The Septua- —
holy Lord, and in this manner does Chrift addrefs his Father in prayer, Yobn xvii. 11,25. and the confideration of the holinefs and righteoufnefs of
God is of ufe in prayer to glorify God, and tocom- mand a proper awe and reverence of him. tend unto my cry the word for cry fignifies both a noife made in a way of joy and grief; wherefore the Chaldee paraphrafe renders it, attend to my praife, or hymn of praife, and which arifes from forro and diftrefs; and intends not mental prayer attended with groanings which cannot be uttered, bur vocal prayer expreffed in a loud and mournful manner, fignifying the diftrefs the perfon is in, and earneftnefs and importunacy for help; and of this fort were fome of Chrift’s prayers; fee He Give ear unto my prayer that goeth not out ips hypocritical and deceitful ones; but forth from his heart, which was lifted ‘up hands to God, to whom he drew nigh w heart, and called upon him in the fincerity ¢ rightnefs of his foul; and of this fort were all ¢ prayers, in whofe mouth there is no guile rious expreffions, hear, attend, give ear, which nify the fame thing, fhew the diftrefs the fupp was in, the fervency of his prayer, and his veh ment and earneft defire to be heard and anfw
¥ A¥I POA NW YI amcenorum que funt in dextera tua perpetuo, Cocceius; deleétationes in dextera cia ul in § immediately, and fince the accent athnach is upon the word *p\'7En my prayer, this laft claufe is not to be joined only to that, but refers to all that is faid before; as that his righ¢ and his ery, as well as his prayer, were unfeigned.
¥.2. Let my fentence come forth from thy prefence, &c.] Not of condemnation, fuch as came forth from God and paffed on Adam and all his pofterity, Rom. v. 12, 18. though fuch an one was executed on Chrift, as he was the furety and reprefentative of his people; but of juftification, which came forth from God and paffed on Chrift, when he rofe from the dead, and upon his people in him, 1 Zim. iii.16. Rom, iv. 25. Here it chiefly defigns the vindication of the innocence of the pfalmift before men; and his requeft is, that as he was fully perfuaded that he was clear of the things he was charged with in the fight of God, that he would openly and publicly make him appear fo before men; that he would bring forth his righteoufnefs as the light, and his judgment as the noon-day, P/al. xxxvii. 6. and of which he made no doubt but he would; fo Chrift, though he was traduced by men, knew he fhould be juftified by his Father, and by his children, /a.
1. 8. Matt. xi.19. Let thine eyes bebold the things that are equal; which is not to be underftood barely of the eyes of hisomnifcience; for thefe behold things both equal and unequal, good and evil, things which agree and difagree with the law of God, the rule of righteoufnefs and equity; but of his approbation of them, and that he would fome way or other teftify that approbation; for the petition intends the favouring of his juft and equal caufe, and making it to appear to be fo, x. 3. Thou haft proved mine heart, &c.] This properly belongs to God, who is the fearcher of the heart and reins, and is defired by all good men; and though God has no need to make ufe of any means to know the heart, and what is init; yet in order to know, or rather to make known what is in the hearts of his people, he proves them fometimes by adverfity, as he did Abrabam and Fob, and fometimes by profperity, by mercies given forth ina wonderful way, as to the J/raelites in the wildernefs, Deut. viii. 2,16. fometimes by fuffering falfe prophets and falfe teachers to be among them, Dewt. xiii. 3. and fometimes by leaving corruptions in them, and them to their corruptions, as he left the Caaaanites in the land, and as he left Hezekiah to his own heart, Fudg. ii.22. and iii. 1. 2 Chr. xxxii. 31. In one or other or more of thefe ways God proved the heart of David,
-and found him to be a man after his own heart; and in the firft of thefe ways he proved Chrift, who was found faithful to him that appointed him, and was a man approved of God. Thou haf vifited me in the night; God vifited and redeemed his people in the night of Jewifh darknefs; he vifits and calls them by his grace in the night of unregeneracy; and fo he vifits with his gracious prefence in the night of defertion; and he often vifits by granting counfel, comfort, and fupport, in the night of affliction, which feems to be intended here; thus he vifited the human nature of Chrift in the midft of his forrows and fufferings, when it was the Jews hour and power of darknefs. Elfewhere God is faid to vifit every morning, Job vii. 18. Thou haft tried me; as filver and gold are tried in the furnace; thus the people of God, and their graces in them, are tried v7 i€tions; fo David was tried, and in this man- Chrift himfelf was tried; wherefore he is called
- the tried ftone, J/a. xxviii. 16. And fhalt find re nothing; or foalt not find; which is varioufly fupplied; fome thy defire, or what is well-pleafing to thee, fo Farchi, or thou hast not found me innocent, as Kimchi, others fupply it quite the reverfe, and iniquity is not found in me, as the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Exbiopic verfions; or thou baft not found iniquity in me, as the Syriac and Arabiée verfions; to which agrees the Chaldee paraphrafe, and thou baft not found corruptions which muft be underftood, not as if there was no fin and corruption in Davids for he often makes loud complaints and large confeffions of his fins, and earneftly prays for the forgivenefs of them; but either that there was no fin in his heart which he regarded, P/alm \xvi.
