But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of
God
Or rather it should be supplied, "I shall be" F4; since
David was at this time an exile from the house of God: and this
expresses his faith and confidence, that, notwithstanding his
present troubles, he should be restored again, and be in a very
flourishing condition, in the church of God; which is here meant
by "the house of God": it being of his building, and where he
dwells, and where to have a place is the great privilege of the
saints; they are planted there by the Lord himself, and shall
never be rooted up; they are fixed there, and shall never go out;
which was David's confidence, ( Psalms 23:6 ) ; and
where he believed he should be as "a green olive tree"; which is
a very choice and fruitful tree, has fatness in it, produces an
excellent oil; is beautiful to look at; delights in hot climates
and sunny places; is found on mountains, we read of the mount of
Olives; is ever green and durable, and its leaves and branches
are symbols of peace: all which is applicable to truly righteous
persons and believers in Christ; who are the excellent of the
earth, are filled with the fruits of righteousness; are fat and
flourishing; have the oil of grace, the anointing which teacheth
all things; are a perfection of beauty, made perfectly comely
through Christ's comeliness; thrive under him, the sun of
righteousness; grow in the mountain of the Lord's house, the
church: their grace is incorruptible, their leaf withers not;
they are rooted in Christ, and ever continue; they are the sons
of peace, and their last end will be eternal peace. Now as such
David was assured he should be, when his enemy would be rooted up
out of the land of the living, and cast like a dry and worthless
branch into everlasting burnings; the ground of which confidence
follows:
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever;
the mercy of God is not only an encouragement to trust, but the
object of it; not the absolute mercy of God, but the grace and
goodness of God in Christ Jesus, which endures continually, (
Psalms 52:1 )
; and so does hope in it, which never makes ashamed, but abides
to the end. The psalmist seems to have respect to the mercy
promised him, that he should sit upon the throne. This he
believed, and therefore was assured he should be in the
flourishing circumstances in the house of God before mentioned.