Psalms 69:35

69:30-36 The psalmist concludes the psalm with holy joy and praise, which he began with complaints of his grief. It is a great comfort to us, that humble and thankful praises are more pleasing to God than the most costly, pompous sacrifices. The humble shall look to him, and be glad; those that seek him through Christ shall live and be comforted. God will do great things for the gospel church, in which let all who wish well to it rejoice. A seed shall serve him on earth, and his servants shall inherit his heavenly kingdom. Those that love his name shall dwell before him for ever. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Arise, thou great Restorer of the ancient places to dwell in, and turn away ungodliness from thy people.

The church of Christ, as it is often called; See Gill on Psalm 2:6 ; this is to be understood not so much of the salvation of the people of God, by Christ, from sin and Satan, and the world, law, hell, and death, as of the preservation and continuance of the Gospel church state, notwithstanding all the opposition and persecution of the Jews and Gentiles; and especially of the deliverance of the Lord's people, in the latter day, from the cruelty, captivity, and bondage of antichrist, by the destruction of him; which will occasion joy and praise, Revelation 18:4 ; and will build the cities of Judah: erect Gospel churches in the Roman empire, and in the several parts of the world; as were in the first times of the Gospel, and will be in the latter day, when the cities of God shall be yet spread abroad through prosperity, Zechariah 1:17; of which the saints are citizens, and enjoy in them many privileges and immunities: these may be said to be "built", when they are built upon Christ, and on their most holy faith; when the members of them are edified and multiplied; when purity of faith, discipline, and worship, prevails among them; and though this is usually by the ministers of the Gospel, as instruments, yet the Lord is the chief builder; for, unless he builds, in vain do the builders build, Psalm 127:1; that they may dwell there, and have it in possession; the men of Judah, such as confess the name of Christ, as the word "Judah" signifies; who profess to believe in him with th

Verse 35. - For God will save Zion. It is not necessary to suppose that Jerusalem was in any immediate danger. The psalmist merely means that the same God from whom he now confidently expects deliverance will always watch over his city, over his people, over his inheritance, and whenever danger threatens, will exert his protecting power and save. Prophecies of this kind are always conditional, and thus Zion, when she rejected God for idols ( 2 Chronicles 36:14 ), and again when she rejected him for Barabbas ( Matthew 27:21 ), forfeited the promised blessing of continuance, and brought about her own destruction. And will build the cities of Judah; i.e. maintain them, keep them from decay and ruin. That they may dwell there; i.e. continue to inhabit the cities. And have it ( i.e. Zion, or Jerusalem) in possession. Psalm 69:35

34-36. The call on the universe for praise is well sustained by the prediction of the perpetual and extended blessings which shall come upon the covenant-people of God. Though, as usual, the imagery is taken from terms used of Palestine, the whole tenor of the context indicates that the spiritual privileges and blessings of the Church are meant.

Zion; the city of Zion or Jerusalem; and his church and people, which are frequently expressed under that title. They; the humble and poor , Psalm 69:32,33 , or his servants , as is explained in the following verse. Dwell there; in the literal Canaan for a long time, and in the heavenly Canaan for ever.

35 . So Jeremiah couples ‘Jerusalem and the cities of Judah,’ Psalm 33:10 ff., Psalm 34:7 : and the prediction of restoration corresponds to the prophecies collected in his ‘Book of Consolation,’ chaps, 30–33. The language does not presume that Jerusalem was already in ruins, any more than do those prophecies. that they may dwell there ] Better, and men shall abide there.

For God will save Zion - See the notes at Psalm 51:18 . That is, he will save his people; he will protect and defend them. This expresses the confident assurance of the psalmist that, whatever might be the existing troubles, God would not forsake his people, but would interpose in their behalf. And will build the cities of Judah - Though they may now lie waste, or be desolate. See the notes at Psalm 51:18. The general idea here is, that God would be favorable to his land; that he would give success and prosperity to his people; that he would manifest his mercy to them. There is no necessity from the language used here to suppose, as DeWette and Rosenmuller do, that there is an allusion to the time of the exile, and to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, and that consequently either the whole psalm must have been composed at that time - or (as Rosenmuller supposes) that the last verses of the psalm were added by a later hand, and that thus the whole psalm was adapted to the time of the exile. From Psalm 69:9 it would seem that, when the psalm was composed, the place of public worship was still standing, and the language here, as in Psalm 51:18, is so general that it might have been employed at any time. That they may dwell there ... - That his people may dwell there according to the ancient promise. The idea is, that he would be the protector of his people, and that all his promises to them would be fulfilled.

The description of the suffering has reached its climax in Psalm 69:22 , at which the wrath of the persecuted one flames up and bursts forth in imprecations. The first imprecation joins itself upon Psalm 69:22 . They have given the sufferer gall and vinegar; therefore their table, which was abundantly supplied, is to be turned into a snare to them, from which they shall not be able to escape, and that לפניהם, in the very midst of their banqueting, whilst the table stands spread out before them ( Ezekiel 23:41 ). שׁלומים (collateral form of שׁלמים) is the name given to them as being carnally secure; the word signifies the peaceable or secure in a good ( Psalm 55:21 ) and in a bad sense. Destruction is to overtake them suddenly, "when they say: Peace and safety" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ). The lxx erroneously renders: καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδοσιν equals וּלשׁלּוּמים. The association of ideas in Psalm 69:24 is transparent. With their eyes they have feasted themselves upon the sufferer, and in the strength of their loins they have ill-treated him. These eyes with their bloodthirsty malignant looks are to grow blind. These loins full of defiant self-confidence are to shake (המעד, imperat. Hiph. like הרחק, Job 13:21 , from המעיד, for which in Ezekiel 29:7 , and perhaps also in Daniel 11:14 , we find העמיד).

Further: God is to pour out His wrath upon them ( Psalm 79:6 ; Hosea 5:10 ; Jeremiah 10:25 ), i.e., let loose against them the cosmical forces of destruction existing originally in His nature. זעמּך has the Dagesh in order to distinguish it in pronunciation from זעמך. In Psalm 69:26 טירה (from טוּר, to encircle) is a designation of an encamping or dwelling-place (lxx ἔπαυλις) taken from the circular encampments (Arabic ṣı̂rât, ṣirât, and dwâr, duâr) of the nomads ( Genesis 25:16 ). The laying waste and desolation of his own house is the most fearful of all misfortunes to the Semite (Job, note to Psalm 18:15 ). The poet derives the justification of such fearful imprecations from the fact that they persecute him, who is besides smitten of God. God has smitten him on account of his sins, and that by having placed him in the midst of a time in which he must be consumed with zeal and solicitude for the house of God. The suffering decreed for him by God is therefore at one and the same time suffering as a chastisement and as a witnessing for God; and they heighten this suffering by every means in their power, not manifesting any pity for him or any indulgence, but imputing to him sins that he has not committed, and requiting him with deadly hatred for benefits for which they owed him thanks. There are also some others, although but few, who share this martyrdom with him.