Psalms 109:31

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor,.... Of the Messiah, as in Psalms 109:22 at whose right hand the Lord was, to guide and direct, help and assist, protect and defend, Psalms 16:8, or

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

At the right hand of the poor, to defend him from his adversary, who stood in that place to accuse him, and to procure his condemnation and destruction. See Poole "". That condemn his soul; that pass a sentence of death upon him.

Psalms 109:31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save [him] from those that condemn his soul.Ver. 31. For he shall stand at the right hand] As a faithful and powerful (παραστατης or υπεραπιστης) champion, and not as Satan standeth at the persecutor’ s right hand, Psalms 109:6. From those that condemn him] Heb. from the judges of his soul, sc. Saul and his courtiers, who judged him worthy of death,

(31) For he . . .—Jehovah is the poor man’s advocate, just as an adversary was the wicked man’s accuser.

Verse 31. He shall stand at the right hand of the poor] Even if Satan himself be the accuser, God will vindicate the innocence of his servant. Pilate and the Jews condemned our Lord to death as a malefactor; God showed his immaculate innocence by his resurrection from the dead. The whole of this Psalm is understood by many as referring solely to Christ, the traitor Judas, and the wicked Jews. This is the view taken of it in the analysis. ANALYSIS OF THE HUNDRED AND NINTH PSALM The later expositors expound this Psalm of Doeg, Ahithophel, and other persecutors of David; and so it may be understood in the type; but the ancient fathers apply it to Judas, and the Jews who put Christ to death; which opinion, being more probable, and because Peter (Acts 1:20) applies a passage out of Ps 109:8 to Judas, I shall expound the Psalm as of Christ, whom David personated, and of Judas, and the malicious Jews, as understood in the persons of his wicked and slanderous enemies. The Psalm has four parts: - I. A short ejaculation, Psalms 109:1, and the reasons expressed in a complaint of the fraud and malice of his enemies, Psalms 109:6. II. A bitter imprecation against their fury, Psalms 109:6-21. III. A supplication presented to God for himself, and the reasons, Psalms 109:21-30. IV. A profession of thanks. I. He begins with an ejaculation: "Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise." 1. Either actively, that is, "O God, whom I praise," even in the greatest calamities. 2. Or passively; "Who art my praise:" The Witness and Advocate of my innocency when I am condemned by malicious tongues; which sense appears best for this place. "Hold not thy peace." Tacere, to be silent, in Scripture, when referred to God, is to connive, to rest, to appear not to regard; and, on the contrary, loqui, to speak, to do something for revenge or deliverance; it is what David here asks, that, when the malice of his enemies arrived at its height, God should not suffer them, but show his displeasure. Then by way of complaint, he describes their malicious nature, which he aggravates by an elegant gradation. "For the mouth of the wicked:" and they were, 1. Impious. 2. Deceitful. 3. Liars. 1. "For the mouth of the wicked:" Caiaphas, Judas, the priests, Jews, c. 2. "And the mouth of the deceitful," c. They sought to entrap him in his words. 3. "They have spoken against me," &c. "He casteth out devils through Beelzebub," &c. And yet the mischief rises higher, even to hatred and malice. 1. "They compassed me about," &c. Manifesting in plain words the malice they carried in their hearts. "This man is not of God," &c. 2. "They hated me without a cause:" Wantonly, idly. They were not only evil, deceitful, and malicious but very ungrateful. "He went about doing good" and "How often would I have gathered you," c. and for this love they returned hatred. 1.

31. A contrast to Psalms 109:6-7. Jehovah stands at the right hand of the needy (Psalms 109:16; Psalms 109:22) as his advocate and champion, while the accuser is to stand at the right hand of the wicked man. The wicked man is to be found guilty, as he deserves, while his victim will be saved from the persecutors who are minded to judge his soul, i.e. condemn him to death.

For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor - He will thus show that he befriends the poor and the helpless.

31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor—The ëé, (for, because,) is here most emphatic.