18. which he nourifhed and cherifhed, which he indulged and lived in; or rather there was no fuch crime found in him, which his enemies charged him with; fee Pfal. vii. 3, 4. This is true of Chrift in the fulleft fenfe; ng iniquity was ever found in him by God, by men or devils, /obn xiv. 30. 1 Pet. iis
22, and alfo of his people, as confidered in him, being juftified by his righteoufnefs, and wafhed in his bloed, Fer. 1. 20. though otherwife, as confidered in themfelves, they themfelves find fin and corruption abounding in them, Rom. vii. 18, 21. I am purpofed that my mouth fhall not tranfgrefs 3 by murmuring againft God, on account of his vifitation, and fiery trials, or by railing at men for their falfe charges and accufations; this refolution was taken up by the pfalmift in the ftrength of divine grace, and was kept by him, P/fa/. xxxix. g. fo Chrift fubmitted himfelf patiently to the will of God without repining, and when reviled by men reviled not again, Luke xxil. 42. 1 Pet. ii. 23. and from hence may be learned, that the laws of God may be tranfgreffed by words as well as by works, and that the one as well as the other fhould be guarded againft; fee Pfal. xxxix. 1,
Ys 4. Concerning the works of men, &c.) Of wicked men, as to what refpects and concerns them, or in the midft of them; in the midft of a wicked generation of men, and their filthy converfation; who appear to be fo, dy the word of thy lips; the law of God, the fcriptures of truth, the rule and ftandard of faith and practice,.which fhew what works are good and what are not; by the ufe, help, and benefit of this; I bave kept me from the paths of the deftroyer; fuch is the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning; Antichrift, whofe name is Abaddon and Apollyon, both which fignify a des {troyer; falfe teachers, and all wicked men; the paths of {uch are their wicked principles and practices, their damnable errors and herefies, their fins and lufts, which make up the broad road that leads to deftruction; thefe the pfalmift kept or obferved *, for the words me and from are not in the original text; and the fenfe is, that he took notice of them, and avoided them, and as a faithful prince and magiftrate forbad his fubjects walking in them, and reftrained them from them, making the word of
God the rule of his conduct. ¥. 5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, &c. | Which being fpoken by David in his own perfon, and for himfelf, fhews that he was confcious of his own weaknefs to keep himfelf in the ways of God, and to direct his fteps therein; and that he was fenfible of the need he ftood in of divine power to uphold and fupport him inthem, That my foot/teps /lip not; Out of the paths of truth and duty, of faith and holinefs; of which there is danger, fhould a man be left to himfelf, and deftitute of divine direction
Taz rection and aid; fee Pfalm \xxiti. 2. Fer. x. 23. and though Chrift had no moral weaknefs in him, and was in no danger of falling into fin, or flipping out of the ways ot God; yet thefe words may be applied to him in a good fenfe, as confidered in human nature, and attended with the finlefs infirmities of it, he being God’s fervant whom he upheld, and of whom he gave his angels charge, to keep him in all his ways, J/a. xlit. 1. Pfal. xci. 11.
y. 6. I have called upon thee, &c.] In prayer. This had been the conftant practice of the pfalmift, and he ftill continued in it. For thou wilt bear me, O God God is a God-hearing prayer; he is ufed to hear his people, and they have frequent experience of it, and they may be affured that whatfoever they afk according to his will, and in the name of Chrift, he will hear; and fuch an affurance is a reafon engaging the faints to a conftant calling upon God, Pfal. cxvi. 2. and fuch confidence of being always heard Chrift had, Fobn xi. 41,42. Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my fpeech; meaning his prayer, which he now directed to him in full affurance of being heard, and is as follows.
¥. 7. Shew thy marvelous loving-kindnefs, &c.] Such is the loving-kindnefs of God to his people in Chrift; which is fovereign, free, fpecial, diftincuifhing, everlafting and unchangeable; it is better than lite, and paffes knowledge; and which is fet upon men and not angels, fome.and not all, and thefe many of them the worft and vileft of men, and all of them by nature children of wrath as others; and which has appeared in choofing them in Chrift, putting them into his hand, and making a covenant with him for them; in fending him into the world to fuffer and die for them; in regenerating, adopting, juftifying, pardoning, and faving them with an everlafting falvation; all which. is marvelous in their eyes, and will be the wonder of men and angels to all eternity: this fometimes is hidden from the objects of it, as it might be from the pfalmift, and therefore he defires a manifeftation of it to him; or elfe his fenfe is, that God would fhew to others in what a marvellous manner he loved him, by the help, deliverance, and falvation he would give him. Such a petition will agree with Chrift; fee Pfal. xl. 10, 11. Some render the words», feparate thy loving-kindne/fs, or caufe it to pats from them that rife up on or against thy right band; but thefe were never the objects of it; and there is no feparation of them from it, nor of that from them who are interefted in it, Rom, viii. 38, 39. much better may it be rendered, /eparate or distinguifh thy loving-kindnefs °; that is, let it appear that ] have fpecial intereft in thy loving-kindnefs, diftin& from others; diftinguifh me by thy loving -kindnefs, remember me with that which thou beareft to a peculiar people, P/al. cvi. 4. O thou that faves by thy right band; either by his power, or by the man of his right hand, his own Son. hem which put their tru in thee; not in men, not in an arm of flefh, not in themfelves, in their own power, wifdom, riches and righteoufnefs; but in the Lord their God, who is the Saviour of all men, but efpecially of them that believe, 1 Tim. iv. 10. for thefe he faves both in a temporal and in a fpiritual manner. From thofe that rife up againtt them; from all their fpiritual enemies, fin and Sa- tan; and from all outward ones, from the men of the world, oppreffors and violent perfecutors, who are afterwards defcribed: the phrafe by thy right hand, is by fome, as Aben Ezra, conneéted with, the word /rusf, and rendered, them which irust in thy right band*; either in the grace, mercy, and favour of God, difpenfed by his right, hand; or in his ftrength, and the mighty power of his arm; and by others it is joined to the laft claufe, and fo it ftands in the original text, and rendered, from thofe that rife up againft thy right band*; and fo the words defcribe fuch perfons who in a bold and pres fumptuous manner fet themfelves againft God, and ftrenethen themfelves againft the almighty; who refift his counfel and will, oppofe themfelves to the Lord and his Anointed, the man of his right hand, made ftrong for himfelf; and to his faints, who are as dear to him as his right hand, and who are preferved by him in the hollow of his hand.
