Ill.
A pfalm of David, when he fled from Abfalom his fon.
HIS is the firft of the pfalms that has a title, and is called a P/a/m; the word for which, mizmor, comes from one which fignifies to cut or prune’, as trees are lopped of their fuperfluous branches; fhewing this to be a compofition of even feet, in proper metre, formed for the modulation of the voice, to fome tune or mufical inftrument; and it is faid to be a pfalm of David, which may be rendered a p/alm for or to David’, as if it was wrote by another for his ufe, and infcribed to him or rather, that it was given to him by the holy Spirit, who was the author of it, though he was the penman. Itis obferved by fome that whereever the dative cafe is ufed in the title of the pfalm, as it moft frequently is, as fuch a pfalm to David, or to Afaph, it may fignify that it came from the Lord to him, or was divinely infpired; juft as it is faid, the word of the Lord came to the prophets; though fome render it @ palm concerning David *, his troubles, his faith and fecurity in God, his victory over his enemies, and falvation from the Lord. However, David was the compofer of this pfalm, under the infpiration of the holy Ghoft, eccafioned by his flight from 4b/alom; who, having ftolen away the hearts of the people of J/rae/, entered into a confpiracy with them, to dethrone his father and place himfelf in his ftead; and the people fo increafed continually with him, that David thought it advifable to flee from Ferufalem, 2 Sam. xv. 12, 13, 14. and at the time of his flight or after it, he penned this pfalm on account of it, and as fuitable to it. And now was fulfilled what God. had faid, by Nathan the prophet, fhould befal him, becaufe of the affair of Bath/beba and Uriah; fee 2 Sam. xii. 11. & Xvi, 21, 22. David was an eminent type of Chrift, and fo he was in his troubles, and in thefe; as one of his fons con{pired again t him to dethrone him, and take away his lite; fo Fudas, one of Chrift’s difciples or children, for difciples were called children, his familiar friend, that did eat of his bread, lift up his heel againft him, and fought to betray him, and did; and who, tho’ he knew the defigns of Fudas againft him, and did not flee from him, but rather went to meet him, yet it is eafy to obferve, that he took the fame rout trom Ferujalem as David did. At this time he
“went over the brook Kidron, and to the mount of a 3 Olives; fee John xviii. 1. Matt. xxvii. 30. compared with 2 Sam. xv. 23, 30. And indeed the whole pfalm may be applied to Chrift; and fo as the fecond pfalm fets forth the dignity of Chrift’s perfon, as the Son of God, and the ftability and enlargement of his kingdom, notwithftanding the oppofition made to him; this exprefles his troubles from his enemies, his death and refurrection from. the dead, his victory over his enemies, and the falvation he wrought out for his people. In fhort,. it may be underftood of David as the type, of Chrift as the antitype, and of the people of God, being fuited to their experiences, more or lefs, in all ages; and in this large and extenfive way I fhall choofe to interpret it, y.1. Lord, bow are they increafed that trouble me? &c.] David’s enemies increafed in the confpiracy againft him, 2 Sam. xv. 12. the hearts of the men of J/rael were after Abfalom, and again{t him. Chrift’s enemies increafed, when Fudas with a multitude came to take him; when the body of the common people cried out, crucify him; when the afflembly of the wicked inclofed him, and pierced his hands and his feet. And the enemies of God’s people are many; the men of this world are againft them; legions of devils oppofe them; and they have {warms of fins in their own hearts; and all thefe give trouble. David’s enemies troubled him; he wept as he went up the hill, to think that his own fon fhould feek to deftroy him; that his fubjects, whom he had ruled fo long with clemency, and had hazarded his perfon in war for their defence, and to protect them in their civil and religious rights, fhould rebel againft him. | Chrift’s enemies troubled him, when they bound and led him away as a malefactor; when they {pit upon” him, {mote and buffeted him; when they fcourged and crucified him, and mocked at him. The enemies of the faints are troublers of them; in the world and from the men of it, they have tribulation; Satan’s temptations give them much uneafinefs and diftrefs; and their indwelling fins caufe them to cry out, O! wretched men that we are. This addrefs is made to the Lord, as the Lord God_ omnifcient, who knew the cafe to be as it was, and who had a concern in it; it not being without his will, but according to it, he having foretold it, and as he who only could help out of it: and the pfalmift delivers it in a complaining way, and in an expoftulatory manner; reafoning the cafe why it fhould be fo, what fhould be the reafon of it, for what end and purpofe it was; and as wondering at it, fuggefting his own innocence, and how undeferving he was to be treated in fuch a way. Many are they that rife up againft me, many in quantity, and great in quality; great in the law, in wifdom, in riches, and in ftature, as Farchi interprets it; fuch as Abitbophel and others, who rofe up againft David in an hoftile manner, to difpoffefs him of his kingdom, and to deftroy his life. And many were they that rofe up againft Chrift; the multitude came againft him as a thief, with clubs and ftaves: the men of this world rife up againit the faints with their tongues, and fometimes with open force and violence; Satan, like a roaring lion, feeks to devour them, and their own fiefhly lufts war againft them.
