The shield and ike swOrd} If this refera to the dealrur,tmit of Setittaeherib^s army, tt may be truly said Ibit God rendered useless all their warhke histruments, hm angel having: destroyed J 85,000 of theEn in one night.
Ver^e 4. Than the mountains ofprmf.] This is Vi address lo Mount Zton. Thou art more illastrious and excellent llian oil the mountains of preyr i. e,, where wild beasts waoder, and prey on those that are more helpless than themselves, Zion was the place where God diPtit; the other mouBtaius wer« the abode of toild beasU,
Verse 5. The stout-hearted are spoiled] The boasting MasphemerSt such as Hab-shakehf and his master Sennacherib, the king of Assyria,
Thct/ hm^e slept their sleep] They were asleep in their tent when the destroying angel, tho suJTocating wind, destroyed the whole; they over whom it passed never more awoke.
None of ttte men of might] la not this a strong irony 1 Where are your mighty men? their' boasted armourj &c T '
Verse 6, At thy rthuke] It was not by any human means that this immense army was overthrown; it was by the power of God alone. Not only infmnlry was destroyed f hiit the cai^alrjf also.
Cast into m dead sleep.] Were all suffocated in tht tame night. On the destruction of this mighty host, the reader is requested to refer to the notes on 2 Kings six,
V«rte 7. TAflK, eren thou^ art to ho feared] The ] Hebr&w is simple, but very emphatic; nriKW'ilj nrit attah naro attah^ ** Thou art terrible \ thou art," Tlie repetition of the pr&noun deepens the sense, ^
When once ihou art angry /] Liierttly, From the time thou art angry. In the moment thy WTath Is kinclleth in that moment judgment is executed. How aw fui m th ia cun sid erat ion! l[ one hundred and eigh lyfiiie thousand men wofft in one moment destroyed by the wTath of God^ canM thou, thou pkiort miserable, fe^blci SLtinert resiisi his will, and turn aside his thunder!
9 Whem God ^ arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth, Selah,
10 ™ Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath &halt thou restrain.
Verse 9 Thou dtdtt came judgmeni to he heard
Wlien God declared by his prophet that U»e entmy should not prevail^ but on the conimry be de^tmyed, the earth — the land, and by met any my the mhabttants • of the landf were struck witli astonishment and ti.'nari so as not to be able to move. The great boaster Sennacherib, who carried terror, dismay, and d^^sola-, tion every where » w'as now struck with dtmib amaze* ment; and the angel of the Almighty, in a tooment, Btopp^ the breath of those hosts in which he con^ded.
Verse 9, The fnetk^f the earth.\ Th& htmhled qt oppressed people of the land. The poor Jews^ now uttetly helpless, and calling upon the Lord for sncoour,
Verae 10, Surely the wrath of man shall prai£$ thee] The rage of Sennacherib shall only serre to manifest thy glory. Tlie stronger he is, and the tnore he threatens, and the weaker thy people, the more aliftll thy majesty and mercy appear in his dcvtruotiOQ and their support.
The remaitider of wrath shall thou restrain.^ Tbf Hebrew 0ves rather a different sense: " Thou shall gird thyself with the remainder of UTalh/* Even after thou liast sent this signal destmotion upon Sennacherib and hi4 army, thou wilt continue to pursue the retif^ant of the persecutors of thy people; their wrath ahaU be the cause of the excitement of thy justice to deMroy them. As a man girds himself with his girdle, that he may the better perform his work, so thoti wih gird thyself with wrath ^ that thou may est destroy!hy enemies. A good maxim has been taken from this ver^e: " God oHen so eminter\t*orks the evil dcsigiw of men against his cause and folio ^^ers, that it turns out to their advantage and his glory; nor does he permit them to go to the extent of what ihey have pttrpoied^ and of what they are able to perform. He suffers them to do some mischief, but not all they woi/ld or eon do." But liow different is the Tcading of the Vulgate I Qumiam cogiiaiio hominis con/itebtlur tibi^ tt reliquiit cogitatimis diem festum agmt ttbt,* ** Tb« thought of man &hall praise thee; and the remarns ©f thought shall celebrate a feast day 10 thee." The S^tuaginl and the Mthiopic have understood the text in the same way. Some traosjate ihns: " Cerrarinly, the ferocity of the man (Senna ch or ih) shall praise thee; and tbou shalt gird thyself with the spoils of the furious," The spoils of this great army shall be a booty f\>T thy people. Probably this is the true notion of the place, 'thB old Psalter renders it thoa: fat
Uslflt The paraphrase ii carlepiMt of whiph this is
Lord your God: "^ let all that be round about him bring presents ^ urito Ilim that ought to be feared.
Ibe suh«taiici^: ''Wkiea mati fnmktfi perfttly his syiinCi and sitben (ailerwafdfi) rightwiflness wefks; it is!i featc flay; ^henne the CQnscience is clerad, and makea fcMe witb the iswptnca of goddes iufet reatAnd fm be- Aynes of ftjij cre&tu? in erlh: Tluui is God it hame wlLh his epuuse d iveUaii<i ^^
Verae 11. Vote^ and pay vnio the Lordl Bind
IThiSl mght to U fyared,] jmnS iamm&ra, **to the terrible One f^ lest Ihey be consumed as the Assytimns Aatc been, ^ Verae 12, He skaii cut ojf the spirit of princes] Kfen jn Itie inidsi of their conquests, he can Kit them ^ilh lerrOT and dismay, or cut them off in their career fef Tjctoryf He is tefnbU 't0 the kings qf the earth.] ** He is ihe^only Rujei; of princea f * to him they musi account, AjmI a terrible account tnost of ihom will ha^e to give to the great Qod; esp^^cially thoae who, iofsiigated by the desire of dominion, have, in the hist of conquest which it geni^rattiBt luid ooun tries waf^te by fire and tword, makmg widows aitd orphans without number, and exteoding the empire of desolsctipn and dmxk*
Thos all are onder his dominion, and are accountable to him. Even those whom man cannot bnag to justice, God will; and to judge (hem is one grand nm of M^Jinfl Judgmeni-day,
Iti Mi Pgaltii there are three purts r — 1, Tho prerogative of Jo dab and IsraeU ver, 1, S.
II, A nar ration of God's majetty in the Chorcht yer. 3-11. •
11 L An exhortation to worship and serve God,
L The prerogatives of the Jews above all other tiationa^
2. His name was great in Israel. Illustrimis for his minifold deliveranees.
3. At Stdem wajs bis tabemaple, — Ids geai qf wor* shtp^ bia pecuhar pfe&eocei
II, A nurrtttion of God^s power and majesty.
He was glorious among good meu; m^re gl&rifMis than the mountains of prvf' — kingdoms inquired by violence, murdert and rohhery.
And this glvry was manifest in the following ptrli^ culars: —
r. They who came to spoil were spoiled, ver* 5.
3, They could make no head against their destroyer, though they were both?twm<?rfftij and strong; ^ None of the men of might have found their hands,''* ver. 5i
The caose of their eohsiematioti:—
8. He was terrible: "None could stand in his sight," Ver. 7.
3, He was determinate,' "Judgment vras heard from heaven/' Tcr. 8. Sennacherib and hia Iiosi were destroyed*
The effects produced by this were,
1 * Praise from \ be wicked: ** They shaU acknowledge this as the band of God," ver. 1 0.
3. Viclory; though they rally, and return again to the battle, they shall be routed: ** The remainder of wrath shall thauTestraiii," ver, 10. See the notea.
III. He exhortH aH to praise himr — 1. "Vow, and pay." 2. **F*flj and submit to him/* ver. 11.
This exhortation he fouitde on the following vcr^^ Bo^s: —
1. ** He shall cut off the spirit of princes/' take away from tyrants their prudence and courage,
2, ** He is terribk to the kings of the earth." They alao shall know that he is God.
^Br^fi psdfmisl^s ardent prayer to God in ihe time of distress^ 1^4. The meims He ustd to excite his tm^
T ^ CRIED unto God With my voice, even rnito God witfi my voice; and he gave ear unto me.
The tUle^ *' To the chief Musician, (or conqueror,) Jedmhunp A Psaim of Asaph," On this tijj© we may
2 * Tn the day of my trouble I • sought the Lord: ^ my sore mn in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comfoited.
4 Thou boldest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 **I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.
6 I call to remembrance ^ my song in the night: ^ I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.
were called by their names. Hence Psalnia composed daring and after the captivity have these names prefixed to them. But there is reason to believe also, that there was a person of the name of Asaph in the captivity at Babylon. The author must be considered as speaking in the persons of the captite Israelites. It may however be adapted to the case of any- individual in spiritual distress through strong temptation, or from a sense of the Divine displeasure in consequence of backsliding.
Verse I. / cried unto God\ The repetition here marks the earnestness of the psalmist^^.soul; and the word voice shows that the Psalm was not the issue of private meditation^ but of deep mental trouble, which forced him to speak his griefs aloud.
Verse 2. My sore ran in the night, and ceased not] This is a most unaccountable translation; the literal meaning of niJIJ n* yadi niggerah, which we translate my sore ran, is, my hand was stretched out, i. e., in prayer. He continued during the whole night with his voice and hands lifted up to* Qod, and ceased not, even in the midst of great discouragements.
Verse 3. My spirit was overwhelmed.] As the verb is in the hithpael conjugation, the word mast mean my spirit was overpowered in itself. It purposed to involve itself in this. calamity. I felt esquisitely for my poor suffering countrymen.
^' The generous mind is not confined at home; It spreads itself abroad through all the public. And feels for every member of the land."
Verse 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking] Literally, Thou kecpest the watches of mine eyes — ^my grief is so great that I cannot sleep.
/ am so troubled that I cannot speak.] This show^s an increase of sorrow and anguish, ki fir^t he felt his misery, and called aloud. He receives more light, sees and feels his deep wretchedness, and then his words are swallowed by excessive distress. His woes are too big for utterance. " Small troubles are loquacious; the great are dumb." Cure leves loquuntur; ingeiites stupent.
Verse 6. / have considered the days of old] 'n3Bm chishshahti, I have counted up; I have reckoned up the various dispensations of thy mercy in behalf of the distressed, marked down in the history of our fathers.
7 ^ Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he ■ be fa?ourable no more? ^
8 Is his mercy clean gone for OTor? doth ■ his promise fafl • for evermore?
9 Hath God ^ forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies X Selah.
10 And I said, This is ^ my infirmity: hut 1 will remember the years of Uie right hand of the Most High.
plectnon; but here it possibly might be applied to the Psalm that was played on it. But it appears to we rather that the psalmist here gpeaks of the cireumstances of composing the short ode contained in the seventh, eighth, and ninth verses; which, it is probaUe he sung to his harp as a kind of dirge, if indeed he had a harp in that distressfiil captivity.
My spirit made diligent search.] The verb BTDH chaphas signifies such an investigation as a man makes who is obliged to strip himself in order to do. it; or, to lift up coverings, to search Tola by foldt ^^ IQ our phrase, to leave no stone unturned. The Vulgate translates: " Et scopebam spiritum meum." As »copeham is no pure Latin word, it may probably be taken from the Greek O'xofi'Sw scopeo, ** to look about, to consider attentively. '^ It is however used by no author but St. Jerome; and. by himouly here and inJsa. xiv. 23: And I will sweep it with the hesom^ of destruction; scopabo eani in scopa terens. Hence we see that he has formed a verb from the noim scop<t^ a sweeping brush or besom; and this sense my old Psalter follows in this place, translating the passage thus:
Unb ^ jBTtoepeb mp gajalt; which is thus paraphrased: " And swa I sweped my gaste, (t swept my soul,) that. is, I purged it of all fylth."
