Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
Thou shalt destroy - Thou wilt bring to ruin; thou wilt cause to perish; that is, cause to perish as the wicked are caused to perish, by being punished. The idea is that God could not approve their cause; could not favor them; could not give them prosperity, and that they must be overthrown and punished. As in the previous verses, so here, David refers to this as a general characteristic of God, but with an implied reference to his enemies.
Them that speak leasing - Lies; the word "leasing" being the old Saxon word to denote falsehood. See Psalms 4:2. It is not found elsewhere in our common version. The allusion here is to his enemies, and the idea is that they were false and treacherous; a description which will well apply to them on the supposition that this refers to the rebellion of Absalom. See the introduction to the psalm.
The Lord will abhor - Will hate; will hold in abomination. That is, he will show his abhorrence by punishing such as are here referred to.
The bloody and deceitful man - The man of blood and fraud; the man who sheds blood, and is guilty of treachery and fraud. Margin, "man of bloods and deceit." The "man of bloods," - "the plural form being commonly used where there is reference to blood-guiltiness or murder." - "Prof. Alexander." See Genesis 4:10; Psalms 51:14. The idea seems to be that of shedding "much" blood. The reference here, as before, is to a general characteristic of the Divine Mind, with a special reference to the character of David' s enemies, as being distinguished for fraud and blood-guiltiness. On the supposition (see introduction) that this refers to the rebellion of Absalom, there can be no difficulty in seeing the propriety of the application. It was on these grounds that the psalmist directed his prayer to God. He was confident that his was a righteous cause; he was as sure that his enemies were engaged in a wicked cause; and he felt, therefore, that "he" might go before God and seek his interposition, with the assurance that all his attributes, as a righteous and holy God, would be enlisted in his favor. God has "no" attribute which can take part with a sinner, or on which a sinner can rely; the righteous can appeal to "every" attribute in the divine nature as a ground of confidence and hope.
:Title
Upon Nehiloth - The title of Psalms 4:1-8 is, "upon Neginoth." As that refers to a musical instrument, so it is probable that this does, and that the idea here is that this psalm was intended particularly for the music-master that had special charge of this instrument, or who presided over those that played on it. Perhaps the idea is that this psalm was specially designed to be accompanied with this instrument. The word here, Nehiloth - ne chı̂ylôth , plural. ne chı̂ylâh , singular - is supposed by Gesenius, Lexicon, to denote a flute, or pipe, as being "perforated," from châlal , to bore." The word occurs only in this place. Very various opinions have been entertained of its meaning. See Hengstenberg, "Com." The Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint understand it as meaning "inheritance" - the same as nachălâh , and as being somehow designed to refer to the people of God "as" a heritage. Latin Vulgate: In finem pro ca, quae hereditatem consequitur, psalmus David. So the Septuagint - ̔̀ ͂ ́ huper tēs klēronomousēs . So Luther, Fur das Erbe . What was the precise idea affixed to this it is not very easy to determine. Luther explains it, "according to the title, this is the general idea of the psalm, that the author prays for the inheritance or heritage of God, desiring that the people of God may be faithful to him, and may always adhere to him." The true interpretation, however, is evidently to regard this as an instrument of music, and to consider the psalm as adapted to be sung with the instrument of music specified. Why it was adapted particularly to "that" instrument of music cannot now be determined. Horsley renders it "upon the flutes." Compare Ugolin. Thesau. Ant. Sac.; tom. xxxii. pp. 158-170.
A Psalm of David - See introduction to Psalms 3:1-8.
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