y.2. Many there be which fay of my foul, &c.] Or to my foul *, the following cutting words, which touched to the quick, reached his very heart, and like a fword pierced through it: There is xo help for him in God; or no falvation “; neither in this world, nor in that which is to come, as Kimchi explains it. David’s enemies looked upon his cafe to be defperate; that it was impoffible he fhould ever extricate himfelf from it; yea, that God himfelf either could not or would not fave him. And in like manner did the enemies of Chrift fay, when they had got him upon the crofs; fee Matt, xxvii. 43. and how frequent is it for the men of the world to reprefent the faints as in a damnable ftate! and to cal] them a damned fet and generation of men, as if there was no falvation for them? and how often does Satan fuggeft unto them, that there is no hope for them, and they may as well indulge themfelves in all finful lufts and pleafures? and how often do their own unbelieving hearts fay to them, that there is no falvation in Chrift for them, tho’ there is for others; and that they have no intereft in the favour of God, and fhall be eternally loft and perifh? And this account is concluded with the word /e/ab, which fome take to be a mufical note; and fo the Sep/uagint render it fuateaue, which Swidas * interprets the change of the fong, of the note or tune of it; and the rather it may be thought to be fo, fince it is only ufed in this book of Pfalms, and in the prayer of Habbakuk, which was fet to a tune, and directed to the chief finger. Kimchi derives it from a root, which fignifies to ift up, and fuppofes that it denotes and directs to an elevation, or ftraining of the voice, at the place where this word ftands. Others underftand it as a paufe, a full {top for a while; and as a note of attention, either to fomething that is remarkably bad and diftreffing, as here; or remarkably good and matter of rejoicing, as in ¥. 4,8. Others confider it as an affirmation of the truth of any thing, good or bad; and render it verily, truly, as anfwering to Amen, fo beit, fo itis, or fhall be; it is the truth of the thing: to this fenfe agrees Aben Ezra. But others render it for ever, as the Chaldee paraphrafe: and it is a tradition of the Jews’, that wherever it is faid, nelzach, feJab and ed, there is no ceafing, it is for ever and ever; and fo then, according to this rule, the fenfe of David's enemies is, that there was no help for him in God for ever, A very learned man * has wrote a differtation upon this word; in which he endeavours ta prove, that it is a name of God, differently ufed, either in the vocative, genitive and dative cafes; as, O Selab, O God; or of God, or to God, &e. as the fenfe requires.
