Psalms 94:21

Psa 94:21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.

Ver. 21. They gather together] Heb. run by troops, as thieves do.

Against the soul] Which they would gladly destroy if it lay in their power. This the Popish persecutors oft attempted, but God hath better provided, Mat 10:28.

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.

Ver. 21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, so many are there of them that they crowd their assemblies, and carry their hard measures with enthusiasm; they are the popular party, and are eager to put down the saints. In counsel, and in action, they are unanimous; their one resolve is to hold their own tyrannical position, and put down the godly party.

And condemn the innocent blood. They are great at slander and false accusation, nor do they stick at murder; no crime is too great for them, if only they can trample on the servants of the Lord. This description is historically true in reference to persecuting times; it has been fulfilled in England, and may be again if Popery is to advance in future time at the same rate as in the past few years. The dominant sect has the law on its side, and blasts that it is the national church; but the law which establishes and endows one religion rather than another is radically an injustice. God has no fellowship with it, and therefore the synagogue of Ritualism will yet be a stench in the nostrils of all sane men. What evil times are in store for us it is not for us to prophesy; it is ours to leave the matter in the hands of him who cannot be in fellowship with an oppressive system, and will not always endure to be insulted to his face by Popish idols, and their priests.

Ver. 21-22.

1. The Danger of the righteous (Ps 94:21).

2. Their Defence (Ps 94:22). G. R.

Ver. 21-23.

1. Sentence passed in the court of injustice (Ps 94:21).

2. An element in the case not considered by the court (Ps 94:22).

3. The sentence consequently alighting on the right heads (Ps 94:23). (This passage, under a very thin veil, exhibits Christ. Mt 27:1) C.A.D.

Psalms 94:22*

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

Psa 94:21-23. They gather themselves against the soul of the righteous — Against the life, as the word here rendered soul commonly signifies, and as the next clause explains it. They are not satisfied with the spoils of the estates of the righteous, but do also thirst after their lives. And condemn the innocent blood — They shed the blood of those innocent persons whom they have wickedly condemned. Innocent blood is here put for the blood of innocent persons. But the Lord is my defence — Let them decree what they please, and be too hard for all laws; the Lord, who hates unrighteousness, will be my defence; he, who hath long been very gracious to me, will secure me from their violence. He is the rock of my refuge — In the clefts of which I may take shelter, and on the top of which I may set my feet, and be out of the reach of danger. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity — The fruit and punishment of their iniquity. He shall deal with them according to their desert; and that very mischief which they designed against God’s people shall be brought upon themselves. He shall cut them off in their own wickedness — Either in the midst of their sins, or by their own wicked devices, the mischief whereof he will cause to fall upon their own heads. The Lord our God — The God of Jacob, of whom they said, he did not see, nor regard them, shall cut them off — And they shall find themselves mistaken in their false views and expectations of impunity, to their sorrow; he shall cut them off out of the land of the living; shall cut them off from any fellowship with himself, and so shall make them completely miserable; and their pomp and power shall stand them in no stead.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. (Psa 94:21) They crowd upon the soul of the righteous, and innocent blood they condemn. The first verb means to rush in crowds or troops, and may therefore be expressed in English by the verbs, to crowd, to troop. Condemn, literally make guilty, i.e. recognise and treat as such. The futures, as usual, suggest the probable continuance of the evil in question.

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

Verse 21. They gather themselves together] In every thing that is evil, they are in unity. The devil, his angels, and his children, all join and draw together when they have for their object the destruction of the works of the Lord. But this was particularly the case with respect to the poor Jews among the Babylonians: they were objects of their continual hatred, and they laboured for their destruction.

This and the following verses have been applied to our Lord, and the treatment he met with both from his own countrymen and from the Romans. They pretended to "judge him according to the law, and framed mischief against him;" they "assembled together against the life of the righteous one," and "condemned innocent blood;" but God evidently interposed, and "brought upon them their own iniquity," according to their horrible imprecation: "His blood be upon us and upon our children!" God "cut them off in their own iniquity." All this had, in reference to him, a most literal fulfilment.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. They will gather together against the soul of the righteous As the Hebrew word גדד, gadad, or גוד, gud, signifies to collect forces or a band of men, the Psalmist evidently intimates that he had to do with leading persons of influence, and not with those merely in private station. The term implies too, that it was not merely one or two private individuals who persecuted him, and others of the Lord’s people, but a public convention. Melancholy and disgraceful must the state of matters have been, when the wicked thus ruled in lawful assembly, and those who formed the college of judges were no better than a band of robbers. The case becomes doubly vexatious, when the innocent victims of oppression are not only injured, but have a stigma fixed upon their character. And what more unseemly spectacle, than when the whole course of judicial administration is just a foul conspiracy against good and innocent men? The instance here recorded should prepare us for a like emergency, if it chance to occur in our own day, when the wicked may be permitted, in the providence of God, to mount the seat of judgment, and launch destruction upon the upright and the righteous, under color of law. Intolerable as it might seem at first sight, that persons innocent of any crime should meet with cruel persecution, even from the hands of judges, so as to be loaded with ignominy, we see that God tried his children in other times by this double species of oppression, and that we must learn to bear submissively not only with unrighteous violence, but with charges most injurious to our character, and most undeserved.

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.

(21) They gather—i.e., possibly, They crowd into the courts of law to take part in the unjust condemnation of the just, or more generally, “They attack the life of the righteous.” LXX., “they hunt.” (Comp. Psa_35:15.)

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

21. They gather themselves together] So the Targ. and Jer., possibly reading yâgûrû, as in Psa_56:6; Psa_59:3. The Mass. text however seems to mean they make raids upon the life of the righteous.

condemn the innocent blood] I.e. condemn the innocent to death.

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.

They gather themselves together,.... As "in troops" (h), as the word signifies; in great armies; so the antichristian kings and states will, at the instigation of Popish emissaries; see Rev 16:17,

against the soul of the righteous; or "the life" of them; in order to take away their lives; to cut them off, root and branch, and destroy at once the whole interest of Christ; for it will be to make war with him, and them his followers, who are the righteous here meant, made so by his righteousness, that they will be gathered together in such great numbers:

and condemn the innocent blood; condemn innocent persons to death, shed their blood, and drink it, and to such a degree as to be drunk with it; for in them will be found the blood of the prophets and saints, and of all that are slain on earth, Rev 17:6.

(h) "turmatim conveniunt", Vatablus, Piscator.

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

They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous - Against the life of the righteous; that is, to take their lives. The Hebrew word rendered “gather together,” means to press or crowd upon anyone; to rush in crowds or troops. It would refer particularly to a tumultuous gathering - “a mob” - intent on accomplishing its purpose.

And condemn the innocent blood - literally, make guilty; that is, they hold that blood to be guilty; or, they treat the innocent as if they were guilty.

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

Against the soul; against the life, as the soul commonly signifies, and as the next clause explains it. They are not satisfied with the spoil of their estates, but do also thirst after their lives.

Condemn the innocent blood; they shed the blood of those innocent persons whom they have wickedly condemned. Innocent blood is here put for the blood or life of an innocent person, as it is also 1Sa 19:5; Mat 27:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. (comp. 2Ki_21:16 Psa_10:8 Pro_6:17 Isa_1:21 Isa_59:3, 7 Jer_7:6 Jer_22:3, Jer_22:17, etc.) A Messianic allusion is possible, but not necessary.

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

They gather Troops gather upon a Jewish soul to kill [him].

and condemn Heb. ירשיעו. They condemn in judgment to kill him.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.