Rivers of waters run down mine eyes
That is, "out of" them; as the Syriac version: or, "mine eyes let down rivers of waters" {t}; see ( Lamentations 3:48 ) ; that is, an abundance of tears, which flowed like a river; an hyperbolical expression, setting forth the excessiveness of grief. The reason follows,
because they keep not thy law;
the persons are not mentioned, but must be understood of wicked men; whose open and impudent transgression of the law in innumerable instances, and in the most flagrant manner, gave the psalmist great distress, as it does all good men; because the law of God is despised, his authority is trampled on, his name is dishonoured, and he has not the glory which is due unto him. The gloss of Arama is,
``because Adam and Eve kept not thy law;''which transgression brought ruin on all mankind. The Septuagint and Arabic versions very wrongly read, "because I have not kept thy law": as if his grief was on account of his own sins: and so Kimchi indeed interprets it; and both he and Ben Melech by "they" understand his eyes, from whence his tears flowed in such abundance; because they were the caterers for sin, and the cause and occasion of the transgressions of the law of God by him: and this sense is made mention of by Aben Ezra.