Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 27:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 27:11. Teach me thy way — Let me know the gracious designs of thy providence towards me, that my heart may submit to thy will.

And lead me in a plain path — In the path of righteousness, because of mine enemies, who watch for my halting.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 26-28 Living uprightly

David appeals to God to support him against those who plot evil against him. God has done a work of grace in his life, and this causes him to hate the company of worthless people and make every effort to live the sort of life that pleases God (26:1-5). He desires righteousness, delights in worship, loves to spend hours in the house of God and enjoys telling others about God (6-8). He therefore asks that he will not suffer the same end as the wicked (9-10). Though determined to do right, he knows that he will not succeed without God’s help (11-12).
The psalmist is fully confident in the power of God and in God’s willingness to protect him (27:1-3). His desire is to live his life as if he is in the presence of God continually. Thereby he will have protection, and his life will be one of constant strength and joy (4-6). He prays that God will hear his prayers and never turn away from him. Others might reject him, but he is confident that God’s care of him will never fail (7-10). In view of the persecution he suffers, he asks that God will teach him more about the way he should live (11-12). He remains confident in God and this gives him patience. Whatever may happen, he knows that he can always depend on God’s help (13-14).
In the next psalm David again is in great distress and cries out to God to save his life. He does not want to die like the wicked, for whom an early death is a fitting punishment (28:1-3). His prayer to God to punish the wicked is not because of personal bitterness or the desire for revenge. It is because they are the enemies of God and they disregard all that he has done (4-5). David knows that God will answer his prayer and thereby strengthen David’s trust in him (6-7). This will also strengthen the faith of the people, who will have a better understanding of God as their defender and shepherd (8-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Teach me thy way, O Jehovah; And lead me in a plain path, Because of mine enemies, Deliver me not over to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses are risen up against me, And such as breathe out cruelty."

"Because of mine enemies" (Psalms 27:11). These do not appear to be enemies of the nation, but David's personal enemies, hence the conclusion of many that some internal disorder such as the rebellion of Absalom was the situation that precipitated this impassioned plea of David for help.

"Lead me in a plain path" (Psalms 27:11). "David is very much in the world and the prayer for a level path (or plain path) is not for comfort, but for sure progress. As a moral term, `a plain path' implies what is right, or straight."Derek Kidner, Vol. I, p. 121.

"False witnesses are risen up against me" (Psalms 27:12). In the times of Absalom, David did indeed come very near to losing his kingdom. Even Abiathar, David's skilled counselor, had sided with Absalom; and all kinds of untruthful tales were circulated against David by those trying to unseat him as King.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Teach me thy way, O Lord - See the notes at Psalms 25:4-5.

And lead me in a plain path - Margin, “a way of plainness.” That is, a straight or smooth path. In other words, he prayed that he might be enabled to act wisely and right; he desired that God would teach him what he should do.

Because of mine enemies - Margin, “those which observe me.” The translation in the text expresses the true sense. The word which is used is derived from a verb that signifies “to twist; to twist together;” and then, to oppress; to treat as an enemy. Here it refers to those who would treat him harshly or cruelly; and he prays that God would show him how to act in view of the fact that he was surrounded by such foes. They were harsh and cruel; they sought to overcome him; they laid snares for him. He knew not how to act so as to escape from them, and he, therefore, pleads that God would instruct and guide him.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

11.Teach me thy way, O Jehovah! Many think that David here requests that God would guide him by his Spirit, lest he should surpass his enemies in acting violently and wickedly. This doctrine is, no doubt, very useful, but it does not seem to agree with the scope of the passage. It is a simpler interpretation, in my opinion, to consider that David desires, in order to escape the snares and violence of his enemies, that God would extend to him his hand, and safely conduct him, so as to give a happy issue to his affairs. He sets the right path in opposition to the difficulties and impediments which are in places which are rough, and of difficult access, to overcome which he was unequal, unless God undertook the office of a guide to lead him. But he who thus desires to commit himself to the safeguard and protection of God, ⁽⁵⁸⁸⁾ must first renounce crafty and wicked devices. We must not expect that God, who promises to grant a happy issue only to the single in heart, and those who trust in his faithfulness, will bless crooked and wicked counsels.

