Psalm 36:11

Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) The foot of pride . . . the hand of the wicked.—The one tramples on the lowly; the other is full of violence.

Remove.—Better, expel, but we have no indication from where. Perhaps from the Temple.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 36:11. Let not the foot of pride — That is, of my proud and insolent enemies; come against me — Or upon me, namely, so as to overthrow or remove me, as it is in the next clause; either, 1st, From my trust in, and obedience to thee: or, 2d, From my place and station; from the land of my nativity, and the place of thy worship. Or as תנדני, tenedeeni, may be rendered, shake me, or cast me down, that is, subdue and destroy me. Some translate the former clause; Let me not be trampled under the foot of pride. “There seems,” says Dr. Dodd, “to be a particular beauty in this expression, by which David elegantly intimates the supercilious haughtiness and disdainful insolence of his enemy; who, if he had been in his power, would spurn him under his foot, and trample on him.”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

36:5-12 Men may shut up their compassion, yet, with God we shall find mercy. This is great comfort to all believers, plainly to be seen, and not to be taken away. God does all wisely and well; but what he does we know not now, it is time enough to know hereafter. God's loving-kindness is precious to the saints. They put themselves under his protection, and then are safe and easy. Gracious souls, though still desiring more of God, never desire more than God. The gifts of Providence so far satisfy them, that they are content with such things as they have. The benefit of holy ordinances is sweet to a sanctified soul, and strengthening to the spiritual and Divine life. But full satisfaction is reserved for the future state. Their joys shall be constant. God not only works in them a gracious desire for these pleasures, but by his Spirit fills their souls with joy and peace in believing. He quickens whom he will; and whoever will, may come, and take from him of the waters of life freely. May we know, and love, and uprightly serve the Lord; then no proud enemy, on earth or from hell, shall separate us from his love. Faith calleth things that are not, as though they were. It carries us forward to the end of time; it shows us the Lord, on his throne of judgment; the empire of sin fallen to rise no more.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let not the foot of pride come against me - The foot of the proud man. The word rendered "come against me" more properly means, "come not upon me;" and the meaning is, Let me not be "trampled down" as they who are vanquished in battle are "trodden down" by their conquerors. Compare the notes at Psalm 18:40.

And let not the hand of the wicked remove me - Let no efforts of the wicked do this. The "hand" is the instrument by which we accomplish anything, and the reference here is to the efforts which the wicked might make to destroy him. The prayer is, that he might be "firm" and "unmoved" amid all the attempts which might be made to take his life.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. foot of … hand … wicked—all kinds of violent dealing.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Of pride, i. e. of my proud and insolent enemies; the abstract being put for the concrete, as Jeremiah 50:31,32: so also Proverbs 12:27 13:6.

Against me; or, upon me, to wit, so as to overthrow or remove me, as it is in the next clause. Remove me; either,

1. From my trust in thee, or obedience to thee. Or,

2. From my place and station; from the land of my nativity, and the place of thy worship. Or, shake me, or cast me down, i.e. subdue and destroy me.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Let not the foot of pride come against me,.... Meaning some proud enemy, such an one as Ahithophel, of whom R. Obadiah expounds, it, who lifted up his heel against him; and is applicable to any haughty enemy of Christ and his people, and particularly to antichrist, the man of sin, that exalts himself above all that is called God;

and let not the hand of the wicked remove me; either from the house of God; or from his throne, that high station and dignity in which he was placed.

Geneva Study Bible

Let not the {i} foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

(i) Let not the proud advance himself against me, or the power of the wicked drive me away.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. Let me not be trampled under foot by proud oppressors, or driven from my home by wicked violence. This verse clearly refers to Psalm 36:1-4. The Psalmist is himself in danger of falling a victim to the ruthless oppressors there described.

remove me] R.V. drive me away, from hearth and home to become a wanderer and a vagabond. The word may be used of exile (2 Kings 21:8; Jeremiah 4:1); but there is not the slightest hint here of an impending invasion. What the Psalmist fears is treatment like that described in Micah 2:9, leaving him a homeless beggar (Job 15:23; Psalm 109:10).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - Let not the foot of pride come against me. The mention of "the foot of pride" is noted as a mark of Davidical authorship. "Every psalm of David which speaks of danger points to the pride of his enemies as the source" (Canon Cook). And let not the hand of the wicked remove me; or, drive me away (Revised Version), i.e. force me into exile, as Absalom's party succeeded for a time in doing (2 Samuel 15:13-30). Psalm 36:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

(Heb.: 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.