y¥. 8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, 8c.| Which is weak and tender, and is hurt and put to pain, and made uneafy by every little thing that annoys it, and than which nothing is more dear to a man, or he is more careful of preferving from being hurt; and fitly reprefents the weak eftate and condition of God’s people, his affection for them, and tender care of them; who as he has provided tunics for the eye, and guarded it with.eye-brows, fo he has taken care for the fafety of his dear children, Deut. xxxii. 10. Zech. ii. 8. Hide me under the foadow of thy wings; alluding either to the wings of the cherubim over the mercy-feat, where God granted his prefence; fo the Zargum paraphrafes it, “* under the fhadow of thy /bekinab hide me;” or © to birds, who cover their young ones with their wings to fave them from birds of prey; fee P/al. xci, 1, 4. Ifa. xxx. 5. Matt. xxiii. 37. From fuch paflages perhaps the heathens had their notion of — reprefenting their gods with wings‘, y¥. 9. From the wicked that opprefs me, &c.] Or waste or destroy*®; as wild beafts do a field or vineyard when they get into it; and fuch havock do per= fecutors and falfe teachers make of the church and people of God, when they are fuffered to get in among them, P/al. Ixxx. 13. Aéis xx. 29. wherefore from fuch wicked and unreafonable men protection is defired, 2 Theff. iii. 2. From my deadly — enemies; enemies againft his foul or life, who fought to take it away, nothing would fatisfy them but: this. Who compa/s me about; on all fides, in order to obtain their defire; fuch were the enemies of Chrift, and fo they are deferibed, P/alm xxii. 12, ° y. 10. They ave inclofed in their own fat, &c.] Or their fat has inclofed them, either their eyes that they can hardly fee out of them, or their hearts, fo that they are ftupid and fenfelefs and devoid of the fear of God; the phrafe is expreflive of the multitude of their wealth and increafe of power, by whi they were fwelled with pride and vanity, and neither feared God nor regarded man; fo the Targum paraphrafes it, ‘¢ their riches are multiplied, thei « fat covers them;” fee Deut, xxxii. 15. Pfalm Ixxiii. 8,9. fome read it, their fat /huts their mouths, fo Aben Ezra and Kimchi; or with their fat they out them”; but the accent athnach will not admit of this reading; the laft word belongs to the next ~ claufe. With their mouth they fpeak proudly, againft God and his people, belching out blafphemies againft the one, and fevere menaces and threatnings againft the other.
¥. 11. They have now compaffed us in our Steps, &c.] The fenfe is, they could not ftir a ftep but they were at their heels, furrounding them on every fide. This was true of David, when he was purfued by Saul, and-followed by him to Keilab and the wildernefs of Maon, 1 Sam, xxiii. 8, 26, according to the cet#d, or textual writing, it fhould be rendered, they have compaffed me; but according to the seri, or marginal reading, and the points, it is as we have tranflated it, and which is followed by the Targum; and both are right, and defign David as a principal perfon, and thofe that were with him, who were encompaffed by Sau/ and his men. This alfo was verified in Chrift, when Judas followed him into the garden with a band of men to betray him, and when he was inclofed by wicked men as he went to-the crofs, and hung upon it, Fobn xviii. 2,3. Pfal. xxii. 12, 16. and may likewife be accommodated to the cafe of all the faints, who are troubled on every fide, are befet with the corruptions of their hearts, the temptations of Satan, and the reproaches and perfecutions of the men of the world, 2 Cor.iv.8. and vii. 5. They have fet their eyes bewing down to the earth; which pofture either denotes fraudulence and hypocrify, fhewing by looking only upon the ground, as if they were harmlefs and inoffenfive, and had no ill defigns, and took no notice of any thing; which as it was true of David’s enemies, fo of the Hews and of Fudas with refpect to Chrift, and of falfe teachers with refpect to the church, Luke xx. 20. Matt. vii. 15. and xxvi. 48, 49. or elfe inhumanity and contempt, not caring to turn their eyes to look upon them in diftrefs, but kept their eyes fixed upon the earth, fo Chrift was treated by the Jews, J a, liii.3.
or rather their being intent upon mifchief, their diligence and watchfulnefs to obferve all motions, and take every opportunity to Strike, or ca me down to the earth, asthe Arabic and Syriac verfions render it; or the fenfe is, as Kimchi gives it, their eyes are upon our ways, to fpread nets for us in the earth to take us.
y. 12. Like as a lion that is greedy of bis prey, &c.] Or the likene/s of him is as a lion*, meaning Saul, as Kimchi interprets it} or every one of them that compaffed them about, as 4ben Ezra obferves; fometimes wicked and perfecuting princes are compared to lions, for their ftrength and cruelty; fee Prov. xxviii. 15. 2 Tim. iv, 17. fo the devil is called a roaring lion, 1 Pet. v. 8. and the antichriftian beaft is faid to have the mouth of a lion, Rev. xiii. 2. And as it were a young lion lurking in fecret places; to leap upon its prey and feize it at once, as it has opportunity; this denotes the fecret and infidious method which. the enemies of Chrift take to do mifchief; fee Pfal. x. g, 10.
y.13. Arife, O Lord, &c.] See Pfalm iii. 7. and vii. 6. and ix.19. and x, 12. difappoint him, or prevent his face*, be beforehand with him, and fo difappoint him, when he is about to feize his prey; whois comparable to the lion, or tothe young jion; meaning the chief of his enemies, it may be Saul. Caft him down, every one of them that fet their eyes to caft down others to the earth. ‘Jar-
55? chz’s note is, * cut off his feet,” that he may bow down and fall. Deliver my foul from the wicked, which is thy fword; fo Farchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi and Ben Melech render the words; that is, from wicked men, whom God makes ufe of as inftruments to afflict and chaftife his people: fo the Affyrian monarch is called the rod of his anger, with whom he fcourged his people J/rae/, Ifa. x.5. Compare with this P/al. xxii.20. The words are rendered by fome, deliver my foul from the wicked by thy fword '; meaning not the fword of the Spirit, the word of God, by which Chrift was delivered from the wicked one, when tempted by him in the wildernefs; but the avenging juftice of God, the fword of the Lord, which being whetted and taken hold on, and ufed by him, brings vengeance on his enemies, and falvation to his people; fee Deut, xxxii. 41. Ifa. xxvii. 1. Fer. xlvii. 6, 7, The Yargum paraphrafes the claufe thus, -‘* deli- «< ver my foul from the wicked, who deferves to “¢ be flain by thy fword.”.