(588) “En la sauvegarde et protection de Dieu.” — Fr.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 27

Many of the psalms begin with a lament and end in trust. This one begins with trust, then sinks into a lament, and finally rises again to confidence in God. Themes in common with the preceding psalm include God’s tabernacle, dependence on the Lord, and hope in divine deliverance. This may be a royal psalm with features of a lament psalm. [Note: J. H. Eaton, Psalms, pp. 85-86; idem, Kingship and the Psalms, pp. 39-40.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Prayer for speedy help 27:7-14

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David needed directions from God since his enemies were trying to catch him. He feared they would falsely condemn him if the Lord allowed him to fall into their hands.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Teach me thy way, O Lord,.... Of providence, grace, and duty;

:-;

and lead me in a plain path: as the path of truth is to those that understand and find knowledge; and as the way of holiness is, even to such who in other things are fools, but shall not err therein, Proverbs 8:9

Isaiah 35:8; or the path of righteousness, in which Christ, the wisdom of God, and shepherd of his people, leads them, Psalms 23:3;

because of mine enemies, or "those that observe me"; who eyed him as Saul did, 1 Samuel 18:9; and waited for his halting, as Jeremiah's familiars did for him; and lay in wait to deceive him, and lead him out of the way, as false teachers do; and come upon him at an unawares, and take every advantage against him, as Satan does.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.   8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.   9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.   10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.   11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.   12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.   13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.   14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

      David in these verses expresses,

      I. His desire towards God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer.

      1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience: "Hear, O Lord, when I cry, not only with my heart, but, as one in earnest, with my voice too." He bespeaks also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but God's goodness: Have mercy upon me, and answer me,Psalms 27:7; Psalms 27:7. If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer.

      2. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty, Psalms 27:8; Psalms 27:8. It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance unless he hold forth to us the golden sceptre. David therefore going to pray fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden sceptre which was thereby held out to him. My heart said unto thee (so it begins in the original) or of thee, Seek you my face; he first revolved that, and preached that over again to himself (and that is the best preaching: it is hearing twice what God speaks once)--Thou saidst (so it may be supplied), Seek you my face; and then he returns what he had so meditated upon, in this pious resolution, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Observe here, (1.) The true nature of religious worship; it is seeking the face of God. This it is in God's precept: Seek you my face; he would have us seek him for himself, and make his favour our chief good; and this it is in the saint's purpose and desire: "Thy face, Lord, will I seek, and nothing less will I take up with." The opening of his hand will satisfy the desire of other living things (Psalms 145:16), but it is only the shining of his face that will satisfy the desire of a living soul, Psalms 4:6; Psalms 4:7. (2.) The kind of invitation of a gracious God to this duty: Thou saidst, Seek you my face; it is not only permission, but a precept; and his commanding us to seek implies a promise of finding; for he is too kind to say, Seek you me in vain. God calls us to seek his face in our conversion to him and in our converse with him. He calls us, by the whispers of his Spirit to and with our spirits, to seek his face; he calls us by his word, by the stated returns of opportunities for his worship, and by special providences, merciful and afflictive. When we are foolishly making our court to lying vanities God is, in love to us, calling us in him to seek our own mercies. (3.) The ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation. The call is immediately returned: My heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. The call was general; "Seek you my face;" but, like David, we must apply it to ourselves, "I will seek it." The word does us no good when we transfer it to others, and do not ourselves accept the exhortation. The call was, Seek you my face; the answer is express, Thy face, Lord, will I seek; like that (Jeremiah 3:22), Behold, we come unto thee. A gracious heart readily echoes to the call of a gracious God, being made willing in the day of his power.

