Psalms 6:7

7 My eyes are swollen from grief; they[a] grow old because of all my enemies.

Psalms 6:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 6:7

Mine eye is consumed because of grief
Either by reason of the affliction he laboured under, which could not he joyous, but grievous; or because, of the sin that was in him, and those that he had committed, which were grieving to him; or through the sins of other professors of religion, or profane sinners, whom he beheld with grief of heart and weeping eyes: the word F6 used signifies anger and indignation, and sorrow arising from thence, and may denote either indignation in himself at his enemies, who were rejoicing at his calamities; or the sense he had of the anger of God, and his hot displeasure, which he feared he was rebuking and chastening him with; and now his heart being filled with grief on one or other of these accounts, or all of them, vented itself in floods of tears, which hurt the visive faculty; for through much weeping the eye is weakened and becomes dim; and through a multitude of tears, and a long continuance of them, it fails; see ( Job 17:7 ) ( Psalms 31:9 ) ( Lamentations 2:11 ) ;

it waxeth old because of all mine enemies;
saints have many enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; and these are very oppressive ones, as the word F7 here signifies; such as beset them about, straiten them on all hands, and press them sore; and they must be pressed down by them, were it not that he that is in them is greater than he that is in the world; and David's enemies gave him so much trouble, and caused him to shed such plenty of tears, that his eye waxed old, was shrunk up, and beset with wrinkles, the signs of old age; or it was removed out of its place, as the word is rendered in ( Job 18:4 ) ; or the sight was removed from that, it was gone from him, ( Psalms 38:10 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (oekm) "prae ira", Pagninus; "prae indignatione", Montanus, Musculus; "ex indignatione", Piscator.
F7 (wydrwu) "angustiatores", Montanus; "angustiis afficientes me", Vatablus; "oppressores meos", Junius & Tremellius, Gejerus.

Psalms 6:7 In-Context

5 For there is no remembrance of You in death; who can thank You in Sheol?
6 I am weary from my groaning; with my tears I dampen my pillow and drench my bed every night.
7 My eyes are swollen from grief; they grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. LXX, Aq, Sym, Jer read I
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