Vn. Now that David's kingdom didiall, or at least, was brought to a low. ebb, is the complaint in the following words, which, flesh and blood considering, gave k wrong judgment upon it, as if God did nothing less than perform his oath and covenant. This is what the prophet lays to God's charge: " But thou hast cut ofiT and abhorred f thou haM beea wroth with thine anointed." Both king and people are cast aside, than which nothing seems more contrary to thy covenant.
Thou haftt mad^ void the covenant of thy servant, of whi9h there are: many lamentable consequences:—*
1. '* His crown is cast to th6 ground." The glory of his kingdom trampled upon.
2". ^ His hedges broken doWn.". His strongholds brought to ruin.. / «
T ".All that paas by tfce way spoil him." He is exposed to all rapine and plunder. -
4. ".He is a reproach to his lieighbour.".Exposed. to all contumely and disgrace.*
5. " Thou hast set up the right hand^f his enemies, and made all his adversaries to rejoice." Thou seemest to take part with the enemy against liim, and make«t him to exult and rejoice in oppressing him,
. 6.'**Tholi hast also turned the edge of his sword^ (blunted his sword that was wont to slay,) and hast not made him f o stand in the, battle,** but to fly and tiim his back.. - •, * •
7. " Thou hast made his glory (the glory, dignity, authority of his kingdom) to cease, and pa9t his crown to the ground."
8. " The.days of his- youth hast thou shortened;*' cht him oflf.in the prime and strength of his years. ""Thou ha^ covered him vrith shame;" m^e his opu-' lent, glorious kingdom ignominious; which was true in divers df David's posterity, especially Jehoiakim»
The psalmiit asserts
the eternity ef God,
These were the aad comp]|dnt8 which the prophet pours bat; but he quickly reooyers and recalls his thoughts; and that he may mgve God to help, he falls to prayer, which is rery pathetic.,
VIIL He considers the nature of God a« kind, Joying, lAerciful, slow to anger; and asksi-*
ftt •< Shall thy ymth bum Uke fire T. An element that hath no mercy.
He then Msea other argumeqts, pathetically esr.pressed, to move God to pity: —
1. Drawn from the brevity of t^uCb liie: "Remember how short my time is.^'
3. From t)ie end for whidi man was created; not in vain, but to be an object of God*s goodness and favpur.
3. From the Weakness and disability oCman/ His life is short; an4 can he lengthen it t '* Whatman is he that liveth, and liiall not see deatlvl" Yea, though he live long, yet he is a mental creature: " Shall he deliver his Soul from |he grave V^ ' 4. From the covenant, of which lie pots God in mind: ^Lord, where are thy former loving-kindpesses, which thou swareet io David in thy truth %^
5. From the ignomii^y, seems, sarcatois,' by enemies cast upon th6m, which he desires God to', look upon. 1. " Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy f^prvstU^ 9f ♦♦And how I 4b bear in my. boaom.^
Not ipoken afar c^, but in my hearing, and to my iaee, as if poured and emptied into my bosom; the rthukUf not of this or that man, but of many people.
6. And lastly, that these reproaches, in effect, faO upon God. For they who reproach God^s servants are his enemies: ^ Remember the reproaches" — 1. '^Wherewith thine enemies h^ve reproached,- O.Lord." 3. ^ Wherewith they have reproached the footat^ of thine anointed," i. e., either whatsoever hct says4ir dees'; c^ lOs^ hy footsteps is to be understood the lat* ler* end of DoeMs kingdom, which was indeed subject to reproach. 3. But the Chaldee paraphrast hffooi' steps understands, the poming of 'the Messiah in the flesh; which, because it was long promised and men saw not performed, they, derided, mc»cked, and'te* preached, as ^adn. •
IX. The dose of this long Psalm is a henedtcHom^ by which the prophet, after hi* combat with fleah and blood about the performance of the covenant, composea.hi8 troubled soul, and acquiesces in God; bless^ ing him for whatever falls out, breaking fbrth into^ ' • 1. ** Bless^ berths Lord for evermore:" Blessed be his name, who does and orders all things for the b^t to his people, alt]^gh in the midst of calamities and-troUhles he seeins to'desertthem.: 3. ^nd that we may know that he did this from his heart, he seals it with a double Amen. ^Ameo, -Amen." So I wish it; so be it.
•TV eternity (^ Ood^ 1, 8; the fraiUy of ths state qf mwh 9^0; <^ general limMs of human, lif^ 10; fft# danger of displeasing God\ \i\ the neeessity of considering the shortness of life^ and of regaining, ihofelbom of the Almighty, 12; earnest prayer for the restoration of Israel, 13-^17,
NOTES ON PSALM XG..;.. The title of this Psakn is, A Prayer of Moses, the fjum of God, TliB Chaldee has, "A prayer, which Moses the pitophet of theLor^ prayed when the people *of Israel lukd sinned in the wiWemess." All the Versions ascribe it to' Moses; but that it oould not' be of Moses the lawgiver is evident from this considers^ tion, that the age of man was not then seventy or eighty years, which is here -stated to- be its almeat universal limits, Ibr Joshua lived one hundred and ten years, and Moses himself one hundred and twenty; Miriam his sister, one hundred and thirty; Aaron his brother, one hundred and twenty-three i CMh, fourscore and Jive vears; and t^eir oontemporaiies lived -in the same proportion. See the note on ver. 4, Therefore the Psalm cannot at all refer to stch ancient times. If the titU be at aM -authentic, it most refer to some other person of that name; and indeed p^^M ETM ish Blohtm, a man of Qod, a diviu^^r inspiiod man, Pgrpea to the tin^ of the prophets, who wen thus de-
2 ^ Before the mountains were brought fdrtb, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou a/f God.
.nominated. The Psalm was doubtless composed during or after the captivity; and most probably on their return, when they were engaged in rebuilding the temple; and this, as Dr. JEennicotf.coiyectures, majr be tk$ wofh of their himds, which they pray God to bless and proffer, ^..
Verse 1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelltng-plaoe] pin3 moon; but instep of this several MSS. have njTD maoz, ** place of defence,*' or ** refifge," which is the.reading of the Vulgate, Septuagint, Arabic, and AngU^- Saxon. Ever since thy covenant with Abraham thou hatt been the Resting-place, Refuge, and Defence of thy people Israel. Thy mercy has been lengthened out from generation to generation.
Verse 9* Before the mountains were brovght forth] The mountains and hills appear to have been everlasting; but as they were brought forth oiu of the ^yomb of eternity, there was a time when they were, not: but thou hast been ab atemitate a parte ante, ad ttUmitatemaparUpost; fVom the eternity that is past,
3.Tbou turnest man to destniclioti; and «aycst, ^ Return, ye children of men.
4 ' For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday ^ when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; * they are as a sleep; in the morning ^ they are like grass which ^ groweth up.
-6' ■ In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down^ and
7 For we are consumed by. thine anger, and by thy wrath areJ we troubled. _
'8 '^ Thou bast set dur iniquities before thee, our ** secret sins in the light of thy counter nance.
9 For all our day9 a^e ^ passed away in thy wrath': we spend our years ^ as a tale tfiat is told. / -
10 'The days of our years are threescore *years and ten; and^ if by reason of strength they be fourscore ' years, yet is their strength
before time began; to the eternity that ib' after, when time shall have an «nd. This is the highest desonpftkw of the etemily of God V> which hodian language cms reach.. - * «.
. Verse 3. Thou turnest man to destrltction] litetalijt Thoa shalt turn dying man, BfUM enosh, to the amkil dust, KJi dacca but thou wih say. Return, ye children of Adam. This appears to, be a clear' nad strong prbmiBe of the resurrection of the human body, after it has long slept, mingled with the du$i Qf^tke
Verse 4. For. a thousand years in ihysighi] As if be had said, Though the resurrection of the body may be a thousand (or any indefinite number of) yean distant; yet, when ihese are past, they*aie hut a$ yesttr^ dejff or a single watch of the night. They pass through the mind in a moment, and appear no longer in their. duration than the tiroeirequired by the mind to reflect them by thought. But, short as.thej appear to the eye of the mind, they^ are nothing when compared with the etfimity of God! The author probably has ill vi^w also that economy of Divine justice aiid providence by which the life of man has been shortened ftom one thousand years to threescore years dn^ ten^ ot fourscore,
' Verse 5. Thou carriest them away as vfith ajlodd] life is compared to a stream, ever gliding away if hut sometimes it is as a mighty torrent,. when. by reason <lf plague, famine, or war, thousands are swept away^ daily. In particular cases it is a rapid stream, when the young ^re suddenly carried off by consumptions) fevers^ Sic,; this is the fiotvcr that flourisheth in the morning, and in the evening is cui down and withered^ The whole of life is like a sleep or as a dream. The eternal world is real; all here is either shadowy or representative. On- the whole, Hfe is representied as a etream; youth, as morning; dedifie of lifef or old age, as evening; death, as sleep; and the resurrecti&n, as the return of the flowers in 'spring. All these images appear in these curious and striking veises, 3, 4, 5, and 0.
Vcrs^ 7.,We are consumed by thine anger] Deathhad not entered into the world, if men had not fallen from God.
By thy Wrath are we troubled.'] Pain, disease, and sickness'are so many proofs of our defection from original rectitude. The anger aAd wrath of God are lAoved again^ tXtsiirmen, Even in plotracted life we ctmsume away, and 'only seem- to live ia oifder to die.
"Our wasting lives grow shorter still. As days and months increase; - And.every beating; pulse we tell Leaves but. the number less.*^
Verse 8. Theu hast' set our iniquiHes hefore thee] Every one of onr transgressions is set before thee; noted and minuted down in thyaWful^riBgister!
Our secret sins] Those, committed in darkness and privacy are easily discovered by thee, being shown by the aplendoors of thy /ace shining upon them. Thus we light a candle, and bring it iniQ a dark place to discover its contents. ' O, what can be hidden from the ailseeing eye of God! Darkness is no darkness to him; wherever he comes there is a profuston of light*— for Gk)d is light-!. -
Verse '9. We spend omrye&rs as a tale] The Vulgate has: Anni nostri sicut aranea meditabuntur; ''-Our years pass away like those- of the s]5ider." Onr plans and operations ipre like the spiders web; life is as fiml, and the thread Qf it as bfittle, as one of tliose that constitute the Weil-wrought and curious, but fragile, habitation 'of that insect All the Versions haye the woi€ spider; hot it neither appears in ^ the Hebrew, nor in any of its MSS. which have been colkied.. ^
• My old Psalter has a curious paraphrase here:
", Als the iran (spider) mak^ ^vayne webe for to take flese (flies) with gile, swa our yeres ere ookupide in ydel and swikel castes about erthty thynges; and passes with outen frute of gu^e werics, and waste in
ydel thynkyns." This is too true a picture of most lives.
But the Hebrew is different from all the.Versions, "We consume' our years (nJH V^D kepw hegeh) like a groan."' We live a dying, whining, complaining' life, and at last a groan is its termination! How amazingly eiq>resetve!- -
Verse lOr. Threescore years and ten] See the note on the title of this Psalm. This Psalm could not 'haVe beei^ written by Moses, because the terin of human life ' was much more extended when he flourished than eighty jewn at the mos^ Even in David^s time many, lived one Ifundred years, and the anthor of Ecclesiasticus, who lived after the captivity, fixed this
1 1 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
12 "So teach W5 to number our days, that we may ^ apply our hearts urito "wisdom.
14 0 satisfy us. early with thy mercy; ^ that we jnay rejoice and be glad* all bur days.
term at one kundred-yem at the most, (chap, xviii. 9;][ biit this wajB merely a general average, tor eveo-m our ooimtry we ha^er m^y i^hp. exceed a -kuruir^d yean.
Yel is their strength labouif and- somwl This refers to the infumities of old ^e, which, to those well advanced in life, produce iabour Bud, sorrow.
And we fly away.] • The.' tmmor^ spirit wings its way into the eternal world. -^ •..
Verse 11. Who knoweth the^power of thine anger f\ The afflictions of this^life are not'to be compared to the miseries which awSiit' them' wl|o live and die without being 'reconciled to Grod, and saved from their ^ns.
