1 A Psalme of Dauid, to bring to remembrance. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrowes sticke fast in me; and thy hand presseth me sore.
3 There is no soundnesse in my flesh, because of thine anger: neither is there any rest in my bones, because of my sinne.
4 For mine iniquities are gone ouer mine head: as an heauy burden, they are too heauie for me.
5 My wounds stinke, and are corrupt: because of my foolishnesse.
6 I am troubled, I am bowed downe greatly; I goe mourning all the day long.
7 For my loynes are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundnesse in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken; I haue roared by reason of the disquietnesse of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee: and my groning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eies, it also is gone from me.
11 My louers and my friends stand a loofe from my sore: and my kinsmen stand a farre off.
12 They also that seeke after my life, lay snares for me: and they that seeke my hurt, speake mischieuous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deafe man, heard not; and I was as a dumbe man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not; and in whose mouth are no reproofes.
15 For in thee, O Lord, doe I hope: thou wilt heare, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, heare me, least otherwise they should reioyce ouer me: when my foot slippeth, they magnifie themselues against me.
17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquitie; I will be sory for my sinne.
19 But mine enemies are liuely, and they are strong: and they that hate mee wrongfully, are multiplied.
20 They also that render euill for good, are mine aduersaries: because I follow the thing that good is.
21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not farre from me.
22 Make haste to helpe mee, O Lord my saluation.
God's displeasure at sin. (1-11) The psalmist's sufferings and prayers. (12-22)
1-11 Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger. The way to keep the heart quiet, is to keep ourselves in the love of God. But a sense of guilt is too heavy to bear; and would sink men into despair and ruin, unless removed by the pardoning mercy of God. If there were not sin in our souls, there would be no pain in our bones, no illness in our bodies. The guilt of sin is a burden to the whole creation, which groans under it. It will be a burden to the sinners themselves, when they are heavy-laden under it, or a burden of ruin, when it sinks them to hell. When we perceive our true condition, the Good Physician will be valued, sought, and obeyed. Yet many let their wounds rankle, because they delay to go to their merciful Friend. When, at any time, we are distempered in our bodies, we ought to remember how God has been dishonoured in and by our bodies. The groanings which cannot be uttered, are not hid from Him that searches the heart, and knows the mind of the Spirit. David, in his troubles, was a type of Christ in his agonies, of Christ on his cross, suffering and deserted.
12-22 Wicked men hate goodness, even when they benefit by it. David, in the complaints he makes of his enemies, seems to refer to Christ. But our enemies do us real mischief only when they drive us from God and our duty. The true believer's trouble will be made useful; he will learn to wait for his God, and will not seek relief from the world or himself. The less we notice the unkindness and injuries that are done us, the more we consult the quiet of our own minds. David's troubles were the chastisement and the consequence of his transgressions, whilst Christ suffered for our sins and ours only. What right can a sinner have to yield to impatience or anger, when mercifully corrected for his sins? David was very sensible of the present workings of corruption in him. Good men, by setting their sorrow continually before them, have been ready to fall; but by setting God always before them, they have kept their standing. If we are truly penitent for sin, that will make us patient under affliction. Nothing goes nearer to the heart of a believer when in affliction, than to be under the apprehension of God's deserting him; nor does any thing come more feelingly from his heart than this prayer, "Be not far from me." The Lord will hasten to help those who trust in him as their salvation.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.