y. 14. Lrom men which are thy hand, O Lord, &c.] Some underftand thefe words, with what follows, as independent of the former, and of ane other fett of men, even of good men; fo the Zargum, ** and the righteous who deliver their fouls ‘¢ for thy fake, O Lord, unto death in the earth, ‘¢ their portion is in eternal life;” fo Yarchi gives the like fenfe of them: but the words are to be connected with the preceding, as they are by den Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; and the fenfe is, deliver my foul from men, which are inftruments in thine hand to chaftife thy people: fo even Satan himfelf, and the Sabeans and Chaldeans, whom he inftigated to affiict Fob, are called the band of the Lord that touched him, becaufe he fuffered them to do what they did for the trial of him, od xix. 21. “The words may be rendered, the men of thy band™ 5 who are raifed up by thine hand to the power and dignity they have; and who can eafily be pulled down by it; and who are in thine hand, and at thy beck and controll, and whofe wrath and fury thou canft reftrain. Or they may be rendered, from men by thy hand"; that is, des liver me from them by thy ftrong hand and mighty power 3 as J/rael of old was delivered from the Egyptians by the ftrong and mighty hand of God, From men of the world, who are as they were when they came into the world, in fin, in darknefs, and in acarnal and unregenerate ftate; who are not only in the world, but of it, and belong to it, and to it only; and are under the influence of the god of the world, and are taken with the lufts and pleafures of it, and live in them and ferve them; and are of worldly fpirits, inordinately love the things of the world, mind earth and earthly things, and are unconcerned about the things of another worlds; fee Luke xvi.8. Which have their portion in this life; and in this only; have a large fhare of the good things of this life; and which is all their portion, Luke xvi. 25. And whofe belly thou fillest with thy hid treafure; earthly treafure, as gold and filver, which is called Aid treafure, becaufe it is firft hid in the bowels of the earth, out of which it is dug, and afterwards hid in the coffers of worldly men; and oftentimes kept to the hurt of the owners of it. Or the phrafe may denote the value and precioufnefs of it, And to have the belly yan PWV gladio tuo ab improbis, Junius & Tremellius, belly filled with this, is to have a very great affluence and plenty of it; though it is very rare, let it be ever fo large, that men are fully fatisfied with it. They are full of children; which among the eaftern nations was reckoned a confiderable part of outward profperity and happtnefs; fee Yob xxi. 7, 8,11. Pfal. xxvii 3, 4, 5. or their children are full, or filled ° with hidden treafure alfo. And leave the reft of their fabftance to their babes 5 their childrens children; their grandchildren, as Kimchi explains it; and which is faid, not by way of complaint, as an evil in them, fince it is lawful and right for parents to lay up for their children, and leave it to them: unlefs the fenfe is, that they enerofs all to themfelves, and to their pofterity, in life and death; whilft they live, they indulge their fenfual appetites and lufts, and fill themfelves and theirs, but give nothing to the poor‘and hungry 5 nor part with any thing for the intereft of God and true religion; and when they die, leave nothing for fuch ufe and fervice, but all to their pofterity: but rather, the phrafe is expreflive of their great plenty; that having lived in and enjoyed great fulnefs themfelves, and given large portions to their children, yet have much left; which at death they bequeath to the young generation. Now from fuch men in power, and dignity, and from being hurt by them, as well as from communion and converfation with them, the pfalmift defires to be delivered; and expreffes his fatisfaction in other and better things than they enjoy, in the following words.
y.15. As for me, &c.] I do not defire to be in their place and ftead, with all their plenty and profperity; I am content with my prefent condition and fituation; for J will, or /hall behold thy face in righteoufne/s, that is, appear before God in public worfhip, where was the ark, the fymbol of the face of God; enjoy his gracious prefence, have the difcoveries of his love, and fee his face and favour; than which nothing was more defirable by him and delightful to him. Or God himfelf may be meant by Ais face; and efpecially God -as he is to be beheld in the face of Chrift, the Aneel of his prefence; and who is to be beheld by faith in the prefent ftate of things, though as thro’ a glafs, darkly; and in the future ftate perfectly, and as he is, both with the eyes of the underftanding, and after the refurrection with the eyes of the body; fee Fob xix. 26,27. and to this ftate the pfalmift feems more efpecially to have refpect, as archi interprets it: and the beatific vifion of God in Chrift will be very glorious and exceeding de- Jigheful; it will be affimilating and appropriat- ing; it will be free from all darknefs and interruption, and will continue for ever. And this thall be feen iz righteoufne/s 5 the pfalmift believing that he fhould then appear as an innocent perfon, clear of all the falfe charges brought againft him; and fo this may be underftood of the righteoufnefs of his caufe, in which he fhould ftand before God, and enjoy communion with him: or this may defien that perfect holinefs and purity of heart, without which no man fhall fee the Lord; and which, though now imperfeét, fhall in the other ftate be without fpot or blemifh: or rather, the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which fits believers for, and in which they are brought into and ftand in the King’s prefence. J fhall be fatisfied, when I awake wih thy likenefs; which will be in the refurreétionmorn, or as Farchi expreffes it, when the dead fhall awake from their fleep: for this is not to be underftood of awaking from natural fleep in the morning; when it is a fatisfaction to a believer to be with God, and to have God with him, P/alm cxxxix. 18. nor of awaking from a fleepy drowfy frame of fpirit, which fometimes attends the faints; but of rifing from the dead: for as death is oftentimes expreffed by fleep in fcripture, fo the refurrection by an awaking out of it, J/a. xxvi. 19. Dan. xii. 2, at which time the faints will arife with the image of the heavenly One upon them; they will be like to Chrift both in foul and body; in foul, in perfect knowledge and compleat holinefs; in body, in incorruption and immortality, in power, glory and fpirituality; in this will lie their happinefs and fatisfaction. Or the meaning is, that he fhould be fatisfied with the likenefs of God, with Chrift the image of God, when he fhould arife from the dead; feeing he fhould then appear with him in glory, fee him as he is, and be like him, and be for ever in his prefence; which will yield endlefs pleafure and unfpeakable fatisfaction. For the words may be interpreted, not of David’s awaking, but of the glory of God awaking or appearing; which would afford an infinitely greater fatisfaction than worldly men have in worldly things °, to which this is oppofed, y.10. fo the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin verfions read, I fhall be fatisfied when thy glory appears, or is feen; and fo the Ethiopic and Arabic verfions.
