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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 55:9-15

David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought him, though not to his faith's end, yet to his wits? end, and prays against them by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here, I. The character he gives of the enemies he feared. They were of the worst sort of men, and his description of them agrees very well with Absalom and his accomplices. 1. He complains of the city of Jerusalem, which strangely fell in with Absalom and fell off from David, so that he had none there but how own... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 55:12

For it was not an enemy that reproached me ,.... An open and avowed one; a Moabite or a Philistine; such an one as Goliath, who cursed him by his gods; but one of his own country, city, court, and family, who pretended to be a friend; his son Absalom, according to Arama: so it was not one of the Scribes and Pharisees, the sworn enemies of Christ, who rejected him as the Messiah, and would not have him to reign over them, that reproached him, but one of his own apostles; then I could... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 55:13

But it was thou ,.... The Targum is, "but thou Ahithophel"; of whom the words are literally to be understood, and so they are in the Talmud F21 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 106. 2. Pirke Abot, c. 6. s. 3. ; and mystically and typically of Judas; a man mine equal ; "a man", and not a beast, nor a devil; but a man, from whom humanity, kindness, and tenderness might have been expected; though both Ahithophel and Judas acted the part of a devil; and the latter is expressly called one, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 55:14

We took sweet counsel together ,.... Not in religious matters; for in these the testimonies of the Lord were David's counsellors, Psalm 119:24 ; but in civil things: hearty counsel is one branch of friendship, and which greatly sweetens it, Proverbs 27:9 ; as this may be applied to Christ and Judas, it may denote the mutual delight and pleasure they had, the one in communicating, the other in receiving a notional knowledge of the Gospel, and the mysteries of it, which are the counsel of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 55:15

Let death seize upon them ,.... Ahithophel and his accomplices, Judas and the men with him; as a mighty man, as the king of terrors, and shake them to pieces. Or, "let him exact upon them" F1 ישי "exigat debitum", Pagninus; "aget vel agat exactorem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus, Amama. ; as a creditor upon the debtor, and demand the debt of punishment for sin: or let him come upon them at an unawares; let them not die a natural, but a violent death. The... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 55:12

It was not an enemy - It is likely that in all these three verses Ahithophel is meant, who, it appears, had been at the bottom of the conspiracy from the beginning; and probably was the first mover of the vain mind of Absalom to do what he did. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 55:14

Walked unto the house of God in company - Or with haste; for the rabbins teach that we should walk hastily To the temple, but slowly From it. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 55:15

Let death seize upon them - This is a prediction of the sudden destruction which should fall on the ringleaders in this rebellion. And it was so. Ahithophel, seeing his counsel rejected, hanged himself. Absalom was defeated; and, fleeing away, he was suspended by the hair in a tree, under which his mule had passed; and being found thus by Joab, he was despatched with three darts; and the people who espoused his interests were almost all cut off. They fell by the sword, or perished in the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 55:12

Verse 12 12Of a truth, it was not an enemy that cast reproach upon me He informs us of one circumstance which added bitterness to the injuries under which he suffered, that they came from the hands not only of his professed enemies, but of such as pretended to be his friends. Those mistake the meaning of נשא,nasa, who interpret it as if David had said, that he could patiently have borne the reproach of an open enemy. What he says is, that had an open enemy reproached him, he could then have met... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 55:15

Verse 15 15Let death seize upon them. He now denounces the whole faction, not the nation generally, but those who had taken a prominent part in the persecution of him. In imprecating this curse he was not influenced by any bad feeling towards them, and must be understood as speaking not in his own cause but in that of God, and under the immediate guidance of his Spirit. This was no wish uttered in a moment of resentment or of reckless and ill-considered zeal, and which would justify us in... read more

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