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Selected Verse: Psalms 51:18 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ps 51:18	Strong Concordance	Do good [03190] in thy good pleasure [07522] unto Zion [06726]: build [01129] thou the walls [02346] of Jerusalem [03389].
	King James	Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Do good, &c.--Visit not my sin on Thy Church. build . . . walls--is to show favor; compare Psa 89:40, for opposite form and idea.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Do good, &c.--Visit not my sin on Thy Church.

build . . . walls--is to show favor; compare Psa 89:40, for opposite form and idea.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - From himself - his deep sorrow, his conscious guilt, his earnest prayer for pardon and salvation - the psalmist turns to Zion, to the city of God, to the people of the Lord. These, after all, lay nearer to his heart than his own personal salvation; and to these his thoughts naturally turned even in connection with his own deep distress. Such a prayer as is here offered he would also be more naturally led to offer from the remembrance of the dishonor which he had brought on the cause of religion, and it was natural for him to pray that his own misconduct might not have the effect of hindering the cause of God in the world. The psalms often take this turn. Where they commence with a personal reference to the author himself, the thoughts often terminate in a reference to Zion, and to the promotion of the cause of religion in the world. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem - It is this expression on which De Wette, Doederlein, and Rosenmuller rely in proof that this psalm, or this portion of it, was composed at a later period than the time of David, and that it must have been written in the time of the captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins. See the introduction to the psalm. But, as was remarked there, it is not necessary to adopt this supposition. There are two other solutions of the difficulty, either of which would meet all that is implied in the language. (a) One is, that the walls of Jerusalem, which David had undertaken to build, were not as yet complete, or that the public works commenced by him for the protection of the city had not been finished at the time of the fatal affair of Uriah. There is nothing in the history which forbids this supposition, and the language is such as would be used by David on the occasion, if he had been actually engaged in completing the walls of the city, and rendering it impregnable, and if his heart was intensely fixed on the completion of the work. (b) The other supposition is, that this is figurative language - a prayer that God would favor and bless his people as if the city was to be protected by walls, and thus rendered safe from an attack by the enemy. Such language is, in fact, often used in cases where it could not be pretended that it was designed to be literal. See Jde 1:20; Rom 15:20; Co1 3:12; Gal 2:18; Eph 2:22; Col 2:7.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - From himself - his deep sorrow, his conscious guilt, his earnest prayer for pardon and salvation - the psalmist turns to Zion, to the city of God, to the people of the Lord. These, after all, lay nearer to his heart than his own personal salvation; and to these his thoughts naturally turned even in connection with his own deep distress. Such a prayer as is here offered he would also be more naturally led to offer from the remembrance of the dishonor which he had brought on the cause of religion, and it was natural for him to pray that his own misconduct might not have the effect of hindering the cause of God in the world. The psalms often take this turn. Where they commence with a personal reference to the author himself, the thoughts often terminate in a reference to Zion, and to the promotion of the cause of religion in the world.

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem - It is this expression on which De Wette, Doederlein, and Rosenmuller rely in proof that this psalm, or this portion of it, was composed at a later period than the time of David, and that it must have been written in the time of the captivity, when Jerusalem was in ruins. See the introduction to the psalm. But, as was remarked there, it is not necessary to adopt this supposition. There are two other solutions of the difficulty, either of which would meet all that is implied in the language.

(a) One is, that the walls of Jerusalem, which David had undertaken to build, were not as yet complete, or that the public works commenced by him for the protection of the city had not been finished at the time of the fatal affair of Uriah. There is nothing in the history which forbids this supposition, and the language is such as would be used by David on the occasion, if he had been actually engaged in completing the walls of the city, and rendering it impregnable, and if his heart was intensely fixed on the completion of the work.

