1 Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The merciful man hath failed. Some think that this is a complaint that the righteous had been unjustly put to death; as if the Psalmist had said, Saul has cruelly cut off all who observed justice and faithfulness. But I would understand the words in a simpler sense, as meaning that there is no longer any beneficence or truth remaining among men. He has expressed in these two words in what true righteousness consists. As there are two kinds of unrighteousness, violence and deceit; so men live righteously when, in their intercourse with each other, they conscientiously abstain from doing any wrong or injury to one another, and cultivate peace and mutual friendship; when they are neither lions nor foxes. When, however, we see the world in such a state of disorder as is here described, and are afflicted thereby, we ought to be careful not to howl with the wolves, nor to suffer ourselves to be carried away with the dissipation and overflowing flood of iniquity which we see prevailing around us, but should rather imitate the example of David.
Help, Lord - Hebrew, "Save, Yahweh." The idea is that there was no human help, and, therefore, the divine help is implored. The psalmist saw that those on whom reliance was usually placed for the promotion of the cause of truth and virtue now failed, and hence, he invites the divine interposition.
For the godly man - The word used here properly denotes the "merciful" man - חסיד châsı̂yd. It is a term applied to the righteous, because it is a prominent trait in the character of a pious man that he is merciful, kind, benignant. Hence, the general character is often denoted by the special characteristic; in the same way as we speak of a pious man as a good man, a just man, a righteous man. The idea suggested by the use of the term here is, that it is always a characteristic of a pious man that he is merciful or benignant. Compare Psalm 4:3; Psalm 32:6, where the same word is rendered "godly;" Psalm 30:4; Psalm 31:23; Psalm 37:28; Psalm 50:5; Psalm 52:9; Psalm 79:2; Psalm 85:8, where it is rendered saints; and Deuteronomy 33:8; Psalm 16:10; Psalm 86:2; Psalm 89:19, where it is rendered "holy." "Ceaseth." The word used here - גמר gâmar - means properly to bring to an end; to complete; to perfect. Hence, it means to come to an end, to cease, to fail.
Gesenius. - This might occur either by their being cut off by death; or by their ceasing to exert their influence in favor of religion; that is, by a general prevalence of wickedness among those who professed to be the friends of God. The latter seems to be the meaning here, since, in the following verses, the psalmist proceeds to specify the manner in which they "fail;" not by death, but by speaking vanity, falsehood, and flattery. That is, their conduct was such that their influence failed, or was lost to the community. No reliance could be placed on them, and, therefore, the psalmist so earnestly calls on God for his interposition. The idea is, that when men professing religion become conformed to the world - when they live like other men - when they cease to exert an influence in favor of piety - when they fall into habits of sin, it is a time to call on God with special earnestness for his aid. Often such conduct on the part of the professed friends of religion makes such an appeal to God more proper than even the death of good men does, for, in the latter case, their influence is simply withdrawn; in the former, not only is this influence which they might exert lost to the church, but there is a positive bad influence to be counteracted. The fall of a professor of religion into sin is a greater loss to the church than his death would be.
For the faithful - Those who profess faith; those who are bound by their vows to be faithful to God and to his cause. The word is equivalent to the believing, and is properly expressive of trust or faith in God.
Fail from among the children of men - Fail, as above noted, by their misconduct; by being false to the trust committed to them.
Help, Lord - Save me, O Lord; for merciful men fail, and faithful men have passed away from the sons of Adam. Make safe me, Lord; for haly failed, for lessed es sothfastnes fra sons of men. Old MS.
"To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David." Help, LORD; for the (a) godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
(a) Who dare defend the truth and show mercy to the oppressed.
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth,.... A godly man, according to the notation of the word (z), is one that has received grace and mercy of the Lord; as pardoning mercy, justifying and adopting grace; and who has principles of grace, goodness, and holiness, wrought in him; who fears the Lord, and serves him acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, and sorrows for sin, after a godly sort; who loves the Lord, and hopes and believes in him; who is regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God, and is a true worshipper of God, and lives in all holy conversation and godliness; and, particularly, is "beneficent", "kind", and "merciful" (a) unto men: such may be said to "cease" when there are but few of them; when their number is greatly reduced (b), either by death, or when such who have seemed, and have been thought to be so, prove otherwise: in a view of which, the psalmist prays for help and salvation; "help", or "save" (c) Lord; meaning himself, being destitute of the company, counsel, and assistance of good and gracious men; or the cause and interest of religion, which he feared would sink by the ceasing of godly men. When all friends and refuge fail, saints betake themselves to God, and their salvation is of him; and he is their present help in a time of trouble; and he saves and reserves for himself a number in the worst of times; as he did in Elijah's time, who thought there was no godly man left but himself; see Romans 11:1;
for the faithful fail from among the children of men; so that there are none left among them but carnal, unregenerate, ungodly, and unfaithful men. The "faithful" are such who are upright in heart and conversation; who trust in the Lord, and believe in the Messiah; who abide by the truths and ordinances of God; and are faithful in what is committed to their trust, whether they be gifts of nature, Providence, or grace; and to their fellow Christians, in advising, reproving, &c. when needful: these may fail in the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty, but not so as to perish eternally. The words design the paucity of them, and the sad degeneracy of the times to which they refer: and they may belong either to the times of David, when Saul's courtiers flattered him, and spoke evil of David; when the men of Keilah intended to have delivered him up; when the Ziphites discovered him to Saul, and invited him to come and take him; or when Absalom rose up in rebellion against him, and so many of the people fell off from him: or else to the times of Christ; the people of the Jews in his age were a wicked and faithless generation; and even among his own disciples there was great want of fidelity: one betrayed him, another denied him, and all forsook him and fled; after his death, some doubted his being the Redeemer, and one of them could not believe he was risen from the dead, when he was. And these words may be applied to the antichristian times, the times of the grand apostasy, and falling away from the faith, upon the revealing of the man of sin; since which the holy city is trodden under foot; the witnesses prophesy in sackcloth; and the church is in the wilderness, and is hid there. Yea, to the second coming of Christ, when there will be great carnality and security, and little faith found in the earth. A like complaint with this see in Isaiah 57:1.
