Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to
stand
strong
The psalmist found himself mistaken, and acknowledges it; that as
it was not owing to his own merit that he enjoyed the prosperity
that he did, so neither was the continuance of it owing to his
goodness, power, and strength, but to the free grace and favour
of God; as the church of God is compared to a mountain, and the
several individuals of believers are like to Mount Zion, so the
soul of a child of God may be called his mountain, which is made
strong by the Lord as to its state in Christ, being set on him,
the Rock of ages, and sure foundation, where it is safe and
secure; and as to its grace, whenever it is in any strong
exercise, which is altogether owing to the favour of God, and
continues as long as he pleases;
thou didst hide thy face, [and] I was troubled;
the Lord may hide his face from his people, and yet their state
be safe; their mountain stands strong in that respect; yet this
generally produces a change of frames; it gives trouble, and
faith and hope become feeble and languid in their acts and
exercises; this shows the changeableness of frames, that they are
not to be depended upon; that they are entirely owing to the
pleasure of God, and that rejoicing only should be in him: very
likely some regard is had to the affair of Absalom's rebellion,
which came unawares, unthought of, when David was in the greatest
prosperity and security.