Verse 12. So teach us to number our dayjf] Let ub deeply consider our x>wn frailty, and the shortness and. uncertainty of life, that we ipay live for eternity, acquaint ourselves with thee, and b^ 'at {>eace; that we* may die in thy favour, and live and reigA with thee eternally. -
Let it repen$ thee] DnJH hinnaehJem, be comforted^ rejoice over them to do them good, ^e glorified rather ia our salvation than in our <JestTuctien.
Verse 14. O satisfy us early] L^t us have thy metcy soon, (literally, in fhe moming,y Let it now ehine upon us,, and it shall seem as^the morning of our days, and we shall exult in thee all the days of our life.
Verse 15. Make us glad according to the days] Let thy people have as many years of pro^terity wi they have had of iidversity. We have now suffered seventy years of a most 4istressful* captivity. '
Verse 16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants] That thou art woildng for us we know; but O, let thy work appear! Let us now see, in our deliverance, that thy thoughts towards- us were mercy and love.
Verse- 17. And let the beauty. of the Lorf] Let us have- t4iy presence, blessing, and approfxUion, as our fathers had.
Establish thou the work of our hands] This is supposed, we havealready seen, to relate to their rebuilding the temple; which the iBurrouiiding heatheas and Samaritans wished to hinder. We have begun, do not let them deimolish our work; let the top-stone be brought on with shouting, Ch^e, grace unto it. •
Yea, the work' of our hantis]' This ' repetition is wanting in three otKennicotVs M8S., in the Targunh
15 Make us,glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
16 * Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.
.17 ^And let the beauty of the Lord bur God be upon us: and 'establish thou the work of our hands upon u^; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. -.
in the Septuagint, and in the JEthiopie. If the repetition be genuine, it may be considered as 'marking great eaxnestness; and this earnestness was to get the temple of. Grod rebuilt, and his ptfre worship restored. The pioiis Jews had this mofe at heart than their own restoration j it was thei]: highest grief that the temple was destroyed and €rod-s ordinances suspended; that his enemiep insalted them, and blasphemed the worthy name by whiph they were called. Every truly pious man feels more for Grod*8 glory than^his own temporal felicity, and rejoices more in* the prosperity of Grod*8 work than in the increase of his own worldly goods.
In the fealt 1790 I knew a woman |n the city of Bristol, Mrs. Somerhill, then in> the 106th year of bet ag^.. She read the smallest print without spectacles, and never had used any hel|>s to decayed sight. When she could not go any longer to a place of wonhip, through the weakness of her limbd, she 'was accustomed. to read oyer, the whole^ service' of the Church for each day of the year as it occorted, withall the LessoYis, Psalms, &c. I^e had beeji from ilji cotnmencement a member of the Methodist Society.; heard'Mr. John Wesley the first sermon he preaehed \dien.he visited Bristol in 1739; and was sp struck with his clear manner of preaching the doc^ne of jusiific^iidn through faith,' ihBi,i6i the benefit of hearing one more sermon from this apostolic maii^ she followed hkn on foot,Ui Portsmouth, a journey of one hundred -and twenty-five miles! On my last visit to' her in the stbove year, I was admitted by a very old decrepit' woman, then a widow of seventy-five years of* age, and the youngest daughter of Mrs. SomerhiU. I found the aged woman*s faculties strong and vigorous, and her eyesight unigipaired, though she was then con.- fined'to her bed, and was hard of hearing. She died rejoicing in God, the following year.*-
Agnes SAtmer* is another instance. She lived at Camberwell in Surrey; her husband, Richard Shuner, died in 1407, whom she survived ninety-two years. She died in 1499, aged one hundred and nineteen years.
The Countess of Desmond in Ireland. On the ruin of the house of Desmoild, she was obliged at the' age of one hundred and forty to travel from' Bristol to London, to solicit relief from the court, being then reduced to poverty. She renewed her teeth' iico or three times, and died in 1613, aged one hundred arutforty^ fhe yeaj9i
Tkcmas Parr^ of Winnibgtoni in Shropahire,. far outlived the term as set down in t^e Paalmr At the c(^e of eighty-eight he married his first wife, bj whom hfi huA'two children. At the age of one hundred and ttoo he fell in love with Catharine Milton, by whom he had an illegitimate child, and for which he did penance in the Church! At the age of one hundred mud twenty he married a widow woman; and when he Skras one hundred and thirty could perfotm any operactkn of husbandry. He di^ at the age of one hundred qnd fiffy-twQ, A. D. 1635. He had seen fen idngs ai»4 queens of England.
Thomas Damtne, of Leighton, near Minshul in Cheshire, lived one hundred and fifty-four years, and •^ied A. D. 1648. •
• Henry Jenkins, of Ellerton upon Swale, in Yorkriiire, was sent, when a boy of about twelve yean of tge, with a cart load of arrows to Northallerton, to be employed in the battle of Flodden Fields which was fought September 9,1513. He was afisherinan; and often swam in the rivers wheii he~wa^ more than one hundred years of age! He died A. D. 1 670, being then one hundred and sixty-nine years of age!
I shall add one foreigner, Peter Toston, a.peateit of Temiswar, in Hungary. The remarkable longeyity €if this man exceeds the age of Isaac five years; of Ahrdham, ten; falls short of TeralCs, Abraham^s &ther, tioenty; and exceeds tHat of Nahor, Abraham's grandfather, thirty-seven years. He died A. D. 1734, at the extraordinary age 9f ^'hundred and figkty-five!
Analysis or the NimeriBTH PsAZifi.
There are four parts in this Psalm: —
I. An ingenuous acknowledgment of GodV» protection of the people, ver. 1, 2.
n. A lively narration of the mortality of man, the fragility and brevity of his life, together with the misery of it, vet. 2-7.
IV. A petition, which is double: 1. That God would instruct man to know his fragility. 2. That ke would return, and restore him to his favour^ ver. 12-17. ^^
I. In 'the beginning the psalmist freely acknowledges what God had always l)een unto - his pe6ple. What he is in himself, and his 6wn nature.
t. To. his people he had always been a refuge, as it were,* a dwelling-place: though they had been.pilgrims and sojourners in a strange land for many yeari, yet he had been, nay dwelt, among them; and to doubt he alludes to the tabernacle of God that was pitched among them as an evidence of his presence and protection<> " Lord, thou hast be^n our'dweUingpiace (a secure place to rest in) in all generations,^'. Peut. xxxiii. 1-6.
• 2. But in himself he was from everlasting: other creMures had. a beginning, and their creation ' aihd
' Hare the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou
had&t formed the earth, and the world, even from ever-
Wing to everlasting them art. God." Not like man^
IL " Thou tnmestjman to destmction." Though. framed according to thy qwti image, yet he is but an earthen vessel; to that pass thou bringest him, till he be broken to pieces, broken as -a }k>tter'8 vessel.;To him then teyeat, ** Retmn,.ye children of men, (of Adam,) retnm; for dust thou art, and to dust shalt thoa return.'.'- The mortality of man may not be then attributed I9 diseases, chance, fortune, Ac, but to God^s decree, pronounced on man upon his disobe- 'dience. First, thep, let the.sons of Adam remember that they are mortal; nexH that their life is but very short. Suppose a mah'^ould live the longest lif^, and somewhat ' longer ' thap the. oldest pafriarch, a thousand years; y^, let it be compared with ^eternity, it i^ as. nothing: ^*A thousand year^ in thy sight are but aa yesterday, 'wheo it is past;" kmt as a day which is short, aa a day Which is paftt and forgotten; ' which the prophet farther illu9trate0 by elegant similitudes.
1. "And SB a wa^h ijk the night.!' A time of three hours' cdntinnance, - which ia^but the eighth part of a natural day, and sb tar less than he eiCid t^jsfore. The floWer of bur youth, 6ur constant age, and oiir old age, may" well be the three hours of this watch; j^dA wise th6y are. that observe their stations in either of them. *
2.^ Thoa carriest them away as with a flood.'* As a sudden inundation of waters our life passeth; we swell and fall. Or, As all waters come from the sea, and return thither; so from the earth we. Came, and thither return. Or, We.are as Water spilt on the earth, which cannot be gadiered up again;
3. '^They are. as a sleep," or rather a dream; all our happiness a dream of felicity. In our dreams many pleasant,. many fearful things are piesented; ne pass half our time in sleep; drowsily, it is certain, for our life is Cxtae ova^t the shadow of a dream.— ^ Pindar.-.. ■•
4. Or we are like grass: ^ In the morning they arjs like grass that groweth up: in the morning it ^ourisheth "and groweth up, in th^ evening it^is cut down and withereth." The herb hath its morning and eventing, and. its mid-day, and 'so hath our fife; naturally
it fades, or budently it is cut. off..
III. After. he had spoken of and' explained onr mortality, ithe brevity, the misery of our life, he next descends to examine the caus^s of it, which are two. 1. God'ii anger; and that which brought i^ upon us, >ur own iniquities.
1. GoJ's anger: " We consume away by thine anger; and by thy wrath afe we troubled.*' Tha cause, then, of death and disease is not the decay of the radical moisture, or defect of natural heat; \Qt that which brought these defects upon us, God*f wrpUh becanse of sin. ■.. ^. '
^. Our own sin: For thi^ anger of God was not raised without a just caifse; he is a jnst<(udge, and proceeds not to punishment, but upon^due examination and trial; and to that end he takes an account, not only of our opcfn sins, but even. of our secret faults, such as are not known to oiirselves, or such a6 we lAbonr to conceal from others.. ',.
7%e iafety of those
1. *' Thou hast set our iniquities befote tliee.'*
2. '' And our secf^t sins in- the.light qf thy ccmntenapce/' No hypocrisy » no /contempt, eah escape thine eye: all to thee Sb xeTealed, and clear as the light.
3. And then lie repeats t^e effi^t, together with the cause: '* Thererore all our days.(Tiz., the./orty years in the wilderness asd the seventy in.eaptirity) art passed awajT in thy wrath. '^ S. ^* We spend ofnr-days as a tale that is told.;'* et fabula fies, the^ tale ended, it vanisheth, and is thought of no fnore.
4.' And as for Our age, it is of no great length: " The days.of our years>qre thireeecore years and ten." To that time some men maylM said to li^e, becanse the facnhi^ of their soub ajre tolersbly rigorous, and their hodite proportionably ahid to ezeeote the offices oi* l|fe.,
But allow that it so happen, which happens not to' many, " that by reason oi* strength," som^ excellent natural constitution, ><a mian arrive tafoutseore years," yet our life is encumbered with these tkrei inconvenience^ labour,- sonQOw, and brevity.
1. It is laborious, even labour.' itself. One is desirous to be rich, tulbther wise';. this- man potent, another prudent, or at least to seem to; and this wiH not be without labour: '* All is sAiction of spint.*"
2; Sonrow; for our life is Only the stuuiow of real life.
3. Short; for it is soon cut off, and we flee away: Avcial umh's, 1. God's anger for sin is npt laid Ip heart; and- of this the prophet in the next terse sa^ cpmpkuns: *^ Wh6 knows the power of thy anger?" Thine anger is great •% sin; the power of it fearful and terrible. Tboo tsanst and wih' cast silvers into hell-fire; l^t who regards it 1' Thy thieats %9 men seem to be old wives-' faMes. 3. ** Even according to thy foar, so is thy wtat^;" but be it ihal this stupidity possess men, yet this is certain, tSiat thy wrath is 'great; and it shall be executed according to thy fesr, in such proportion as men have stood in fear of thee. They that have in a reverential fear stood «in awe of thee shall escape it; they that^av^ contemned j[Dd slighted' thy wrath shall feel it (b the uttermost.''*
'. IV. Upon ail the former 'oonsiderstions the psalm-, ist converts his words to a prayer, in which he implores God's mercy, that he would turn^ I. The stupidity^ of into wisdom. 9. Our calamity into felicity.
8. His wrath into compassion. And, 4. Oor sorrow into joy. For the first he begins thns: —
1. **So teach us to number our days;" to cast ^ the labour, the sorrow, the brevity, the fugacity; thy anger, our sin, that caused it.
2. **• That we may tpply our hearts unto wisdom;" be no moi^ stapid,and secure, but wise; wise, to avoid thy anger, wise to set t true estimate on this life, and wise Hi' time to provide for another.