Verse 7. Will the Lord cast off for everf] Will there be no end to this.captivity t Has he not said, ** Turn, ye backsliders: for I am married unto you: I will heal your backsliding, and love yon freely.** Will he then be favourable no more f Thus the psalmist pleads ^nd reasons with his Maker.
Verse 8. For evermore?] "ni "inS ledor vador, " to generation and generation." From race to race. Shall no mercy be shown even to the remotest generation of the children of the offenders?
Verse 9. Hath God — in anger shut up his tender mercies?] The tender mercies of God are the source whence all his kindness to the chUdren of men flows. The metaphor here is taken from a spring, the nurath of which is closed, so that its waters can no longer run in the same channel; but, being confined, break out, and take some other course. Wilt thoa take thy mercy from the Israelites, and give it to some other people? This he most certainly did. He took it from the Jews, and gave it to the Gentiles.
Verse 10. And I said, This is my infirmity] The Hebrew is veiy obscure, and has been differently tiaoftlated: |rS;r rO" mjB^ K*n ^niSn -^DKI vaomar challothi hi shenoth yemin elyon; "And I said, Is this my weakness? Years the right hand of the Most High.*
f 1 1 'I will remember the works d! the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of cM."
12 I will meditatB ako of all thy work^wand talk of thy doings.
14 Tfcbu aft the God that doest wonders: thou hast dex^larcd thy strength among the
15 * Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16 ^ The waters saw thee, O God, the waters
K *ni^ challpthi comes from nSn ehalah, and signifies to yray, as De Dieu has thought, then his translation maj be proper: Precari hoc meum est; muta)re ^extram Altissimi. ** To pray, this is my bnsinesa,; to change the right hand of the Most High." I can-do BOtking else than pray; God is the Ruler of events. Mr. N. M. Berlin translates, ** Dolere meam hoc est; mHtmre est dextra Altissimi.*' To.grieve is my portion; to change (my condition) belongs to the right hand of the Most High. Here niJBf shenoth, which we translate years, is derived from T\2\ff shanak, Jto eh&nge. This tatter appears to me the better translatioD; the sum of the meaning is, *f I am in deep distress; the Most High alone can <;hange my condition. '^ The old Psalter, following the VtUgate,—Et dixi, NuDCCo^r: haec mutatio dexterse £xcelsi, — rtranslates:
Unb ^ ftaiti, iftotD M began thi^a^ c^aunc^png of cpgf^t kanH of i)itie%^ (highest) Alswa say, God sal noght least al man kynde fra his sigt with outen ende: for Dowe I began to understand the syker; (the truth;) that man sal be brogt to endles; and thar fore, now I said, that this chaunchyng _ fra wieth to mercy, is thrugh Iha Criste that chaanges me fra ill to gude, fra noy to gladnes.
Once more, Coverdale, who is followed by Matthews and Becke, takes the passage by storm: '** At last I came to this poynte, that I thought: O why art thou so foolish? The right hande of the Most Hyest can chaunge all.''
Verse 11. I will remember the works of the Lord] I endeavour to recollect what thou hast done in behalf of our fathers in past times; in no case hast thou cast them off, when, with humbled hearts, they sought thy mercy.
Verse 13. Thy tray— is in the sanctuary] See Psa. Ixxiii. 17.1 must go to the sanctuary now to get comfort, as I went before to get instruction. What a mercy to have the privilege of drawing near to God in his ordinances! How many doubts have been solved, fears dissipated, hearts comforted, darknesses dispelled, and snares broken, while waiting on God in the means of grace!
Some understand the words, Thy way is in holiness «^-all thy dispensations, words, and works are holy, just aad true. And as is thy majesty, so is thy mercy! O) who is so great a God as our God 1
saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.
17 "^ The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: * thine arrows also went abroad.
18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: 7 the lightnings lightened the world: '.the earth trembled and shook.
19 • Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great \yaters, ^ and thy footsteps are not known.
20 ® Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Verse 14. Thou — -doest wonders] Every act of God, whether in nature or grace, in creation or provi dence, is wondrous; surpasses all power but his own; and can be. comprehended only by his own wisdom. To the ^general observer, his strength is most apparent; to the investigator of nature. His wisdom; and to the genuine Christian, his mercy and love.
Verse 15. The sons of Jacob and Joseph.] "The sons which Jacob begat and Joseph nourished." says the Chaldee. The Israelites are properly called the sons of Joseph as well as of Jacob, seeing Ephraim and Manasseh, his sons, were taken into the number of the tribes. All the latter part of this Psalm refers to the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt; and the psalmist uses this as an argument to excite the expectation of the captives. As God delivered our fathers from Egypt, so we may expect him to deliver us from Chalded* It required his arm to do the former, and that arm is not shortened th^t it cannot save., Verse 16. The waters saw thee] What a fine image! He represents God approaching the Red Sea; and the waters, seeing him, took fright, and ran off before him, dividing to the right and left to let him pass. I have not found any thing more majestic than this.
The depths also were troubled.] Every thing appears here to have life and perception. The waters see the Almighty, do not wait his coming, but in terror flee away! The deeps, uncovered, arc astonished at the circumstance; and as they cannot fly, they are filled with trouble and dismay. Under the hand of such a poet, inanimate nature, springs into life; all thinks, speaks, acts; all is in motion, and the dismay is general.
Verse 17. The clouds poured out water] It appears from this that there was a violent tempest at the time of the passage of the Red Sea. There was a violent storm of thunder, lightning, and rain. These three things are ' distinctly marked here. 1. "The skies sent out a sound:" the tbunder. 3: ** Thine arrows went abroad:" the liohtnuvg. 3. " The clouds poured out water:" the rain. In the next verse we have, 4. An Earthquake: " The earth trembled and shook,^ ver. 18.
Verse 19. Thy way is in the sea] Thou didst walk through the sea, thy path was -through a multitude of waters.
Thy footsteps are not known.] It was evid^t from the effects that God was there: but his track pould not be discoyered; still he is the Infinite Spirit, without parts, limits, or passions: No object of
Verse 20. Thou leddest thy people VtU^m fiodil This may refer to the pillar of doud andfirjs. It went before them, and they followed it. So, in the eastern countries, the shepherd doe* not drive, hoi leads, his flock. He goes before them to find them pasture, and they regularly /o//ou> him.
By the hand of Moses and Aaron,] They were God^s agents; and acted, in cwil and sacred things. Just as directed by the Most High. '.
Analysis or the SivEMTY-sBtsiiTH Psalm.
In this Psalm the prophet shows the bitter agony which a troubled spirit undergoes from a sense of Ood's displeasure; and the comfort which it afterwards receives through faith in his promises.
There are two parts in this Psaim: —. I. The, psalmist sets forth the str^e between the flesh and tbe spirit; aqd how the flesh tempts the spirit to despair, and calls in question the goodness of God, ver. 1-10.
II.. Next, he shows the victory of the spirit, over the flesh; being raised, encouraged, and confirmed by the nature, promisee* and works of God, ter. 11-20.
This is an excelleift Psalm, and of great use in spiritual desertion.
I. The strife. The prophet betakes himself to God. 1. He prays. 2. Prays often. 3. Prays earnestly. 4, And with a tro\ibled souK The Psfalm is» therefore, not the exipression of a despairing soul, but of one that' has a great conflict with temptation. %
Though he complains, yist he despairs not.
I. His complaint is bitter, and he sets down how. be was exercised.
1. He found, no intermission; day and night he was in distress. His voice was continually lifted up, and his hands constantly stretched out to God in prayer. When no roan saw him, he prayed. His complaint was in secret, and far from hypocrisy, which always loves to have witnesses.
3. He refused to be comforted, ver. 9.
Ifc llt^biiimn at last speechless throogh grief, Tar. 4;) V. All sleep departed from him, ver. 4. ^
II. He dhows that his grief was aggravated by a consideration of the happiness he once ea)oyed, but had lost.
1. He had cotisidered th^ days at old, ver. 5.
2. He could rejoice in and praise God, ver. 6.
3. But noMT) on diligent search, all good is gone,
4. His debate between hope and despair, which leads him to break out in the following interrogations: 1. Will the Lord cast off" for ever! 2. Will he be favourable no more! 3. Is his mercy clean gone! 4. Doth his promise fail 1 "5. Hath God /orgptten to be gracious 1 6. Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies 1 ver. 7-9.
II. How he is restored.
(2) Of his WORKS: ^ I will remember thy wonders of old," ver. 11.
3. i}n these he will meditate and discourse, ter. 19.
(1) He then addresses- his speech to God; who be understands is to be sought in his sanctuary, ver. IS.
(2) And who is ''infinitely great and good," «er» IS.
(3) Who has declared his strength among 1^ pitople, v^r. 14.
' (4) And partienlariy to the deaoendants of Jaaob;
III. He adlpliHes the story of their dalireranee flrora Egypt by several instances of God's power.
1. In the Ran Sax: '* The waters saw thee," ver. 19.
9. In the HaAvsifs: ''The clouds poured out water,"
IV. The final canae of all was that he might lead his people out of th^ir bondage, and destroy their i miea, ver. 19, 20.
An enumeration of the principal effects of the goodness of Ood to his people, 1-16; of iheir reheUimu and punishment, 17-33; their feigned reppUance, 34-37; God^s compassion towards them, 38, 39; their backsliding, and forgetfulness of his mercy, 40^42; the plagues which he brought upon the Egyptians, 43-51; the deliverance of his own people, and their repeated ingratitude and disobedience, 59-58; their punishment, 59-64; God's wrath against their adversaries, 65, 66; his rejection of the tribes of Israel^ and his choice of the tribe of Judah, and of Dooid to be king over his people, 67-72.
parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
3 • Which we have heard and known, and eur fathers have told us.
4 ' We will not hide them from their children, ' showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
5 For ^ he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that ^ they should make.them known to their children:
6 ^ That the generation to come might know
N6TES ON PSALM LXXVni.
The title, Maschd of Maph; or, according to the margifi^ A Psahn for Asaph to give instruction; contains nothing particular. The Arahie haa, *< A-aermon from Aaaph to the people.*' The Paahn waa probahly not written by David, but tfler the aeparation of the ten tribea of Israel, and after the days of Rehoboain, and hefare the Babylonish captivity, for the temple was still alanding, ver. 69. Calmet supposes that it was written in the days of Asa, who had gained, by the aid of the Syrians, a great victory over the Israelitea; and brought back to the pure worship of Grod many oat of the tribes oi Ephraim^ Manassefh and Simeon. See S Chron. xv. and xvi.
Verse 1. Give ear, O my people] This is the exordium of this very pathetic and instntctire diseourse.
Ver^e 3. In a pafahle] Or, I will give you instruction by numerous examples; see Psa. xlix. 1—4, which beauri a great similarity to this; and see the notes there. The term parable, in its various acceptations, has alr^y been sufficiently explained; but Sv^D mashal may here mean example, as opposed to niin torah, law or precept, ver. J.
Verse 3. Which we have heard and known] We have heard the law, and known the facts.
Verse 4. We will not hide them] In those ancient times there was very little reading, because books were exceedingly scarce; tradition was therefore the only, or nearly the only, means of preserving the memory of past events. They wmre handed down from father to son by parables or pUhy sayings, and by chronological poems. This very Psalm is of this kind, and must have been very useful to the Israelitea, as giving instructions concerning their ancient history, auA recounting the wonderful deeds of the Almighty in their behalf., V0L.IIL ( to)
shotdd be born; whd should turisre Asse, Regis and declare them to their chil- cir.^annam
7 T^tH they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his cominandments:
8" And ■* might not be as their fathers, ^ a stubborn and rAellious generation; a generation ■ that « set not theif heart $uright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
9 The' children of Ephraim, being armed, and' » carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10 *i They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law;
1 1 And ' forgat his works, and his wonders that he had showed them.
