Exposition of the Whole Bible

after Saul’s death, refufed to acknowled ‘as their king, but afterwards came an to be able to rife more againft Chrift, who has led a captivity captive: he has alfo finifhed and made — an end of fin, and overcome the world; nor did ‘ he turn back from this work he engaged in, until he had made a compleat conqueft; and moreover he has likewife made his people more than conquerors, through him, over thefe fame enemies 5 fo that the words are alfo applicable to them.

¥. 39. For thou hast girded me with ftrength unto battle, &c.] See. y. 32. that natural ftrength, courage and valour, which David had, were from the Lord; and {0 is the fpirit of power, love and of a found mind, which believers have; and likewife that ftrength which Chrift, as man, had and ufed in his combat with the powers of darknefs; fee Pfal. \xxx. 17. Thou haft fubdued under me thofe that rofe up agains me; as the pfalmift afcribes his {trength, fo he attributes his fuccefs to the Lord; who likewife fubdues the fins of his people, and all other enemies of theirs, and who alfo makes the enemies of his Son his footftool, P/al. ex. 1,

-y. 40. Thou haft alfo given me the necks of mine enemies, &c.] Either to flay them, or to trample,

‘or put a yoke upon them; or rather the fenfe is, thou haft made them to fly before me, to turn their necks or backs unto me, as the word is ufed in Fo/b. vii. 8. and it is expreffive of an utter rout and vanquifhing of them. That I might deftroy them that hate me they not being able to face him and ftand again{t him.

y. 41. They cried, but there was none to fave them, &c.] It is in 2 Sam, xxii. 42. they looked; that is, they looked round about, here and there, to fee if there were any near at'hand to help and deliver them; they cried in their diftrefs, and becaufe of the anguifh of their fpirits, and for help and affiftance, but in vain; they cried, as Jarchi thinks, to their idols, as Yonab’s mariners cried every one to their god; and, if fo, it is no wonder there was none to fave; for fuch are gods that cannot fave: but it follows, Even unto the Lord, but he anfwered them not, as Saul, for inftance, 1 Sam. xxviii. 6. fo God- deals with wicked men, often by way of righteous retaliation; fee Prov. i. 28. Zech, Vii. 13.

¥. 42. Then did I beat them fmall, as the duft before the wind, &c.] They being given up by God, and he not an{wering to their cries; the phrafe denotes the utter ruin and deftruétion of them, and reprefents their cafe as defperate and irrecoverable; being, as it were, pounded to duft, and that driven away with the wind; juft as the deftruétion of the four monarchies is fignified by the iron, clay, brafs, filver and gold, being broken to pieces, and made like the chaff of the fummer-threfhing floor, and carried away with the wind, fo that no place is found for them any more, Dan. ii. 35. J did cast them out as the dirt of the fireets, exprefling indignation and contempt: in 2 Sam. xxii. 43. it is, Ldid ftamp them as the mire of the Street, and did fpread them abroad, which alfo denotes the low and miferable condition to which they were reduced, and the entire conqueft made of them, and triumph,

¥. 43. Thou ha delivered me from the firivings of the people, &c.] In2 Sam. xxii. 44. it is read my people, meaning the people of Ifrael 5 either Sgul and his men who contended with David, and fought his life; or rather the tribes of J/rae, who,.

