Psalms 7:11

God judgeth the righteous,.... Not all that are thought to be righteous, or think themselves to be so, are such; nor is any man naturally righteous, or of himself, nor by virtue of his obedience to

God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

God judgeth, i.e. defendeth, or avengeth, or delivereth, as this word is oft used, as 10:18 26:1, &c. To judge is properly to give sentence; which because it may be done either by absolving and acquitting from punishment, or by condemning and giving up to punishment, therefore it is sometimes used for the one and sometimes for the other, as the circumstances of the place determine it. With the wicked; which though it may seem a bold supplement, yet is necessary, and easily fetched out of the next and following verses. Every day; even then, when his providence seems to favour them and they are most secure and confident.

Psalms 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day.Ver. 11. God is angry with the wicked every day] Or, all day long; they are under the arrest of his wrath, and liable to the wrath to come. Children they are of wrath, because of disobedience. One rendereth it, God troubled them, sc. by laying continually some judgment or other upon them; and yet there is no cause to fear (as the heathen did of his Jupiter) that he should be exhausted, Si quoties peccent homines, &c.

(11) God judgeth.—The two clauses answer to each other; so the margin, “God is a righteous judge, and God avengeth every day.” LXX., “God is a just judge, and strong and longsuffering, not letting loose his anger every day.” Vulg., “Still is he not angry with the wicked?” Syriac, “God is the judge of righteousness. He is not angry every day.” It has been proposed to read véal—“and not”—instead of veél—“and God”—conformably to these versions, but unnecessarily.

Verse 11. God is angry with the wicked every day.] The Hebrew for this sentence is the following: ועל זעם בכל יום veel zoem becol yom; which, according to the points, is, And God is angry every day. Our translation seems to have been borrowed from the Chaldee, where the whole verse is as follows: אלהא דינא זכאה ובתקוף רגיז אל רשיעי כל יומא elaha daiyana zaccaah ubithkoph rageiz al reshiey col yoma: "God is a righteous Judge; and in strength he is angry against the wicked every day." The VULGATE: Deus Judex justus, fortis, et patiens; numquid irascitur per sinpulos dies? "God is a Judge righteous, strong, and patient; will he be angry every day?" The SEPTUAGINT: ὉΘεοςΚριτηςδικαιος, καιισχυρος, καιμακροθυμος, μηοργηνεπαγωνκαθ' ἑκαστηνἡμεραν; "God is a righteous Judge, strong and longsuffering; not bringing forth his anger every day." SYRIAC: "God is the Judge of righteousness; he is not angry every day." The ARABIC is the same as the Septuagint. The AETHIOPIC: "God is a just Judge, and strong and longsuffering; he will not bring forth tribulation daily." COVERDALE: God is a righteous judge, and Gob is ever threateninge. KING EDWARD'S Bible by Becke 1549, follows this reading. CARDMARDEN: God is a righteous judge, [strong and patient] and God is provoked every day. Cardmarden has borrowed strong and patient from the Vulgate or Septuagint, but as he found nothing in the Hebrew to express them, he put the words in a smaller letter, and included them in brackets. This is followed by the prose version in our Prayer Book. The GENEVAN version, printed by Barker, the king's printer, 1615, translates thus: "God judgeth the righteous, and him that contemneth God every day." On which there is this marginal note: "He doth continually call the wicked to repentance, by some signs of his judgments." My ancient Scotico-English MS. Psalter only begins with the conclusion of this Psalm. I have judged it of consequence to trace this verse through all the ancient versions in order to be able to ascertain what is the true reading, where the evidence on one side amounts to a positive affirmation, "God IS angry every day;" and, on the other side, to as positive a negation, "He is NOT angry every day." The mass of evidence supports the latter reading. The Chaldee first corrupted the text by making the addition, with the wicked, which our translators have followed, though they have put the words into italics, as not being in the Hebrew text. In the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi there is no various reading on this text. The true sense may be restored thus: - אל el, with the vowel point tsere, signifies GOD: אל al, the same letters, with the point pathach, signifies not. Several of the versions have read it in this way: "God judgeth the righteous, and is NOT angry every day." He is not always chiding, nor is he daily punishing, notwithstanding the continual wickedness of men: hence, the ideas of patience and longsuffering which several of the versions introduce.

11–13. The theme of the judicial righteousness of God, in all its certainty and terribleness, is further developed.

God judgeth the righteous - That is, he pronounces a just judgment on their behalf; he vindicates their character.

11-13. God judgeth—These verses present an earnest warning, not only to David’s wicked persecutors, but to all contemners of law and justice.