Verse 5. A testimony in Ja§9b] This may signify the Tsrious ordinances, rites, an! ceremonies prescribed by the law; and the word law may mean the morai law, or sjTStem of religious instruction, teaching them their doty to God, to-their neighbour, and tc themselves^ These were commanded to the fathers — ^the patriarchs and primitive Hebreios, that they should make them known to their children, who should make them known to the generation that was to come, whose children should also be instructed that they might declare them to their children; to the end that their hope might be in God, that they might not Ibrgret his works, and might keep his commandments: that they might not be as thehr fathers, but have their heart right and their spirit steadfast with God, ver. 6-8. Five generations appear to be mentioned above: 1. Fathers; 3. Their children; 3. The generation to come; 4. And their children; 6. And their children. They were never to lose sight of their history throughout all their generations. Some think the testimony here may mean the tabemade.
Verse 9. The children of Ephraim — turned back] This refers to some defeat of the Ephraimites; and some think to that by the men of Oath, mentioned 1 Chron. vii. 31. R. D. Kimchi says this defeat of the Ephraimites was in the desert; and although the story be not mentioned in the law, yet it is written in the Books of the Chronicles, where we read, on the occasion of ** Zabad the Ephraimite, and Shuthelah, &c., whom the men of Gath, who were bom in the land, slew; and Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him," 1 Chron. vii. 20-33: but to what defeat of the Ephraimites this refers is not certainly JEBOwn; probably the Israelites afler the divisidii of tlie two kingdoms are intended.
Verse 10. They kept not the covenant ofOod] They abMdoned his wonidps both moral nd ritutd. Thejr
13 ^ He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and ^ he made the waters to stand as a heap.
14 "^ In the daytime aUo he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
16 « He ckve the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as ou^ q/*the great depths.
16 He brought ^ streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 And they sinned yet more against him by * provbking the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And •they tempted. God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.
19 ^ Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can Qod *° furnish a table in the wilderness?
20 * Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
21 Therefore the Lord heard thisy and • was
acted like the Ephraimites in the aboye case, in^olhrew down their bows and arrows, and ran away.
Verse 13. The field of Zoan,] ** In campo Taneos,^' Vtdgate, Tanis was the capital of Pharaoh, where Moses wrought so many miracles. It was situated in the DellOt on one of the most easterly branches of the Nile, It was afterwards called Thanis; and from it the district was called the ThanUic Canton. See Cabnet. Dr. Shaw thinks Zoan was intended to signify Egypt in general.
Verse 13. He divided the sea, and eaueed them to pass through] The reader is requested to consult the notes on the parallel passages marked in the margin on this verse and verses 14, 15, 16, 17, &c., where all these miracles are largely explained.
Verse 18. By asking meat for their lust,] DVfijS lenaphsham, " for their souls," i. e., for their lives; for they said in their hearts that the light bread, the manna, was not sufficient to sustain their natural force, and preserve their lives. It seems, however, from the expression, that they were wholly carnal; that they had no spirituality of mind: they were earthly, animal, and devilish.
Verse 22. They believed not in God] After all the miracles they had seen« they wei9 not convinced that there was a Supreme Being! and, consequently, they did not trust tn his salvation — did not expect the^/oriouf rest which he had promised them. Their descendants in the present day are precisely in this state. Malti-
22 Because they ' believed not ^^ in' God, and trusted not in his salvation,:
23 Though he had commanded the clouds from above, ^ and opened the doors of heaven,
24 ^ And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the com of heaven.
25 * Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.
26 ^ He caused an east wind > to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind.
27 He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and ^ feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: '
28 And he let tf fall in the midst of their damp, round about their habitations.
29 ■ So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire;
30 They were not estranged from their lust. But ® while their meat was yet in their mouths.
tndes of them disbelieve the Divine origin of their lav^ and have given up all hopes of a Messiah,
Verse 24. The com of heaven.] The manna. It M about their camp in the form of seeds; add as it appeared to come down from the clouds, it was not improperly termed heavenly com, or heavenly grain, \l'^ D^Oie^ degah shitmayim,' The word shamayim is frequently taken to express the atmosphere.
Verse 25. Man did eat angels* food] Sdk D''T3IC DhS BPK lechem abbirim dchal ish, ^ Man did eat the bread of the mighty ones;" or, each person ate, &e. They ate such bread as could only be expected at the tables of the rich and great; the best, the most delicate food. How little did this gross people know of the sublime excellence of that which they called light bread, and which they said their soul loathed; Num. zxi. 5! It waft a type of Jesus Christ, for so says St. Paul: ** They all ate the same spiritual meat, and drank the same spiritual drink,'* Ac, 1 Cor. x. 3, 4. And our Lord calls himself " the bread that came down from heaven, that giveth life unto the world,** John vi. 31-36: but a Jew sees nothing but with the eyes of flesh. It is true then* doctors or rabbins are full of adlegories, mysteries, and conceits; but they are, in general, such as would disgrace the Cabinet des Fees, and would not be tolerated in Uie nursery. O, bow thick a veil hangs over their gross and hardened het/Hs!
Verse 26. He caused an east wind to bloxo] See the note on ^om. xi. 31. %
32 For all this 'they sinned still, and ■believed not for his wondrous works. ^33 * Therefwe their days did he consume in Taoity, and their years in trouble. •
34 * When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God,
35 And they remembered that ^ God was their rock, and the high God ^ their Redeemer.
Verse 39. Far all this th^ tinned 9tUl\ How &»- iMiishing is this! They were neither drawn by mercies^ nor awed by judgments! But we shall cease to wonder at thus, if we have a thorough acquaintance with our own hearts.
Verse 33. Their days did he consume in vanity] By eaoabg them to wander forty years in the wilderness, vainly expecting an end to their labour, and the enjoyment of the promised rest, which, by their rebellions, Ihey had forfeited.
Verse 34. When he stem them\ While his judgmepts were upon tliem, then they began to humble themselres, and deprecate his wrath. When they saw some fall, the rest.began to tremble.
Verse 36. That God was their rock] They recollected in their affliction that Jehovah was their Creaior, and their JFVi/Affr; the Rock, the Source, not only of their being, but of all their blessings; or, that he was their sole Protector.
And the high God their Redeemer,] dSkA \vhv Ski veel elyon goalam, " And the strong God, the Most High, their kinsman." That one who possessed the right of redemption; the nearest akin' U> him who had forfeited his inheritance; so the wonl originally meaois, and hence it is often used for a redeemer. The Hebrew word Sk:i goel answers to the Greek (fcjnjp, a saviour; and is given to the Lord Jesus Christ, the strong God, the Most High, the Redeemer of a lost world. After this verse there is the following Masoretic note: "taon '3m chatsi hassepher, "The middle of the book." And thus the reader has arrived at the middle of th^ Psalter, a book for excellence unparalleled.
Verse 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him toith their mouth.] What idea could such people have of God, whom they supposed they could thus deceive 1 They promised well, they called him their God, and their fathers^ God; and told him how good, and kind, and merciful lie had been to them. Thus, their mouth flattered him. And they said that, whatever the Lofd their God commanded them to do, they woqld perform.
ter mm with their mouth, and Awae, Regis they hed unto him with their cir. an^ tongues. ^-
37 For y their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant.
38 ■ But he, being full of coiiipassion, forgave their iniquity^ and destroyed them not: yea, many a time •turned be his anger away, and ^ did not stir up all his wrath.
39- For *he remembered **that they wtre but flesh; *a wind that passeth away, and oomethnot again^
the trne sense.6f the Hebrew: Dilezemni eum in ore sno; etlingaa Sua mentiti sunt ei, — **^ They loved hhn with their mouth; and they lied unto him. Witli their tongue.**. "That is," says the old Psalter, "thai sayde
thai lufed God,- hot thai lighed, als thair dedes schewes: for thai do noght als thai hight; for when God eeses to make men rad; than ces^ thai to do wele."
Verse 37. Their heart was not right] When the heart is wrong, the life is wrong; and because their heart was not right with God, therefore they were not faithfnl in hia covenant. -
Verse 38. But he, being full of compassiori] Feel-* ing for them as a father for his children,
And did not stir up all his wrath.] Though they often grietred his Spirit, and rebelled ag^nst him, yet he seldom punished them; and when he did chastise them, it was as a tender and merciful Father. He did not stir up all his wrath — the punishment was much less than the iniquity deserved.
Verse 39. He remembered that they were hut flesh] Weak mortals. He took their feeble perishing state always into consideration, and knew how much they needed the whole of their state of probation; and therefore he bore with them to the uttermost. How merciful is God!
.. A wind that pdsseth away, and cometh not again.] I believe this to be a bad translation, and may be productive of error; as if when a roan dies his being were ended, and death were an eternal sleep. The original is, DIBf vh^ ']^r\ nn ruaah holech velo yashub; and the translation should be, "The spirit goeth away, and it doth not return." The present life is the state of probation; when therefore the flesh — ^the body, fails, the spirit goeth away into the eternal world, and retameth not hither again. Now God, being full of compassion, spared them, that their salvation might be accomplished before they went into that state where there is no change; where the pure are pure still, and the defiled are defiled still. All the Versions are right; but the^polyglot translator of the Syriac, ^|09 rocho, has falseljT ^t ventut^ wind, tnstead of spirxhu^ tonl
^' 41 Yea, ^ they turned back and
42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them ^ from the enemy.
43 How ^he had » wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zqan:
44 ^ And ha4 turned their rivers into "blood; and their floods, that they could tiot drink.
45 " He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and p frogs, which destroyed them.
46 ^ He gave also their increase unto the
** He remembered that they were flesh; and a spirit which, when it departs, does not again return." The human being is composed of flesh and spirit, or body and soul; ttaM are easjily separated, and, when separated^ the body turns to dust, and the spirit returns no more to animate it in a state of probation. -Homer has a sajring yery like that of the psalmist: — v
'* But the soul of man returns no more; nor can it be acquired nor caught after it has passed over the barrier of the teeth."
** But from our lips the vital spirit fled, Returns no more to wake the silent dead."
And the 0»sian4ike version of Macpherson is but Httle better: " But the life of man returns no more; nor acquired nor regained is the soul which once t4dtes Um flight on the wind,^^ What has the wmd to do with the ^pxo( o^ovruv of the Greek poet!
Several similar sayinas may be f(Mmd among the Greek poets > but they aU suppose the materiality of the S09I.
V^irse 41. LimUed the Holy One cf leratl.] The Chaldee translates, " And the Holy One of Israel they signed with a sign," The Hebrew word nnn hithmi is supposed to come from the root n\n tavah, which signifies to mark; and hence the letter n ten, which in the ancient Behrew character had the form of a cross ¥, had its name probably because it lifts used a« a mark. Mr. Bate observes that ia kUjkfoel it 468 r
47 ' He * destroyed their fines <dr. amuua with hail, and their sycamore- "• trees with ^ frost
48 «He TgaTe up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to "^ hot thunderbolts.
49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and. indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
50 ' He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave ^ their life over to the pestilence;
51 ' And smote all.the first-born m Egypt, the chief of their strength in • the tabernacles of Ham:
signifies to challenge or accuse; as one who gives his mark or fdedge upon a trial, and cadses his adveisaiy to do the same. Here it most obviously means ao insolt offered to God.
