). at thy right hand--to which Christ was exalted (Ps 110:1; In the glories of this state, He shall see of the travail (Isa 53:10, 11; Php 2:9) of His soul, and be satisfied.”

In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help.

“He relates his methods to procure relief when distressed, and his success. temple--(Compare Ps 11:4). God's coming described in figures drawn from His appearance on Sinai (compare De 32:22).”

As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

“God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other. tried--"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Ps 12:6).”

who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

“The language of Ps 18:50 justifies this view in its distinct allusion to the great promise (compare 2Sa 7:12).”

their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.

“Paul (Ro 10:8), quoting from the Septuagint, uses "sound," which gives the same sense. The sun, as the most glorious heavenly body, is specially used to illustrate the sentiment; and his vigorous, cheerful, daily, and extensive course, and his reviving heat (including light), well display…”

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand.

“He speaks as if suddenly assured of a hearing. his anointed--not only David personally, but as the specially appointed head of His Church. his holy heaven--or, literally, "the heavens of His holiness," where He resides (Ps 2:6; 11:4). saving . . .”

Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

“The address is now made to the king. hand--denotes power, and right hand--a more active and efficient degree of its exercise. find out--reach, lay hold of, indicating success in pursuit of his enemies.”

I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.

“The long distress is evinced by-- am not silent--literally, "not silence to me," either meaning, I continually cry; or, corresponding with "thou hearest not," or answerest not, it may mean, there is no rest or quiet to me.”

Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

“Past experience of God's people is a ground of trust. The mention of "our fathers" does not destroy the applicability of the words as the language of our Saviour's human nature.”

“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”

“This is the language of enemies sporting with his faith in the hour of his desertion. Though ironically spoken, the exhortation to trust was well founded on his previous experience of divine aid, the special illustration of which is drawn from the period of helpless…”