Psalm 120:4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. The world's sin is the world's punishment. A correspondence is frequently observed between the transgression and the retribution. The evil we had prepared for others recoils one day upon ourselves; and the cup we had mingled for others is afterwards applied to our own lips. He who sows serpents' teeth need not look for a joyous harvest. This law of correspondence seems to be here indicated. Similar figures are employed to express the offence and the punishment of the wicked (Jeremiah 9:3; Psalm 64:3). But let the slanderer be upon his guard. There is another bow besides that in his possession. The arrows are sharp and burning; and when they are sent from the bow by the arm of Omnipotence, nothing can resist their force, and in mortal agony His enemies bite the dust (Psalm 7:12, 13, 16; Psalm 64:7). This train of thought is also pursued in the illustration of fire. James (James 3:6) compares the tongue of slander to fire. Such is the tongue, and here is the punishment: coals of juniper, remarkable for their long retention of heat. And yet what a feeble illustration of the wrath of God, which burns down to the lowest hell! "His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire." Liars are excluded from heaven by a special enactment of the Sovereign; and all of them "shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (N. McMichael, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. |
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