Verse 47. He destroyed their vines. with haS] Though the vine was never plentiful in E^jpt, yet they have some; and the wine made in that comitty is among the most delicious. The leaf of the vine is often used by the Egjrptians of the present day for wrapping, up their mincemeat, which they lay leaf upon leaf, season it after their fashion, and so cook it, making it *a most exquisite sort of food, according to Mr. MaiUet.
And their sycamore-trees] This tree was very useful to the ancient Egyptians, as all their coffins are made of this wood; and to the modem, as their barques, are made of it. Besides, it produces a kind of ^, on which the common people in general live; and Mr. Norden observes that "they think thanwelves well regaled when they have a piece -of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher of water from the Nile." The loss therefore of their vines and sycamore-trtes must have been very distressing to the Egyptians.
Verse 49. By sending evil angels] This is the first mention we have of evU angels. There is no mention of them in the aceount we have of tko plt^pta of Egypt Id tiie Book of Exodus, and wfiat thdy were we cannot tell: but by what the psalmist saya)m$% of their operations, they were the sorest plaeue thti^pod • had aent; they were marks of the fierceness of his
5S Bat ^ made his own people to go forth like eheep^ and guided ihem in ihc wilderness like a flock.
53 And he "" led them on safely, so iliat they feared not: but the sea ^ overwhelmed * their
54 And he brought thent to the border of his ^ sanctaary, even to this mountain, ^ which his right hand had purchased.
55 ^ Hp cast out the heathen also before them, and * divided them an inheritance' by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
56 * Yet they tempted and provoked the most high Godf and kept not his testimonies:
ang€r, wraih^ indignation ^ and trouble. Sotne think the destroying angel that slew all the firsl-born is \rhiLt is here intended; hut thifl ia disli nelly met&tJoned in ter. 51. An angel or m^^^n^tr may be either animate or i>^7)t#fa/«; a disembGdied spirit or Auman hetng; any fAm^ or Ae«Vig thai ia an instrument jefi^ cf Gi>d for the punlshtncnt ar support of mankind.
Verse 48. He gave up their cdHle] See on Exod. ix.
Vcrae 64, The lorder of Au sQfKtuary] isnp h&dsh&^ " of his holy place/' thai is, the land of Canaan ^ called afterward a ike momitam which Aij nght hand hadr purchased; because it was ^mouniainoiis country^ widely diiferittg ti&m f^gypt, which \Tfts a icmg, copitnuedj and aknost perfect tet>eL
Vera© 57. They were turned fXside fiie a deceitful hotc-l The eastafn ^ow, w^hich whcsn al rest is in the form of a O' ^^^ be recurvedi <>' turned the mntrary way, in Order to be what is called bent and strung* If a peraoD who is unskilful or weak attempt to rtcvrve %nd atiing one of these hows^ i( he take not great heed It will spring hack and regain its quiescent posilion^ and perhaps break his arm. And sometimes 1 ha?e known it, when beatj to start aside^ and regain its qnieaeent position, to my no small danger, and in one or two eases to my injury. This image is fre* quently used in the saored writing?^; hut no person has understood il, not being aequaiuted with the eastern how 0> wbJch must be recurvedt or bent the eontmry way^ ^.^.^^-^ in order to be proper for use* If not well made, they will fly hack in disehafging the arrow. It is said of the bom of Jonathan, it turned not backt 3 Sam. i. $% iinw JiafJ «S (o nnsog achor, *' did not twist itself backward,** It was a good bow, one on which he could depend. Hosea, chap* vii. 16, compares the unfaithful Israelites to a deceitful how; one that, wlien bent, would suddenly start aside and recover its former position* We may find the same passage in Jer. In. 3, And this is precisely the kind of bow mentioned by II&fneTy Odysc Kxl, which none of Penelop«''fl suitors could bendf called Jcct^MruXa T«|et and a/xvXa T^Ja, the troohd bovi> in the state of rest \ but
58 ■* For they provoked him to anger with their * high placesj and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
59 When God heard this^ he was wroih, and greatly abhorred Israel:
60 p So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shlloh, the tent which he placed among men;
61 ^ And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.
62 ^ He gave his people over also unto the BWord; and was wToih with his inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their yocng men; and
T'jI^v fl'oiXjvrovrfv, the recurved bow when prepared ffW use. And of ihis ixM of strength ami ihii m the beniiing of the bow of UlysaeSf none of the critics and comnientaf{»rs have been able tQ tnakc any thingf because they knew not the instrument in question. On the e^lnii flijtf^f of Homer, I hare written a dissertation elaewhere. The image is vety correct; these Israelites, when brought out of I heir natural bent, soon recoiled, and relapsed into their former state.
Verse 60. He forsook the tahernach of Shilah] The Lord, offended with the people, and priQcipally with the priests t who had profaned his holy worship, gava np his aric into the hands of the PhiUstinea. And ao true it is that h& forsook the tabemade of Shiloht that he never returned to it again. See I Sam. vi» 1 5 3 Sam* Ti.; 1 Kings vili. l - where the Beveral rein ovals of the ark are spoken of, and which explain the r^mainiDg part of this Psa!cn. Because God suffered the Phillatmes to take the ark, it h sa.id, ver. 61: ** He delivered his strength into captivity » and his glory into the enemy ^s hand j" and ver* 67, that ** he refused the tabernacle of Josephf and ehose not the tribe of Ephraim:*' for Shiioh was in the tribe of Ephraim the son of Joseph; and God did not auSer hia ark in return thither, bat to go Ui Ktrjaih-Jearim, which was in the tribe of Benjamin; from thence to the house of (Med-edom r and so to Zion in the tribe of Judah, as it follows, ver, 6d«
The tahemade which Moses had const nieted in the wilderness remained at Sbiloht even after the ark was, taken by iha PhUiatines, and afterwards sent to Kirjatb' Jeariin. From Shiioh it was transported to Nob; afterwards to Gibeon, apparently under the reign of 8aul; and it was there at the commence men t of Sulo* njon's reign, for this prince went thither to offer sacrifices, 1 Kings iii^ 4. From the time In which tha temple was built, we know not what he came of Ihs tabernacle of Moses; it was probably laid up tn some of the chambera of the temp!e> See CaimeL
05 Then llie Lord * awaked as one out of sleep, and * like a mighty man that shoutelh liy reason of wine,
66 And 7 he smoie his enemiea in the twder part: he put them to a perpetual reproacli.
07 Moreover he refused ihe tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:
69 And he ^ bulk his sanctuary cir anaun hke high palace^^ like the earth
Verse 63* Their maidens were not gitm to m(^
rings*] ibS^n huUalu^ were not celebrated with mar* ringe songB. It is considered & calamity jn ihe ea»t if a maiden anive^ a^t the age of ttpelt^e years without l>eing sought or given in marriage.
YtTnQ 64. Their pritsts fell iy the Jt^or^ Hophni wjd Phinehas, who were akin in that utifgrtunate battle a^inat the Fhilistinea in which the ark of ihe Lord was takcin, 1 Sam. iir. 11.
A Clitltlee Tnrgttm on thk passage saja, ** To the lime in which the ark of the Lord was taken by the Phi* listines, Hophni and Phinehas^ the two prieils, fell by the sword at Shiloh; and wlien the news wsls brought, their wivev made no lamentation, for they both died Iha aaiBe day.'*
Verse 65. Then the Lord awaked] lie seemed aa if he had totally disregarded what was done to his people, m\A the reproach that aeetncd to fall on him* self and his worshtp hy the capture of tlie ark.
Like a mighty man\ 113 J J kiigi^for^ like a hero thni shoutelh by reason of trim* One who, going forth to meet hia onctny, having taken a anffieiency (if wine to refreeh himself^ and become a proper stimulua to Itis animal spirits, shouU — gi^es the war-^gnal for the onset; impatient to meet the foe^ and sure of victory^ "^Fhe idei m not taken from the cn&G of a drtm^e^n mau. A peraon in anch a state would be very unfit to meet his enemy, and eonjd have little proii|>eci of conquesEp
Vorae 66. He smote hu enemies in the hinder part] This refers to the hemorrhoids with which he afllicted the Philislinea. See the note on 1 Sam, v. &-10.
Verse 69 He built his santiuary like high palaces] D*01 1D3 kem(f ramim^ which aevertd of the Versions linderatatid of the m(moceros or rhinoceros. The temple of God at Jernsalem wtm the orUy one in the land, and stood as promitHnt on Mount Zion as the horn of the tmieom or rhinoceros does upon his anout. And there he estalfli^hed hia ark, to go no more out as long ws the temple should last. Before this time it was frei^ucntly in a migratory state, not only in the wilderness, but afterwards ia the promised land. 8eo tl|@ moles on vtsf, 60.
70 ° He chose David also his servanly and took him from the sheepfolds:
71 ^ From following the * ewes great with 1 young he brought him 'to feed Jacob hit i people, and Israel bis inheritance.
72 So he fed them according to the 'integrity of Jiis heart; and guided them by the sKilfulneas of his hands,
Verse 67. Ih refttsed th« taherrio^te qf Joseph] See the note on ver,
Verse 7l* From following the ejt^es] Instane«8 of this kind are not un frequent in the ancient Greek and I Roman hialory, Crmji/j said that Gyges^ who was the Brst of his race, was a slave ^ and rose to smyereignty, succeeding hia pr^ecesaorj of who^e sheep he had been ihe paslm;
Verse 73. So he fed them] Here Bairid is mentioned as hating terminated Ids trign. Ho had fbi the people, according to the integrity of km heart t for that was ever dispOBed to do the will of God in the administration of the kingdom: and his hand being skilful in war, he always led them out to victory against their enemies.
The psalmist, considering that it is QodV command that his works he not forgo itei», but that ihe father '-should deliver his fornier doings to posteriiy, that they might be to them both comfitrt and ins f ruction, deter them from sin^ and persuade them to fear Godt gives in this Psatm a lot^7 calaloguc of God's dealings with hia people, even from their coming out of Egypt to the conchision of the reign of David,
There are three principal parts in tbk Paalm:-^
1. A preface^ in which the psalmist eithmts men to learn and declare the way of God, ver 1-S.
IL A eontinued narrattre of God^s administration among the people, and theii stubbornHexSf dtsQ^edience^ ' and contumacy; together with the punishments which God inflicted upon them, ver 9—67.
III. Hi3 mercy, manifested in llic midst of judgment; that he did not cut them off, but, after the rejection of Ephrairaj (Israel,) made ehoice of Judah, Zion, and David.
1. To the f^nirACie or exordium he labours to gain attention I " Give ear, O my people/' vet. I,
1. 8ho^'s that he ia about to deliver doettinea and precepts from heaven. It is God ^s law\ and it should be heard: L For its exeellenec, ver. 2* H* For its certainty, ver. 3.
9» He show^a the end, which is another argument for attention, l. It must not be hidden fiom thetr
Then follow the dutteji of their ch^drefii which are three: 1, That they might know God, his law, his works, ver. 6. 2, That they might trust in. him, ver. 7. 3. That they might be obedient, vet. 8.
II. The HARftATWtt. Theii' fathers wer« stubborn »nd rebeUioos, of which he gives seveial exam plea: —
1. In Mphraim; *^ They lurned Imek in the day of baltle," ver, 9.
2. They kept not the ctrnmani of God, vet. 10,
3. They fdrgat Air works in Egypt, ver, 1I» The pttoimiAt extends ihia nmrrative, and ahowa, L
I. His goodness in bringing them out of Egypt in ■ueh a marrelloua way, ver. 12. L He divided the Eed Sea, ver. 13, 3. He made the water? to stand on a heap, rer. 13.