¥. 3. But thou, O Lord, art a fhield for me, &c.] Or about me*, protecting and defending me. David was a military man, and often alludes to military affairs; and borrows words from thence, expreffive of his great fecurity from the Lord; fee Pfalm Xvill. 2, So Febovab the Father was a fhield to Chrift in his infancy, from Heroa’s rage and fury; and afterwards from the infults of the Pharifees, and their attempts to take away his life before the time; and in his fufferings and death, fo as that his faith and confidence in him were kept up, and he got the victory over fin, Satan, and the world; fee Pfalm xxii. 9, 10. Jfa, 1.7, 8,9. And the Lord is a fhield unto all his people, Gen. xv. 1. Pfalm Ixxxiv. 11. They are kept by his power, and encompafied about with his favour, as with a fhield; his veracity and his faithfulnefs in his promifes, and his truth, are their fhield and buckler: and efpecially his Son, the Lord Jefus Chrift, is the fhield which faith makes ufe of, particularly his blood and righteoufnefs, and falvation by him; which it holds up, and defends itfelf with, againft the charges of the law, the accufations of confcience, and the temptations of Satan; and which are a fecurity from the juftice of God, and wrath to come, My glory; who took David from the fheep-fold, and made him king over J/rael, and raifed him to all the glory he had enjoyed; and in whom he gloried as his covenant- God, and of whom he made his boatt; and not of his itrength, valour, wifdom, riches and honour. So God the Father is the glory of Chrift, the glorifier of him, by fupporting him under his fufferings, raifing him from the dead, and fetting him at his own right hand, where he is crowned with glory and honour: and he is the glory of his people, in whom they glory, and by whom they are called tg eternal glory; and who will give it to them, and reveal it in them, even an eternal weight of it, which the fufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared unto. And the lifter up of mine head, fuch as the helmet is: the Lord wag the lifter up of David’s head, when he brought him to the throne, and afterwards gave him victory over his enemies; for fo the phrafe of lifting up the head fignifies; fee 2 Kings xxv. 27. Pfalm xxvii. 6. And he was the lifter up of Chrift’s head,when he raifed him from the dead; and exalted him, both with and at his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, and gave him a name above every name. And he is the lifter yp of the heads of his people in converfion, when he raifes them from a low eftate, and fets them among princes, to inherit the throne of glory; and when he gives them comfort, peace and joy, which caufes them to lift up their heads; whereas in forrow, and mourning, and diftrefs, the head is bowed down like a bulrufh, Ja. lviii. 5, and when he gives them boldnefs and confidence, as at the throne of grace now, thro’ the fprinkling
5 O22 of the blood of Chrift upon them; fo at the bar of judgment hereafter, thro’ the righteoufhefs of Chrift put upon them, as that they fhall not be afhamed nor confounded; ‘fee Luke xxi. 28. 1 Fobn ii. 28. and he will be the lifter up of their heads in the refurre€tion-morn, and when they fhall appear with Chrift in glory.
y. 4. Lcried unto the Lord with my voice, &c.] The experience which the pfalmift had of being heard in prayer, was what gave great encouragement to his faith, as to his intereft in God and falvation by him, when his enemies were fo increafed about him; for crying here is to be underftood of prayer, as it is often ufed in this book of P alms:
and fo the Targum renders it, I prayed; and this defigns vocal prayer. Sometimes there is a crying in prayer and'no voice heard, as it is faid of Mo/es, Exod. xiv. 15. and was the cafe of Hannab, 1 Sam. i. 13. but this was with a voice, and a loud one, as in P/fal, lv. 17. denoting ardor, fervency and importunity; and fuch prayer avails much with God. The objeét addreffed in prayer is the Lord, the God of his life, and who was able to fave him, and fupply all his wants. And be beard me out of his holy Kill. Selab, Either out of the church, the holy hill of Zioz, Pfalmii. 6. where David prayed and God granted his prefence, and gave an anfwer to his prayers; or out from the mercy-feat and ark, which was a type of the propitiatory, Chrift, and which David had brought to his own city, the hill of Zion; or from heaven, the habitation of God’s holinefs: David was a man of prayer, and he was often heard and anfwered by God. And this alfo is true of Chrift, he offered up prayers and fupplications with ftrong crying and tears to God, that was able to fave him; and he was heard by him, yea the Father always heard him: and God is a God hearing and anfwering the prayers of his people, fooner or later; fometimes before, fometimes at, and fometimes after their crying to him.