(b) The other supposition is, that this is figurative language - a prayer that God would favor and bless his people as if the city was to be protected by walls, and thus rendered safe from an attack by the enemy. Such language is, in fact, often used in cases where it could not be pretended that it was designed to be literal. See Jde 1:20; Rom 15:20; Co1 3:12; Gal 2:18; Eph 2:22; Col 2:7.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
From this spiritual sacrifice, well-pleasing to God, the Psalm now, in vv. 20f., comes back to the material sacrifices that are offered in a right state of mind; and this is to be explained by the consideration that David's prayer for himself here passes over into an intercession on behalf of all Israel: Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion. את־ may be a sign of the accusative, for היטיב (הטיב) does take the accusative of the person (Job 24:21); but also a preposition, for as it is construed with ל and עם, so also with את in the same signification (Jer 18:10; Jer 32:41). זבח־צדק are here, as in Psa 4:6; Deu 33:19, those sacrifices which not merely as regards their outward character, but also in respect of the inward character of him who causes them to be offered on his behalf, are exactly such as God the Lawgiver will have them to be. By כּליל beside עולה might be understood the priestly vegetable whole-offering, Lev 6:15. (מנחת חבתּין, Epistle to the Hebrews, ii. 8), since every עולה as such is also כּליל; but Psalm-poetry does not make any such special reference to the sacrificial tra. וכליל is, like כליל in Sa1 7:9, an explicative addition, and the combination is like ימינך וזרועך, Psa 44:4, ארץ ותבל, Psa 90:2, and the like. A שׁלם כּליל (Hitzig, after the Phoenician sacrificial tables) is unknown to the Israelitish sacrificial worship. The prayer: Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem, is not inadmissible in the mouth of David; since בּנה signifies not merely to build up what has been thrown down, but also to go on and finish building what is in the act of being built (Psa 89:3); and, moreover, the wall built round about Jerusalem by Solomon (Kg1 3:1) can be regarded as a fulfilment of David's prayer. Nevertheless what even Theodoret has felt cannot be denied: τοῖς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι...ἁρμόττει τὰ ῥήματα. Through penitence the way of the exiles led back to Jerusalem. The supposition is very natural that vv. 20f. may be a liturgical addition made by the church of the Exile. And if the origin of Isa 40:1 in the time of the Exile were as indisputable as the reasons against such a position are forcible, then it would give support not merely to the derivation of vv. 20f. (cf. Isa 60:5, Isa 60:7, Isa 60:10), but of the whole Psalm, from the time of the Exile; for the general impress of the Psalm is, according to the accurate observation of Hitzig, thoroughly deutero-Isaianic. But the writer of Isa 40:1 shows signs in other respects also of the most families acquaintance with the earlier literature of the Shı̂r and the Mashal; and that he is none other than Isaiah reveals itself in connection with this Psalm by the echoes of this very Psalm, which are to be found not only in the second but also in the first part of the Isaianic collection of prophecy (cf. on Psa 51:9, Psa 51:18). We are therefore driven to the inference, that Ps 51 was a favourite Psalm of Isaiah's, and that, since the Isaianic echoes of it extend equally from the first verse to the last, it existed in the same complete form even in his day as in ours; and that consequently the close, just like the whole Psalm, so beautifully and touchingly expressed, is not the mere addition of a later age.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

From this spiritual sacrifice, well-pleasing to God, the Psalm now, in vv. 20f., comes back to the material sacrifices that are offered in a right state of mind; and this is to be explained by the consideration that David's prayer for himself here passes over into an intercession on behalf of all Israel: Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion. את־ may be a sign of the accusative, for היטיב (הטיב) does take the accusative of the person (Job 24:21); but also a preposition, for as it is construed with ל and עם, so also with את in the same signification (Jer 18:10; Jer 32:41). זבח־צדק are here, as in Psa 4:6; Deu 33:19, those sacrifices which not merely as regards their outward character, but also in respect of the inward character of him who causes them to be offered on his behalf, are exactly such as God the Lawgiver will have them to be. By כּליל beside עולה might be understood the priestly vegetable whole-offering, Lev 6:15. (מנחת חבתּין, Epistle to the Hebrews, ii. 8), since every עולה as such is also כּליל; but Psalm-poetry does not make any such special reference to the sacrificial tra. וכליל is, like כליל in Sa1 7:9, an explicative addition, and the combination is like ימינך וזרועך, Psa 44:4, ארץ ותבל, Psa 90:2, and the like. A שׁלם כּליל (Hitzig, after the Phoenician sacrificial tables) is unknown to the Israelitish sacrificial worship. The prayer: Build Thou the walls of Jerusalem, is not inadmissible in the mouth of David; since בּנה signifies not merely to build up what has been thrown down, but also to go on and finish building what is in the act of being built (Psa 89:3); and, moreover, the wall built round about Jerusalem by Solomon (Kg1 3:1) can be regarded as a fulfilment of David's prayer.