%. Hia loise in providing for them. K He clave thtt lock that they might have water, ver. 16. 2. He canned these %^ters to follow them aa rivers, ver. 16. S. And thus they had an ahondant supply, vei. 16.
They were incrednlous-
I. They tempted God, by desiring otk^r ^uppiiet than his providence had designed. He £pive Ihem iRonnat they would have^ej^,
3. They were foolishly trnpadent, ojid muat have immediaiely whatever they thought propert else they murciured. They eaid> I. He soiote tJve ro<!k, and the t&ater gushed out. 2. But can he give ^read also! ver. to.
He |rro?ided manna for them; an especial blessing, UQ various couside rations.
Weuy of this, they desired fiesh. In this also God heard theni. I. He brought quails. 2. In abundance. 3. Brought them to and about the c<m^pf so that I hey had no Ifljbaur to find them, ver. 25, 20, 28. 4* They were all gratified with them, ver. 29.
See God's justice in their pnniahment, and the cause of it.. 1. They were ** not estranged from their lust," ver. 30. 3. His wrath cmme upon them, 3. It came suddenly, 4. It slew Lhem. 6. Even the chief of them, ver, 3 1.
S«e their sin notwithataiiding. I. For all this, they ainned yet more, 2* Thfiy were ineredulous, vet, 32. 3* He caused them to consume their days in vanity. 4. And their years (forty long years) in trouble, ver. 33^
They bej^n apparently to relent. 1. They sought him, 3, They returned, 3. They sought after God.
4. They remembered that he was their Roek, I the Most High their Redeemer, ver. 34, 35,
On a review of this, the prophet extols the goodness of God that bore with such a people,
1. He opened to them the fountain of mercy: " Ht hetng full of compassion.'**
2. He displayed an o^f of this mercy r '^ He forgave their iniquity/*
3. Though he pynished in a measure, yet he r^ strained his vindictive Justice, and destroyed Ihem not,
His molivea for this tenderness: 1, He remembered that they were but fluh^ 2. That, their probation once ended, their state was fixed /or ever, ver. 39. See the note.
He proceeds with the stoty of their rehtlltom. 1. They provoked him often in the wilderness. 2. They grieved him in the desert, ver. 40. 3. They returned to sin^ tempted him. 4. Insulted him. 5. And forgal all his pcLst mercies, ver. 41-^43. Mere parlieularljt 1. They rememl>ered noi his hand, ver. 42 > 2. Nor hia signs in Egypt, ver. 44.
The wonders 'which he wrought in Egypt, Fipe of the plagues mentioned: —
First pl^ue. He tumed their rwers into blood,
Second plague. The frogs destroyed them, ver. 45,
1. He east upon them the Berceneaa of his wrath* 2. Sent evil angels among them. 3. And made ^ path for his anger^ ver. 49.
The frst plague. H« gave their life to tbje pestilence, ver, 50,
The last plague. He slew their first-born, ver. 51,
Ho now gives a recital of God's tnercy b the folio wing particulars:
1. He btoughC his people through the Bed Sea,
2. He guided them as a flook.
3. He kept them in safely » ver 53.
4. He did not suffer them still to wander, but brought them, — 1. To the border of his sanctuary, 2, Even to Mount Zion. 3. Cast out the heathen before them. 4. And divided them an inheritance by lot, ver. 54, S5.
For thisj^l, God's wrath grows more hot again sj the people. 2. He greatly abhorred Israel, 3, Forsook the tabernacle. 4. Delivered up the ark. 5. Gave the people to the sword. 6. Gave up ihe priests to death. 7. And brought upon them general dcaolar tion, ver. 59^64.
Once more, God — ^1, Remembers them in mercy, 2. Fixes his iabemade among them. 3, Chooses
Tk^ psalmist complains of PSALMS.
Jhmd ta be their king. I. During live whole of whose da3rs they bad prosperity m all things, vet, §§-72.
Behold here the foodnew mnd MM^erity of God« Beider^ learn wisdom by what those have Bufiered,
7%e psalmist complains of the erueiif of his entmes and ihe desoiatitms of Jffvsalem^ and prays against ihern^ 1^7* He prays for ihe pardon and restar&iion cf Aw people^ and promises graitSude an4 o6#- di&w0, 8^13.
2 " The dead bodies of ihy senranls have they given to he meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of tliy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; ' and there was none to bury them.
4 ' We are become a reproach to our neighbours, ft scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
The titk, A Psabn of Asaph, mtiBt be undetitood fiB either apply ing^ to a person of the name of Asupk who lived under the captiirLty; or else to the family €f Asaph; or to a band of sin^srs fltill hearing the jiame of that Asaph who flour bhed in the days of David ^ for moat undoubtedly the Psalm was composed during the Babylonish captirity, when the city of Jerusalem lay in heapst the temple was defiled, and the people were iu a slate of captivity. David could not be its ttuihor. Some think it was composed by Jeremiah; and It ia certain that the si:eth and Metyenih versea are exactly the same with Jer. x. 35: ** Povii out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the famillea that call not on thy name: for they have @aten up Jiicobi and devoured htm, and consumed him; and have made his habitation desolate.^'
Verse 1. The heathen are come into thirw inherit" ance] Thou didst caat tliem ott/f and take thy people in; they have cast us out, and now taken possession of the land that belongs to thee. They have defiled the temple, and reduced Jerusalem to & heap of ruins; and made a general slaughter of thy people «
Verse S. The dead bodies of Ihy servants] It ap^ pears that in the destruction of Jerusalem the ChaJdeaus did not bury the bodies of the alain, but left ihem to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey. This w^ th# grossest inhumanity^
5 ^ How long, Lord? wilt thou be angiy for ever? shall thy ^ jealousy btun like fire?
6 ^ Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that ^ have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have " not called upon thy name.
7 For they have devoured Jacobg and laid waste his dwelling-place.
8 *^ 0 remember not against us " former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are p brought very low,
9 *> Help us, 0 God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver, us, and purge away our sins, ' for ihy name^a amke.
Verse 3. There wns nmte to htry them.] Tll6 Chaldeans would not; and the Jews whd were not sl&in were carried into captivity.
Verse 4. We are become a reproarh to our neigh* hours] The Idumeans, Philistines, PhotnicianSr Am* monites, and MonbiteB, all {gloried in the suhju^tion of this people; and their insults to them were mixed with btasphemies agminst Gckd.
Verse 5. How long, Lordf] Wdt thou eoniinue thine aiiger against us; and suffer tis to lie insulted, and thyself blasphemed?
Verse S* Pour out thy wrath] Bad as w» are, wo are yet less wicked than they. We, il ia true, have been unfaithful; but they never knew thy itsine, and are totally abandoned to idolatry.
Versa 7. Laid waste his dufelltng-j^me] The Chaldee understands this of the tetttple, Thia, by way of eminence, was Jacobus pla^e. I have already re* marked th&l these two verses are almost sim^ar tn Jer* X* 26, which has led many to believe that Jert' miah was the author of this Psalm.
Verse 8, Refiiemher not against us former iniquities] Visit us not for the sins of oar forefathers.
Speedily pr^oent us] Let them go before us, and turn us out of the path of destruction \ for there is ao help for us but iti thee.
We are brought very tmo.] LlteriHy, "We are greatly thinned.*' Few of ua remain*
10 " Wherefore shoulcf Ihe ^ ttn|hrn say. Where is their God? pH him te knbW among the heathen in our si^i by tho * tevenging of the blood of thy servaiils which U shed.
1 1 Let * the sighing of the prisoner come^ before thee; according to the greatnesti pf " thy power ^ preserve thou those that ate qipointed to die; •
jrofN^toM, or r^oeit^e on jitonemetU (U^nKOH V 4^ ekmitotkeynu) on account of our sins.
Verse 10. Where is M«tr GW /] Show where thou art bj rising up for oar FedemptioD, a^ the infliction «f deserred punishment upon our enemies.
Verse 1 1. The sighing of the prisoner] The poor empure Israelites in Babylon, who sigh and cry beoanse of their bondage.
Those that are appointed to die] nmon ^33 heney rtiuMoA, " sons of death.'' Either those who were eonderoned to death because of their crimes, or conto be destroyed by their oppressors. Both senses apply to the Israelites: Uiey weve sons of death, i. e., worthy of death because of their sins against CM; they were condemned to death or utter destmctioo, by their Babylonish eneipiies.
Verse 12. Sevenfold into their bosom] That Is, Let them get in this world what they deserve for the' enielties they haye inflicted on us..Let them suffer in eaptivity, who now have us in bondage. Probably this is a prediction.
Verse 13. We thy people] Whom thou hast choaen ftom among all the people of the earth.
And sheep of thy pasture] Of whom thou thyself art the Shepherd. Let us not be destroyed by those who are thy enemies; and we, in all our generations, win give thanks unto thefe for ever.
Analysis or the SBYCNTT-ifiHTH Psalv.
This Psalm contains the four following parts: — L A cfomplaint for the desolation of Jerusalem, ▼er. 1-5.
18 So 'Hfo thy people and iMepof thy pasture will give thee thaidu for ever: *'we will Atm forth thy praiser ^ to all gem* rationJB.'
I. The complaint is hitter, and is amplified by a dimaXi —
I. **The heathen are come into thine inheritance,"
4. They have exercised cruelty towards the dead. $. " They have *shed blood Uke water," ver. 3.
6. They have not even buried those whom they slaughtered.
II. Next comes the cause of their calamity.
1. God's ang^ was kindled because of their sins,
1. Against the enemy: 1. Pour out thy wrath on M«m, not on ta, ver. 6; 3. He adds the reason; " They have devoQred Jacob," ver. 7.
9^ The second part of the prayer is in behalf of the people: 1. ^Remember not against us former oU fences," ver. 8. 3. "Let thy mercy prevent us." The reason: " We are brought yery low." 3. His prayer is directed for help to the God of salvation, 4. For deliverance and pardon of sin, ver. 9.
His arguments to prevail with God: —
1. The blasphemy of the heathen, ver. 10.
9. The misery of the people, ver. 1 1. And another prayer against the enemy, ver. 19.
rV. The doxology.
i. We, who are thy people, will be thankful.
9. We will leave a record of thy mercy to all generations, ver. 13.
A prayer for the captives, 1-3. A description of their miseries, 4-7. Israel compared to a vineyard^ 8*14. Its dtsolate state f and a prayer for it* raatoration^ 16-19.
r^IVE ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph ''like a flock; **thou that dwelleat between the d^enibims, « shine forth.
2 ^ Before Ephiaim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up.thy strength, and ' come and save us.
3 ** Turn us again, O God, * and cause diy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long ^ wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?
The tUle: see Psa. xlv., Ix., and Ixix., where every thing material is ei^plained. This Psalm seems to have been written on t))e same occasion with the former. One ancient MS. in the public library in Cambridge writes the eightieth ajid the seventy-ninth all as one Psalm; the subject-matter is precisely the same — wSb made on the same occasion, and probably by the same author.
Verse 1. O Shepherd of Israel] The subject continued from the last yerse of the preceding Psalm.
Leadest Joseph] Israel and Joseph mean here the whole of the Jewish tribes; all were at this time in captivity; all had been the people of the Lord; all, no doubt, made supplication unto bim now that his chastening hand was upon them; and ibr all' the psalmist makes supplication.