To the chief mufician, @ pfalm of David,
HIS is the fame with that in 2 Sam. xxii. with fome variations, omiffions and alterations:
the fervant of the Lords not only by creation, nor merely by regeneration, but by office, as king of djrael, being put into it by the Lord, and ating in it in fubmiffion and obedience to him; juft as the apoftles under the New Teftament, on account of their office, fo ftile themfelves in their Epiftles: Who fpake unto the Lord the words of this fong; that is, who delivered and fung this fong in fo many exprefs words, in public, before all the congregation of J/rael, to the honour and glory of God: in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all bis enemies, and from the band of Saul. Not that this pfalm was compofed and fung the felf-fame day that David was delivered from Saul, and fet upon the throne; for it feems to have been written in his old age, at the clofe of his days; for immediately after it, in the fecond book of Samucl, it follows, now thefe be the las words of David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. but the fenfe is, that whereas David had many enemies, and particularly Sau, — who was his greateft enemy, the Lord delivered him from them all, and efpecially from him; from him firft, and then from all the reft; which when — he refleéted upon in his laft days, he fat down and wrote this pfalm, and then fung it in public, having delivered it into the hands of the chief mutfician for that purpofe.
to Chrift; ¥.2. in Hed. ii. 13. and y. 49. in Rom. xv.g. and there are many things in it that very well agree with him; he is eminently the /ervant of the Lord as mediator; he was encompafied with the {nares and forrows of death and hell, and with the floods of ungodly men, when in the garden and on the crofs. erer, as man; and he was victorious over all enemies, fin, Satan, the world, death and hell; as the fubject of this pfalm is all along reprefented: and to Chrift it does moft properly belong to be the head of the heathen, whofe voluntary fubjects the Gentiles are faid to be, y¥. 43, 44. and which is expreffed in much the fame language, as the like things are in J/a. lv. 4, 5. which is a clear and undoubted prophecy of the Mefiiah; to which may be added, that the Lord’s anointed, the king Meffiah, and who is alfo called David, is exprefsly mentioned in y. 50. and which is applied to the Meffiah by the Jews‘, as the thirty fecond verfe is paraphrafed of him by the Zargum on it. And be faid; the followings words;
y. 1. Twill love thee, O Lord, my firengtb.| Thefe words are not in 2 Sam. xxii. the pfalm there begins with the following verfe. The pfalmift here expreffes his love to the Lord, and his continuance in it; that Zebovah the Father was, is, and ever will be the object of Chrift’s love is certain; and which has appeared by his readinefs in the council and covenant of grace to do his will; by his coming down from heaven to earth for that purpofe; by his delight in it, it being his meat and drink to do it; and by his fufferings and death, which were in compliance with, and obedience to it, Yobn xiv.31, and as in David, fo in all regenerate ones, there is love to God; Febovah is loved by them in all his perfons; Febovah the Father is loved, and to be loved, for the perfections of his nature, becaufe of the works of his hands, of creation and providence; and particularly becaufe of his works of {pecial grace and goodnefs, and efpecially becaufe of his love wherewith he has loved his people, 1 obn iv. 19. Febovab the Son is loved, and to be loved, above all creatures and things whatever, fincerely and heartily, fervently and conftantly; becaufe of the lovelinefs of his perfon, the love of his heart, and his works of grace and redemption; all of him is lovely; and he is to be loved, and is loved in his perfon, offices, relations, people, word and ordinances: Febovabh the Spirit is loved, and to be loved, becaule of his perfon and perfections, and operations of grace; as a fanctifier, comforter, the Spirit of adoption, the earneft and pledge of eternal glory. The word here ufed fignifies the moft intimate, tender and affectionate love; it often defigns mercy and bowels of mercy; fo Abex Ezra interprets it of feeking mercy of God: the reafons are as follow in this and the next verfe: becaufe the Lord is my frengihs fo he was to Chrift as man, who as fuch was the man of his right hand, the fon of man, whom he made ftrong for himfelf, to do his work, and for his glory, P/al. xxx. 17. he promifed to flrengthen him, and he did, P/al. Ixxxix. 21. Ifa. xlii. 5. and xlix. 8. and fo he is the ftrength of all his faints, even Febovab, Father, Son, and Spirit; he is the ftrength of their hearts both in life and at death; he is the ftrength of their graces, who
There are two paflages cited out of it in the New Teftament, and applied
God was his helper and deliv— ftrengthens that which he has wrought for them, and in them; he ftrengthens them to do their duty, to bear the crofs, and every affli€tion, and againft every, enemy of their fouls; and this renders him very lovely and amiable to them.
