DAVID TEACHES TRUE PIETY. — V. 11. Come, ye children, the master addressing his disciples, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. He himself had learned in the school of experience, under the guidance of God, and wanted to pass this information on to others.
V. 12. What man is he that desireth life, prosperity in the best sense of the word, and loveth many days, a long life being considered a special blessing, that he may see good?That is, To whom will God show His goodness in richest measure, by showering blessings upon him? David describes such a person in a series of admonitions. V. 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, from all sins in speech, and thy lips from speaking guile. Cp. Jas. 1, 26; 3, 2-13. V. 14. Depart from evil, every form of transgression, and do good; seek peace and pursue it, aspiring after it with all zeal, Rom. 12, 9-18; 1 Pet. 3, 8-17.
V. 15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, in gracious affection, and His ears are open unto their cry, always ready to answer their prayer. V. 16 The face of the Lord, set, in this case, in hard lines, is against them that do evil, opposed to their wicked ways, expressing His disapproval, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth, so that they will be utterly destroyed.
V. 17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, answering those whose call comes forth from a heart acknowledging its own unworthiness, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. V. 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, whose self-righteousness and selfishness have been broken at the root by the thunderbolt of the Law; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit, whose natural pride has been humbled into the dust, so that they have been led to the proper realization of their damnable sinfulness. People in whom the work of the Law has been done, who see in themselves nothing but unworthiness and damnableness, are in a condition to receive the glorious assurances of salvation, to receive the redemption in the Messiah. V. 19. Many are the afflictions, the distresses, snares, and persecutions, of the righteous, which he experiences at the hand of the wicked; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all, if not here in time, surely in eternity.
V. 20. He, Yahweh, keepeth all his bones, the entire framework of his body; not one of them is broken, for without the will of the heavenly. Father not even a hair of our heads may fall to the ground, Matt. 10, 30.
V. 21. Evil shall slay the wicked, that being their final destiny; and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate, shall stand in the judgment of God and suffer as guilty.
V. 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants, making them, finally, possessors of everlasting salvation; and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate, since the guilt of their sins will not be imputed to them, and they will therefore not be condemned to everlasting punishment. With our sins imputed to Jesus Christ and His righteousness imputed to us, we are safe in the last Judgment, sure of eternal bliss and glory in heaven.