That dwellest between the cherubims] It was between the cherubim, oyer the cover of the ark, called the propitiatory or mercy-seat, that the glory of the Lord, or symbol of the Divine Presence, appeared. It is on this account that the Lord is so often said to dwell between the chertthim. Of these symbolical beings there is a long and painful account, or system of conjectures, in ParkhursCs Hebrew Lexicon, of about twenty quarto pages, under the word 3*0 cardb.
Shine forth.] Restore thy worship; and give us such evidences of thy presence now, as our fathers had under the first tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple built by Solomon.
Verse 3. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh] It is supposed that these three tribes represent the whole, Benjamin being incorporated with Judah, Manasseh comprehending the country beyond Jordan, and Ephraim all the rest. — Dodd,
Verse 3. Turn us again] y^TWTl hashibenu, convert or restore us. There are four parts in this Psalm, thrise of which end with the above words; see the third, seventh, and nineteenth verses; and one with words similar, ver. 14.
Verse 5. Thoufeedest them with the bread of tears] They have no peace, no comfort, nothing but continual sorrow^
5 'Tboii feedest them witl^ Uie bread of tears; ana givest them tears to drink in great measure.
6 ™ Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 ^ Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
8 Thou hast brought ® a vine out of Egypt: ^ thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it
9 Thou <tpreparedst room before it, arid didst cause it to take -deep jOot, and it filled the land.
In great measure.] BrSsf shalish, threefold. Some think it was a certain measure used by the ChaldeaDS, the real capacity of which is not known. Others tlunk it signifies abundance or abundantly.
Verse 6. Thou makest us a strife] The neig^ bouring districts have a cobtroversy about us; we are a subject of contention to them. A people so wonderfully preserved, and so wonderfully punished, is & mystery to them. They see Ih i^ both the goodnesM and severity of God. Or, all the neighbouring nations j6in together to malign: and execrate us. We are hated by all;. derided and cursed by all.
1. This vine was brought out of Egypt that it might be planted in a better and more favourable soil. The Israelites were brought out of their Egyptian bondage that they might be established in the land of Canaan, where they might grow and flourish, and worship the true God.
3. When the husbandman has marked out a proper place for his vineyard, he hews down and roots up all other trees; gathers out the stones, brambles, &c., that might choke the young vines, and prevent them from being fruitful. So God cast out the heathen nations from the land of Canaan, that his pure worship might be established, and Uiat there ttiigfat not remain there any incitements to idolatry.
Verse 9. Thou preparedst — before it] 3. When the ground is properly cleared, then it is well digged and manured, and the vines are placed in the ground at proper distances, &c. So when God had cast out the heathen, he caused the land to be divided by lot to the diflferent tribes, and t^en to the several famflies of which these tribes we^ composed,
fO The hills were covered with the shadow of It, ani the boughs thereof were like ' the goodly cedars.
-1 1 She sent out hex boughs unto the sea, and her branches "unto the river.
12 Why hast thou then * broken down her hedges, so that all they wl\ich pass by the "my 4o pluck her?
13 The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.
14 Return^ we beseech thee, O God of hosts: ^ look down from heaven, and behold^ and visit this vine;
• And didst cause it to take deep root'\ 4. By shelterlag, propping up, and loosening the ground about the tender plants, they are caused to take a deep and ^nn looting in the ground. Thus did. God, by especial manifestations of his kind providence, support and pro- 'tect the Israelites in Canaan; and by various religions iffdinances, and civil institutions, he establidied tliem IB the land; and, by the ministry of priests and profJiiets, did every thing necessary to make them morally jfruitful.
It filed the land.] 5. Tp multiply Vines, the gardOBfir cuts off a shoot. from the old.tree, leaving a joint or knob both at top and bottom; then plants it in proper •oil; the lower knob furnishes the roots^ and the upper the ^ioot^ which should be carefully trained as it grows, in order to form another vine. By these^means onetree will soon form a complete vineyard, and multiply itlelf to any given quantity. Thus God so^ carefiiUy, teoderiy, and abundantly blessed the Israelites, that, th^ increased and -multiplied; and, in process of time, iiU^ the whole land of Canaan. Vines are propagated, not only by cuttings, but by layers, seed, graftings and moeulaiion.
Verse 10. The hills were covered] 6. The vine, carefully cultivated in a suitable soil, may be spread to- any extent. In the land of Jndea it formed shades under which the people not only sheltered and refreshed themselves in times of sultry heats; but it is said they eren ate, drank, and dwelt under the shelter of their vines. See I Kings iv. 25; Mic. iv. 4; i Mac. xiv. IS.. God so blessed. the Jews, particularly in the days of David and Solomon, that all the neighbouring nations were subdued — the Sjrrians, Idumeans, Philistines, Ao^ites, and Ammonites.
Verse 1 1. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river.] The Israelitish empire extended from the River Euphrates on the east to the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and from the same Euphrates on the north of the promised land to its farthest extent on the south; Syria bounding the north, and Arabia and Egypt the south. And this was according to the promises which God had made to the Others, Exod. xxiii. 31; Deut. xi. 24.
Verse 12. Why hast thou broken dmon] 7. When ft, vinejard is planted, it is properly fenced to preserve
16 And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planteffy and the branch that thou madest ^ strong for thjself.
16 It iff buitied with fire, it is cnt down: ^ they perish «t Ibe rebuke of thy countenance.
17 ' Let thy Band be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man wfurni thou madest strong for thyself.
18 So will not we coback from thee: quicken us, and we will calf upon thy name.
19 7 Turn us again, O Lord God^ of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
it from being trodden down, or otherwise injured by beasts; and to protect the fruit from being taken by the unprincipled passenger. So God protected Jerusalem and his temple by his own almighty arm; and none of their enemies could molest them as long as they had that protection. As it was fww spoiled, it was a proof that that protection had been withdrawn; therefore the psalmist addresses the Lord with, ** Why hast thoa broken down her hedges 1" Had God continned his protection, Jerusalem would not have been destroyed.
Verse 13.- The boar out of the wood] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was a fierce and cruel sovereign. The allusion is plain. The wild hogs and buffaloes make sad havoc in the^Ee^ of the Hindoos, and in' their orchards: to keep them out, men are placed at night on coveired stages in the fields.
Verse 14. Retum^O God of hosts] Thou hast abandoned us, and therefore our enemies have us in captivity. Come back to us, and we shall again be restored.
Behold, and visit this vine] Consider the state of thy own people, thy own worship, thy own temple. Look down! Let thine eye affect thy heart.
Verse 15. The vineyard which thy right hand hath planted] Thy holy and pure worship, which thy Almighty power had established in this city.
And the branch— thou madest strong for thyself] The original is |3 Sjn veal ben, " and upon the Sow whom thou hast strengthened for thyself." Many have thought that the Lord Jesus is meant. And so the Chaldee understood it, as it translates the passage thus: KH'BfD KOSo Sn veal malca Meshicha, " And upon the King Messiah, whom thon hast strengthened for thyself." The Syriac, Vulgate, Septuagint, ^thiopic, and Arabic, have, " the Son of man," As in the seven^ teenth verse. Eighteen of KennicotVs and De RossVs MSS. have D1K p ben Adam, " Son of man;" and as the Versions have all the same reading, it was probably that of the original copies. As Christ seems here to be intended, this is the first place m the Old Testament where the title Son of man is applied to him. The old Psalter understands this of setting Christ at the right hand of God.
persoa who can be said to be ^ AMgiil hand of God as intercessor, is Jksub the IfttiiAX. 1j^ him become 001 Deliverer: appoint him for this purpose, and let his strength be manifested in our weakness! By whom wee the Jdws to be festered^ if indeed they ever be xaatored to their own land, but by Jwmja Cbust t By uiM ahn4 can they find merey; through him ahn€ can they ever be reconciled to Grod.
Verse 18. 80 will not we go back from thee] We shall no more become idolaters: and it is allowed on all hands that the Jews were never guUty of idolatry after their return from thjB Babylonish captivity. -
■ We will cdU vpon thy name,'] We will myoke thee. Thou shalt be for ever the object of our adoration, and the centre of all our hopes.
O I^rd God of hosts] Thou who hast. all pcywer la heaven and earth, the innumerable hosts of both worlds being at thy command.
Cause thy face to jAme] Let us know that thou art reconciled to ns. Let us once more enjoy thy approbation. Smile upon thy poor rebels, -weary of their sins, and prostrate at thy. feet, imploripg merey.
And we shall he imoed.] From the power and oppression of the ChaMeans, from the guilt and condemnation of our sins, and from thy wrath and ererlaeling displeasure. Thus, 0. God, save vs! •
AiTAXTsn or tbiEiobtiitu Psalm.
The parts of this Psalm are the followiiig: —
III. In the twelve last Torses, to move Ged*s mercy, he, 1. Shows Grod^s lore to Israel under the allegory of a Tine, Ter. 8-19. S. Deplores the waste made upon it, ver. 12, 13. 3. Prays for its restorition, ver. 13-18.
The arguments he uses to induce the Lord to
1. He was formerly their Shepherd. 2. Be sat' tween the eherUbim, on the mercy-seat, 3. He only to shine forth, and dipw himsdf; and they be saved. ^ '^
II. The second part, his complaint. He o3|i|> plains, 1. That God was angry with them. ^9* ISA the people were in the most distressed circvtMUMT ver, fr.. 3. Of what they suffered from Aeftnuigl hours, ver. 6.
On which he redoubles his prayer. 1. Turn ns., 9. Cause thy face to shine. And, 3. Then we shall be saved, ver. 7.
III. The third part: what God had doni for his people. ' 1. H^ brought the vine out. of Egypt, ver. 8.
2. He cast out the heathen, ver.. 8..3. He planted it. 4. He prepared the soil for it. 5. He caused it to take deep root«^ 6. And it filled the land, from the river Ebphrates to the Mediterranean Sea, ver. 9-li.»- -
He deplores the waste made upon H. 1. The fence was broken down. 2. It was spofled by those who passed by, and by the wild beasts.
Then he prays, 1. Look down from heaven. 9. Yimt this vine. 3. It is cut down. 4. It is burnt lArith'fiie. B. Let thy power m its behalf be shown by the Bfan of thy right hand. See the notes.
Some thinlc Zerubbabel is meant; others think the Jewish nation is thus called the son of man, and the man of (MTs right hand.
IV. The last part of the Psahn: gratitude and ob^ence are promised. 1. We will backslide no more, ver. 48. • 9. We are nearly dead; quicken ua, and we will live to thee. 3. We will invoke thy name. We win serve thee alone, and never more bow down to any strange god, ver. 18.
All these things considered, he thinks he faae good ground for his prayer; and therefore cmA- AenAy repeats what he had twice before said: ** Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy fiu» to Mne,^ Ac.
An exhortation to the people to praise Ood for his benefits^ 1-7; and to attend to what he had prescrihedf 8-10; their disobedience lamented, 11; the miseries brought on themselves by their transgressions^
glNG aloud unto God our strength: make. a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
NOTES ON PSALM LXXXI. The title is the same as to Psalm viii., which see. There are Various opinions concerning the occasion and time of this Psalm: but it is pretty generally agreed that it was either written for or used at the eelebration of the Feast of Trumpets, (see on Lev.
2 Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.
xziii. 94,) which was held on the first day of the month TYm, which was the beginning of the Jewish year; and on that day it is still used in the Jewish worship. According to Jewish tradition, credited by many learned Christians, the world was created in Tisri, which answers to our September^ The Psalm
it For \ this was a statute for Israel, and a
.6 ' I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands r were delivered from ^ the pots.
7 ^ Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; ^ I answered thee in the secret.place of
may bave been used In celebrating the Feast of Tronipets on the ifirst day of Tisri, the Feast of Tabernacles on the fifteenth of the same month, the creation of the world, the Feasts of the New Moons, and the.deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt; to all which circumstances it appears to refer.