¥. 5. Llaid me down and flept, &c.] After the battle was over between Ab/alom’s men and his, fays Aben Ezra; but rather this was in the midft of his trouble and diftrefs, fince he afterwards prays for falvation: and this fleep was either, as Farchi obferves, through his heart being overwhelmed with grief; for there have been inftances of perfons fleeping through forrow, as Elijah, Fonab, and the difciples of Chrift, 1 Kings xix. 4, 5. Jonah i. 5. Luke xxii. 45. or rather this is expreffive of the calmnefs and ferenity of his mind amidft his troubles; he laid himfelf down in peace, and flept quietly and comfortably; he did not lofe a night’s reft, his fleep was {weet unto him; which was a bleffing of life from the Lord, that every one does not enjoy; fee Pfal. cxxvii. 2. I awaked; in the morning, alive and chearful. Some lay themfelves down and never awake more, as Si/era the captain of Fadin’s army, and [/bbofheth the fon of Saul; and this might have been David's cafe, confidering the circumftances he was in: and others, thro’ perplexing thoughts and cares, or pains of body, or uneafy dreams, rife fatigued and diftrefled; but David arofe in good health ot body, and tranquillity of mind, and comfortably refrefhed. For the Lord fuftained. me; the pfalmift committed himfelf to the care and protection of God; he laid himfelf down in his arms, and there flept in fafety; the Lord preferved him, who is J - rael’s keeper that neither flumbers nor fleeps: and he rofe in health and chearfulnefs in the morning, being fupperted by his right hand. This fhews, that his lying down to fleep, when in fuch circumftances, and awaking with chearfulnefs, were not owing to
Pf. ¥.4—7. rafhnefs, ftupidity and infenfibility, but to divine fupports. Thefe words may be interpreted, as nr are by fome of the ancients, of the death of Chrift, and of his refurreétion from the dead by the power of God; death is often expreffed by fleep, and the refurreCtion of the dead by an awaking out of fleep, Dan. xii. 2. Ifa. xxvi. 19. and Chrift’s death being fignified by lying down and fleeping, may denote both the voluntarinefs of it, that he laid down his life freely and willingly; and his fhort continuance under the power of death, it was but like a night’s fleep; and his refurrection from the dead, being exprefled by an awaking through the Lord’s fuftaining him, fhews that it was by the power of God, even the exceeding greatnefs of his power: and the whole of this may be applied to the cafe and ftate of the faints and people of God, who at times have reft and peace amidft their enemies; though they have tribulation in the world, they have peace in Chrift; and notwithftanding the temptations of Satan, and the corruptions of their own hearts, they have joy and comfort through believing in Chrift; the Lord. ftays them with precious promifes, and fupports them with the difcoveries of his love, and upholds them with the right hand of his righteoufnels.
¥. 6. I will not be afraid of ten thoufands of the people, &c.] David was a man of courage from his youth; the inftances of his attacking the lion and the bear, when he kept his father’s fheep, his engaging with Goliath, and his military exploits, fhew it; and though there were now many thoufands up in arms againft him, and his own fon at the head of them; all the tribes of J/rael were revolting from him, and he was only attended with a few of his friends, yet he was not difmayed; for that he refers to this infurrection appears by what follows, that bave fet themfelves againft me round about; and this was owing not to himfelf but to the Lord’s fuftaining of him; fee P/alm Xxvii. 1, 2,3. and fuch courage and greatnefls of foul did his antitype the Meffiah expreis, and to a greater degree, when Fudas, with his band of foldiers, and the multitude with clubs and ftaves, entered the garden to apprehend him; and when the prince of this world was marching towards him and when he was engaged with all the powers of darknefs, and when the forrows of death compafied him about, yet he failed not, nor was he difcouraged; and fomething of this fpirit appears in true believers, when they are in the exercife of faith, have the prefence of God, and the difcoveries of his love; they are then not afraid what man can do unto them; nor are they afraid of devils themfelves, but wreftle againft them; nor of any nor all their ene~ mies, they having victory over them, given by God through Chrift. et.
