Song of degrees of David. This psalm was written by David in his younger days, before he came to the throne; while he was in Saul's court, or persecuted by him. The occasion of it, as is generally thought, was a calumny cast upon him, as if he had some ill designs against Saul; was ambitious of the crown, and aspiring to the throne, and was plotting and forming measures to get the government into his hand; see 1Sa 24:9; with respect to all which he declares himself as innocent as a weaned child; and was as far from any such ambitious views as he was when in such a state; for the truth of which he appealed to God.
Kimchi thinks that David, by his example, taught the Jews how to behave in captivity; that as he behaved, so should they, in great humility. The Syriac inscription is,"it is said concerning Jesus the son of Josedech the high priest; and concerning humility.'
'But the psalm no doubt was written by David of himself.Ver. 1. Lord, my heart is not haughty,.... The heart of every man is naturally so, and everything in civil life tends to make it more so; as riches and honour, birth and blood, wisdom, knowledge, and learning, strength and beauty, especially where there is a superiority of those to others; and in religious if persons have not the true grace of God, their hearts will be haughty; if they have a notion of the purity of human nature, and the goodness of their hearts, and are pure in their own eyes, and of the power of their free will to do this and the other, and of their perfection in good works, and are full of their own righteousness, and have some external gifts, and some degree of notional knowledge; but if the heart is made truly contrite under a sense of sin, and is melted with discoveries of pardoning love, it will be humble and not haughty: and those have such hearts who have seen the haughtiness of their hearts, and the exceeding sinfulness of sin; their impotency to that which is spiritually good; their imperfection in all they do; the excellency and suitableness of Christ's righteousness, and that all their salvation is of grace, and that grace is entirely free; and the more spiritual knowledge and experience they have, the more humble they are: and this was David's case, and what he here said was no doubt true, since he hated lying; and besides he speaks this in the presence of and to God the searcher of hearts; though he had been anointed by Samuel, and knew that he was to be successor in the kingdom, yet his heart was not elated with it;nor mine eyes lofty; or "lifted up" , they were lifted up to God in prayer often, out not above his fellow creatures; he behaved himself humbly as well as wisely in Saul's court, where he was raised to great dignity, which gained him the affections of the court, and of all Israel; but there are too many whose eyes are lofty, and their eyelids lifted up, who disdain to look upon those that are inferior to them, as the rich on the poor, the Pharisee on the publican; see Pr 30:13.
This is the character of antichrist, that his look is more stout than his fellows, and is abominable in the sight of God, even a proud look as well as a proud heart, Pr 6:17.