Nevertheless what even Theodoret has felt cannot be denied: τοῖς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι...ἁρμόττει τὰ ῥήματα. Through penitence the way of the exiles led back to Jerusalem. The supposition is very natural that vv. 20f. may be a liturgical addition made by the church of the Exile. And if the origin of Isa 40:1 in the time of the Exile were as indisputable as the reasons against such a position are forcible, then it would give support not merely to the derivation of vv. 20f. (cf. Isa 60:5, Isa 60:7, Isa 60:10), but of the whole Psalm, from the time of the Exile; for the general impress of the Psalm is, according to the accurate observation of Hitzig, thoroughly deutero-Isaianic. But the writer of Isa 40:1 shows signs in other respects also of the most families acquaintance with the earlier literature of the Shı̂r and the Mashal; and that he is none other than Isaiah reveals itself in connection with this Psalm by the echoes of this very Psalm, which are to be found not only in the second but also in the first part of the Isaianic collection of prophecy (cf. on Psa 51:9, Psa 51:18). We are therefore driven to the inference, that Ps 51 was a favourite Psalm of Isaiah's, and that, since the Isaianic echoes of it extend equally from the first verse to the last, it existed in the same complete form even in his day as in ours; and that consequently the close, just like the whole Psalm, so beautifully and touchingly expressed, is not the mere addition of a later age.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Good pleasure - Thy free and rich mercy. Build - Perfect the walls and buildings of that city, and especially let the temple be built, notwithstanding my sins.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - This and the following verse most evidently refer to the time of the captivity, when the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the temple service entirely discontinued; and, consequently, are long posterior to the times of David. Hence it has been concluded that the Psalm was not composed by David, nor in his time and that the title must be that of some other Psalm inadvertently affixed to this. The fourth verse has also been considered as decisive against this title: but the note on that verse has considerably weakened, if not destroyed, that objection. I have been long of opinion that, whether the title be properly or improperly affixed to this Psalm, these two verses make no part of it: the subject is totally dissimilar; and there is no rule of analogy by which it can be interpreted as belonging to the Psalm, to the subject, or to the person. I think they originally made a Psalm of themselves, a kind of ejaculatory prayer for the redemption of the captives from Babylon, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the temple worship. And, taken in this light, they are very proper and very expressive. The Psa 117:1-2 contains only two verses; and is an ejaculation of praise from the captives who had just then returned from Babylon. And it is a fact that this Psalm is written as a part of the cxvith in no less than thirty-two of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS.; and in some early editions. Again, because of its smallness, it has been absorbed by the cxviiith, of which it makes the commencement, in twenty-eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. In a similar way I suppose the two last verses of this Psalm to have been absorbed by the preceding, which originally made a complete Psalm of themselves; and this absorption was the more easy, because, like the cxviith it has no title. I cannot allege a similar evidence relative to these two verses, as ever having made a distinct Psalm; but of the fact I can have no doubt, for the reasons assigned above. And I still think that Psalm is too dignified, too energetic, and too elegant, to have been the composition of any but David. It was not Asaph; it was not any of the sons of Korah; it was not Heman or Jeduthun: the hand and mind of a greater master are here.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion - This and the following verse most evidently refer to the time of the captivity, when the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the temple service entirely discontinued; and, consequently, are long posterior to the times of David. Hence it has been concluded that the Psalm was not composed by David, nor in his time and that the title must be that of some other Psalm inadvertently affixed to this. The fourth verse has also been considered as decisive against this title: but the note on that verse has considerably weakened, if not destroyed, that objection. I have been long of opinion that, whether the title be properly or improperly affixed to this Psalm, these two verses make no part of it: the subject is totally dissimilar; and there is no rule of analogy by which it can be interpreted as belonging to the Psalm, to the subject, or to the person. I think they originally made a Psalm of themselves, a kind of ejaculatory prayer for the redemption of the captives from Babylon, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the temple worship. And, taken in this light, they are very proper and very expressive.

The Psa 117:1-2 contains only two verses; and is an ejaculation of praise from the captives who had just then returned from Babylon. And it is a fact that this Psalm is written as a part of the cxvith in no less than thirty-two of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS.; and in some early editions. Again, because of its smallness, it has been absorbed by the cxviiith, of which it makes the commencement, in twenty-eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. In a similar way I suppose the two last verses of this Psalm to have been absorbed by the preceding, which originally made a complete Psalm of themselves; and this absorption was the more easy, because, like the cxviith it has no title. I cannot allege a similar evidence relative to these two verses, as ever having made a distinct Psalm; but of the fact I can have no doubt, for the reasons assigned above. And I still think that Psalm is too dignified, too energetic, and too elegant, to have been the composition of any but David. It was not Asaph; it was not any of the sons of Korah; it was not Heman or Jeduthun: the hand and mind of a greater master are here.

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⁴⁰ Thou hast broken down [06555] all his hedges [01448]; thou hast brought [07760] his strong holds [04013] to ruin [04288].

⁷ Rooted [4492] and [2532] built up [2026] in [1722] him [846], and [2532] stablished [950] in [1722] the faith [4102], as [2531] ye have been taught [1321], abounding [4052] therein [1722] [846] with [1722] thanksgiving [2169].

²² In [1722] whom [3739] ye [5210] also [2532] are builded together [4925] for [1519] an habitation [2732] of God [2316] through [1722] the Spirit [4151].

¹⁸ For [1063] if [1487] I build [3618] again [3825] the things [5023] which [3739] I destroyed [2647], I make [4921] myself [1683] a transgressor [3848].

