Psaume 57:7

7 Ils avaient tendu un piège à mes pas; mon âme chancelait; ils avaient creusé une fosse devant moi; ils y sont tombés. (Sélah.)

Psaume 57:7 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 57:7

My heart is fixed, O God
Firm and sure, trusting in the Lord, believing that he should be saved by him out of his troubles; see ( Psalms 101:1 ) ( Psalms 112:7 Psalms 112:8 ) . So, in a spiritual sense, a heart fixed and established, or that is firm and sure, is one that is assured of its salvation by Christ, rooted and grounded in the love of God, firmly built on the foundation, Christ, and has its affections set on him; and is unmoved, from the hope of the Gospel, and the doctrines of it, by whatsoever it meets with in the world. It may be rendered, "my heart is prepared", or "ready" F18; that is, according to some, to receive good or evil, prosperity or adversity, at the hand of God; to which sense is Jarchi's note,

``my heart is faithful with thee in the measure of judgment, and it is faithful with thee in the measure of mercy.''

That is, whether I am chastised with judgments, or followed with mercies, my heart is firm and true to God. The Targum is,

``my heart is prepared for thy law, O Lord; my heart is prepared for thy fear;''

that is, it is prepared for the worship and service of God; it is ready to every good work; it is prepared to pray unto him, and to wait for an answer, which are both from the Lord, ( Proverbs 16:1 ) ( Psalms 10:17 ) ; and particularly to sing praise unto him, as follows;

my heart is fixed;
this is repeated, to show the vehemency of his spirit, and the certainty of the thing;

I will sing and give praise;
for the salvation wrought for him, and which he was sure of; and before he had finished this psalm, or while he had composed it, did enjoy it.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Nwkn) "paratum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus

Psaume 57:7 In-Context

5 Mon âme est au milieu des lions; j'habite parmi des gens qui soufflent des flammes, des hommes dont les dents sont des lances et des flèches, dont la langue est une épée aiguë.
6 O Dieu, élève-toi sur les cieux! Que ta gloire soit sur toute la terre!
7 Ils avaient tendu un piège à mes pas; mon âme chancelait; ils avaient creusé une fosse devant moi; ils y sont tombés. (Sélah.)
8 Mon cœur est disposé, ô Dieu! mon cœur est disposé; je chanterai, je psalmodierai.
9 Éveille-toi, ma gloire; éveillez-vous, mon luth et ma harpe! Je préviendrai l'aurore.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.