Lo, [then] would I wander far off, [and] remain in the
wilderness
So David did when he fled from Absalom, ( 2 Samuel 15:23 2 Samuel 15:27 2 Samuel 15:28 ) ( 2 Samuel 16:1 2 Samuel 16:2 ) ; so gracious souls desire to be; not in the wilderness of the people; but to be solitary as in a wilderness, clear of the company of wicked men, as Jeremiah wished for, ( Jeremiah 9:2 ) ; and that they might be more at leisure for and given up unto spiritual devotion, and be secure from their enemies: and as this may be applied to Christ, it shows the wickedness, cruelty, and barbarity of the men of that generation among whom he lived; that he chose rather to be in the wilderness, among wild beasts, than to dwell among them, ( Matthew 17:17 ) ( Isaiah 53:8 ) ; some apply this to the state of the primitive church under Jewish persecution, when it fled from Judea, and settled in the wilderness of the Gentiles; the preachers of the word being scattered abroad by the windy storm and tempest of persecution, and the Gospel taken from the Jews, and carried to a nation bringing forth the fruit of it, where it has remained ever since. With this may be compared the state of the church under Rome Pagan, in ( Revelation 12:6 Revelation 12:13 Revelation 12:14 ) .
Selah; on this word, (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).