3. ** So teach us;" for God must teach it, or it wiU not be learned: this wisdom' comes from shore.
. Secondly i he deprecates God's viger: '^Retnm,0 Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy senrants.'"
Thirdly t he begs restoration to God's fiivoiur; and what will follow upon it, peace of conscience.
li «* O satisfy, ds with thy mefcy." We hunger for it as men do for meat.
9. Ewrly let it be done, quicldy, bi^fore our sonows grow toe high, and overwh^m us.
4. And with,a perpetual joy of heart; *< llutl we may be glad and rejoice all our days.**
•. 6. And let our joy bear- proportion to oor sorrows: ^ Make*us glad according to' the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen eril."
6. This is the work he calls God's work; for as to punish is his strange yirork, Isa. xxviii., so to have pity and mercy is his own proper work*; and this he desires, that it should be niide manifest: " Let 'thy vork ap^ pear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.**
fourthly, he begs for success in all their work and labours.
1. " Let tb^ beauty of the Lord our God be upon us;'* for no action of ovljs is beautiful, except the beauty of God be stamped upon it; done b^^ hia direction, his^ rule, his word, and to his glory.
2. And therefore he prays, and repeats this prayer: ** EstdbKsh thou the work of our hands ttpoii us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.** There must be. opus, our work; for God blesseth- niit tbs^ idle. S.^ And optis nUtnttitm, a laborious work.- 3. God's direction, his word the rule. '4. A gbod end in it,. for that is his beauty upon it. 6. So it win be established, confirmed, ratified. 6. And, lastly, know that there is no blessing to he expected withput prayer;" and therefore he prays,- "Let the beacAy of the Lord our God be upon us.**' Sto the notes on tins Paalm.
J^ safety of ikf g^dly man, emd his confidence, 1, 9. JTow he is defended and preserved, S-IO. Theangeti t^ God dre^his servants^ 11, 19"; and he shall treai en the necks' of his adversaries, 131 WKed God sayi of and promises to, suck a person, li-^ie.
JJE *that,dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall ''aWde *> under the shadow of th^ Almighty.
NOTES ON PSALM XCI. This Psalm has no Hdein the Hebrew; nor can it be iet^rpniaed on what occasion or by whoiti it waa
2^1 will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: ray God; in him will I trust.
composed. It is most likely by the author of the preceding; and is written as a part of it, by fifteen of Kewnicott^s and Jh Rossi's MSS., commencing
3 Surely * he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and.from the noisome pestilence.
^ 4 'He shall coyer thee with his feathers, and under bis wings shalt thou trust: his truth sTiall be thy sliield and buckler.
before the repetition of the four Ust. words of the nme" tieik. It is allowed to be one of the finest Psalms Id tfie whole collection. Of it Simon de Muis has said: ** It is one of the most excellent works of this kind which has ever appeared. It is impossible to imagine aw J thing more solid, more beaiitifbl,. more profound, or more ornamented. Could the Latin or any modern language expre^ thoroughly all the beauties and elegancies as well of the words as of the seiitences, it would not He difficult to persuade the reader that we haye no poem, either in Cfreek or Latin^ comparable to *thiB Hebrew^ode."
Verse 1. He that dmelleth in the secret place] The Targum intimates that this is a diahgue betweea Davids Solomon, and Jehovah, Suppose we admit this, — then
David asserts.: " He who dwelleth in the Secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of Che Almighty,'* ver. 1.
Solomon answers: " I will say of the^Lord, fie is my refuge and my fortress; my Qod, in hmi will I txQst,'' ver. 2.
Patid replies, and" teUs him what blessings he shall leeeiTe from God if he abide faithful, rer. 3-13.
' Th^n the Supreme Biding is introduced, and confirms all that David had spoken concerning SoUtmon, ver. 14-16: and thus this sacn^ and instructive dialogue ends. • ^ In the secret place of the Most High] Spoken pro^ bably in reference to the Holy of holies. He who enters legitimately there shall be covered with the cloud of God's glpry-r-the protection of the all-sufficient God..This was the privilege of the high priest only, under the law: but under the new covenant all believers in Christ have boldness to enter tn/^ the holiest by the Mood of Jesus; and those who thus enter are safe from erery evil.
Verse 3. / wjll say of the Lord] This is my experience: '' He is my fortress, and in him will I coiltinuiJly trust."
Verse 3: Surely he shall deliver thee] If thou wilt act thus, then the God in whom thou trustest will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, from all the devices of Satan, and from all dangerous maladies. Ajq the original word, ipn dabar, signifies a word spoken, and deber, the i2jne letters, signifies pestilence; so.soine translate one way, and some another: he shall deliver thee from the evil and slanderous -word; he shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence — all blasting and injurious winds, effluvia, &c.
Verse 4. He shall cover thee with his feathers] He shall act towards thee as the hen does to her brood,• — take thee under his wings when birds of prey appear, and also shelter thee from chilling blasts. This is a frequent metaphor in the sacred writings; see the pa-
5 f Than ahalt not be afraid for the tcrroi by night; nor for the arrow that Hieth by day; • "
6 Nor for the pestilence that walkcth in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday..
rallel texte- in the margin, and the notes on them..The Septuagint has £v voi^ f^eva^pfvoi; avrou ecttfxiatfsrtfdt' He wiU overshadow thee between his shoulders; alluding to the custom.of parents carrying their weak or sick children on their backs, itnd having. them covered even there with a mantle. Thus the Lord ib repre-. sented carrying^ fhe Israelites in the wildemeas. See Deut. xxxii.' 11,12, whore the metaphor is ^ken from the eagle'.
His truth shall be thy shield and buckler] His revelation; his Bible. That truth coataxns promises for all times^-andcircumstances^and these will he* in variably fulfiHed-io him Uiat trusts in the Lord. The fulfilment of a promise relative to^ deduce and support iis to the soul what the best shield is to the body.. Verse 5-. The terror by night] Night is a time of terrors, because it is a time of treasons, plunder, robbery, and murder. The godly man lies down in peace, and sleeps quietly, for he trusts his body, soul, and substance, in the hand of God; and he knows that he who keepeth IsraM neither slumbers nor sleeps. It may also meHn tdl spiritual foes, — the rulers of the darkness of this world, I have heard the following petition in an evening family prayer: ^ Blessed Lord, take us into thy protection this night; and preserve tls from ditease, firom' sudden death, from th^ violence of fire, from the edge of the sword, "from the designs of wicked men, and from the influence of malicious spirits!"
Nor for the atroto] The Chaldee translates this verse, *' Thou shajt not fear the demons that walk by night; nor the arrow of th'e angel of death which is shot in the day tune." Thou needest not to fear a sudden and' unpfovided-fcn: death.
Verse 6. Nor /or the pestUende ihzX walkelh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday,] The rabbins supposed that th6 empire of death was uiider two demons, one of which ruled by day, the other by night. The Vttlgate and Septuagint Have— the noon-day devil. ' Th^ andents thought that there were some demons who had the power to injure particularly at noonday. To this Theocritus refers, Id. i. ver. 15: —
Lucan, in the herrible account he gives us of a grove sacred t(r some -barbarous power, worshipped with the most horrid rites, refers to the same superstition: —
7 A thpusand shall fall at.thy Bids, ^nd ten thousand at thy right hand; hut it shall not ceme nigh thee.
8 Only ^with thine eye^ shalt thou behold and see the regard' o£ the Wicked^
9 Because thou h&st made the I/ORD which is »my refuge, even the Mdst High, ^thy habitation J
11 "For he shall give his angels chargift over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.*
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, ^ lest thou dash thy foot^ against a stone.
Lucus 0Tat longd' nunquam ^iolaius ah aevo, Non iilum caltu popali prOpiore freqa^ntant, Sed cessere dbeis i medio ouva Phcsbtu in axe estj ^ut cotluni nox atra tenet, pavet ipse s^erdos Accessns, dominumque tirobt depVendere luci.
' J. LucAir. lib. iii., y^ei. 399. ** Not far awaj, for ages past, had stood Aiuold*inViolated sacred wood-:— 7 The pious vorshippen eppro^h Qot near, But shun theii' gods^ and kneel with distant (ear: The priest himself, when, or the day ot night Rolling have reached their full meridian ^let^ht, ^ Refrains the gloomy paths with wary feet,. Dxeading the demon of the grove to meet; Who, terrible to sight, at that fixed hour Still treads the round >bout this dreary bower."
It has been stated among the heathens ihat the gods should be worshipped at all tim^s, but the demons should be worshipped at mitfday: probably because these de^ mens, having been employed during the ti^ht, r^uired rest at noonday; and that was the most proper time to appease them. See Cafmet on this placer Both the Vulgate and Septuagint seem to have referelnce to this superstition., ^ • ^' >
The Syriac understanjls the t>assage of a pestilential, windy thai blows at noonday. ^ A^uOa translates, of the Bite of the noonday demon^ • *.
Verse 7. A thpusand shall faUM thy side] Calmet thinks this place should be translated thus: '* A thousand enemies may-(iUl upon thee. on one side, and ten thousand may fall upoiT^hee on> thy right iiand: but they shall not come nigh thee tc; take away thy life.** It is a promise of perfect projection, and the utmost safety.
Averse 8. The reward of the wicked.] Thoii shalt not only be safe thyself, but thou shalt see all thy enemies discomfited and. cast down. -
Verse 9. Because thou hast made the Lord] Seeing thou hast taken Jehovah, the Most Jligh, for jthy portion and thy refuge, no evil shall come nigh thy dwelling; tWi shalt be safe in thy soul, body, household, and property, ver. 10. Every pious man may expect such protection frOm his God and Father, " Verse 1 1. He shall give his angels chafge over thee] Evil spirits may attempt to injure thee; but they shall not he able. The angds of God shall have an especial charge to accompany, defend, ^d preserve thee; and against their power, the influence of evil spirits cannot prevail. These will, when necessary^ turn thy 510 •
Steps out of the way of. danger; ward it off when' it comes in thy ordinary pa\h; suggest to thy mind prudent counsels, profitable designs, and pious purposes; and thus minister to thee as a child of God, aiui an heir of salvation.. ' v '
To keep, thee in all thy ways.] The path of duty is the If ay* of safety. Thou oan^t not reasonably expect protection if thou walk liot in the. way of obedience.' Thy ways ^e the paths of duty, which God's word and providence have marked out for thee. The way of sin is not thy way'-^ihydutyj ihy interest. Keep in thy own ways, not in those of sin, Satan, the icorld, and the^M; and God will take care.of thee.
Verse IS. They shall hear thee tip ii> their hands] Take the same care' of thee as a nurse does of a weak and tender Qhild;. lead thee, — ^teach thee tfi walk, — lif^ thee-up out of the way of danger, *^.lest thoa shouldst dash' thy' foot.against a stone,** receive any kiitd of injury, or \fe prevented from pursuing thy path with safety and comfort.
Let us remember that it is God, whose these angels are; He gives them charge, — 'from Hm they- receive their commission, — ^to Him they are responsible for their charge. From God thou art to expect them; Tind for their help he alone is to receive the praise.. It is expressly said. He shall give his -angels sharge; to show that they are not to be prayed to nor praised;- but G.OD alonis, whose servants they are. See the iiote, on Matt. iv. 6.,
Verse 1 3. Thou ^halt tread upon the lion and adder] Even the king of the forest shall not be able to injure^.thee*; should one of these attack thee, the angels whom God sends will. give thee an easy, viqtpry qv^ him. And even the asp, (|n3 pethen,) one of the most venomous of serpeAts, shall not be able to injure thee.
.The asp is a very small Serpent, and pecnliar to Egypt and Libya. Its poison kills without the possK bility of a remedy. Those who are bitten hy it die iii about from three to eight hours; and it is said* they die by sleep, without any kind of pain. Lord Bacon says ^the asp is less painful than all the other instruments of death. He supposes it to have an affinity to opiums but to be less disagreeable in its operation. It waft probably on t)iis account that Cleopatra, qneen of Egypt, chose to die by the asp, as she was determined to prevent th6 designs of Augustus, who intended to have carried her,captive to Rome to grace hi6 triumph
The dragon, shalt thou trample] The y^n ianmin^ • which we translate dragon, means often any large aquiL^ tic animal; and perhaps here the crocodile or alligator*
14 Because he hath set his love upon, me, therefore will I deliver him:' I will set him on high, because he hath ^ known my name.