(z) "passive pro beneficiario, sive alterius beneficiis gratiosis cumulato", Gejerus. (a) "Misericors", Pagninus, Mariana; beneficus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (b) "Rari quippe boni", &c. Juvenal. Satyr. 13. v. 36. (c) "serva", Pagninus, Cocceius; "da salutem", Junius & Tremellius.
This psalm furnishes good thoughts for bad times; a man may comfort himself with such meditations and prayers. Let us see what makes the times bad, and when they may be said to be so. Ask the children of this world, What makes the times bad? they will tell you, Scarcity of money, decay of trade, and the desolations of war, make the times bad: but the Scripture lays the badness of the times on causes of another nature, 2-Timothy 3:1, etc.: perilous times shall come, for sin shall abound; and of this David complains. When piety decays times really are bad. He who made man's mouth will call him to an account for his proud, profane, dissembling, or even useless words. When the poor and needy are oppressed, then the times are very bad. God himself takes notice of the oppression of the poor, and the sighing of the needy. When wickedness abounds, and is countenanced by those in authority, then the times are very bad. See with what good things we are here furnished for such bad times; and we cannot tell what times we may be reserved for. 1. We have a God to go to, from whom we may ask and expect the redress of all our grievances. 2. God will certainly punish and restrain false and proud men. 3. God will work deliverance for his oppressed people. His help is given in the fittest time. Though men are false, God is faithful; though they are not to be trusted, God is. The preciousness of God's word is compared to silver refined to the highest degree. How many proofs have been given of its power and truth! God will secure his chosen remnant, however bad the times are. As long as the world stands, there will be a generation of proud and wicked men. But all God's people are put into the hands of Christ our Saviour; there they are in safety, for none can pluck them thence; being built on Him, the Rock, they are safe, notwithstanding temptation or persecution come with ever so much force upon them.
On title, see Introduction and see on Psalm 6:1. The Psalmist laments the decrease of good men. The pride and deceit of the wicked provokes God's wrath, whose promise to avenge the cause of pious sufferers will be verified even amidst prevailing iniquity. (Psalm 12:1-8)
the faithful--or literally, "faithfulness" (Psalm 31:23).
(Hebrews.: 12:2-3) The sigh of supplication, הושׁיעה, has its object within itself: work deliverance, give help; and the motive is expressed by the complaint which follows. The verb גּמר to complete, means here, as in Psalm 7:10, to have an end; and the ἁπ. λεγ. פּסס is equivalent to אפס in Psalm 77:9, to come to the extremity, to cease. It is at once clear from the predicate being placed first in the plur., that אמוּנים in this passage is not an abstractum, as e.g., in Proverbs 13:17; moreover the parallelism is against it, just as in Proverbs 31:24. חסיד is the pious man, as one who practises חסד towards God and man. אמוּן, primary form אמוּן (plur. אמונים; whereas from אמוּן we should expect אמוּנים), - used as an adjective (cf. on the contrary Deuteronomy 32:20) here just as in Proverbs 31:24, 2-Samuel 20:19, - is the reliable, faithful, conscientious man, literally one who is firm, i.e., whose word and meaning is firm, so that one can rely upon it and be certain in relation to it.
(Note: The Aryan root man to remain, abide (Neo-Persic mânden), also takes a similar course, signifying usually "to continue in any course, wait, hope." So the old Persic man, Zend upaman, cf. μένειν with its derivatives which are applied in several ways in the New Testament to characterise πίστις.)
We find similar complaints of the universal prevalence of wickedness in Micah 7:2; Isaiah 57:1; Jeremiah 7:28, and elsewhere. They contain their own limitation. For although those who complain thus without pharisaic self-righteousness would convict themselves of being affected by the prevailing corruption, they are still, in their penitence, in their sufferings for righteousness' sake, and in their cry for help, a standing proof that humanity has not yet, without exception, become a massa perdita. That which the writer especially laments, is the prevailing untruthfulness. Men speak שׁוא (= שׁוא from שׁוא), desolation and emptiness under a disguise that conceals its true nature, falsehood (Psalm 41:7), and hypocrisy (Job 35:13), ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ (lxx, cf. Ephesians 4:25, where the greatness of the sin finds its confirmation according to the teaching of the New Testament: ὅτι ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων μέλη). They speak lips of smoothnesses (חלקות, plural from חלקה, laevitates, or from חלק, laevia), i.e., the smoothest, most deceitful language (accusative of the object as in Isaiah 19:18) with a double heart, inasmuch, namely, as the meaning they deceitfully express to others, and even to themselves, differs from the purpose they actually cherish, or even (cf. 1-Chronicles 12:33 בלא לב ולב, and James 1:8 δίψυχος, wavering) inasmuch as the purpose they now so flatteringly put forth quickly changes to the very opposite.
*More commentary available at chapter level.