y¥. 7. Arife, O Lord; fave me, O my God, &c.] God fometimes, in the apprehenfion of his people, feems to be as if he was afleep: when he does not appear to them and for them, and does not exert his power on their behalf, then they call to him to awake and arife; fee P/al. xliv. 23. and it may be, fome refpect is had to the words of Ma/és when the ark fet forward, Numb. x. 35. and it may be obferved, that though-David enjoyed fo much peace __ and tranquillity of mind, and was in fuch high fpi— rits as not to be afraid of ten thoufands of men, yet he did not negleét the right means of deliverance and fafety, prayer to God, who he knew was his
God; and he addreffes him as fuch, and ufes his covenant-intereft in him, as an argument with him to arife and fave him from his enemies, who was able to do it, and to whom falvation belongs: fo Chrift, his antitype, prayed to God as his God to fave him, and was heard by him in like manner; fo the faints call upon God ina day of trouble, ery to him in their diftreffes, to be delivered out of them. For thou bast fmitten all mine enemies upon the cheek-bone; to {mite any one upon the cheek is reckoned reproachful, and is cafting contempt upon them; fee Fob xvi. 10. and the fenfe is, that God had. poured contempt upon his enemies in time paft, and had brought them to fhame and confufion: hence he puts up the above prayer as a prayer of faith for falvation, founded on patt experience of God’s goodnefs; he prayed that his God would arife and fave him, and he believed he would, becanfe he had hitherto appeared for him, and againft his enemies. Thou hajt broken the teeth of she ungodly; who were like to beafts of prey whofe ftrength lies in their teeth, whereby they do the mifchiet they do; and the breaking of their teeth fignifies the taking away from them the power of hurting, and refers to the victories which God had given David over the Philistines, Edomites, Syrians, and others; and may be applied to Chrift, and be expreffive of fin, Satan, the world and death being overcome and abolifhed by him, and of the victory which the faints have through him over the fame enemies. 5 Je
¥. 8. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord, &c} Ass the author of it; temporal falvation is of him; all the deliverances of the faints out of their troubles are from him; and to him is owing their fpiritual and eternal falvation; this belongs to Fehovab, Father, Son, and Spirit » Febovab the Father refolved upon it, chofe men to it from everlafting, contfived the fcheme of it in his infinite wifdom, made a covenant with his Son, in which he fecured it, and appointed him to be the author of it, and fent him in the fulnefs of time to effect it; and Chrift the Son of Gad, being qualified for it, being mighty to fave, came into this world for that purpofe, and is become the author of eternal falvation; his own arm has brought it to him, though there were many difficulties in the way; {uch as fulfilling the law, fatisfying juftice, making an end of fin, grappling with all the powers of darknefs, and undergoing an accurfed death: and the Spirit of God, he makes men fenfible of their need of this falvation; he brings it near to them, and works faith in them to lay hold upon it, and fhews them their intereft in it; and in confequence of all this the glory of falvation belongs to the Lord, Father, Son, and Spirit, and fhould be given to the Father as the contriver of it, to the Son as the author of it, and to the Spirit as the applier of it; fee Rev. vii. 10. Thy bdleffing is upon thy people. Selah. or it may be confidered prayer-wile, let thy dleffing be upon thy people’; either upon thofe that were on the fide of David, or on thofe, as others interpret it, who had imprudently joined themfelves to Abfalom; which latter fenfe, if right, fhews in what a divine frame and difpofition of mind the pfalmift was, to pray for his enemies: or the words are an affertion, that the blefling of the Lord was come upon his covenant-people, and does defcend upon them as they are called by grace; even all fpiritual bleffings, the bleffings of a juftifying righteoufnefs, of pardon of fin, of reconciliation and peace by the blood of Chrift, of adoption, and of eternal life 5 the bleffing of grace, and the blefling of glory,
To the chief mufician on Neginoth, a pfalm of David.