Verse 1. Sing aloud unto God our strength] There is much meaning here: as God is our strength, let that strength be devoted to his service; therefore, sing aloud! This is principally addressed to the piests and Levites.
Verse 2. Take a psalm] mOT zimrah, I rather tkink that this was th^ name of a musical instru-
Verse 3. Bloto up the trumpet] 1919 shophar, a species of horn. Certainly a wind instrument, as the two last were stringed instruiiftents. Perhaps some chanted a psalm in recitativo, while all these instruments were used as accompaniments. In a representative system of religion, such as the Jewish, there most have been much outside work, all emblematical of better things: no proof that such things should be continued under the Gospel dispensation, where outsides have disappeared, shadows flown away, and the substance alone is presented to the hearts of mankind. He must be ill oflf for proofs in favour of instrumental music in the Chutch of Christ, who has recourse to practices under the Jewish ritual.
The feast of the new moon was always proclaimed by sound of trumpet. Of the ceremonies on this occasion I have given a full account in my Discourse an the Eucharist. For want of astronomical knowledge, the poor Jews were put to sad shifts to know the real time of the new moon. They generally sent persons to the top of some hiU or mountain about the time which, according to their supputations, the new moon should appear. The first who saw it was to give inmiediate notice to the Sanhedrim; they closely
8 "Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
9 ^ There shall no ' strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.'
10 4 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: ' open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
1 1 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would ' none of me.
examined the veporter as to his credibility, and whether his information agreed with their calculations. If all was found satisfactory, the preaident proclaimed the ne^ moon by shouting out VlpD mModesh I ^ It is consecrated**^ This word was repeated twice aloud by the people; and was then proclaimed every where by blowing of Mhu, or what is called the sound of trumpets. Among the Hindoos some feasts are announced by the sound of the conch or sacred shell.
Verse 5. / heard a language I understood not.] This passage is difficult. Who heard? And what was heard? All the Versions, except the Chaldee, read the pronoun in the third person, instead of the first, '^ He heard a language that he understood not.*^ And to the Versions Kennicott reforms the text, jnDBT njn^ >6 nDBf sephath lo yadah yisma; " a language which he did not understand he heard.^' But what was that language? Some say the Egyptian; others, who take Joseph to signify the children of Israel in general, say it was the declaration of God by Moses, that Jehovah was the true God, that he would deliver their shoulder from their burdens, and their hands from the pot's — the moulds and furnaces in which they formed and baked their brick.
Verse 7. Thou calledst in trouble] They had cried by reason of their burdens, and the cruelty of their task-masters; and God heard that cry, and delivered them. See Exod. iii. 7, &c.
In the secret place of thunder] On Mount Sinai; where God was heard, but not seen. They heard a voice, but they saw no shape.
At the waters of MerUtah.] See this transaction, Exod. xvii. i, &c.
Verse 8. Hear, O my people] These are nearly the same words with those spoken at the giving of the law, Exod. XX. S.
Verse 10. Open thy mouth wide] Let thy desires be ever so extensive, I will gratify them if thou wilt be faithfiil to me. Thou shalt lack no manner of thing that is good.
Verse 11. Israel would none of me.] ^S n3K ¥h lo abah li, They willed me not, they would not have me for their God>
12 * So I gave thfem up ^iinto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
13 "^ O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had waiked in my ways;
14 1 should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.
15 "" The haters of the Lord ifcould'^lMW' ^ submitted ^ themselves unto him:, but thib time should have endured for ever, ^. %
In their own counsels.] God withdrew his restraining grace, which they had abused; and then they fulfilled the inventions of their wicked hearts.
Verse 13. O that my people had hearkened unto me, — Israel had walked in my ways] Nothing pan be more plaintive thaA the original; sense and sounfl are surprisingly united. I scruple not to say to him who understands the Hebrew, however learned, he has never found in any poet, Greek or Latin, a finer example of deep-seated grief, unaUe to express itself is appiopriate words without frequent interruptions of^ nghs and sobs, terminated -with ajnpcqmful.cry.
He who can give the proper guttural pronunciation to the letter p ain; and gives the 1 vaUf &nd the ^ yod, their full Asiatic sound, not pinching them to death by a compressed and worthless European enunciation; will at once be convinced of the propriety of this remark.
Verse 14. / should soon have subdued] If God^s promise appeared to. fail in behalf of his people, it was because they rejected his counsel, and walked in their own. While they were faithful, they prospered; and not one jot or tittle of God^s word failed to jthem.
Verse 15. Their time should have endured for ever.] That is, Their prosperity should have known no end.
Verse 16. With the finest of the wh^at] non a^HD mecheleb chittah; literally, with the fat of wheat, as in the margin.
" Honey out' of the rock] Mtib l^t feb thaim of the gre^e of loliete: ainh of the tionp jertane tjetl^aim flUeb* Old Psalter. Thus paraphrased: " He fed thaim with the body of Criste and gastely onderstandyng; and of bony that ran of the stane, that is, of the wisedome that is swete to the hert.^' Several of the fathers un-
de^tand this place of Christ.
Analysis of the Eightt-fibst Psalm.
The contents of this Psalm are the following: —
I. The psahnist exhorts them to celebrate God's name in their festivals, ver. 1-4..
II. The reasons why they should do this; God*B benefits conferred on Israel, ver. 5-10. ««'
-IV. GodV love and call to amendment, widi the reasons for obedience, ver. 13-16.
He then inculcates obedience, for which he gives three reasons: 1. " I am the Lord thy. God," ver. 10. 3. Who redeemed thee from bondage, ver. 10. 3. He ' will make thee truly happy: ** Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it,** ver. 10.
III. IsraePs ingratitude, and its consequences. I. God gave them op; left them to themselves, ver. 19. 1^'. They walked in their own counsels, ver. 13. And came to ruin.
He calls them to repentance, ver. 13. The froit* of which would be three great benefits. I. The suS- Jugation of their enemies, ver. 14. 3. A long uninterrupted prosperity. 3. An abundance of alf temporal and spiritual blessings, ver. 15, 16^.
I^'nder the emblems of the^n^j^ wheat, and the purest honey from the hives of bees in the rocks, where they abounded in Judea, he shows them that his follower* should have so much of earthly and spiritual hlessings, that they should be satisfied, and say. It is enough. But, alas! Israel would not be obedient; and, there* fore, Israel is under the curse.
A warning to corrupt judges^ I9- 3; an exhortation to them to dispense justice wttkout respict of persons^ 3^; they are threatened with the judgments of the Lord, 6-8.
'. ^- 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and **accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.. 3 * Defend the poor and fatherless: ' do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 ' Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
This Psalm, which, ia the title, is attributed to Asaph, was probably composed in the time when Jekoskaphat reformed the courts of justice throughout his states; see 3 Chron. xix. 6, 7, where he uses nearly the same words as in the beginning of this Psalm.
Verse 1. God standeth in the congregaium of the mighty] The Hebrew shpuld be translated, ''God. slandeth in tbe assembly of God." God is among his people; and he presides especially in those courts of justice which himself has established. The Court of JSnig*s Bench is properly the place where the king premies, and where he is supposed to be always present. But the kings of England seldom make their appearsnee there. King James I. sometimes attended: at such limes it might be said, ''The king is in the king's cosrt.'^ I believe the case aboye to be similar. Judges! beware what you do! God is in his court, and in the midst (of the assembly) God will judge. See Parkkurst imder TiSm.
Verse 2. Accept the persons of the wicked f] " Lift ttj^ their faces," encourage them in their oppressions.
Verse 3. Defend the poor] Yon are their natural protectors under Grod. They are oppressed: punish their oppressors^ however rich or powerful; and deliver them.
Verse 6. Thef know not]' The judges are not acquainted with the law of God, on which all their decisions should be founded.
Neither will they understand] They are ignorant, md do not wish to be instructed. They will not learn; they cannot teach. Happy England! How different from Judea, even in the days of Jehoshaphat! All thy judges are learned, righteous, and impartial. Never did greater men in their profession dignify any land or country. — (1822.)
AUjhe foundations of the earth] " All the civil institutions of the land totter." Justice is at the head of all the institutions in a well regulated state: when that gets poisoned or perverted, every evil, political and domestic, must prevail; even religion itself ceases to have any influence.
Verse 6. Ye Bie gods] Or, with the prefix otDke, the psLTticleof similitude, DTiShD keelohim, "like God." Ye are my reprssenUUivesf tod are clothed with my dations of the earth are ^ out of course..6 ^ I have said. Ye are gods; and all of you pre children of the Most High.
7 But " ye shall die like men, and fall like one of tbe princes.
power and authority to dispense judgment and justice; therefore all of them are said to be children of the Most High.
Verse 7. But ye shall die like men] D1IO keadam^ " ye shall die like Adam,^ who fell from his high per- (bction and dignity as ye have done. Your high office cannot secure you an immortality.
And falllike one of the princes.] Justice shall pursue you, and judgment shall overtake you; and yon shall be executed like public state criminals. You shall not, in the course of nature, fall into the grave; hut your life shall be brought to an end by a legal sentence, or a particular judgment of God.
Verse 8. Arise, O Ood, judge the earth] Justice is perverted in the land: take the sceptre, and rule thyself.
For thou shall inherit all nations.] Does not this last verse contain « prophecy of our Lord, the calling of the Gentiles, and the prevalence of Christianity over the earth? Thus several of the fathers have understood the passage. It is only by the universal spread of Christianity over the world, that the reign of righteousness and justice is to be established: and of whom can it be said that he shall inherit all nations, bat of /esUs Christ?
Analysis or thi Eiortt-skcond Psalm.
There are three parts in this Psalm: —
II. God^s controversy with the judges of the land,
in. The prophet's prayer that God would rise and judge, ver. 8.
1. God^s presence proclaimed in court. At an assize the judge sits in the midst of the justices: *' God standeth in the congregation," &c., ver. 1.
11. i. He reproves them, ver. 2. 1. For their unjust judgment: " Ye judge unjustly." 2. For their obstinate continuance in it: ''How long will ye," &c. Ye have not done it once, but often. 3. For their partiality: " they accepted persons," ver. 2.
2. He exhorts ihem to do their duty. 1. " Defend the poor and fatherless.'' Do right to every man. 2. " Deliver the poor and needy," ver. 3.