y. 2. The Lord is my rock, &c.}| To whom the faints have recourfe for fhelter and fafety, for fupply, fupport, and divine refrefhment; and in whom they are fecure, and on whom they build their hopes of eternal life and happinefs, and fo are fafe from all enemies, and from all danger. Chrift is called a rock on all thefe accounts, P/fal. Ixi. 2,3. Jj. XXXii. 2. and xxxili. 16. Matt. xvi. 18. 1 Cor, x. 4. And my fortrefs, or garrifon; fo the faints are kept in and by the power of God as ina garrifon, 1 Pet. i.5. And my deliverer; out of all affiidtions, and from all temptations, and out of the hands of all enemies; from a body of fin and death at laft, and from wrath tocome. My God; the ftrong and mighty One, who is able to fave, and who is the covenant-God and father of his people. My /trength, in whom I will trust, as Chrift did, and to whom thefe words are applied in Hed. ii. 13. and as his people are enabled to do even under very diftrefling and difcouraging circumftances, Fob xiii. 15. S/a. xxvi. 4. My buckler; or /hield; who protects and defends them from their enemies, and preferves them from the fiery darts of Satan. And the born of my falvation; who pufhes, {catters and deftroys their enemies, and faves them; a metaphor taken from horned beatts; fo Chrift, the mighty and able Saviour, is called, Luke i. 69. And my high tower; fuch is the name of the Lord, whither the righteous run and are fafe, Prov. xviii. 10. and where they are above and out of the reach of every enemy; fee J/a. xxxiil. 16. in 2 Sam. xxii. 3. itis added, and my refuge, my Saviour, thou faveft me from violence. Thefe various epithets fhew the fulnefs of fafety in Fehovab, the various ways he has to deliver his people from their enemies, and, fecure them from danger; and the pfalmift beholding and claiming his intereft in him under all thefe characters, rendered him exceeding lovely and: delightful to him; and each of them contain a reafon why he loved him, and why, in the ftrength of grace, he determined to love him. God may be regarded in all thefe characters by Chrift as man. y¥. 3. I will call upon the Lord, &c.] In prayer, for frefh mercies, and farther appearances of himfelf, and difcoveries of his grace and favour. Who is worthy to be praifed, for the perfeétions of his nature, the works of his hands, his providential goodnefs, and more efpecially for his covenantgrace and bleflings in Chrift. The Zargum is, “¢ in praife, or with an hymn, I pray before the «* Lord;” agreeable to the rule the apoftle gives, Phil. iv. 6. and this prayer was a prayer of faith, as follows. So /hall I be faved from mine enemies; which was founded upon paft experience of God’s goodnefs to him in diftrefs, when he called upon him, as the next words fhew.
¥. 4. The forrows of death compaffed me, &c.] Thefe words and the following in this and the next verfe, as they refpe¢t David, fhew the {nares that were laid for his life, the danger of death he was in, and the anxiety of mind he was pofleffed of on account of it; and as they refer to Chrift, include all the forrows of his life to the time of his death, who was a man of forrows and acquainted with griefs perfonally, and bore and carried the forrows and griefs of all his people; and may chiefly in- - tend his forrows in the garden, arifing from a Mond re: Q “<r
554 | of the fins of his people, which he was about to bear upon the crofs; and from an apprehenfion of the wrath of God, and curfe of the law, which he was going to fuftain for them, when
_ his foul was qegiavres, encompafied about with forrow, even unto death, Matt. xxvi. 38. when his forrow was fo great, and lay fo heavy upon him, that it almoft preffed him down to death, he could fcarce live under it; and may alfo take in, the very pains and agonies of death; he dying the death of the crofs, which was a very painful and excruciating one; fee Pfal. xxii. t4—17. The Hebrew word for forrows fignifies the pains and birth-throws of a woman in travail; and is here fitly ufed-of the fufferings and death of Chrift; through which he brought forth much fruit, or mn: ° many fon$'to glory. The Targum is, “ Diftrefs « has encompafied me, as a woman that fits upon «<< the ftool, and has no ftrength to bring forth, << and is in danger of dying.” In 2 Sam. xxii. 5. it is, the waves or breakers of death coimpaffed me; and the word there ufed is rendered in Ho/- xiii. 13. the breaking forth of children: moreover the fame word fignifies cords‘, as well as pains and forrows; and the allufion may be to malefactors, being bound with cords, when led to execution, and put to death; and may here fignify the power of death, under which the Meffiah was held for a while, but was loofed from it at his refurrection; to which fenfe of the word, and to the words here, the apo- {tle Peter manifeftly refers, Ac7s 11. 24. And the fisods of ungodly men made me afraid; meaning either the multitude of them, as Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Roman foldiers, and people of the Jews, who all gathered together againft him; fo the Targum renders it, 4 company of wicked men; orthe variety of fufferings he endured by them; as fpitting upon, buffeting, fcourging, &c. ‘The word rendered ungodly men, is Belial; and fignifies, vain, worthlefs, and unprofitable men; men of no figure or account; or lawlefs ones, fuch as have caft off the yoke of the law, are not fubject to it; perfons very wicked and profligate. The word in the New Teftament feems to be ufed for Satan, 2 Cor. vi. 15. where it is fo rendered in the Syriac verfion, and he may be defigned here; and by the floods of Belial may be meant, not fo much the temptations of Satan in the wildernefs, as his violent and impetuous attacks upon Chrift in the garden, when being in an agony or conflict with him, his fweat was, as it were, great drops of blood, Luke xxii. 44. The Septuagint render the word, The torrents of iniquity troubled me, which was true of Chrift, when all the fins of his people came flowing in upon him, like mighty torrents, from all quarters; when God laid on him the iniquity of them all, and he was made fin for them; and in a view of all this, be degan to be fore amazed, Mark xiv. 33.. compare with this P/al. Ixix. 1, 2. Arama interprets Belial, of the evil imagination in David, who had a war in himfelf.
