8. I will instruct thee, and teach thee. That his exhortation may have the greater force, the divine speaker directs his discourse to every man individually; for the doctrine which is spoken penetrates the mind more readily, when every man applies it particularly to himself. When the way of salvation is here shown to the children of God, the greatest care must be taken that no man depart from it in the slightest degree. We may also learn from this place, that we are reconciled to God upon condition that every man endeavor to make his brethren partakers of the same benefit. David, the more strongly to mark his care about them, describes it by the sight of the eye. (668) By the way it should be observed, that those who are solicitous about our welfare are appointed by the Lord as guides of our way, from which it appears how great is the paternal solicitude which he has about us.
(668) Most commentators consider Jehovah as the person speaking in this verse. Calvin, however, views David as the speaker. In this opinion he is followed by Walford. “In Psalms 51:13,” says this critic, “written about the same time and on the same occasion, David urges as a reason why God should restore to him the joy of his salvation, that he might be enabled to teach transgressors his ways, and that sinners might be converted to him. So in the passage before us, he addresses himself to sinners, and says, ‘I will instruct time, and teach thee the way in which thou shalt go.’”