3. He acquaints them with the events that shall follow where justice is not done: all is out of order; and the jadges are the cause of it.
of the ungodly. '
1, Through ignorance: " They Icnew not the law,"
3, Through their determination to walk in their awn way, ver. 5: " They walk on in daikneae,"
4^ They EihaJl tn conjsequence be brought, 1. To an ttntiinely dealh: ** Y© shall die like men." 2. To a ahameful dealh: *^ Ye ahal] fall like one of the princea," ye shall have n tnighty fall, vet. 7,
IIL The prophet^s prayer, Since judgment and
jnatjce have failed in the land, h^ aays, 1, '^ Arise, D Lord V^ He does not say, Ariaie, O people, and fnit down ihoae unjust J edges. No - their function is from God, and God alone is to reform, or ftripi oi punish them. a. ** Judge the earth." Take the state of all peo{)le jnlo ihy eonsideration: theie is much injustice in the earth, 3. For thb petition he gives a reason: " For thou shalt inherit all nations," ver* B. Publish thj own lawa^ appoint thy own otficers, and let them in thy name dispense righteousness and true holiness throughout the worlds
The pjolmist ^U upon Ood for immediate kelp agaimi a mtdiitude af €<mfcdtr&t€ tnemiet who had Hien vp agatTisl Judah^ 1^5. Ht mentiom I hem by name^ 6—8 \ shtrnt hote they i^fre t& te punished^ 9— 17; and thai this w&s to he done far ike glory of Godt 18*
_ 2 For, lo, ^ tliine enemies make a tumult; and I hey thai ^ hale Uiee have lifted up the head. 3 They have taken cmfty counsel against thy
The litloj A SongoT Pjd/mo/*AfapA, contains nothing particular. Among a multitude of conjeeturea relative to the time and occ&sivn of this Psalm, that which refers it lo the confederacy against Jchoshaphat, king of Judah, mentioned 3 Chron, EX., is the most likely. The following reasons make it prohahle; 1, The children of AmmoUt thai is, the Ammonites and Moa&ites, were the principal movers in the war, 2. The Idumeans came to their assiftance, 2 Chron. xx. 22; with certain Ammomtes or Meontans, referred lo here in ver. 8, and in 2 Chron » xx. 1. 3* There were also in thia confcderajcy many itrtmgers of Syria^ and from t^eyo^d the sea^ most likely the Dead Sea, which seems to indicate the Assyriami Hagaranes^ and Ishmaelites^ deatpied expressly here, ver. 7, 8- 4, In that transaction rhere was a prophet of the race of Asaph^ named lahaziel, who foretold to Jehoshaphat thefr total overthrow, ^ Chron. xx. 14, <&;c., and probably this/tiAatid ia the same with Asupk^ the author of this Psalm. In the course of the notes we shall see other ci re wn« stances relative to tKe war of the Moabites and Ajnmomies against Jehoshaphatj which illustrate several p&Htou- Jars in this Paalm. See Co/ppkI.
Verse I * Keep wtt thoii stience] A strong appeal to God just as the confedetmcy was discovered. Do not be inactive; do not be neuter« Thy honour and our existence are bolh at stake.
Verse S. Thtne enemies make a tttmult] They are not merely the enemies of thy peopie^ but they arc the enemies ot thyself tiiy worahip, ordinances^
4 They have saidj Coine» and ^let lis cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one 'consent: they are confederate against thee:
Verse 3. Cotrndted agsin^i thy hidden <me#.] yimt l^ephuneycha. Thy hidden things; places; pers&as* " The hidden things in thy treaaures.^^^ — Ciial.i>ki. "Thy holy ones." — SYitiAc. **Thy sainta." — Vui^ OATX and SiPTUAOTNT; and so the Mihti^tc and jirti^ie* The people of Israel are probably meant. Or perhaps the lemple^ the arkf and the treasures of the temple j are intended.
Verae 4. Lei us cut them off] Let us extenninate the whole race, that there may not he a record of them on the face of the earth. And their seheme was w«# laid t eight or /*7i diflerent nations united ihemselre* m a firm bond to do this; and they had kept their purpose ao secret that the king of Judah do^s not ap^ pear to have heard of it tiU his territories were actually invaded, and the different bodies of this eonUtion hsd assembled at En^gvdi, Never waa Judah berorc in ^eater danger.
V^erse 5. They kaxm consulted together with one cotk seni] With a united heart, lin* 3^ Uh yachdim. Their heart and soul are in the work.
They are confederate against ihee] " They hare made a covenant," ^^i*'^y n-^S beriih yachnthut ** ihey have cut th« covenant sacrifice." They havttilainaii animal V divided him io twiun» and passed between the
6 ** The tabernacles of Edomj
6 Assur also is joined with them: ' they hare liolpen the children of LoL Selah.
9 Do unto ihem as unto the ^ Midiatiites; as to 'Sisera^ as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:
pieces of' the Tictim; and hare thus bound theinaelvea to ]u*conipliah their purpose.
, Veree 6. The taiemades of Edam] Tk^tenis of these different people are aeen in the grand encamf^- tD^t&t* Tcnh art! prubably mentioned becAuao it was the custom of some of ttiese p<;op]e, paiticiUarly the Ztkmaehiejt to live a -migra^tory or wandering^ life; ImTing DO Hxed habitation, hut always abiding in tents. Their posieriKy temaut to the prestiot day, aiid act and live in the same manner.
Hogatmes] These people dwelt on the eastof 6rt7tf4^; and' were nearly daatroyed in the days of Sao), being lotiUj expelled from their country, l Cbron, v.. 10, bat aftenvarda recovered some strength and epiiAequeoKSfi I but where they dwell aflet their eitptilaion by the Israelite* is not known., '
Verse 7. Gebal\ The GiMiies^ wh(? were probably the pemon^ here designed, were a tribe of the ancient inbabitants of the land of Canaaji, and aje mentioned a» iincoufioererl at the death of - J6ahuai -chap, xiii* 6. The y are called sione-squarcfA or OthUtt^i 1 Kitigs r. IS, ^ai were of coneiderable assistance to Hiram, king of Tyre, in preparing timber and atones for the faoilding of the toniple. They appear to have been efiEiineni m the days of Esekiel, wbo tenna them the •* ancieoia of Gebali and the wise men iheteof,** who ' were «hip-buiMerA, chap, xxvii. 3. What is now called | Gih^ie^ a place on th& Mediterraoeao Sea, between Trj- i poll and SidoTi, is supposed to be the remains of the city of the QMitgg,
Ammon smd Maah were the descendanls of the children of Lot: Their bad origin is sufficiently known. ' See Gen. jciK. 30, Ac. Calmet supposes that Ammon is put here for Men or Afaon, the Meomans, a people who lived in the neig-hbourhood pf'the Arualekiies and Idumeans. See the notes on i Cbron. xx. 1; lATi. 7.
Amol€k\ The Amalekites are well known as the aneientand inveterate enemies' of the laraelites. They were neighbours to the Id u means,
TA^ Phdistinc9\ TheBo were tributaries to iehoahaphai/2 Chron.xfii. 1 1; but it seems they took advantage of ihe present times, to join in the great confederacy agaiijBt bioi.
The ithhahitmits of T^rc] These probably joined the confederaey in hopes of making conquests, and extendin fit their ten iter j on the maiH iand.
"^they became as dung for the Sm^aiLRc^ earth. cir, winum
13 p 0 my God, make them Hke a wheel 3 * as the stubble before the wind.
have got those auxiliaries from beyond the Euphmtes^ agalust JcKo^baphat, as formerly tliey were broughl against David, ^ee 2 Sam. x. 16.
They ham h^pen (he children of Lot.] The Ammonites, who appear to have been the chief instigators in this war.
Verse 0. Do unto them as an to the Midiitnitea} Who were aUerly defeated by QUeon^ Jitdg. viii 21, m.
As to Bis€Ta\ Captain of the army of Jabin^ king of Canaan, wbo was totally defeated by Deborah and Barak^ near Mount Taoorf by the river Kishon; and hkngelfj after having fled from the battle, slain by Jael^ the wife of Jfcbert the Kenite, See Judg. rfi 15, Ac,
Verse 10. Perished at En^dorl This refers lo the defeat of the Midmnites by Gidemi^ wlio were encamp ed in the valley of Jezrtei, at the fool of Moutit GUboa^ and near lo TahoT^Judg, vi. 33, vii. I, and consequently in the environa of ^i-dof. There Gideon attacked and defeated them; and, in various places during their Sight, they were destroyed, and left to rot upon th0 earth. Judg. vii. 22-^5,
Verse 11, Make their nohHes like Oreh, and Jiki Zeeh] They were two of the chiefs, or generals, of the Midianites; and were slain in the pursuit of the Midianites, by the men of Ephraim; and their heads brought to Gideon on the other side of Jordan. Judg* vii. ^4, 25,
Yea, ail iheir princes as Bebahi imd ae Z(^munnu'\ These were kings of Midi<m^ who were encamped at Kark6r with fifteen thousand men, whom Gideon attacked there, and defeated, and took the kings prisoners; and finding that they bad killed his own brotberSt slew them both. See Judg. vjiL 10-31< Of the Mi-* dianites there fell at thia lime (me hundred and ttoent^ thfrnsand men.
Verse 1*2. Lst us take to ourseltyes ^e h&uses of God in poMessio^i] Nearly the words irpoken by the con* federates when ibey came to attack Jeboshaphat- They come (says the king in address to God) ^t? cast us out of ihy pn^Kjfrejisifm^ which ik&u hast given %tf to inherit ^ See 2 Chron. xx. it.
Verse 13. O my God, make them like a wheef\ Alluding to the manner of thipshing corn in the east, A lar^e broad t£>heel was rolled over the grain on a threshing-floor, which was generally in the open air; and the grain being thrown up by a shove! against the windj
^^'. 15 So persecute them r with thy tempest, find make them afraid with thy storm.
16 ^Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, 0.Lord.
Verse 14. The flame setteth the mountains on fire] This may refer to the baming of the strait and chaff after the grain was threshed and winnowed^ And as their threshing-floors were situated eftea on tlie hiiis or rnountainSf to take. the advantage of ^e wind, the. setting the mountaine an fire may refer to the buminj^ of the chaff J &c., in those places. Let them' be like stubble driven away by the wind, and burnt by the./ire.
Verse 16. I$a persecute them] In this and th&two i^.fbnowing verses we find several awful execrations; and all this seema to be done in reference to thai ancient custom, " pouring execrations on an ehen^ previously to battle.*^ Of this! have dready given specimens in this work; aqd the reader is particulaxly re.- quested to refer to the case of Balaam being hired by the king of Moab-to cu^e Israel previonaly to his intended attack: see the note on Num. zxii. 6, where. the subjectis treated at large..
This custom prevail^ ihuch among.the Ramans, and the ancient Druids of Britain, In ^ cases the priests were jeitiployed to utter the -execrations,, as •they were supposed to have the greatest, influence with the gods, in whose name Uie burses were uttered. '
Verse 16. That they may se^k thy name] Let them be confounded in all their attempts on Israel;'iuid. see*, so manifestly, that thou hast done it, 'that they may invoke thy nalhe, and be converted to thee.
Verse 17. Let them— ^perish] Thatvis, in their present attempts. Some have objected to the execrations in this Psalm, without due consideration. None of these execrations refer either to their souls ot to their eternal state; but merely to their discomfiture in their present attempts,-^ Suppose the continental powers should join together to subjugate Britain,_and destroy the Protestant religion; is there a Christian in' the land that would not be justified in meeting them with the same or similar execrations % On the knees of mysbul would I offer every one of them to God against such invaders. Selah. — ^A. C..
Verse 18. That men may know] Thaf they may acknowledge, and be converted to thee. Here is no malice; all is self-defence.
Analysis of the Eiohtt-tbird Psalm.
IT Let them be confounded ^e'c^SIrso?* and troubled for ever; y«a, let Jowhati, Regis them, be put ^ to shame, and car. anmun perish: ' ^^'
18 * That men may. know that thou, whose " name alone is JEHOVAH,, art ^ the Most High over all the earth. ' *.
I. 'The ejaculation or prayer; " Keep not thou silence — be not still.'* Thy enemies are hnA in their threatenings, and aciwe 'u\ their endeavours, tb destroy thy ^pec^e and thy tror^Aip;.** Hold not thy peaces •n. He complains — ^These arei jenemies, 1. To thy, people, -ver. S. 3. To God himself, ver. 5. Then he describes theni, ver- 6-^. • ^
d:.. Proud and 'arrogant: *' They have lifVed up the h6adiv ver. 3.
.4. They cairied their, cunning counsel into acts of aggressiqn: " Conie, and let us cut.them off," Ac^ vfer. 4..