Psalms 71:12

Psa 71:12 O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help.

Ver. 12. O God, be not far from me] The insolence of his enemies sets an edge upon his prayers Oratio sine malis est avis sine alis. Our Saviour in his agony prayed the more earnestly, Luk 22:44.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_71:12

O God, be not far from me.

God always near

A busy woman entered her room hastily as twilight shades were falling--went directly to her desk, turned on the gas, and began to write. Page after page she wrote. The solitude became oppressive: She wheeled her chair around, and with a shock of joyful surprise looked squarely into the face of her dearest friend, lying on the lounge at her side. Why, I didnt know you were here! she cried. Why didnt you speak to me? Because you were so busy. You didnt speak to me. So with Jesus--here all the time. The room is full of Him, always ready to greet us with a smile--but we are so busy. But when the solitude grows oppressive we suddenly turn, and lo, He is at our side. We speak to Him and He speaks to us, and the souls deepest yearnings are satisfied. (Christian Age.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 71:12. 0 God, be not far from me; 0 my God, to (or for) my help hasten. Compare the similar expressions of Psa 22:19; Psa 35:22; Psa 38:21-22; Psa 40:13; Psa 70:1. The stronger expression my God, in the second clause, urges his covenant relation to God, as a reason for expecting to be heard.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In calling him his God, he putteth back the false reports of the adversaries, that said, God had forsaken him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

12. O God! be not far from me. It is scarcely possible to express how severe and hard a temptation it was to David, when he knew that the wicked entertained the persuasion that he was rejected of God. They did not without consideration circulate this report; but after having seemed wisely to weigh all circumstances, they gave their judgment on the point as of a thing which was placed beyond all dispute. It was therefore an evidence of heroic fortitude on the part of David, thus to rise superior to their perverse judgments, and, in the face of them all, to assure himself that God would be gracious to him, and to betake himself familiarly to him. Nor is it to be doubted that, in calling God his God, he makes use of this as a means of defending himself from this hard and grievous assault.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(12, 13) These verses recall Psa_22:11; Psa_35:4; Psa_35:26; Psa_38:21-22; Psa_40:13-14.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12, 13. Reminiscences of Psa_35:22 b; Psa_40:13 b, 14 (Psa_70:1 b, 2): cp. Psa_22:11 a; Psa_38:21-22; Psa_35:4; Psa_35:26; Psa_109:29.

make haste for my help] R.V. make haste to help me.

let them be confounded] R.V. as in Psa_71:1, let them be ashamed.

consumed] Some editors would read dishonoured as in Psa_40:14, with some MSS. and the Syr. The Hebrew words differ in one letter only. But the LXX and Jer. support the M.T., for which cp. Psa_37:20.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

O God, be not far from me,.... God is everywhere, at hand and afar off, with regard to his being, power, and providence; his glorious presence is in heaven, his gracious presence is with his people; but, when he hides his face, he seems to be at a distance; and this they cannot bear, and therefore deprecate it; see Psa 10:1;

O my God, make haste for my help; he knew that his help was in God, and that there was none for him elsewhere; and that he could help him when none else could, and was a present help in time of trouble; and it being such a time with him, and his case desperate, he desires the Lord that he would make haste; and he addresses him as his own God, the consideration of which encouraged his faith and hope in him, and carried in it an argument to help him; see Psa 119:94.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

O God, be not far from me - See the notes at Psa 22:11.

O my God, make haste for my help - See the notes at Psa 40:13.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 12. O God, be not far from me. Nearness to God is our conscious security. A child in the dark is comforted by grasping its father's hand.

O my God, make haste for my help. To call God ours, as having entered into covenant with us, is a mighty plea in prayer, and a great stay to our faith. The cry of "make haste" has occurred many times in this portion of the Psalms, and it was evoked by the sore pressure of affliction. Sharp sorrows soon put an end to procrastinating prayers.

None.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. Make haste for my help—David’s familiar cry in his deepest distresses, which identifies the occasion with Psa_70:1. See Psa_22:19

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. (comp. Psa_22:19 Psa_35:22)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

do not be far from me

Because Yahweh has not yet answered the writer's request, he speaks of Yahweh as if Yahweh were standing far away from the writer. (See: Metaphor)

hurry to help me

"help me soon"

Let them be put to shame and destroyed, those who are hostile to my life

"Let those who are hostile to my life be put to shame and destroyed"

Let them be put to shame and destroyed

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Put them to shame and destroy them" (See: Active or Passive)

those who are hostile to my life

The words "my life" represent the person. The idiom "hostile to my life" means that these are people who try to harm him by accusing him of wrongdoing. AT: "those who accuse me of doing wrong" (See: Synecdoche and Idiom)

let them be covered with rebuke and dishonor, those who seek my hurt

"let those who seek my hurt be covered with rebuke and dishonor"

let them be covered with rebuke and dishonor

This can be stated in active form. The abstract nouns "rebuke" and "dishonor" can be stated as verbs. AT: "may everyone rebuke them, and may no one honor them" (See: Active or Passive and Abstract Nouns)

those who seek my hurt

The noun "hurt" can be translated with a verb. AT: "those who are looking for ways to harm me" (See: Abstract Nouns)

translationWords

shame

consume

rebuke

dishonor

seek

wrong

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.