15 <^ He shall call upon me, and I will answer
Verse 14. Because he hath set his lave upon me] Here the Most High is* introduced as confirming the Word of his servant. He has fixed his lave — ^his heart and soul, ou me.
Therefore will I deliver him] I will save him in, all troubles, temptations, and evils of every kind.
/ will set him an high] I will place him out of the reach of all his enemies. I will hatumr and ennoble him, because he hath knoicn my name — because he has loved, honoured, and served me, and rendered me thai worship w hich is my due. He has known,me to be the God of infinite mercy and love.
Verse 15. He shall call upon me] He must contimue to pray; all his blessings must came in this way; when he calls, I will answer him — I will give him whatever is best fur him.
/ will be with him in trouble] Literally, lam with kim. 03N ny immo anochi; as soon as the trauble comes, / am there.
I will deliver him] For his good I may permit him to be exercised for a time, but delivered he shall be.
And honour him] Tnt3DK acabbedehu, " I will glorify him.-* I will load him with honour; that honour ihat comes from God. I will even show to men how highly I prize such.
Verse 16. With long life] Literally, With length of days will I fill him tip. He shall neithet live a useless life, nor die before his time. He shall live happy and die happy.
And show him my salvation.] ^nj^W^^ iriK-Wl vearehu bishuathi^ " I will make him see (or contemplate) in my salvation." He shall discover infinite lengths, breadths, depths, and heights, in my salvation. He j shall feel boundless desires, and shall discover that I have provided boundless gratification for them. He shall dwell in my glory, and throughout eternity increase in his resemblance to and enjoyment of me. Thus shall it be done to the man whom the Lord delighteth to honour; and he delights to honour that man who places his love on him. In a word, he shall have a long life in this world, and an eternity of blessedness in the world to come.
Analysis of the Ninety-first Psalm.
The full intent and purpose of this Psalm is to encourage and exhort the godly in all extremities, pressures, troubles, temptations, afflictions, assaults, inward or outward; in a word, in all dangers to put their trust and confidence in God, and to rely upon his protection. There are two parts in this. Psalm:— I. A general proposition, in which is given an assurance of help and protection to every godly man, ver. 1: " He that dwelleth," &c.
IL The proof of this by three witnesses: — 1. Of the just man, in whose person the psalmist speaks, ver. 2: " I will say of the Lord," &c.
him: 'I will heytiih him in trouble; I will deliver him and ■ honour him.
16 With Uong life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
liver thee from the snare," &c.; which he amplifies by an enumeration of 'the damgers, God's assistance, and the angels' protection, ver. 3-14
3. Of God himself, whom he brings in speaking to the same piirpose, vei^. 14-1&.
I. The first part or verse is a universal proposition, in which ia contained a comfortable and excellent promise made by the Holy Ghost of -security, viz., that God's help shall never be wanting to those who truly put their hope and tnist in him: '* He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide (or lodge) under the. shadow of the Almighty."
I. He, — be he who he will, rich or poor, king or people { God' is no respecter of persons.
d. " That dwells." Foir that he must be sure to do, constantly, daily, firmly, rest and acquiesce in God, to persevere in the faith of- his promise, and earry that about him, else he cannot be assured by this promise.
3. *'In the- secret place." For his aid and defence is not as some strong-hold or castle which is visible; it is a secret and invisible' fortress, known only to a faithful soul. In that he may repose his hope, as a means and secondary defence; but he dwells, relies, rests in that help of God which is secret, and is not seen except by the eye of faith.
4. ** Of the Most High." And upon this he relies, because be is the ATost High. Above he is, and sees all; nothing is hid from him. And again, above he is, sits in the highest throne, and rules all. All things are under his feet; he can therefore deliver his people from all troubles and dangers. Yea, he will do it for this faithful man; he that' relies and trusts in him shall never be frustrated of his hope; protected he shall be; he shall be safe. 1. ** He dwells, therefore he shall abide." He shall lodge quietly — securely. 2. "He dwells in the secret place, therefore he shall abide under the shadow." In the cool, the favour, the cover from the heat. 3. "He dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, therefore he shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;" i. e., of the allrpowerful God, of the God of heaven; of that Grod whose name is Shaddai, All-su0icient; by which name he made his promise to Abraham, Geo. xvii. 1.
II. This proposition being most certainly true, in the next place the psalmist explains it. And that' no man may doubt of it, descends to prove it by three witnesses: first, of a just man; secondly, of the pro phet; thirdly, of God himself.
He brings in the just man thus speaking in his own person: " I will say unto the Lord, He is my refuge, my fortress, iny God; in him will I trust." Is it so? " Shall he that dwells in the secret of the Most High, abide under the shadow of the Almighty 1" Therefore I will say, in the person of all just men, to the Lord, that hath no superior, that hath no peer; to -that Lord to whose command all things are subject, and who can' be -commanded by none; I will say to him, —
Anait/sis of the
2. ^* Thou art my fortress/*' If Bet uporit 1 betake myself lo ihee as a stfon^ tower,
3* **Tliou an tny God**' If as»anlte<l by men or devils, thou, l\m Most High; thou, Almighty, art a God able to defettd me^ and therefore ^* I will hope in thee;" I will dweM» trusti rely upon thee knd this thy promise I in everj temptation add danger «
Neit; to aftaert the tnith of this, he hrings itt ihe attestation of the prophet; fon being' movtsd hy the Holy Ghosts he saith ^ macli, ^^ Sural f he ahatl deliver thee;'* and [hen falls upon the partrcularsi frcMJi which the godly miui aball be dellreredi 86 1 down in many rrwstaphoTs*
I. "He glwll deliver tliee from the snare of the fowler;'^ the deceits of evil men or devils,
B, ***Trotn the nniaomi^ pestilence," all danger to which we ate incident, hy plague, war, or famine. * Again, when thou art little in thine owa eyes, —
I. ^*- He shall cover thee," as the hen does her jouno-, ** with bis featherB; and ander his winga sIklU thoii trust," secured fmm the rain, the »tonn, the heal of the sun, and ilie birds of prey,
3. When thou art grown up, and able to enedupter an enemy in the fte!d> he shall help thee to a shield and burkleri and thnt ^hall be his Lnitbi ht&Teracitji ihy faith in it; and which is yet mon, —
Thou slialt not be afraid, — ■
2. " Nor for the arrow that flies hy day;**^ any open persecution, calamity, fraud ^ aasiult^ invasion.
3. ** Nor for the pestilence that walks In.dmrkn«fts;" the maehinarions of wicked men hatched in the dark.
4» ** Nor for the destTuctiun that wasteth at noonday;" the bold threats and decreea of tyrants snd persecutors. ^
MoUer observes rightly that the promii»esof iJeliverance here lb^O do not belong to one or. other kind of enl, but to all k{nds of calamities, open or aecret, and so [Eay be. applicahle to any; some of wbicnh steal upon us, as in the ttit»^lit aecretly; others overwhelm m in the f\-3Lj, openly. But the promise is general, as Bellarinine well ofMscrves; whether the danger come hy day or nighti those who trust in God are armed with his shield of truth against it. " For if Grod be for us, who nan be against us V Rom. viij.
The prophet goes on, and confirms the godly in their security by the dissimilarity or imfike condition of wieked men. When thou ahalt bo safe, they shall fall.
1, "A ihouFfatid shall fall at thy side, on thy left hand," overcome by adversity.
2, ** Ten thousand no thy right hand," fluttered into sin hy prosperity. *• But neither the fear by night, nor the arrovrfry day, shall come nigh thee."
3, And, which is another cause of comfort and pWaure: **' Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold* and AM the rew^^id of the wicked:" which sometimes faUft out in tliit life, as the fs^elifes saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea- shore; Moves and Aaron saw Dftfhftn nnrl Afnrmn swallowed up quick, Ac. But it whall be anjply fulfilled at the last judgnwnt, Matt, xxt. Of which seeuritv, comfort, content^ the ^ntpkei in the
next veite ghes the reason; the danger shall not come nigh thee; when they fall thoti shall sec it,, tnd consider it with content. *' Because thou hast madtr the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Blost Hi^h, thy hahitation;^' thou trusteat in him as 1 do; aiul therefore shalt have the like pro lection, deliverance, comfort, that I hy his promise have. Farther, ""- there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plagtie come nigh thy dw^elling." But the just man may say,1 am secure that no evil shall befall uie; I deaire to know bow I may be kept so, that I fall not among thieves. This objection the prophet preveni^^ savin**, m effect, Pear not, **for he ijhall give his angels charge mtfr thee, to keep thee m all thy ways; they shall bear thee op in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot Bgainsi i atone»"
In which verses consider, — -
L That the good man is protected b}' angels; many angels have a cafe of one pour man.
^. That they are commanded by God, to do it; for are not they ministeriog spirits sent by Ood to thit end? Heb. i. 14.
3. That it is a particular, admintatration, a eharg« given to the poorest, the meanest saint;
4. That they are to keep, to look to, defend thee, and what is thine; thou hast an invisihle guard.
5. But then mark the Imntation and rcstricliim j it is in ** all thy ways," in the walk of thy vocation tft which God hath called thee; either wajk tn them, or the angefs have no charge to keep thee,
6. Lastly^ "In aJl thy ways;" nut it* nne hut gH; for the ways of men are many, and in all he needs tlie custody of angels: 1. The law is a way, and the way of the law is manifold, 3. Our works and operations are manilhld; which are our way Un». 3, Our life is a way, and Ibere be many parts and cond!ilions of our hfe, various ages, manifold states; and in all these ways we need a guardian, for we may slip in every law, in every operation, in every age, in e^fiy state of life.
Which that it be not done, God hatli gi^-eo bis angels charge over us: to keep us only; nay, which IS rnore, —
1. " They shall bear thw," as kind mothem and nurses do iheir children. ^
3. " They shall bear thee in their han^;*Vthe will, understanding, wisdom, and pttwcr are, as it were, ib« artgels^ hand; with all these they will bear us,
3. " That thou dash not thy foot;" that is, thy iJlieetiona, which carry the soul to good or bad.
4. ^* Against a stone;" which are all dilGcullies and obataeles.
And, which is yet more, under the it coatody we »haJl tread under foot Satan, and aU his aeeomplices; him, 41 roaring lion, an i>ld serpent^ a fierce dragon, and all hi* associates, tyrants, persecutors, ind byp^v critea; for such is the promise; "Thou shalt irrad upon the lion and adder; the ybnng lion and dragoi? shalt thou trample under feet.'*
5. "In the mouth of two or three w*lh:. ' Tl every word stand, saith God;*' and here '■■ i law strictly observed: it was to he provf*d, ih^\ 1 who truly trust in God were to he protected by Cani. of whieh ons witness was the just man* ver^ 9 «
7%«? duttf und advantage
of praising God,
^aother, 4Ue iebtimony of t^c Spirit bf Itie /?rtrp^, JVorn verne 3 to this refse^ to uUich a tktfd, we h;LV0 here even Got) bLiiiiseir; fur in iheae t[\ite lit^l veraes the preplUi brings Him, God bimadf, teatifyirig ihxs greal and eomfurtLibk Iniih with his own moutli: — | 1. ^"^ Decatise he haiLi mi hjs love ypon lub/^ pluasdd me^ |o¥ed me, auliiefcd Id mSf boped m me, trusted to uie uitli a ftiiml love and adherence. '
3- ^* He shall call upon me^^ Invocation ia necea- «ary aJsa, *^ Therefof e I will deliver hini, 1 will >nswtir hiin, I will be with him in trouble, I iftill hmrnuT liim. I Mtil! glorify bini, ar set birn on liiigh f and the «ecAiid, ** I wiU deliver tiim; wiih Ioq^ Uie wiil I Baxisty liiiD, atid ahow^ bim my tml^aXi^mJ*^
bf mh& ways, d] redly or iDdiiecllj, yet so that it be
3. ** 1 will he witfi him in irtwihle;" join myself ilose to hinif go into prison ^'ith him ts it weTe, miifer ritE him^ ajad thiok myself pursued when he^ls perd, give him cgmforl even the«; ihey mug in he aeither detirers the martyis from death, I he forsake ihem.