y. 5. The forrows of bell compaffed me about, &c. }
Or the cords of the grave*, under the power of which he was detained a while; the allufion may be to the manner of burying among the Jews, who wound up their dead bodies in linen cloths; fo that they were as perfons bound hand and foot; and thus were they laid in the grave; fee ‘Fobn xi. 44. and fo was Chrift, till he was raifed from the dead, when he fhowed himfelf to have the keys of hell and death, and to be no more under their power, ~ or be held by them. be frares of death prevented me or met or got before me‘; the fenfe is, he was taken in them: this phrafe defigns the infidious ways and methods which the enemies of Chrift took” to enfnare him, and take away his life, and in which they fucceeded; fee Mart. xxvi. 4.. y. 6. In my diftrefs I called upon the Lord, 8c. The great Febovab, the everlafting I am, who is the moft High in all the earth, and who is able to fave, Heb. v.7. And cried unto my Gods as Jefas did, Matt. xxvii. 46. fo the members of Chrift, when in diftrefs, as they often are, through fin and Satan, through the hidings of God’s face, a variety of ‘afflictions, and the perfecutions of men, betake themfelves to the Lord, and call upon their God: a time of diftref$ is a time for prayer; and fometimes the end God has in fuffering them to be in diftrefs, is to bring them to the throne of his grace; and a great privilege it is they have, that they have fuch a throne to come to for grace and mercy to help them in time of need, and fuch a God to fympathize with them, and help them; ~ and their encouragement to call upon him, and cry unto him, is, that he is fesovab, omnifcient, omnipotent, and omniprefent; who knows their wants, is able to help them, and is a God at hand to do it. LHe heard my voice out of bis temple; that is, out of heaven his dwelling-place; for the temple at Ferufalem was not built in David’s time; and it - may be obferved, that the prayer of the Pfalmift, or whom he reprefents, was a vocal one, and not merely mental; and hearing it, intends a gracious regard unto it, an acceptance of it, and an agreeable anfwer: for it follows, And my cry came before bim, even into bis ears; God did not cover himfelf with a cloud, that his prayer could not pafs through; but it was admitted and received; it came up before him with acceptance; it reached his ears, and even entered into them, and was delightful mufic to them; fee John xi. 41, 42. Heb. sea ¥. 7. Then the earth fhook and trembled, &c.} As it did quickly after Chrift called upon the Lord, and cried to his God upon the crofs, Matt. xxvii. 50, 51. and fo fome time after, when his people were praying together, the place where they were’. aflembled was fhaken, és iv. 31. as a token of God’s prefence being with them: and the fhaking and trembling of the earth is often ufed as a fymbol of the prefence of God, and of the greatnefs - of his majefty; as when he brought the children of J/rael through the Red fea, went before them in the wildernefs, and defcended on mount Sinai, which mountain then moved and quaked exceedingly; fee P/al. civ. 32. and Ixxvii. 16-18. and Ixvili. 7, 8. Exod. xix. 18. and it is eafy to obferve, that in this, and other parts of this majeftic account of the appearance of God on the behalf of the perfon the fubject of this pfalm, and againft his enemies, there are manifeft allufions to the giving of the law on mount Sinai; though it may be this fhaking of the earth, and what follo S, are to be underftood in a figurative fenfe. tions alfo of the bills moved and were foaken; and defign the fhaking of the earth and heavens, prophefied of in Hag. ii. 6, 7. and-which is explair in Feb. xii. 26, 27. of the removing the ordinances of the ceremonial law, that gofpel-ordinances might remain unfhaken; for in 2 Sam, xxii.
“c? Baie ween =, ~Pfxvit. y. S—1 De words are, the foundations of heaven moved and foook; and the fhaking and moving of the earth and mountains may denote the abolition and deftruétion of kingdoms and nations; and firft of the civil polity of the Yews, and of their ecclefiaftical ftate, which quickly enfued upon the death of Chrift; and next of the ruin of Rome pagan, and then of Rome papal; which are both fignified by an earthquake, and by the removal of mountains, Rev. vi. 12, 14. and xi. 13. and xvi. 18—20. Becaufe be was wroth; with the people of the Jews, for difbelieving and rejecting the Meffiah; for fetting themfelves, and taking counfel together againft him, and putting him to death; for thefe things God was angry with them, and wrath came upon them tothe uttermoft, and their nation, city, and temple were deftroyed, Pfal. ii, 15. 1 Theff. ii. 16, and with the pagan empire and antichriftian powers, Rev. vi, 16, 17, and xi. 18.
¥. 8. There went up a fmoke out of bis noftrils, &c.] This, with what follows, defcribes a ftorm of thunder; the /moke defigns thick black clouds, gathered together; fire intends lightning; and coals of fire hot thunderbolts; and the whole is borrowed from, and is an allufion to what was at the giving of the law on mount Sinai, Exod. xix. 16, 18. The majefty of God is here fet forth in much fuch language as is the leviathan in Job xli, 19—21. the fmoke of his moftrils feems to intend the indignation of God againft the enemies of David, of Chrift, and of his people, and the punifhment he will inflict upon,them, J/a. Ixv. 5. Rev. xiv. 11. The Targum interprets it of the pride and infolence of Pharaoh. And fire out of bis mouth devoured; God is a wall of fire round about his people, and a confuming one to his and their enemies. This exprefies the wrath of God upon the Jewifh nation, and his fending the Roman armies to burn their city, Matt. xxi. 7. Coals were kindled by it; the Jews being as dry trees, were fit fuel for the fire of divine wrath, and fo prefently became as coals of fire; fo the antichriftian party, upon the pouring out of the fourth vial, will be fcorched with heat, and blafpheme the name of God, Rev. xvi.
rs 9. He bowed the heavens alfo, and came dowd, &c.] To execute wrath and vengeance on wicked men; which is always the fenfe of thefe phrafes when they go together; fee P/a/, cxliv. 6—8. J/a, Ixiv. 1, 2. The Targum is, He bowed the heavens, and his glory appeared; that is, the glory of his power, and of his mighty hand of vengeance; for not his grace and mercy, but his indignation and wrath fhewed themfelves; for it follows, And darknefs was under bis feet, the Targum is, a dark cloud, expreffive of the awfulnefs of the difpenfation to wicked men; whovare not allowed to fee the face of God, are debarred his prefence, and denied communion with him, and to whom every thing appears awful and terrible, Pfal. xcvii. 2—5.
y. 10. And he rede upon a cherub, and did fly, &c.] The Targum renders it in the plural number, cherubim, and fo the Septuagint, Syriac, and Ara-. bie verfions; and by whom may be meant, either the angels, who are as horfes and chariots, on whom Febovab rides, and whom he makes ufe of as executioners of his wrath and vengeance, Zech. vi. 5. Pfal. \xviii. 17. and to whom wings are afligned as a token of fwiftnefs, J/a. vi. 2. or rather the minifters of the gofpel, who are the living rubim in Ezekiel’s viBons; and whom God made - ufe of, efpecially after the death of Chrift, and when the gofpel was rejected by the Jews, to carry it into the Gentile world, which was done by them with great {peed and fwiftnefs; and Maimonides “ gives acaution, not to underftand the phrafe, be did fly, as of God, but of the cherub. Yea, be did fly upon the wings of the wind, which may defign the {peedy help and affiftance God gave to his Son, and gives to his people; and the fwift deftruction of their enemies; fee P/a/. civ. 3, 4. the words in 2 Sam. xxil. 11. with only the variation of a letter in one word, are, and be was feen upon the wings of the wind; which were both true; nor need a various reading be fuppofed, the pfalmift ufing both words at different times, fuitable to his purpofe, and which both exprefs his fenfe. Wings are afcribed to the winds by the heathen poets, and they are reprefented as winged on ancient monuments ™.
