The General Corruption of Man Before the Coming of Christ
Explanation of the Psalm
This Psalm is very nearly the same as Psalm 13, to which we refer our reader; the only difference of any consequence is in the 6th verse of Psalm 13, which has it thus, “For the Lord is in the just generation, you have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope;” whereas in the latter part of the 6th verse in this Psalm, the reading is, “For God hath scattered the bones of them that please men, they have been confounded, because God hath despised them.” This, then, is the only verse that requires explanation here. It assigns a reason for the wicked trembling with fear, when they have no reason to fear, and the reason he assigns is, “For God hath scattered their bones;” has so enervated them, that they fear the merest trifles, a thing he brings about in his wonderful providence, rendering them foolish in their counsels, by impeding their efforts, and confounding their machinations. Bones are generally used as an expression in the Scripture to designate strength. “Of them that please men,” such people are always full of the fear of the world, of human respect, and their whole study is to please man; whereas, on the contrary, the Apostle teaches, “If I did yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” The prophet adds, “They have been confounded, because God hath despised them,” which seem to allude to the passage in Psalm 13, “You have confounded the counsel of the poor man, but the Lord is his hope;” you wicked have confounded the counsel of the poor man who put his trust in God, God will confound you, and make you blush, seeing all your counsels are vain, because you did not put your trust in God; and, therefore, he despised you and withheld his assistance from you. This may also have reference to the last judgment, when all the wicked will be confounded, for the universal Judge will then despise them, saying, “I do not know you, depart into everlasting fire.” The last verse is altogether similar to the last verse of Psalm 13, but that here, instead of “The Lord shall have turned away,” we have, “The Lord shall bring back.” But though turning away and bringing back seem to be very different expressions, in this place they bring out the same meaning, for God is said to turn away the captivity, when he destroys it, which he does, when he frees the captives, and he is said to bring back the captivity when he recalls the captives, and brings them back to their own country.