DiscipleDeck
Get started
Bible Commentary

Psalms 55:9-15

The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:9-15

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

A picture of corrupt city life and private life, and a denunciation of God's judgments upon them.

I. CORRUPT CITY LIFE. (, .)

1. Corrupt in every part, on the walls and in the interior. Violence and strife reign unchecked universally.

2. Falsehood and deceit ruled in the market-place. (.) In the square, or market-place, near the gates, where was the general place of concourse, men cheated and deceived each other in their ordinary intercourse.

II. PICTURE OF CORRUPT PRIVATE LIFE. The sanctities of friendship were openly violated and renounced. The offence was aggravated by two things.

1. That he who had become the psalmist's enemy had been a closely intimate friend. Love had turned to hate, because of the triumph of evil designs or passions, or of "the whispering tongues that can poison truth."

2. Their friendship had been consecrated by religious associations. (.) A depraved life can sweep out of the mind the tenderest memories and the most holy associations, human and Divine.

III. THE PSALMIST PRAYS FOR GOD'S JUDGMENTS UPON THIS CORRUPT LIFE. The two forms of judgment which he imprecates are:

1. The judgment that fell upon the builders of Babel. (.) Discord among themselves and their counsels, so that they might destroy one another.

2. That they might go down to the grave alive. (.) Like Korah and his company, let them be carried away by death in the fulness of life and strength. The psalmist knew of none but violent means and temporal judgments by which such wickedness could be removed.—S.

Recommended reading

More for Psalms 55:9-15

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:1-23Psalms 55:1-23 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITION THIS psalm has been assigned to Jeremiah by Hitzig, and by others to an unknown writer of the seventh century b.c. But no solid grounds have been shown for setting aside the traditionary evidence of the "titl…Matthew Henry on Psalms 55:9-15Psalms 55:9-15 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryNo wickedness so distresses the believer, as that which he witnesses in those who profess to be of the church of God. Let us not be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of the church on earth, but long to see the…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:9-15Psalms 55:9-15 · The Pulpit CommentaryWith a sudden transition, the writer passes from his own suffering, fears, and longings, to imprecations on his enemies, and a description of their wicked proceedings. In the course of his description he singles out one…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:9Psalms 55:9 · The Pulpit CommentaryDestroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues. The second clause contains a reference to the confusion of tongues at Babel (Genesis 11:7). "Introduce confusion into their counsels, and disperse them, as thou didst with the…
commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:1-23EXPOSITION THIS psalm has been assigned to Jeremiah by Hitzig, and by others to an unknown writer of the seventh century b.c. But no solid grounds have been shown for setting aside the traditionary evidence of the "titl…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryMatthew Henry on Psalms 55:9-15No wickedness so distresses the believer, as that which he witnesses in those who profess to be of the church of God. Let us not be surprised at the corruptions and disorders of the church on earth, but long to see the…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:9-15With a sudden transition, the writer passes from his own suffering, fears, and longings, to imprecations on his enemies, and a description of their wicked proceedings. In the course of his description he singles out one…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues. The second clause contains a reference to the confusion of tongues at Babel (Genesis 11:7). "Introduce confusion into their counsels, and disperse them, as thou didst with the…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof. "It is not a siege or blockade that is described; and the persons spoken of are not foreign, but native enemies. These are compared to watchmen on the walls; only,…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:11Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets; literally, out of her street (rehob)—"the open square, where justice ought to have been administered "(Kay), "adjoining the vaulted passa…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it. The psalmist passes from the general to the particular—from the great mass of his opponents to one special individual. Even Professor Cheyne allows…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 55:13But it was thou, a man mine equal; literally, a man according to my valuing; i.e. one of my social rank, with whom I was on familiar terms. My guide; or, "my companion." But the LXX. have ἡγέμων. And mine acquaintance…Joseph S. Exell and contributors