6 Jehovah executeth righteous acts, And judgments for all that are oppressed.
Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates: in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous `one'; he doth not resist you.
ye who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto Jehovah, but he will not answer them; yea, he will hide his face from them at that time, according as they have wrought evil in their doings.
Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time.
In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah. Behold, therefore, I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I, Jehovah, have spoken it, and will do it.
if ye oppress not the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even for evermore. Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods that ye have not known, and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered; that ye may do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith Jehovah. But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not: therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
This is the portion of a wicked man with God, And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty: If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword; And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death, And his widows shall make no lamentation. Though he heap up silver as the dust, And prepare raiment as the clay; He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, And the innocent shall divide the silver. He buildeth his house as the moth, And as a booth which the keeper maketh. He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered `to his fathers'; He openeth his eyes, and he is not. Terrors overtake him like waters; A tempest stealeth him away in the night. The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth; And it sweepeth him out of his place. For `God' shall hurl at him, and not spare: He would fain flee out of his hand. Men shall clap their hands at him, And shall hiss him out of his place.
that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. The whole earth is at rest, `and' is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, `and' the cedars of Lebanon, `saying', Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, `and' the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit. They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, `saying', Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home? All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever. Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities. And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, saith Jehovah. I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts. Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain. Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge.
Rob not the poor, because he is poor; Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: For Jehovah will plead their cause, And despoil of life those that despoil them.
Thou hast seen `it'; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth `himself' unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless. Break thou the arm of the wicked; And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none. Jehovah is King for ever and ever: The nations are perished out of his land. Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more. Psalm 11 For the Chief Musician. `A Psalm' of David.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 103
Commentary on Psalms 103 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 103
Ps 103:1-22. A Psalm of joyous praise, in which the writer rises from a thankful acknowledgment of personal blessings to a lively celebration of God's gracious attributes, as not only intrinsically worthy of praise, but as specially suited to man's frailty. He concludes by invoking all creatures to unite in his song.
1. Bless, &c.—when God is the object, praise.
my soul—myself (Ps 3:3; 25:1), with allusion to the act, as one of intelligence.
all … within me—(De 6:5).
his holy name—(Ps 5:11), His complete moral perfections.
2. forget not all—not any, none of His benefits.
3. diseases—as penal inflictions (De 29:22; 2Ch 21:19).
4. redeemeth—Cost is implied.
destruction—literally, "pit of corruption" (Ps 16:10).
crowneth—or, "adorneth" (Ps 65:11).
tender mercies—compassions (compare Ps 25:6; 40:11).
5. By God's provision, the saint retains a youthful vigor like the eagles (Ps 92:14; compare Isa 40:31).
6. Literally, "righteousness and judgments," denoting various acts of God's government.
7. ways—of providence, &c., as usual (Ps 25:4; 67:2).
acts—literally, "wonders" (Ps 7:11; 78:17).
8-10. God's benevolence implies no merit. He shows it to sinners, who also are chastened for a time (Ex 34:6).
keep (anger)—in Le 19:18, bear a grudge (Jer 3:5, 12).
11. great—efficient.
12. removed … from us—so as no longer to affect our relations to Him.
13. pitieth—literally, "has compassion on."
14. he—"who formed," Ps 94:9.
knoweth our frame—literally, "our form."
we are dust—made of and tending to it (Ge 2:7).
15, 16. So short and frail is life that a breath may destroy it.
it is gone—literally, "it is not."
know it no more—no more recognize him (Ps 90:6; Isa 40:6-8).
17, 18. For similar contrast compare Ps 90:2-6; 102:27, 28.
18. such … covenant—limits the general terms preceding.
righteousness—as usual (Ps 7:17; 31:1).
19. God's firm and universal dominion is a pledge that He will keep His promises (Ps 11:4; 47:8).
20-22. do his commandments … word—or, literally, "so as to hearken," &c., that is, their acts of obedience are prompt, so that they are ever ready to hear, and know, and follow implicitly His declared will (compare De 26:17; Lu 1:19).
21. ye his hosts—myriads, or armies, as corresponding to angels of great power [Ps 103:20], denoting multitudes also.
22. all his works—creatures of every sort, everywhere.