For in death [there is] no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Ver. 5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee] Some heathens were of the opinion that when a man died all died with him; neither was there any further sense of wealth or woe for ever. Socrates doubted, but Aristotle affirmed it to be so, for aught he knew, ουδεν ετι τω τεθνεωτι δοκει ουτε αγαθον, ουτε κακον ειναι (Ethic. 1.3, c. 9). Eusebius and Augustine make mention of certain Arabian heretics, who held that the soul died with the body, and so remained dead to the last day, and then they revived with the resurrection of the body. This was long since exploded as a foul error, contrary to that which the Scripture holdeth forth in many places. All that David would say here is, that dead men remember not, that is, they mention not God's worthy acts, to the quickening of others; their praises cannot provoke other men to believe in God, or serve him, as in their lifetime they might, therefore David would fain live to do more good. A certain martyr going to suffer said, he was sorry that he was going to a place where he should do God no more work, but be receiving wages only (Sever. Epist. 3). Domine, si adhuc populo tuo sim necessarius non recuso laborem, said a dying saint, Lord, if I may be yet useful to thy people, I should be very well content it might be so. See Isaiah 38:18,19. David and Hezekiah prayed hard that they might not yet die, lest religion and the true worship of God, which they had begun to vindicate and establish, should by their decease fall to the ground, through the wickedness of their survivors and successors.
In the grave who shall give thee thanks?] sc. Palani et cum aliis, saith Aben Ezra, openly and exemplarily, in the company of others. Some render it, In hell who shall confess to thee? Hereby is showed the fear of God's children (saith Diodati) anguished by the feelings of his wrath, lest they should die out of his grace unreconciled, and by that means be excluded and debarred from their desired aim, to be everlastingly instruments of his glory. But it is better to take sheol here for the place and state of the dead, after their dissolution; though Dilrio will needs have it to be always in Scripture meant as hell; which if it be so, then why should Job so earnestly desire to be hid in it? Job 14:13. That was a singular example of Paul the hermit, who, though dead, seemed to be serving God, and affected those that beheld him (Adag. Sacr. in 2 Sam. xxii. Digress. 2). For he was found (saith Jerome) dead kneeling upon his knees, holding up his hands, lifting up his eyes; so that the very dead corpse seemed yet, by a kind of religious gesture, to pray unto God.