¥. 11. He made darknefs bis feeret place, &c.] Which, and the dark waters in the next claufe, are the fame with the thick clouds in the laft, in which Fehovab is reprefented as wrapping himfelf, and in which he lies hid as in a fecret place; not fo as that he cannot fee others, as wicked men imagine, Fob xxii. 13, 14. but as that he cannot be beheld by others; the Targum interprets it, ** he caufed «< his /hekinab to dwell in darknefs.” His pavilion round about bim were dark waters, and thick clouds of the fkies, thefe were as a tent or tabernacle, in which he dwelt unfeen by men; fee Fed xxxvi, 29. all this, may defign the dark difpenfation of the Jews, after their rejection and crucifixion of Chrift; when God departed. from them, left their houfe defolate, and them, without his prefence and proteétion; when the light of the gofpel was taken away from them, and blindnefs happened unto them, and they had eyes that they fhould not fee, and were given up to a judicial darknefs of mind and hardnefs of heart; which were fome of the dark, deep, and myfterious methods of divine providence, with refpect to which God may be faid to be furrounded with darknefs, dark waters, and thick clouds; fee Kom, Xi, 75 8. 255,22, 33.
¥. 12. At the brightnefs that was before bim,
&c.] The lightning that came out of the thick clouds; which may denote, either the coming of Chrift to take vengeance on the Jewith nation, which was fwift and fudden, clear and manifeft; or the fpreading of the gofpel in the Gentile world, in which Chrift, the brightnefs of his Father’s glory, appeared to the illumination of many; fee Mait, xxiv. 27, and both may be intended, asthe effects following fhow. His thick clouds pajfed; that is, pafled away; the grofs darknefs, which had for fo many years covered the Gentile world, was removed, when God fent forth his light and truth; and multitudes, who were darknefs itfelf, were made light inthe Lord. Hail-ftones and coals of fire; the fame gofpel that was enlightening to the Gentiles, and the favour of life unto life untothem, was grievous, like hail-ftones, and tormenting, fcorching, irritating and provoking, like coals of fire, and the favour of death unto death to the Jews; when God provoked them, by fending the gofpel among the Gentiles, and calling them: or thefe may defign the heavy, awful, and confuming judgments of God upon them, which w Vide Cuperi Apotheof. Homeri, p. 178. to, and by Virgil, Eneid, 8, v. 430. and who alfo Wings are given to the fouth-wind, peaks of ~ ere fometimes fignified by hail-ftorms; fee Rev. viii. 7, and xvi. 11. In 2 Sam. xxii, 13. it is only, Through the brightnefs before him were coals of fire kindied.
y. 13. The Lord alfo thundered in the heavens, &c.] By his apoftles and minifters, fome of which were Boanergeses, fons of thunder, whofe miniftry was ufeful to fhake the confciences of men, and bring them to a fenfe of themfelves, Mark iii. 17. And the Higheft gave his voice; the fame with thunder; for thunder is often called the voice of the Lord, Yob xxxvii. 5. and xl. 9. P/fal. xxix. 3—9. compare with this P/al. Ixviii. 11. the Targum interprets it, He lift up bis word; the fame effects as before follow, Aail-ftones and coals of fire.
¥. 14. Yea, he fent out bis arrows, &c.] By which thunderbolts, cracks of thunder, and flafhes of lightning, feem to be meant; fee P/al. Ixxvii. 17, 18. and cxliv, 6. comparable to arrows fhot, and fent out of a bow; and may denote, either the doétrines of the gofpel, which were fharp in the hearts of Chrift’s enemies, and are either the means of fubduing them to him, or of deftroying them, being the favour of death unto death; or however, like arrows, give great pain and uneafinefs, where they ftick, and grievoufly diftrefs and torment; as does the fire which comes out of the mouth of the two witneffes, Rev. xi. 5, 10. The Targum is, “© He fent his word as arrows;” or elfe the judgments of God are meant, as famine, peftilence, and the fword, which God fent unto, and {pent upon the Jewifh nation, Deut. xxxii.23. nd fcattered them; among the nations of the world, where they have been difperfed ever fince. And he fhot out lightnings; or many lightnings, fo the Targum: and difcomfited thems troubled, terrified and diftrefled
¥. 15. Then the channels of water were feen, &c.] Or, of the fea; as in 2 Sam, xxii. 16. There feems to be an allufion to the drying up of the fea when the J/raelites pafled through it. Aden Ezra interprets this of the difcovery of the fecrets of enemies, and of their deep fchemes and counfels which they feek to hide, but are made known by him who fees all things in the dark; and fo the following claufe. And the foundations of the world were difcovered; but it rather feems to intend the utter extirpation and ruin of the Jewifh nation, both in their civil and ecclefiaftic ftate, the foundation of which was rooted up and laid bare; unlefs with Ferom, we underftand this of the minifters of the word, in whom the doctrines of Grace were channelled, and who were as fountains of water; and of the foundation of the apoftles and prophets made known in the gofpel: but the former fenfe is beft; fince itfollows, At thy rebuke, O Lord; at the blaft of the breath of thy noftrils; for the deftru€tion of the Jews was the effect of divine wrath and vengeance: fo ends the account of the wonderful appearance of God in favour of the perfon the fubjet of this pfalm, and againft his enemies; the deliverance wrought for him is next defcribed.
¥. 16. He fent from above, &c.] Either his hand, as in P/al. cxliv. 7. he exerted and difplayed his mighty power in raifing Chrift from the dead; or he fent help from his fan€tuarys asin P/al. xx. 2. and helped and ftrengthened him in a day of falvation; or when he’wrought out the falvation of his people; or he fent his word, as in P al.
cvii. 20. his word of command, to take up his life again, as he had given it to lay it down, Fobn x. 18. The Targum is, He fent bis prophets, but it may be much better fupplied, he fent his angels, or an angel, as he did at his refurrection, who. rolled