Bring upon them— Or, Render them.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, There is an Almighty Judge to whom the oppressed may appeal, and who will vindicate their cause.
The Psalmist lodges his appeal with God against his adversaries. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth, who hath the power to avenge the oppressed, and whose holiness engages him to exert it, shew thyself, or shine forth, appear in behalf of thy suffering people, and confound with the light of truth the works of darkness. Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth, that those who say the Lord hath forsaken the earth, and with confidence of impunity grow daring in wickedness, may be dismayed, and that God's people may be comforted by his appearing. Note; Under every present oppression it becomes God's people patiently to endure, and wait the day when he who judgeth righteously shall arise to avenge them speedily.
2nd, Verily there is a reward for the righteous; they shall be comforted in, and be delivered from, all their troubles.
1. God will bless them in all their sufferings; though their enemies for a time are permitted to prevail, they are but the rod in God's hand, and lifted up with the most gracious design for the good of the people of God. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest; every child of God may expect corrections in the course of the divine providence; they are absolutely necessary, and a proof of his adoption; and, so far from complaining of them as hard, he should regard them as some of the kindest instances of paternal tenderness: and teachest him out of thy law, afflictions being designed for our instruction and improvement; God by his word and Spirit teaching his children how to profit under his correcting hand; and we are then blessed indeed, when by our trials we gain a surer evidence of our sonship, and grow more conformed to the image of our crucified Master: that then mayst give him rest from the days of adversity, or evil; for this works peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised thereby: the Lord also sweetly supports the souls of his saints under their troubles, till the end for which they were sent is answered, and then he delivers them safely out of them; and he will shortly bring his faithful ones to his eternal rest, where their enemies shall for ever cease from troubling: until the pit be digged for the wicked, whose end is destruction, eternal torment their portion, and the abyss of hell their accursed abode. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance; so that the faithful may confidently trust him, and wait in hope: But judgment shall return unto righteousness; the seeming disorders of providence shall be rectified, when in the last days all the antichristian persecutors of God's people shall have their plagues poured out upon them; and in the day of final retribution God will appear righteous in all his judgments: and all the upright in heart shall follow it; either the judgment of God with their praises, acknowledging the glory of his justice, Revelation 16:6-7; Revelation 19:1-2 or righteousness, approving themselves before him in all holy conversation and godliness; or, as the words may be rendered, all the upright in heart shall be after him, as the flock of his pasture attending their shepherd, and following the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth, with their unceasing praises.
2. He will help and defend his faithful people, and make them at last more than conquerors. Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? The Psalmist speaks in the person of God's suffering church and people, describing the character of their enemies, evil-doers and workers of iniquity, who made no difficulty of committing all manner of abominations, and therefore the more to be feared; while the question put intimates the weakness of God's people to struggle with their mightier foes, unless God himself interpose; for indeed, when we consider our enemies spiritual and temporal, we shall find ourselves a very unequal match for them, and may well say, Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost, or must quickly have, dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth, I am sinking, help, Lord, I perish; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up; mercy which never fails toward those who sincerely seek it, and then appears most precious when extended to us in the time of need: let no afflicted child of God therefore despond, but look to him who glorifies his grace in delivering the souls appointed unto death. In the multitude of my thoughts within me, perplexed and distressed, as God's dearest people sometimes may be, thy comforts delight my soul; comforts arising from a sense of the transcendantly rich and free grace of God, derived from Jesus, and by his Spirit shed abroad in the heart; comforts, not like those poor pleasures that the world can minister to sooth the melancholy; which often are ineffectual to dispel the gloom; and when successful, are but like the momentary relief procured by an opiate, while the disease remains rooted as ever; but these comforts delight the soul, are solid, substantial, abiding, enjoyed independent of all that the world can give or take away, and the foretastes of eternal consolation. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee? No, that God abhors; and most abhors those, who, in his name, pretend authority for committing iniquity. But the Lord is my defence from every assault, and my God is the rock of my refuge, where the soul of the faithful is safe, founded on Christ who will protect his people, and punish their cruel enemies. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity, the just punishment of it; and, for the blood which they have shed, give them blood to drink, Revelation 16:6 and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off; and then woe unto their souls, they must perish without hope; their wickedness will follow them to their graves, witness against them in judgment, and thrust them down into the belly of hell. Such is the end of the ungodly.