¹² Now [1161] if any man [1536] build [2026] upon [1909] this [5126] foundation [2310] gold [5557], silver [696], precious [5093] stones [3037], wood [3586], hay [5528], stubble [2562];

²⁰ Yea [1161], so [3779] have I strived [5389] to preach the gospel [2097], not [3756] where [3699] Christ [5547] was named [3687], lest [3363] I should build [3618] upon [1909] another man's [245] foundation [2310]:

²⁰ But [1161] ye [5210], beloved [27], building up [2026] yourselves [1438] on your [5216] most holy [40] faith [4102], praying [4336] in [1722] the Holy [40] Ghost [4151],

¹⁸ Do good [03190] in thy good pleasure [07522] unto Zion [06726]: build [01129] thou the walls [02346] of Jerusalem [03389].

⁹ Hide [05641] thy face [06440] from my sins [02399], and blot out [04229] all mine iniquities [05771].

¹ Comfort [05162] ye, comfort [05162] ye my people [05971], saith [0559] your God [0430].

¹⁰ And the sons [01121] of strangers [05236] shall build up [01129] thy walls [02346], and their kings [04428] shall minister [08334] unto thee: for in my wrath [07110] I smote [05221] thee, but in my favour [07522] have I had mercy [07355] on thee.

⁷ All the flocks [06629] of Kedar [06938] shall be gathered together [06908] unto thee, the rams [0352] of Nebaioth [05032] shall minister [08334] unto thee: they shall come up [05927] with acceptance [07522] on mine altar [04196], and I will glorify [06286] the house [01004] of my glory [08597].

⁵ Then thou shalt see [07200] [03372], and flow together [05102], and thine heart [03824] shall fear [06342], and be enlarged [07337]; because the abundance [01995] of the sea [03220] shall be converted [02015] unto thee, the forces [02428] of the Gentiles [01471] shall come [0935] unto thee.

¹ Comfort [05162] ye, comfort [05162] ye my people [05971], saith [0559] your God [0430].

¹ And Solomon [08010] made affinity [02859] with Pharaoh [06547] king [04428] of Egypt [04714], and took [03947] Pharaoh's [06547] daughter [01323], and brought [0935] her into the city [05892] of David [01732], until he had made an end [03615] of building [01129] his own house [01004], and the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and the wall [02346] of Jerusalem [03389] round about [05439].

³ I have made [03772] a covenant [01285] with my chosen [0972], I have sworn [07650] unto David [01732] my servant [05650],

² Before the mountains [02022] were brought forth [03205], or ever thou hadst formed [02342] the earth [0776] and the world [08398], even from everlasting [05769] to [05704] everlasting [05769], thou art God [0410].

⁴ Thou art my King [04428], O God [0430]: command [06680] deliverances [03444] for Jacob [03290].

⁹ And Samuel [08050] took [03947] a [0259] sucking [02461] lamb [02924], and offered [05927] it for a burnt offering [05930] wholly [03632] unto the LORD [03068]: and Samuel [08050] cried [02199] unto the LORD [03068] for Israel [03478]; and the LORD [03068] heard [06030] him.

¹⁵ And he shall take [07311] of it his handful [07062], of the flour [05560] of the meat offering [04503], and of the oil [08081] thereof, and all the frankincense [03828] which is upon the meat offering [04503], and shall burn [06999] it upon the altar [04196] for a sweet [05207] savour [07381], even the memorial [0234] of it, unto the LORD [03068].

¹⁹ They shall call [07121] the people [05971] unto the mountain [02022]; there they shall offer [02076] sacrifices [02077] of righteousness [06664]: for they shall suck [03243] of the abundance [08228] of the seas [03220], and of treasures [08226] hid [02934] in the sand [02344].

⁶ There be many [07227] that say [0559], Who will shew [07200] us any good [02896]? LORD [03068], lift thou up [05375] the light [0216] of thy countenance [06440] upon us.

⁴¹ Yea, I will rejoice [07797] over them to do them good [02895], and I will plant [05193] them in this land [0776] assuredly [0571] with my whole heart [03820] and with my whole soul [05315].

¹⁰ If it do [06213] evil [07451] in my sight [05869], that it obey [08085] not my voice [06963], then I will repent [05162] of the good [02896], wherewith I said [0559] I would benefit [03190] them.

²¹ He evil entreateth [07462] the barren [06135] that beareth [03205] not: and doeth not good [03190] to the widow [0490].

¹ O praise [01984] the LORD [03068], all ye nations [01471]: praise [07623] him, all ye people [0523].
² For his merciful [02617] kindness [02617] is great [01396] toward us: and the truth [0571] of the LORD [03068] endureth for ever [05769]. Praise [01984] ye the LORD [03050].