HIS pfalm is infcribed to the chief mufician, or conqueror“, who excelled others in the art of mvufic, and carried the glory from them;- who was very fkilful, and inftructed others in it, and was the mafter of the fong, as Chenaniab, 1 Chron. Xv. 22, 27. who fet the tune, led on the pfalm, and had the whole direftion and management of it; and fo the Jewifh doétors * generally underftand it of one that prefided over the reft of the muficians and fingers; and to fuch an one was this pfalm fent, to be fung in public worfhip: for the pfalms of David were not compofed for private ufe only, but for public fervice; and were committed into the hands and care of the chief of the fingers, as Afaph and others; fee 1 Chron. xvi. 7. by whom they were preferved and tranfmitted to future ages for the ufe of the church, not only in the former but in the prefent difpenfation. The Septuagint interpreters, and after them the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic verfions, render it unto the end, or for ever; to this agrees the fenfe of R. Saadiab Gaon‘; who fays, ‘* this is a pfalm of David, who gave it to “ one of the fingers to fing it continually,” as if was myy9 for ever; but the former fenfe is bett, to underitand it of the chief mufician, or precen-
_ tor, who is {aid to be on neginoth, the fingular, negi- _ hab, is ufed in the title of P/al. 1xi. and it is fometimes rendered a fong, as in Fob xxx. 8. Palm Ixxvii. 6, hence the Vulgate Latin. verfion here ren-
§ Kimchi & Ben Melech in loc, and others in Aben Ezra in loc.
ders it in fongs, and the Septuagint renders it iz pfalms; and then the meaning is, that this perfon was the chief man that prefided over the fongs and pfalms: though the Jewifh writers ‘, for the moft part, interpret it of a mufical inftrument fo called; not fuch an one as was blown, as the pipe and trumpet, but what was played upon with the hand; fee 1 Sam. xvi. 16,23. and xix,g. a ftringed inftrument, which was touched with the fingers as an harp, or ftruck with a quill or bow as a violin. And as there were various inftruments of mufic ufed in the temple-fervice, fo there were perfons fet over them, fome over one fort, and fome over anothers and this man prefided over the inftruments that were played with the hand: and it looks as if this pfalm was to be fung to fuch an inftrument, by its being infcribed and fent to him. Aven Ezra takes the word to be, the beginning of a fong; and the Targum renders the whole, ¢o /ing upon the chorus or dances, It is called a pfalm of David, being written by him, under the infpiration of the Spirit of God; the occafion of it was 4b/alom’s rebellion; and it was written when he fled from him, as the preceding, as Kimchi thinks; but according to Lightfoot and others, it was the rebellion of Sheba, 2 Sam. xx. though others refer it to the time of his diftrefles and perfecutions by Sau/: according to the Jewifh rabbins * where there are the words 713°3) M1¥) as they are both in this title, the pfalm belongs to future time, to the world to come, to the times of the Meffiah.
y.1. Hear me when I call, O God of my righ teoufnefs, &cc.] Or, my righteous God *, who is righteous in his nature, ways and works, the juft judge of the whole earth, who will do rights or the vindicator of my righteoufne/s, as the Syriac vere fion renders it; that is, of his innocence and uprightnefs, which the Lord knew and was a witnefs of: and fince he was his covenant-God, he doubted not but he would bring it forth as the light, and favour his righteous caufe, and do him juftice upon his enemies: or the pfalmift addreffes God in this manner, becaufe he was the author of his righteoufnefs, and was the juftifier of him, by imputing the righteoufnefs of his Son unto him. So Chrift addreffés his Father, Fobx xvii. 26. who he knew would juftify him, and by whom he was juttified as the furety of his people, when he rofe from the dead: and fo the faints can draw nigh to God the judge of all, through the righteoufnéefs of Chrift; knowing that he is juft, and the juftifier of him that believes in Jefus; and that he is juft and faithful to forgive their fins, and cleanfe them from all unrighteoufnefs, on account of his blood. The petition put up by the pfalmift is, to be heard when he called, that is, to hear his prayer, as it is explained in the latter part of the verfe: and God isa God hearing prayer; and fo David, Chrift, and all the faints have found him to be: and the encouragement to pray to the Lord, in hope of being heard, arofe from paft experience of divine goodnefs. Thou haft enlarged me when I was in diftrefs: when he had like to have been killed by Sau/, cafting a javelin at him; and when his houfe was watched by men that Sau/ fet there, and he was let down through a window and efcaped; and when he was fhut in at Kezlab, where Saul thought he had him fafe; and at other times, to which he may here refer, as in P/al. xviii. 19. and xxxi.8. and this may be applied to the Meffiah, when in the garden, befet with forrows, and an angel ftrengthned him; and when on the crofs, furrounded by various enemies, whom he conquered; and when in death and the grave, from the pains and cords of which he was loofed, and fet in a large place. And this agrees alfo with the experience of the faints; who, when in diftrefs through fin, Satan, and the law, have been fet free, through the gofpel proclaiming liberty to the captives to fuch enemies; and the opening of the prifon to them that have been bound by them: and when they have been fo fhut up and ftraitned in themfelves, that they could not come forth in the difcharge of duty, and in the exercife of grace; through the Spirit of the Lord, who is a Spirit of liberty, they have been enlarged in the duty of prayer and of praife, and in the exercife of faith and love; and their hearts have been enlarged through the difcoveries of the love of God towards them, fo that they have run chearfully in the ways of his commandments; who alfo gives them largeneis of heart, an increafe of the knowledge of Chrift, and of the love of God, and fills them with joy and peace in believing, and draws out the defires of their fouls to his name, and the remembrance of him. Have mercy upon me: the pfalmift pleads no merit nor worthinefs of his own, but applies to the grace and mercy of God;
b IDE ION Ezra, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.