4. 'Vl wiE honour hsm:^^ for the names of tho«e who suffered /or hia sake am honourahle; ** pteciaua in thB sight of the Lord is the death of his saintB.''*
These promises may belonf to thia life; xkamB (Jiat follow to the other*
J. ^ I wiD deli vet KitJi," For the just by death are freed from the preaeat aud all future miaeriea: *' Blessed are the dead, for ^they rest., from their lahouts."
2. ** I will glorify him,'^ As if it were not enough to deliver hiin; 'such a tJwnf in this life may fall out, as it happened to Joaepfi, Job, Dartd, Dajiifi*!; but the true glory ao c|UesiLoii must he, *' uheii the righteous shull shitie like tlie fiun]1>e set upon their throfiesi ami judge i}m twelve tribes of Israel."
3. ** Witii loBg life will 1 satisfy him," i. e., witk eternal feiLcity^ with a contiuuanee in bliss, ^ hirh shall be eternal; (br without eternity even length of days can* flot satisfy; as appears hy old n^en, who yet hate eoia^ plained of a short' life,
4. And fhat the pre^h^t speaks of this eternal felicity it more than probable, because be adds, ** I will show him my salvation;" 1 wilt show him Jesua, my salvation; that i^ I will bring to pass, that wheel tlirougb his whole life 1 have given him mx^cieat erideaces of my fatherly a^ection, I will at last ttanslata Mm to a place where he shall no longer live by faiih^ but shall see, anjd ^xperimentaUj feel» what he hat^ believed*
tr is a* good thing to give thanks unto the LoED, atid to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:
2 To **>show forth thy loving-kindness in the 'morning, and ihy faiihfulne«s ^ every night,
Ima pre«erired me throughout the nighty ind brought me to the beginning of a new day: and th^ faithful* ness m the nighty that has so amply fulfilled the promise of preservation during ihfi course of the day. This verse contains a general |ilan for moraing and^ evening prayer.
Verse %. Upt>n an tnstmment of ten itrings] Eosebius, in hi^ comment on this Psalm, says:
TTjff -X^^v^g ^uva|tAfwiv, i*ireXflii|jLeVTg XqtTpSfft^ " The Pssltert^ ff ten itrmg^ is the worship of the Holy Spirit, perfornied by meflos of the five senaef of the bodvH^ and by the /ire powers of the soul.-' Ajidi to confirm this interpretation, he ijnoies the aposfle, 1 Cm. xiv. 15 1 ** I will pray with ttie spirit, and with the anderstanding also; I wdl sing with the spirit, and with the tJnderstanding also/' " iVs the mind haa ita influence by M^hich it moves the body, so the splfit
The enemies of the PSA I.MS.
upon ihe psaltery; " upon the harp with ^ a solemn sound,
4 For thou, LoeUj hast made mc gla^ through ihy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands,
5^0 Lord, how great are thy works! and *^ thy thoughts are very deep,
6 ^ A brutiah man knoweih not; neither doih a fool understand this. ^
7 Whcu ^ the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of, iniquity do flourish; ft is that they shall be destroyed for crer:
hoA its own infliience by which it ttiovea the aoul." Whatever may bo ihoufrht of this gloss* one thing b pretty evident from it, ihB.i trtstntmentai mustc^^^ not in use in the Church q^ Chriat in the tfme of Euschms^ wliich wai neiu tho middle of the fuurth century. lliid any such thing tlien existed in Ih^* Christian Church, he wouhl have dpiibtlce? alluUcd to or sf rituaJtzed it; or, as lie quoted the words of the apoatle above, TA'ould have shown that earn a/ usages were suhstituted far spiritual ejt^rcisw. I believe the whole verse should be translated thus ' Upon the asurt upon ihe iiel^U ^pon ike higgayofif witk the kmnor. Thus it standi in the Hebrew*
Verse 4. For ihou^ Lordt host made me glad th rough ^ihy w&rk\ 1 am delighted with thy conduct low:ir^s me J with the work of thy providence^ the works of thy gt^t, and thy works of creation.
Verse 5. How gretU are ihy warAs f] "^hey arc multitudinous, slnpendous/ and aplcndid: a:nd thy ihoiighii — ^thy designs ami counsels, _/r*w« which, ht/ wliich, and in re/ere nte to which ^ they have been formed; are wry deep—^ap profound aa not to be fathomed by the compfehenaian of iiian.
"Verse 0. A brutish^ man knoweih not} *^X f^^ ish hoary the human hog — the stupid bear— ^tlie boor; the man who is all fletsh; in whonj spirit or iittcllecl neither aecms to work nor exist* The ^ti^h man^ who nuver Attempts to see God in his worka-
Neither doth a fool understand this. ] Vo D i wi/, th D fool, is different from "vj;3 banr^ the bntli^h man; ihe latter has mtnd^ but it is buried in tiesh i ihe former liaa no mind^ and his stupidiry is unavoidable.
VifeTB© 7* Whtn the ivicked sprmg as lit/* g^t^^^] Thifl is a lesaun which ia frequently inculcated in llie kaCred writing:9. The favour of God towards man is not to 'be known by outward pfosperity; nor is his diaajiprobation to, be known by the adverse circumstancea m which any i>er^n may he found. When, however > we ■ee the wicked flourish, we may lake fi*r granted that their u&use of GcmI's mercies will cause him to cut them off M eumbcrers o^ the ground; and, dying in theiisins, they are destroyed Jo r ct*er*
^'erse 6. High for efermorf*\ Thetf are ^[Tdilght diiwn and destroyed; but the Lord ia exalt cd etcnially, both for hia judgmetitB and hia raeiciea*
ihine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall ■" be scaUercd.
10 But "my horn shah thou exaJl like tht hom of an unieorn: I shall be ** anointed Ivilh fresh oil.
11^ Miae eye also shall see mj^ desire on mine enemieSj and mine ears shall hear mtj ddsii^e of the wicked tliat rise up against mc.
Verse 10. IMeihe horn ot a vnieorn.] O'H^ rreyni, perhaps here, the ory^ or buffalo. But the rhmocerot seems to be the real mononeroj of the Scriptures.
I shall he anmoied tQiih fresh oi/.] Perhaps the allusion is here UQt to any anermntntai anointing, but to each anointings as were frequent among t1i€ Asiatics^ especially after bathing, for the purpose of health ^£ul activity.
Vere« 11. Mine eye also shali ^c«,— and mine #Hr* shall hear] Even in my own times my enemies shall be destroyed; and df this deslmctiQu I sbsil either be an ^sye~ivifness or have auLhentic inforrnalion.
Verse 12* The nghte&us &hall jlou;tuh hke the p*tim* tree] Very different from the wicked, ver. 7t ^ho ue Uk«ned to grass. These shall have ik short duration; but those shall have a. long and useful life. They are compared also t&ihe cedar of Lehanmu an ineorrapiible wood, and extremely lorig-lived, J^Ir. ManndrtU^ who visited those tieesin 1 6fl7,descnbe3 them tjma ^ *^ These noble trees grow among the snow, near the highest |»art of Liebanon* Some are very old, and of prodigious bulk. I measured one of ill e largcFti and found it tudtit yarda six inchea in girt, ajid yet sound; and thirtyseven yards in the spread eF its" boughs. At about ^re or si^ yards from the ground, it wa^ divided lata Jive limbs, each of which. f^as equil to a large iree*^* Some of these trees are supposed to have lived upwards of one thousand years t The figure of the paim-(ree give» us the idea of grandeur and usefulne^. The/ruil of the palm-tree makps a great part of the diet of the people of Arista i part of Per-sie, and Upper Egypt, The stones axe ground do^n for the camels; the teat§s are matle into dns^els; the hard boughs, of rather strtrng leanest aouid being Jio? or tight feet in lenifth^ molce fences; th&yu^ makes arrack; the thrcfuLs of the weh-likeiitiegument between the leaves i j, and the rigging of am alf vessels ■ and the i*.,.u.^i.. iti for shghter bu ild i n g s and fi re - wood, 1 n short, the pj;/m or date Iree, and the olive, are two of the moat excellent and useful productions of the forest or the /tetd*
The cedw gives us the idea of majejity^ stahiliiy^ dttrahl^iessf ^nd ineamiptibtltiy. To tliese tte^ trcc-s, for the most nbvious reasons, are the righteous coinpared. William Ltthgn-uj, who travelled through tho holy land about A. D, 1 600, de^ribes Ihe cedixa of ( 33»)
13 Those ihat be planted in the house of the Lore shall Oourish ' in the courts of our
growing after the niaitoer of o^s, btit a gxenl deaf lallcj-T siraighter, aiid tliiekcr, and the bnwichL^s grawing so slrughti aaii mtedockitigi as though they were kept by ^rt: aiiil yet from the toot to the top they bear no bought, but grow fttraighl and up wards' hke to a palra-l«!«. Their eirele-siiread tojiA do kiss or embrace the lower clouds^ making their grandeur overlook the bigbast budics of all other aApiriog trees. The nature c^ thia tree is, that ii is always greeciT yielding an «M!oriferouis smell; and an exeelleitt kitid of fruit, like uato apples, but of a aweeter^ taste, and more wholesome. The roots of some of these cedars are almost ilteotjoyed hy the ehepherde« who have made fire a thereat, and holes where they aleep; yet nevertheless they flourish green above, in the tops and branches." ^— Lilhgow*g 17 years' Travelaj dto*, I^ndon, leiO^ Verse 13. Thote-thaf be planted in the houses of (he hord\ I betle?e the Chaldte has the trae meaning 4eie: " His child re u shuU be planted in the house of 0Ut sanctuary of the L&rd, and dhall ilourish in the fKin$iB q( our God." As these trees Aourish in their toopeetive soils and climateSf so shall ihe righSeoiiS in Ih^ oidmaocBQ of God. I do not think there is any fiBu^ton to either ftalm-tree&^i ced^tts^ planted near the tabernacle or temple. Verse 14» The if shall still bring /i>rth fruit in old flg—?] They shall contimio lo grow in grace, and be fruitful to the end of their lives. It is a rare case to find a man in old age full of faath, Jove, and spiritual activity.
V^erae IS. To show that the Lord is uprtghi] SuQh persons show how faithful God is to his promiseSy hnw trUie to Uia wotd, how kind to them who trust m. himi^ He is the Rf^k^ (he Pounfain, whence all good come«. *
There is no unrighUousniMf m him.\ He does nothing ei^ili, nothing tiMitcrije, nothmg unkind. He is both jWl aitdr merpf/y..
II. A particular narration of such works, in which the goodness and faithfulness of God dn especially
"eonsist, y\%.^ the creation and govonimeiit of the 4| 5«.- And of the last he gives two in-
1. One in wicked men ^ of their stupidity, ver. 6. Then of their sudden extirpation, ver. 7, 9, 9.
%, Another in the godly» whose proeperity is great, ver. 10-14, and security certain^ ver. 15.
14 They shall still bring forth frnit in old age; ihey shall be fat aiiA ■ flourishing;.15 To «how that the Lord u upright; ^ he i$ my rock^ a^d "^ ther^ is no tmrighteousness in him.
heart and tongue) to Ihy glorious £iime,.0 thou Most High.^*
And both parts he eicplains. I, That we give thanks at all times, moraing and evening, in prosperity and in adversity; and in our praises espectally to remember his loving-kitidness ^nd faithfulness. These nmst be the matter of our thsnksgivmg: *^ It Is good to show forth thj ioving-kindneas in the mornings and thy faitlifnlnesB every night,^^ ver. 2 [ and by all man* ner of meai^} ver. 3>
And thus the maxim being proposed and explained^ he applies it to himself, and shows his own practice, and the reason of it: *' For thou, Lord, hast made me glad tbrongb thy work; I will triumph in the workn of thy hands," ver. 4.
2. And then he exults and triumphs in it. The heart must be drst truly affected with the work of God before a man shall take any tnie cotitent or de^ light in it.
IL He had mode mention of the works of God, ^nd now he farther opens what they are: First, The creation of the universe; Secondly, His especial providence in ordering the things of this world, particiilaily about man.
i. First, he begins with iHp work of oreation, upon which he enters, not with leas than an adiriiration; " O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very dccp.'^ As if he aaidi I cannot he satisfied in the contemplation of them. There is such a d^ptk in them, thai I cannot attain to it, nor comprehend.it.
