Psalms 109:23
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I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Whether David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him, or upon occasion of some other trouble that was given him, is uncertain; and whether the particular enemy he prays against was Saul, or Doeg, or Ahithophel, or some other not mentioned in the story, we cannot determine; but it is certain that in penning it he had an eye to Christ, his sufferings and his persecutors, for that imprecation (Psa 109:8) is applied to Judas, Act 1:20. The rest of the prayers here against his enemies were the expressions, not of passion, but of the Spirit of prophecy. I. He lodges a complaint in the court of heaven of the malice and base ingratitude of his enemies and with it an appeal to the righteous God (Psa 109:1-5). II. He prays against his enemies, and devotes them to destruction (Psa 109:6-20). III. He prays for himself, that God would help and succour him in his low condition (Psa 109:21-29). IV. He concludes with a joyful expectation that God would appear for him (Psa 109:30, Psa 109:31). In singing this psalm we must comfort ourselves with the believing foresight of the certain destruction of all the enemies of Christ and his church, and the certain salvation of all those that trust in God and keep close to him. To the chief Musician. A psalm of David.
Open source ↗109:23 A shadow at dusk suggests a transitory, empty existence (102:11; 144:4); a single locust could easily be brushed off one’s clothing.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
For we are foreigners and strangers in Your presence, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope.
Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts.
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.