Psalms 55:7

Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness,....

Lo, then would I wander far off. Yet when David was far off, he sighed to be once more near Jerusalem; thus, in our ill estate we ever think the past to be better than the present. We shall be called to fly far enough away, and perchance we shall be loath to go; we need not indulge vain notions of premature escape from earth. And remain in the wilderness. He found it none such a dear abode when there, yet resolves now to make it his permanent abode.

Lo, then would I wander far off. Yet when David was far off, he sighed to be once more near Jerusalem; thus, in our ill estate we ever think the past to be better than the present. We shall be called to fly far enough away, and perchance we shall be loath to go; we need not indulge vain notions of premature escape from earth. And remain in the wilderness. He found it none such a dear abode when there, yet resolves now to make it his permanent abode. Had he been condemned to receive his wish he would ere long have felt like Selkirk, in the poet's verse— Our Lord, while free from all idle wishes, found much strength in solitude, and loved the mountain's brow at midnight, and the quiet shade of the olives of Gethsemane. It is better practically to use retirement than pathetically to sigh for it. Yet it is natural, when all men do us wrong, to wish to separate ourselves from their society; nature, however, must yield to grace, and we must endure the contradiction of sinners against ourselves, and not be weary and faint in our minds. Selah. After such a flight well may the mind rest. When we are going too fast, and giving way too freely to regrets, it is well to cry, "halt, "and pause awhile, till more sober thoughts return.

Would I wander far off - He did escape; and yet his enemies were so near, as to throw stones at him: but he escaped beyond Jordan. 2Sa 17:22, 2Sa 17:23. A passage in the Octavia of Seneca has been referred to as being parallel to this of David. It is in the answer of Octavia to the Chorus, Acts v., ver. 914-923. Quis mea digne deflere potest Mala? Quae lacrymis nostris quaestus Reddet Aedon? cujus pennas Utinam miserae mihi fata darent! Fugerem luctus ablata meos Penna volucri, procul et coetus Hominum tristes sedemque feram. Sola in vacuo nemore, et tenui Ramo pendens, querulo possem Gutture moestum fundere murmur. My woes who enough can bewail? O what notes can my sorrows express? Sweet Philomel’s self e’en would fail To respond with her plaintive distress. O had I her wings I would fly To where sorrows I ne’er should feel more, Upborne on her plumes through the sky, Regions far from mankind would explore. In a grove where sad silence should reign, On a spray would I seat me alone; In shrill lamentations complain, And in wailings would pour forth my moan. J. B. Clarke.

Lo, then would I wander far off - literally, “Lo, I would make the distance far by wandering;” I would separate myself far from these troubles. And remain in the wilderness - literally, I would sojourn; or, I would pass the night; or, I would put up for the night. The idea is taken from a traveler who puts up for the night, or who rests for a night in his weary travels, and seeks repose. Compare Gen 19:2; Gen 32:21; 2Sa 12:16; Jdg 19:13. The word “wilderness” means, in the Scripture, a place not inhabited by man; a place where wild beasts resort; a place uncultivated. It does not denote, as with us, an extensive forest. It might be a place of rocks and sands, but the essential idea is, that it was not inhabited. See the notes at Mat 4:1. In such a place, remote from the habitations of people, he felt that he might be at rest.