and fenfible of his fin, both original and aétual, he intreats a difcovery of pardoning grace and — mercy. ‘The words may be rendred, be gracious unto me’, or fhew me favour; beftow the blefsings of grace, grant larger meafures of grace, and freth fupplies of it: and fo all fenfible finners apply to God for mercy; and all the faints have recourfe to him as the father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, for every mercy, both temporal and fpiritual. Nor is this unfuitable to the Meffiah, as man and mediator; with whom God keeps his mercy for evermore, as the head and furety of his people, and upon whom, as man, the grace of God was; and who increafed, as in ftature, fo in favour with God and man; and which, no doubt, was defirable by him. And bear my prayer: the fame petition with that in the beginning of the verfe; invocation and prayer being the fame thing,
¥.2. O ye fons of men, &c.] Meaning great men, the nobles of J/rael, and fo the Jewifh interpreters * generally explain it; fuch as Achitopbel, and others, who were in the confpiracy with 4bfalom: and {fo they were the kings and princes of the earth, and the rulers of the Jewith Sanhbedrim, the chief priefts and elders, who were the enemies of Chrift; and fuch, generally {peaking, have been the perfecutors of the faints: thefe men of power and authority, of dignity and honour; and who were in high places, and boafted of their titles and grandeur; the pfalmift addrefles by way of expoftulation, in the following words. How Jong will ye turn my glory into foame? Meaning either God, who was his glory, P/al. iii. 3. whom they reproached, when they faid, there was no help for him in him; or his tongue, the inftrument of praife, and the fongs of praife he expreffed by it, Pfal. \vii. 8. which they jeered and fcoffed at: or rather, his royal glory and majefty, which they attempted to vail, by cafting him down frorn his excellency, by dethroning him, and fetting up Abjalom in his room. So the Jews endeavoured to turn the glory of Chrift into’fhame, which lay in his being the only-begotten of the Father; by denying his fonfhip, by condemning him to death, becaufe he faid he was the Son of God; and by mocking at him under that charaéter on the crofs; and alfo by their {pitting upon, buffeting and crucifying the Lord of glory; by reproaching his gofpel, minifters and people; and by not acknowledging him as the Meffiah, and fubmitting to his righteoufnefs. And wicked men do as muchas — in them lies, to turn the glory of the faints into fhame, by afperfing their character, taking away their good name and_reputation among men; by reproaching and reviling them, and {peaking all manner of evil of them; and by perfecuting them in the moft violent manner. How long will ye love vanity? or.a vain thing'? Such as the placing of Abfalom upon the throne, on which their hearts were fet; and fuch was the vain imagination of the Jews, with which they pleafed themfelves, that Jefus fhould die, and his name perifh; and fuch are all the attempts of wicked men to ruin and deftroy the people and intereft of Chrift, for no weapon formed againft them fhall profper. And feek after leafing? Selah. Or a lie™, or that — which fails and deceives, as a lie does: and fuch ~ were all the counfels and defigns of the great men of I/rael againft David: and fo the ime