10 Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Prolong thy mercy to them that know thee. David now sets himself to pray. And, first, he asks in general, that God would continue his mercy to all the godly, and then he pleads particularly in his own behalf, imploring the help of God against his enemies. Those who affirm that God is here said to prolong or extend his mercy because it is exalted above the heavens, indulge in a style of speaking too puerile. When David spake of it in such terms in a preceding verse, his intention was not, as I have already said, to represent the mercy of God as shut up in heaven, but simply to declare that it was diffused throughout the world; and here what he desires is just this, that God would continue to manifest, even to the end, his mercy towards his people. With the mercy of God he connects his righteousness, combining them as cause and effect. We have already said in another place, that the righteousness of God is manifested in his undertaking the defense of his own people, vindicating their innocence, avenging their wrongs, restraining their enemies, and in proving himself faithful in the preservation of their welfare and happiness against all who assail them. Now, since all this is done for them freely by God, David, with good reason, makes mention particularly of his goodness, and places it first in order, that we may learn to depend entirely upon his favor. We ought also to observe the epithets by which he describes true believers; first, he says, that they know God; and, secondly, that they are upright in heart. We learn from this that true godliness springs from the knowledge of God, and again, that the light of faith must necessarily dispose us to uprightness of heart. At the same time, we ought always to bear in mind, that we only know God aright when we render to him the honor to which he is entitled; that is, when we place entire confidence in him.
O continue - Margin, as in Hebrew: "draw out at length." The Hebrew word means "to draw;" hence, "to draw out," in the sense of "continuing" or "prolonging." Compare Psalm 85:5; Psalm 109:12; Jeremiah 31:3. The desire of the psalmist here is, that God would make the manifestation of his loving-kindness "continuous" or "perpetual" to His people; that it might not be fitful and interrupted, but always enduring, or constant. It is the utterance of a prayer that his favor might always be manifested to his friends.
Thy loving-kindness - Thy mercy, Psalm 36:5, Psalm 36:7. "Unto them that know thee." That are thy friends. The word "know" is often used to denote true religion: John 17:3; Philippians 3:10; Ephesians 3:19; 2-Timothy 1:12.
And thy righteousness - Thy favor; thy protection. That is, show to them the righteousness, or the glory of thy character. Deal with them according to those just principles which belong to thy character. Compare the notes at 1-John 1:9.
To the upright in heart - Those who are pure and holy in their intentions or their purposes. Compare Psalm 7:10. All true uprightness has its seat in the heart, and the psalmist prays that God would show his continued favor to those whom he sees to be true in heart to himself.
O continue thy loving-kindness - Literally, "Draw out thy mercy." The allusion to the spring is still kept up.
Unto them that know thee - To them who acknowledge thee in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
And thy righteousness - That grace which justifies the ungodly, and sanctifies the unholy.
To the upriabt in heart - לישרי לב levishrey leb, to the straight of heart; to those who have but one end in view, and one aim to that end.
This is true of every genuine penitent, and of every true believer.
O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that (h) know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
(h) He shows who God's children are, that is, they who know him, and live their lives uprightly.
O continue thy lovingkindness to them that know thee,.... That is, spiritually and experimentally; and such are they that trust in him and love him: and these are the objects of the love of God; not that their knowledge, faith, or love, are the cause of his love to them; but these things describe and point at manifestly the objects of it; and this request regards the open discovery of it unto them: for the love of God itself always continues, though the manifestations of it are not always the same; and it is for the enlargement and continuance of them the psalmist here prays: for it may be rendered, "draw out thy lovingkindness" (g); that is, to a greater length; make a larger and clearer discovery of it, that the height and depth, and length and breadth of it, may be more discerned;
and thy righteousness unto the upright in heart; who are sincere and without guile; who have new hearts created and right spirits renewed in them, and have truth in the inward parts; and unto and upon such is the righteousness of Christ, and where it always continues, for it is an everlasting one; but here it means a clearer and constant revelation of it from faith to faith; unless it should rather intend the righteousness of God in protecting his people from the insults of their enemies, and the continual exertion of it for that purpose.
(g) "trahe", Pagninus, Montanus; "extende", Vatablus, Piscator; "protrahe", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaelis.
that know thee--right knowledge of God is the source of right affections and conduct.
(Hebrews.: 36:11-13) Now for the first time, in the concluding hexastich, after complaint and commendation comes the language of prayer. The poet prays that God would lengthen out, i.e., henceforth preserve (משׁך, as in Psalm 109:12), such mercy to His saints; that the foot of arrogance, which is conceived of as a tyrant, may not come suddenly upon him (בּוא, as in Psalm 35:8), and that the hand of the wicked may not drive him from his home into exile (cf. Psalm 10:18). With חסד alternates צדקה, which, on its merciful side, is turned towards them that now God, and bestows upon them the promised gracious reward. Whilst the Psalmist is thus praying, the future all at once becomes unveiled to him. Certain in his own mind that his prayer will be heard, he sees the adversaries of God and of His saints for ever overthrown. שׁם, as in Psalm 14:5, points to the place where the judgment is executed. The preterites are prophetic, as in Psalm 14:5; Psalm 64:8-10. The poet, like Isaiah (Isaiah 26:14), beholds the whole tribe of the oppressors of Jahve's Church changed into a field of corpses, without hope of any rising again.
*More commentary available at chapter level.