2. And he ends it, not without an indiguntion, that the wise men of the world, who yet in his judgment, for their disregard of it, are but fools, should not consider it. In the creature they look after nothing hut profit and plettsijre, in which regard they are but ftxils. F&r this IjTulish mttn knows n&t how great are his w^orfce; thi$f&d understands not how deep are liis co^taiions.
And that he mny illustrate their folly the more, from the work of creation he comes to God*s work of governance of the world; and shows, that us they whg would be and are reputed wise, are mistaken in the one, so also they are mistaken in the other; for they think, the ungodly, and such as fiiiuHsh in power and wealth, happy, and thai thq righteous men» sometimes oppressed, are unhappy: and upon these two instances, he insists to the end of the Psalm, First, he instances the ungodly: When the wit led spring ujH^Tis^ on a sodden, (for such a time there is J as the grass ^ that grows insensibly and tn a night; and when alt the wtyrkers of iniquity dojloitrish^hecome rery cons:picuoTJ5, exalted in power and pride, and ahouTid iii wealth; who would not now take them for happy men? Noi sailh otir prophet, it is not so.
govenmeni *&f' tjhd.
1. This their felicity m the grofttait iofi^city: It 18, " that they may perish,"* he destroyed.
8. " That they may perish for ever." Remember the rich man in Uie Gospel.
3. And this tKeir destruction is irpm God, that siu on the throne, and is immutable' in his decree^ and ways. They flourish and are exal(ed; but it is but tot A moment: ^' But thou, Losd, sit most high fot ^▼ermore.^. And thou w}|it' execute thy decree uj^n themi
4. Which the prophet fully opens in the next Terse, which the ejrizeuxis makes more emphatioal: ^^ £or, lo, thine enemies, X) Lord, foar, lo, ^e enemies shall perish; and all ^e workers of.iniqui^ shall be scattered.'^.
' 1. Pehold, they were green, they flaurifhed: but the change shall be siidden.. ^, -
3.' They were enemieSi-thy enemies^ workers ofiniquiip I therefore cursed with a curse.
3. ** They shall perish, diey shall hb scattered;** they rose, they flourished as grass, and they shall be scattered as diy grass, which the wind blows fironrthe face of the earth. '.
His second instance is the godly, whose happj condition he demonstpites^ 1. In hypoiTtesif or in himself^ ver. 10, 11; and, 3. In thesi; in all others that be true members of the mystical Church of Christ, yer.
He instanceth in himself, that his condition is- n6t like th^ ungodly. He shot -not up as the fading grass, but his strength and power should be* as a unicorn.
1. *^ But my horn shalt thou exalt a^ the horn of a' unicorn;" that is, my power, and glory, i^d felicity shall still mount higher.
3. "And I shall be anointed with fresh oil." Ajiointed to be king dver Israel^ by Stnnuel^ with a ^m of oil;— Hi>y God, with -the gracious oil of his Spint.
77 And that which adds -tp my flourishing estate: ** My eye shall see. my desire upon my enemies, and my ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise
up against mA;** which David lived to see and hev in the ruin of Saul and his hoose.
And that which the prophet said of hiinself ho now transfers to all just and nghtaous men, whom he compares to the palm and cedar.
I. " The righteous shall flourish like a pak^-tree." So a good Christian; the grealer weight he carries, the more he flourishes.
3. *^ He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Cedar- wood is hot consumed by. worms or time; nsr. the Church by antiqui^ nor persecution. The gates of hell shall no^ prerail against it, nor any true member of it.
Of whTch.the reason i?, because these pahne and cedars — these righteous men, are planted, set hj faith, watered by the word and sacraments, rooted by charity in the Church*, which is the house of the Lord; and therefore (hey skaU flourish — be green apd Tigoroos, in the courts of our Ood.
. Nay, which Is 3ret more, they shall be fuB of sap and lliden with fruit.
1. " Th^y shall brinr ^^h fruit in their old age." It shall be contrary 16 them, as with other trees. Those grbw fruitless, and bear not when they grow old V these are thdn mosi ladeii with the fVuits of grace.
9. <*They shall be fat and flourishing." Other trees, when old, ard hard- and dry; these then are fiit in juice, and flourish in good works.; 2. And the reason of this yigouf, of the continuance of this radical and vital moisture to old age, is, that they bring forth fruit, which is specified in the last yerse: "That they mighLshuw forth' God^s faitfalUness, praise him for that," as it is in the second verse. 1. "That they might show that the Lord fs upright,** — just and righteous in himself. 3. " Thtit he is m Rock,"— a sure, stable foundation to trust to. 3. " And that there is no unrighteousness, in him,^ — no injustice; though for a time he suffer the tHcked to flourish, And the just to be 4inder the cross. For im his good time he wiU show his justice in fe^ruding the just, and punishing the unjust.
npHE ' Lord reigneth, ••* he is clothed with majesty; the
AN4LVSIS OF THE NiSKTF- SECOND PsALM.
NOTES ON PSALM XCIII. This Psalm has no title either< in the Hebrew or Chaldee. • Th^ Vulgata Septuagint, JEthiopic, and Arabic, state it to be "A song of praise of Dayid for the day preceding the Sabbath, when the earth was founded;'* but in such a title there is Uo information 616 ^ on which any man can rely. This Psalm is written as a part of the preceding in twelve of S^nnicotVs and De Rossi's MSS.' It was probably written at the closfl.of the captivity by the LeviteSy descendant^ of Moses. Verse 1. The. Lord reigneth] He* continues to govern every thing he has created; and he ]• evfty way qsalified to goTern all things, fov he is cloihed wUk '' mefesty and with j/ren^M— dominion is his, and he has ■Qpreme power to exercise it; and he has so esiibiished Ike world that nothing can be driven out of oxder; all IB ruled by him. Nature is his agent: or rather, na-*^ tore is the snm of the laws of his government; * the i^Mrations carried on by the DiTuie. energy,* and the efieets resulting from those operations.. •.
He' hath girded himself} The girding wUh strength weSen ta the girding in order to strengthen the kikisy mmSf knees, &c. When a Hindoo is about to setpff on a journey, to Hft a burden, or to do something that reciaires exertion, he hinds firmly his loose upper garment round his loins. — ^Wabd.
Verses. Thy throne \r 'established, of oli\ T[Ate aerer was a tjune.in which God did jmt reign, in which lie was not a supreme and absolute Monarch; for he is from everlasting, There never was a time in whick ke was not; there never can be a period in which he ahall oeaseto exist. «
Verse 3. The floods have lifted up]. Multitudes of people have confederated against thy people; and. ttoop succeeds troop as the waves of the sea succeed oach.other.
J Verse '4. The Ldrd — is mightier thkn the noise of ' wtmty' waters] Greater in strength, than aU' the jie<^-..pies and nations that can rise up against him.
Mighty waves of the sea.] ' Even the most pb^erfid' ei^pires can prevail nothing'agaiiMt him; therefore * those' who trust in him have nothing to feax.
Verse 5. Thy testimonies are very sure] Thou wilt as surely fulfil thy word as thou wilt keep possession of thy throne.
* Holiness beeometh thine house] ■ Thy nature is holy, •all thy works are holy, and thy word is holy; therefore, thy house-^ihy Church, should be holy. The kuUding itself should be sanctified'-^nYiDtaldrhe so eon- Mfcrated to thy worship alone, that it shall never be employed in any other service. The ministers of this Church should be holy, the members holy, the ordi- •aiic^# holy; it9 faith, its disHjdine, and its practice ludy. ' Aiid this at all times, and in all circumstani^; isf ** holiness becon^Bth thine house-^for ever,'* '"pltS XST^iy le-orech yamim, for leAgth of days. During the whole lapse of time; fOl the sun and moon shall be nO ' more. The 61d Psalter- sajrs the house Qf God is masfs saule; and of this house holiness is nitO naau^, '^ tlie ornament;^ it produces that. meek* and quiet spirit which is in the sight of Ged of great price. No decoration of person nor simplicity of dress eaa supply the place of this heavenly clothing. ^.
In this Psalm it is the purpose of the pit)phet to comfort the Church, oppressed by lyrants and perse-
' 6 Thy testimonies are very w.^mST'
cotors; and' yet she shall not utterly faiL The gates of hell shall not prexail against her; because Christ sits in his Church as King. '. The snm of it is,?—
I. Tho magnificence anJ power of Christ oor eterw nal King, ver. 1, ft. * ' ^
I. The prophet in the first versO desctibes oor King; First, Ttom his office: —,
'1. *^He reigns.'*. He is the great' and oluef Mo, narch;' he is no idle spectator of things bblow ', h^ wisely, tasi Justly, and powerfully administers all things,
9. He is a gloriQus King: "He is clothed with majcsty,'*^
4. He iA a warlike King: " He hath' girded himseUV** buckled his sword upon his armour; for ofifence towards kis enemies, for d^ence of lus kingdom.
5. It Is fixed, firm, and stable:. " llie world U also stablished^ and cannot be moved.*'.
• 3.'* It is an everlasting kingdom:. " Fron eyerlastr ing to everlasting; thy thtone is established of old i thou art from Everlasting.*^
II. But in this his kingdom there are those wlib raise tumults, commolions, and -rebellions; These he compares to SwelHng waters and foaming wffves.
3. Well, be jt ^; - yet ** tlie Lord on' high is mightier than the noise of many waters; ye^ than the mighty wates of the sea.'** He WondbrfiilLy and strangely hath showed his might in getting himself the victoiy orer alt' persecutors, and propagating and enlasgihg his kingdom over all the earth in despite of hi^ enemies.. -
III. '1. And as his kingdom is immovalble, so a^ the laws by whiqh it is governed fixed sCbd unalterable also: ** Thy testimonies are very sure.'* Tke Gospel is«n eternal Gospel; the do<;trine. thereof is holy n^d inviolable; * by which God. hath declsu^ft his good wil) to man, axid what he Tcquires of all his k>>iiig- subjects i which is, that they be a holv people. For,
3. " Holiness becomes thy house for ever.** The temple, the prieala, the people, must be a holy nation;. for ever correspondent to the holiness' of his law aiKJi testimonies: " Be ye holy, for I am holy^'* • " Holl? ness becomes thyhouse, O Lord, for ever,'* *
An appeal to God against oppressors, 1-7. ExposttdOtions with the workers ojf iniquity, 8-11.* God's mer— cifid dealings with Kis- followers, 18r.l5; and their confidence in hinh 16-19. The*punishsnent of the ■ wicked foretold, 20^3,- ^. > «. *
2^ Idft up thyself, thou • Judge of the earth: render a reward to th6 proud. ^
4 JIqw long shall they Gutter. and speak hard things? oni/all ^ the workers* of iniquity
This Psalm has no title either in the Hebrew or. Chaldee. Tl^e Vulgate, Septuagint, JEtkiopic, ijqd Arabic, have, ** A Psalm of David, for the fourth day of the week;'^ hot this gives us. no infbnhatioh on which we can rely. In three of KennicotVs MSS. it is written as a part of the preceding. It is probably a prayer of the captives in Babylon for deliverance; «nd was written by the' descendants of Moses, io Vhom qnne of the preceding Psalm€ have bcfeh' attributed. It contains a description of an iniq^ifitous and oppressive government, such as that under which the Israelites Jived in Babylon.
Vejrsel. O Lord God, to whom ^vengeance.belongeft] God is the author of retributive justice^ as v^U as of mercy. This retributive justice is what ^e'often.'term vengeance, but perhaps improperly) for vengeanco. with us signifies an excitement of angi^ passions, in order to gratify a vindictive spirit, which, supposes itself to have received some real injury; whereas what is here referred to' is that s^mpl^ act of justice which gives to all then: due. " •
, Verse 2. Lift up thyself] Exert thy power.
.Verse 3. How long shall the wicked, trifonphf] The wicked al!e ofibn in prosperii^; and ^m only shows us of how little wotth riches are in'th^ sight of God, when he bestows them on the most contemptible of mortals. But their time and prosperity have their bounds. ' • '
. Vers^ 4,. They utt^ and speak] lj?'3^ yoddm, their ^hearts get full of pride and insolence; and then, from the abundance of such vUe hearts, the mouth speaks; - and th<9 speech is of hard things, threatenings- which they are determined to execute, boastings of their power, authority, &c.