      3. He is very particular in his requests. (1.) For the favour of God, that he might not be shut out from that (Psalms 27:9; Psalms 27:9): "Thy face, Lord, will I seek, in obedience to thy command; therefore hide not thy face from me; let me never want the reviving sense of the favour; love me, and let me know that thou lovest me; put not thy servant away in anger." He owns he had deserved God's displeasure, but begs that, however God might correct him, he would not cast him away from his presence; for what is hell but that? (2.) For the continuance of his presence with him: "Thou hast been my help formerly, and thou are the God of my salvation; and therefore whither shall I go but to thee? O leave me not, neither forsake me; withdraw not the operations of they power from me, for then I am helpless; withdraw not the tokens of thy good-will to me, for then I am comfortless." (3.) For the benefit of divine guidance (Psalms 27:11; Psalms 27:11): "Teach me thy way, O Lord! give me to understand the meaning of thy providences towards me and make them plain to me; and give me to know my duty in every doubtful case, that I may not mistake it, but may walk rightly, and that I may not do it with hesitation, but may walk surely." It is not policy, but plainness (that is, downright honesty) that will direct us into and keep us in the way of our duty. He begs to be guided in a plain path, because of his enemies, or (as the margin reads it) his observers. His enemies watched for his halting, that they may find occasion against him. Saul eyed David, 1 Samuel 18:9. This quickened him to pray, "Lord, lead me in a plain path, that they may have nothing ill, or nothing that looks ill, to lay to my charge." (4.) For the benefit of a divine protection (Psalms 27:12; Psalms 27:12): "Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies. Lord, let them not gain their point, for it aims at my life, and no less, and in such a way as that I have no fence against them, but thy power over their consciences; for false witnesses have risen up against me, that aim further than to take away my reputation or estate, for they breathe out cruelty; it is the blood, the precious blood, they thirst after." Herein David was a type of Christ; for false witnesses rose up against him, and such as breathed out cruelty; but though he was delivered into their wicked hands, he was not delivered over to their will, for they could not prevent his exaltation.

      II. He expresses his dependence upon God,

      1. That he would help and succour him when all other helps and succours failed him (Psalms 27:10; Psalms 27:10): "When my father and my mother forsake me, the nearest and dearest friends I have in the world, from whom I may expect most relief and with most reason, when they die, or are at a distance from me, or are disabled to help me in time of need, or are unkind to me or unmindful of me, and will not help me, when I am as helpless as ever poor orphan was that was left fatherless and motherless, then I know the Lord will take me up, as a poor wandering sheep is taken up, and saved from perishing." His time to help those that trust in him is when all other helpers fail, when it is most for his honour and their comfort. With him the fatherless find mercy. This promise has often been fulfilled in the letter of it. Forsaken orphans have been taken under the special care of the divine Providence, which has raised up relief and friends for them in a way that one would not have expected. God is a surer and better friend than our earthly parents are or can be.

      2. That in due time he should see the displays of his goodness, Psalms 27:13; Psalms 27:13. He believed he should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; and, if he had not done so, he would have fainted under his afflictions. Even the best saints are subject to faint when their troubles become grievous and tedious, their spirits are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail. But then faith is a sovereign cordial; it keeps them from desponding under their burden and from despairing of relief, keeps them hoping, and praying, and waiting, and keeps up in them good thoughts of God, and the comfortable enjoyment of themselves. But what was it the belief of which kept David from fainting?--that he should see the goodness of the Lord, which now seemed at a distance. Those that walk by faith in the goodness of the Lord shall in due time walk in the sight of that goodness. This he hopes to see in the land of the living, that is, (1.) In this world, that he should outlive his troubles and not perish under them. It is his comfort, not so much that he shall see the land of the living as that he shall see the goodness of God in it; for that is the comfort of all creature-comforts to a gracious soul. (2.) In the land of Canaan, and in Jerusalem where the lively oracles were. In comparison with the heathen, that were dead in sin, the land of Israel might fitly be called the land of the living; there God was known, and there David hoped to see his goodness; see 2 Samuel 15:25; 2 Samuel 15:26. Or, (3.), In heaven. It is that alone that may truly be called the land of the living, where there is no more death. This earth is the land of the dying. There is nothing like the believing hope of eternal life, the foresights of that glory, and foretastes of those pleasures, to keep us from fainting under all the calamities of this present time.

      3. That in the mean time he should be strengthened to bear up under his burdens (Psalms 27:14; Psalms 27:14); whether he says it to himself, or to his friends, it comes all to one; this is that which encourages him: He shall strengthen thy heart, shall sustain thy spirit, and then the spirit shall sustain the infirmity. In that strength, (1.) Keep close to God and to your duty. Wait on the Lord by faith, and prayer, and a humble resignation to his will; wait, I say, on the Lord; whatever you do, grow not remiss in your attendance upon God. (2.) Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties: Be of good courage; let your hearts be fixed, trusting in God, and your minds stayed upon him, and then let none of these things move you. Those that wait upon the Lord have reason to be of good courage.