The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.
The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. Hengstenberg rightly objects to this rendering, that the repetition of the complaint, without mention of the believer's hope, would be a quite unsatisfactory conclusion. The first clause implies the danger to which the godly are exposed through the wicked 'walking on every side' (Psalms 3:6). Their urgent need of help is a strong ground for their confidently expecting it. The last clause is explained by Hengstenberg as an enigmatic summary of the psalm: "The wicked walk on every side;" (but) depression (namely, that to which the righteous have sunk) is as elevation to the sons of men. Their sufferings from the wicked are a token of their coming exaltation: the righteous God will recompense them for their depression now as 'sons of men,' weak and despised (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Rather translate, as it preserves the parallelism between the first and last clauses, and requires no ellipsis of but, sad takes 'sons of men' as referring to the wicked, not to the righteous, which accords better with usage, 'Their past elevation (shall be) the depression to the sons of men'-namely, to the wicked mentioned in the first clause. They exalted themselves as gods, above all objects of worship (2 Thessalonians 2:4); they shall therefore be humbled below all things, and be viler than the clay. So Psalms 82:6-7, "Ye are gods ... but ye shall die like men" (Cocceius).