■ Verse 5. They break in pieces thy people] This 518.
6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and. murder the fatherless.
8 ^ Understand, ye brutish among the peo pie: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
9 ^He that planted the ear, shaH he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not her correct? he that "* teacheth man knowledge, shall not A.e linolv'?
was true of the Bifbylonians. Nebuchadnezzar stew man^i^; carried the rest into captivity; ruined Jerussr lem; overturned the temple; sacked, piila^, ind destroyed all the country.
' Verse 6. TViey slay the undow] Nehuchadnezzar carried on his wars with great cruelty. He carried •fire and sword every wlieie'; spared neither age, sex, nor condition.. The Uridow, the orphan, andthe stnar^ir, persons in the most desolate condition of Ule, wtere not distinguished from others by his ruthless sword.
Verse 7. The Lord shall not Bee] This was eilher the lan^age' of infidelity or insult. Indeetf^^ what could the Babylonians know oC the true GOd t ' They might consider him as the God of a district or province, who knew nothing and did nothing.out of' his own territories. '•,
Verse 8. Understand, ye brutish] These are th)9 same expressions as in Psa. xciL Q, on which see th^ note. ' -.
Verse 9. He that planted the ear, shall he not heart] This is allowed to be an unanswerable mode of axgvmentation. Whatevei: is found of excellence in the creature, must be derived from the Creator, and" exist in him in the plenitude of infinite exceUepce. God, says Si.' Jerome, is all eye, because he sees all; he is all Kand, because he does all things; he is all foot, Ibr he is evexy where present. The' psalnfist does aot say, He that planted the ear^' hath he not an ear f He Ithat formed the eiye, hath he hot iyes f No; but, Sliall he ndt hear t Shall he not see f- And why does he say so 1 To prevent the error of humanizing God, of attributinig^ members or corporeal parts to the infi^ nite Spirit. " See Calmet.
Verse 10. He that chastiseth tke heathen'', shall not he cohectt] You, who are heathens, and heathens of the*^ most abandoned kind. ^ '
J^e that teacheih man knowledge] We here supply, shaH nbi he know I But this is not acknowledged by
M "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. •12 "Blessed is the man whom thou chas-
13 That thou mayest give him rest froni die days of adversity, until the pit be- digged for the wicked.
14 P For the Lord will not cast off his peo-, • pie, -neither will he forsake his inheritance.',
',15 Bui judgment shallreturn ijnto righteousness: and all the upright in heart *^ shall folr
die original^ nor by any of the Versions^ - Indeed it is oot necessary; for either the words ^contain a simpl/e. proposition, ''*■ It is he who teaeheth maiT knowledge," Of this clause should he rekd in connexion with ver.l 1:
/'Jehovah, who teaeheth man knowledge, knoweth the devices of man, that they are Tanity.*^' As he teaches
.knoioledge to man^ must he not know all the reasonings and devices. of the human heart 1 - ^
Verse 12. Blessed is the man whom thou ehastenesl\ XrOTT^ teyasserennu, whom thou ifistructest; and teachgsi kim out of thy law. Two points here are worthy of our n)08t serious regard: 1, God- gives knowledge to man: givjes him understanding an'd* reason. 3« He gires him a revelation of himself r he places before (hat reason and understanding hifa ZHoir^ law. This is God's system of teaching; and the human intellect. is hiff gift, which enables man to understand this teaching. We perhaps may add a third thing heire; that as by sin the understanding is darkened, he giv^s the:Holy Spirit tp' dispel this darkness from the intellect, in order Ihat his word may be properly apprehended and understood. But he gives no new faculty; he removes the impediments^ from the old, and invigorates it by his Divine energy.
Yene 13. That thou mayest give him rest'\ He whom God instructs is made wise unto ^vation; and b« whb is thus taught h^ rest in jlis soul, ajid peace and confidence in adversity.. '
Verse 14. The Jjord wHl 'not cast off 1^ 'peopU] Thoogh Jhey are now sufierijig under a. grievous and oppressive captivity, yet the Lord hath not utterly casf Chem off. They are- his inheritance, and he will again zeatore them to their own land.
Verse 16! But judgment shaU return unto righteous* ness] If we read 2Vn^ yosheb, shall sit, for 2y\ir yashub, shaU return, which is only placing the 1 vau before the W shin instead of after it« we have the following sense: UnlU the just one shall s'it in judgment, and after him all the upright in heart. Cyrus has the ^ithe| pIV
' isedek, the jujt.one, m different places in the Ihrophet Isaiah. See Isa. xii. 2, 10; xlv. 8; 11. 5. It was Cjrrus who gave liberty to the Jews; who appeared as their deliverer and conductor to their own land, and they are all represented d^ following in' his train.
16 Who will rise up'for me against the evildocFs? or who. will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
17 ' Unless ihe Lor]> had been my help, my soul had * almost dwek in silence.
id In the multitude of *my thoughts witlun* me thy comforts delight my soul.. 20 Shall ' the throne of iniquity have fellowsHip with.thee, which ^ fifameth mischief by a k^?. ' * ^
Verse l'^. Who wiU rise up'for me] Who is he that shall, be the deliverer. of Uiy people t - Who vHll come to our afciistance against tiiese wiokeS Babylo* nians?
Verse tl. Unless the Lord had been my help] Ha^ not God in a 'strimge manner supported us while under his chastising hand, we had been utterly cut off.
^My e&ul had almost dwelt in silence.] The Vulgate hfLB: in inferno; in hell or the infernal world; the Septuagin^, Tf^ ffSji, in the invisible world,. *'- * Veifse 18. When t said, My foot slippsth] Whea I fonnd'uiyself so wea,k and my enemy so strong, that I got first off my guard, and then off my cefUre pf gravity, a^d my fall appeared inevitable-, —
Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.] 'ityo' yisadem, propped me. It js a metaphor taken from fuiy thing fudU^i that is propped, shored up,6r buttressed. How ojfien does the mercy of God thus j^revent the ruin of weak believers, and of those who:have been unfaithful!
Verse 1&. In the midtitude of my thoughts] Of my griefs, (dolontm, Vulgate;7 my sprrows, (ojuvuy, Septu^gint.) According to the multitude of my trials and distresses, have been the consolations whioh thoujiast affiDirded me. Or, While 'l have been dee)>ly medita^ ting on thy wondrous grace and merc^, Divine light has bxoken in upon my 80ul,'imd I hAye been filled with delight.
. Verse 20. Shall the throne qf iniquity] ' No wicked king, judge, or magistrate shall ever stand in thy presence. No countenance shaU such faliTe from thy grace or providence.
Which frameth mischief] Demise, plan, and execute, as if.they acted by a positive law, and were strictly enjoined to do what they so much delighted in.
Verse 21. Tliey gather themselves together] "In ev^ry thing* that is evily they are in unity, ' The devil, his angels, and his children, all join and draw together when they have for. their object the destruction of" the works of- the Lord. But this was particularly the case.with resjtect to the poor Jews among the Babylonians: they were objects of their continual, hatred, and they laboured for their destruction.
This and the following verses have been itpplied to our Lord, and the treatment he met with both fromiiis S19
the soul of the righteoas, and * condenm the innocent blood.. ' -.
29 But the Lord is ^my^ defence; and xtij God is the lock of my refuge.
e^ coimtrTmen and firom \S». Romlms. ^Thej pretended to ''judge him accdrdifig to t)ie hcW, andfnmed •mMiief against hind';^ tbey ***a8embled together against the life of the nghteous one,?' and *' condemiked innocent blood;'* bat God eVidendy interposed, and ^ broug)it upon them their own iniquity,*' according^, t^ 0ieir horrible imprecation:. ^ His blood be upon us* and npon our children!" firod- ** cnt them off in thenr own iniquity." Ail this had, in reference to him,, a most literal fulfilment.
• Verse 92. The rock of my rtfugeJ\ AHading to Aose -nstufal ^forCifications-^among rocks, which are frequent in the land of Judea. '. - '
Yezse 23, iSM? ciu them off] This m repe/UedrXo ^ fl^ow that the destruction of the BabyloDians was fixed /Mid. indubitable: 'and -in refbrence to th<Q. Jews', the per-' ^ecutors and murderers, of our Lord and His apostles, *|t was not lew so. J^nAyUmiB totally.de^yed; not even ^ vestige jof it remaiDs.. The J^we aje no longer S. nation; they are scattered Ihrooghont the world, and liave no 'certain place of abode.' They ^o not possess -^▼en.one village on the ftce of the earth.. \
'The la^ verse is th^ tran^ated and paraphrased in |he old Psalter:—
Trans. Unb i^ 09l pttbe to ttiaim tbatciiiifliellntjer. imb Ur tM« malitt ^ jfjSiXl gikim t^Aim i Kkatct Mpaim pid Uotbe oute ^oti»
Par, Alswa say efter thnir 11 entent, that 4hai wil 4o gude men harme; he sail yelde*fiiaim psme, and in Ihair malice thai sal be sundred'fra the hali courte of liev^ne, and skatred emang the wiked fendes of heUl.
For difierent Views of s^yeral parts of tMs Psafmj fee thci iiiHy/y w, *, '
In this Psalm the parts are,-—. '
1. A petition for vengeance npon the wicked, ver.
n. A pitifiil conii^aint;' with the causes of it, which were two: — -
}. The delay of GodVjudgmenlB on them, yer. 3, 4,. 8. Their insolence, oppression of the poor, &nd blafrr f hen^ against God, yer. 4^7., Ilf. 4 sharp reprehension of their blasphemy and ^theism, and the roifutation of it. •
.1^. A consolation to all good, n^en, that God wiH' punish the wicked and defend the righteo«j^\er. 12<-S3. Which is confirmed, — r ^ '
3. From God^s hatred of injustice, t3panny, and oppression, ver. 20,21. 1. Which will cause him Xo be a rock and defVince to his people, ver. 22. 2. A se« yere revenger to the Oppressors,, ver. 23,
1. He begins with a petition that God would take T^igeance of the oppressors of his people: " O Lord
23 'And ■ he shall bring upon them their omn iniquity, and shall cut diem off in their own. j^ickedness; yea, the lidRD our God shall cul them off. • • -
sGpd, to whom vengeance bdoogs, to whoik Vengeance ^opgs;" as if he.had sail). Thou art the most pewefful Lord, a Ood of justice and power, and hast vengeance.in thine own hand. Therefore now^— -
2. *« Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the esrfh." Dix thy o6loe of judicature; ascend thy thi;Mie\aiMl trflmnal, as judges use to do when they give judgment.
3.' *' Render a reward unto the proud." For the proud bomble themselves nqt unto thee; they repent not*. ".
I|. And now the prophet begins to eemplaia that, by the delay %of Gpd's judgment, vricked men weie fe^ened in'theif in^iety, and glor^d in their viDany.
1. ** How long! how long!" This thy fbrbearanee seems tedious; especially jniice the.wicked grt>w.wone and worse by it, and insuH of^ u» the more^
4. **They are workers of iniquity, and they bosat themselves."' It is not sufficient for tjbem tode 411, but tfiey boast o( it.;
^ow to what'Cflid do thejfwmake use of all these!
The consequence is lamentabler— the event-«i^ Tto
cfieetsare lamentable, for in their iiiry and injnfliifee;
The peopTe dedicated to thee.
2. <^'They afflict thine heritage." The peopie thil th(m hast ehosen'for thy possession. *.
3. ''^hey day the widow," destitute'oftheiKniAMt t>f a husband; — 1. ** And the stranger." 4 man hin fVom his friends and country. 2. *^ And mnrder the fhtherless." All which thou hast taken into «hy pro* tectioii, and commanded that they be not wronged, tlxod. xxii.; Bent. xxiv. Yet such is thsor fe^, that • they apore neither sex, nor age, nor any eendition of men. ',
. ^ Yet (hey toy, The Lord shall not see, neither sbaB the (jtpdi of Jacob regard it." T^is is l)ie^ impiety } this is their tdasphefiny;. this is the true c^nse ol^aH their injustice, tyranny, cruelty, and oppression.
* IIT Now our proi^iet sets himsdf seiriously tp re^ prebend and Cbnfiite this. JBy an tfostrofhehB vaim' to them, and calls them fbola; and proves by a manifest argui^ent that they are fools; demenstratiDg, firom the cause to' the effect, that God is neither deaf nor Mind, as they presumed and conceived: and nrgeth them emphatically, — -
1,, " iJnderstand, ye brutish among the people. 6 ye fooll, wljen will ye be wise.?'' W^t! will ye.be * brutish always t wHl ye never have common sense in your heads 1
' preceding Psalm*
• 3. H*^Jjprmed the eye with all -the ttmiclee, and -put into it the faculty of vision by which you see; " aiid aliaU he not see V To say the Contrary, is as if you should «ffinn ihat the fountain that sands' forth tAe atreani had- no water in it; or the mm that eitlightens XbB world hflid no light; or the fire that warms, no. heat. Are these affirmations fit for wise men 1 Neither is it, that the God of Jacob doth not hear, 'BUT see
4. " He chastiseth the heathen,'' as Sodom, Gqmor^ fjsAy &c.; or he chastises them by the chec|^ of their ttfna conscience; " and shall not he then correct you," wlio.go under the name of his people, -and yet so impioualy blaspheme t
6. ''He that teacheth man knowledge''- — ^hath endued him with a re^isonable soul, and made him capable of all^arts and sciences; is her stupid 1 is he witheot understanding t '' Shall not he knew V* He looks Bto your hearts, and knows your thoughts and counsels, and findeth them all rain.: *' The lyord knows the tboughts of man, that they are but vani^." With K^<$h he concludes his reprehension.
IV. And so from them he comes 4a the good man, and riiows his happiness, whom he labours to oom-^ ibrt in his extremities, pronouncing him Ue^std: '^Blessed is the man." And* his blessedness lies in' ikree things: —
1. In his sufferings; because when he is pnnished, be is but chastised, and his chastisements, are from the Lord: '^ Blessed is' tlie man whom thoq eBas-
S. In his teaching; for when he is chastised, he lift bat fsnght obedience to the law of God, taught out of Oyistfi... ^
3. Ill consideration' of the end; that he feel not, ■but hear more moderately, the injuries of the wicked; lor the end ^hy God chastiseth and teacheth thee out ef liis law Is': That he may giee thee rest-^t quiet and eyen soul, '/rom the days of adversity; and that thou sbouMst expect with patience, till the pit be digged up far the ungodly. • Such a day there is, and the day wfSt_ come. Hell is as ready to receire the sinner, as a ^rttLYe digged up for a dead body. ' Expect, therelove, their punishment and thy deliverance with a qniet mind. For which he gives three reasons: —
'The first Teaaon is, that though God for a time seem to be angry, and suffer his people to-be afilicted, jeC- he wQl not utterly neglect snd forsake them;-*
1. ** For the Lord will not cast off- his- people, neitber will he forsake his inheritance."
9. A day of judgment and execution of justice riiaQ come, ^ when judgment shall return unto right-
A second confirmation of the comfort he gave to the Church in affliction is dr&wn from his own experience, m. 16-1^0.. '■ ' ' ^. ' -
1. Object. Yea, but this time of judgment maj be long; in the meanwhile it is. necessary to have some helper and help against the petsecutions and injuries sf cruel men. Who will arise for me, and labour to protect me in so great a concourse of devils or mischievous men? *^ Who will stand up for me, and defe||^d me 9gainM the workers of inic^uity ^^
Reap. Even he that then stood up for me. No man^ but GcnI alone. He -did it; and 'f unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence;" I had been laid in the grave among the dead, saith David, ver. 17.
2. Jf I said^ and coini^ned to- him, t^ I was in any danger, my foot slips — J was tempted and ready "to faOl, thy mercy;'0 bord, field me up; in mercy. he lent me his hand, and sustained me.
3. '^ In the nurititude of my thoughts within roe, thy comforts ddight my soul:" — ^
(1) The thoughts within me were sorrows of heart; and m^y they were, Occasioned from within, ih>m without; a multitude of them. \
(2) *' Thy comforts delight my soulv" As were the troubles in the-flesh, so were comforts in Qiy souL
His third reason, to comfort the ^Church in a^ictiop, is. drawn -from the nature of CU>d, to whom all ^^ty is hateful. -,..
. 1. *' Shall the throne of iniqpity "have fellowship with thee V'^/ Thou art a just God, fmd -wilt thou have, any thing to do, any society, with.those that sit upon.tfirohes. and seats of Justice, and execute injustice 1 •
3. " Which frame mischief by a law," i. e., frame wieked laws; or, under the colour of law arid justice, oppress the' innocent. -With U\ose who dP injustice by the sword of justice, God will have no fellowship.
3. And yet there is a third pretence of wicked men •to colour their proceedings against.innocent men. The first was Iheir throne, the: second was the.'Zat^, and th6 third- is their councU, and consultations in them. Thes6 they call to that end. They meet by troops as thieves^. th6y assemble, they convene, in synods; "they gaUier themselves together," and that to a most wicked end ir-^
1. *' Against the jsoul of the righteous.". Gfipsixfou^ To hvatt.-^Septuagini..
Sf.' ** To condemn the innocent blood.'*. Their faws are. Z^aco'» laws. Now what shall the poor innofc^nt do in -such a case? How shall he be comforted? Help. he must not expect from man; froni.man it cannot come ^ it must comO fiom lieaven; end therefore let him say with David, Though my enemieii'rag^ as they list, and exercise ^11 cruelties towards me, under a pretence of zeal, piety, and legal justice; yet
.1. " The Lord Is my defence," so that thei^ treachery ahd plots shaU not hurt me. ' 2: "My God. is the rock of iny refuge," on whom my hope shall safefy rely.
.3." I am fully assured, for I have his wQrd and his -promise engaged for it.", '.
1. " That he shall bring upon them their own iniquity;'' that is, that the hiiquity of the wicked man shall return upon his own head.
3. " And shall cut them o^ in their own wickedness;" not so much for their sin as for the malice of it..
3. Which for assurance of it he repeats, and explains who it is that shall do it: " Yea, the Lord our God shall cat them off-" the Lord,* whose providence they derided; " our God," the God of Jacob, whom thfey contemned, ver. 7, he " shall cut them ofl^i" they shall have no part vrith his people.
An ifwUation to praise God, 1, 2. The reason en vjhiih <*« is founded, the majesty and dommion of QU^ 3^6. An invitation to pray to God, 6., And. the reasons &n which that is founded^ 7. Bshortatian mi tQ act ai their fathers had, done, who rehtUed against Go4r ond were cast out of his favour, 8-11.
2 Let us ^ come before hi^ presence with thanksgiving, ^d make a joyful noise unto him with -psalms.
3- For^-the Lordw a greM God, and a great King above all' gods
This Psalin is also without a' hY/e, both in Hie H/^- brew and Chaldee r biit is attributed to -David by ^e Vulgate, Septu€[gint, JEthiopic, Arabic, -and Syriac; and by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews,, cljap. iv. 3-7. Calmet and other eminent critics believe that it was composed during the time of the captivity, and that the apostle^ only followed the common opiniqn ixi quoting ip as the production of. 2>at7t<//becau8e jn general the Psalter was-att^buted. to him. -...**-
• The Psalm is a solemn invitation to the people, when assembled ' for' public worship, to praise. God from a sense of his great goodness*; and to be attentive to the instructions they were about to receive from the reading and.expdiinding o(-the law; and' on these accounts it has been long used in the Christian. Church, at the commencement of public- servicev 'to prepare the people's ininds to worship. God in spirit and in'truth.
"Houbigdr^t, and other leamed^ivines, consider this Fsahn as comfK>sed.of three parts. 1. The^part.of the people, ver. 1 to the middle of ver. 7. • di The part of the priest or prophet, from the middle of ver. 7 to the end of ver. 8. 3. The part of Jehovah^ Tcr. 9-1 1. It is wtiiten as a part of the preceding tsalih by nine of KennicotVs and De Rossi's MSS.; but. certainly it must have been origin)dly an. ode by itself,, as the subject is widely different from that in. the foregoing.
Verse, t. O come, let us sing] Lei us praise God,, nqt only with the most joyful accents which can be uttered by th)3 voice; but let' us also praise him with /i«ar/i tuned to gratitude, from a fi^H sense T)f the manifold benefits we have already received.
The rock of our salvatitm.] The strong Fortress in which we have ijways. found safety, and the Source whence we have always derived heip for our souls. In both these senses the word roc^, as applied to God, is used in 'the Scriptures.
Verse 2. Let us come before his presence\ V}Q pa- -naiv, hfs faces, yriih thanksgiving, 7M)n2 bethoddh, with confession, or With the confession-offering. Praise
4 *In his haud.ar6 the deep plaices of the earth; 'the strength of the hills %$ his also. *
5 'The^ sea is his, and he made it: and lis hands formed the dry- Zand.
- 6 O cope, 'let us-'iyorship and bow down-: let ■ us kneel before tHe LoRn our Maker.
7 For he ii our God;.and > we are the people of his pasture, and th^ sheep. of
him for what he has already done, and confess your unworthiness of any 6f his blessings^ '.The confessiaih offering, the.great atoning sacrificei caO'alon^ render your ackr{owledgment qf sin- an4 ihanksgiving aocepCa- •bljB to a holy and just God.. -
Verse. 3^ For the Lord is a great Qod\ ' Or, «*A ^eat God is Jehovah, and a great King above all gods;" or, "God is a great King ovier all.** The Supreme Being has three named here: Sk El, TtttV Jbhovah, DTi'^K Ei^him, and we should apfiix po^e •f them to false gods* The, fast implies his strtmgtk; the second his being and essence; the third, his eeteenant relation^ to mankind., In public woitehip these Are the views we i^uld entertain of the Div^^e Betng.
Verse 4. In his hand' ire the deep places of tieearth] TJie greatest deeps are yb/A<?m«^ by him.
The strength of the hilli is his also.] And to iim Jhfi, greatest.heights are accessible. '
Versie 5. The sea is his] The sea and the diy.lalkd are equaUy his, for he has formed them both, and they are his property.. He governs and disposes of thetn as he sees good. He is the absolute Master of nniveiBal nature. Therefore there is no other object of worship nor of confidence.
Verse 6. O come, let us worship] ' Three ■ distinct words ate used here to express three different acts of adoration: ' l.Jjct us^worshi^, mnnvj. nishi/ochaneh, let us prpstrate ourselves; the highest a«l of >fdoration by which the supremacy of -God is adnowledged. 3. Let us botp down, n;r"\DJ nicktmah, let us crouch sir cower down, bending the legs under, f^a a dog in the prfe^nce'of his master, which solicitously waittL%*T0- cdve his comm^^nds. 3. Let us kneel, Tiy\3Mlibr9' chakt let us put our knees to^ the ground, and thus pni ourselves in ihe:posture of those who supplicate. And let us consider that all this should be' done in the pre^ sence of Him who is Jehovah our Creator.
Verse 7. For he is our God] Here 'is the reason for this service, " He has condescended to enter into ii covenant with us, and he has taken us for his own; therefore—^
We are the pepple of his pqsture] Or, rather, as the Chaldee, Syriac, Vulgate,'?Lnd ^thiopicread, " We afp
his hand. ^To-day if ye* will' hear his
Tocation^ and as in the. day of temptation in
9 When ® yout fathers tempted me, piioved me, and ^ saw my, work.
.Ida {leople, and the sheep of the pasture of hi& hand.'* We are his own; he feeds and governs us, and his.powerfiil ^^^*nd protects us.
To-day if ye will hear his voice] ^o-^Unf — ^Jrou have DO tivie to lose; to-morrow may be too late., God calla to^y; to-morrow he may be silent. This shooFd commence the eighth verse, as it begins what is supposed to be the parUof the priest or prophet who now exhorts the people; as if he had said: Seeing you are in 90 good a spirit, do hot forget your own resolutions, and harden not your heart3, " as ypur fathers did in Merihkh and Massah, in- the wilderness;** the sami fact and.the »ome names as are mentioAed Exod. xvii. 7; when ^ people murmureH at l^epAu/im, because -they had •o water; hence it was called Meriboh^ contentioil or provocation, and Maisahy temptation.-