him in Hebron. The words may very well bei terpreted of the contentions of the fcribes and P rifees with Chrift, and of the contradiction of ners which he for a while endured, but is now delivered from them all. And thou baft made me the bead of the heathen; which, if underftood of David, refers to the Pbiliffines, Syrians, Moabites, and Edomites, being fubdued by him, and becoming tributaries to him, 2 Sam. viii. But it beft agrees with Chrift, who is the head of his chofen ones among the Gentiles; the political head, king and governor of them, the heathen being given him for his inheritance and poffeffion; and which appeared in the firft ages of chriftianity, when the gofpel was firft preached to the Gentiles by the apottles; and {till continues, and will be more clearly feen in the latter day, when the Lord fhall be king over all the earth. Chrift was made the head of the heathen by the appointment and defignation of his father; and in faét was fo when multitudes from among the Gentiles were converted and brought to the obedience of him. In 2 Sam. Xxii. 44. it is, thou haft kept me to be head of the heathen; which does not feem fo much to intend the defignation and conftitution of him as fuch, but the continuation of him; and denotes the ftability of his government in the gentile world, of which there will be no end. 4 people whom J bave not known, hall ferve me; by whom are meant the Gentiles, who were not the people of God, were without Chrift, and without God, and without hope in the world: not that there are any people than can be unknown to Chrift, as he is the omnifcient God; nor were thefe unknown to him, in fuch fenfe as reprobates, nominal profefiors, and foolifh virgins, are faid not to be known by him, Matt. vii. 23. and xxv. 12. _ For thefe people among the heathen, who are or fhall be brought to ferve the Lord, are fuch who were the objects of his love and delight from everlafting; were in his father’s choice and in his own, and in the gift of his father to him, and in the covenant of his grace; and therefore muft be known by him: moreover, they are the purchafe of his blood; and the fheep he knows, for whom he has laid down his life, and of whom hehas fuch an exaét and particu- Jar knowledge, that he can and does call them by name. But the fenfe is, thefe feemed not to be taken notice of and cared for by Chrift; they were not owned and‘ acknowledged by him as his people; the Jews were diftinguifhed from ail others; they only had the law, the word of God, and his ordinances; the Gentiles were fuffered to walk in their own ways; they were neglected, and the times of their ignorance were overlooked and difregarded; fo that they were treated as a people that were not known for many hundreds of years: but here it is predi€ted, that when the gofpel fhould come among them, and they be called by it, they fhould /erve the Lord in righteoufnefs and true holinefs, with reverence and godly fear, from a principle of love, in his name and ftrength, and to his glory; fee J/a.lv. 4, 5.

y..44. As foon as they bear of me they Jball obey me, &c.] That is, as foon as they fhould hear of Chrift, through the preaching of the word; by which faith would come, they fhould readily and at once receive, embrace, and profefs the gofpel, and yield a chearful fubmiffion to the ordinances of it; and which has had its accomplifhment among the Gentiles, 4é7s xxviii. 28. and xiii. 42, 44, 48. The firangers fhall fubmit themfelves unto me meaning either the fame: perfons. as before, the Gentiles; who were aliens from the common- wealth of J/rae/, and ftrangets to the covenant of promife, who fhould fubmit to Chrift, to his golpel, to his righteoufnefs, and to the fceptre of his kingdom; though fome interpret it of the degenerate Jews, the fons of the firanger, as the words may be rendered; who, though called the children of God, and the children of the kingdom; yet were, as our Lord fays, of their father the devil; and thefe, fome of them, in a flattering and diffembling way, feigned themfelves to be the followers and difciples of Chrift: and indeed it looks as if hypocrites were intended, whether among Jews or Gentiles, or both, fince the word here ufed and rendered fubmit, fignifies to /ye; and fo itis in the metaphrafe of Apollinarius; or as in the margin of fome Bibles, to yield a feigned obedience; {ee Pfal. \xvi. 3. There feems to be an allufion to the conqueft of nations, fome of the inhabitants of which readily and heartily fubmit,but others only feignedly, and through fear, and the force of fuperior power they cannot withitand.

MW. 45+ The firangers /hall fade away, &c.] Like the leaves of trees in autumn, when they fall and perifh; to which hypocrites and nominal profeffors are compared, Jude 12. And be afraid out of their clofe places; their towers and fortified places, or the rocks and mountains to which they betake themfelves for fhelter; but, as not thinking themfelves fafe enough, through fear and dread, come out: of them; fee Micah vii. 17. Some Jewith writers ‘interpret the words, They fhall hale or be lame; that is, becaufe of the chains put upon their feet: and fo they are expreflive of the con queft made of them. The word in the Arabic language fignifies to’ come out; and may be forendered here, and come out: in 2 Sam. xxii. 46. itis, they fhall gird themfelves, or come out girt.

¥. 46. The Lord liveth, and bleffed be my rock, &c.J] This, with what follows, isthe concluding part of the pfalm, which ends with a celebration of the divine Being, and with thankfulnefs for mercies received from him. ‘The pfalmift praifes him on account of what he is in himfelf, what he was to him, and had done for him: in himfelf he is the living God, the Lord liveth; he has life in himfelf, effentially, originally, and independently; and is the fountain and author of life to all others, even to all creatures that have life; whether ratio-. nal or irrational: he is the giver of natural life to all men, and the fupporter of it; and of fpiritual and eternal life to his chofen people; and he continues to live, and ever will; wherefore the faints may conclude, that their life in every fenfe is fafe and fecure. Some render the phrafe, by way of with, may the Lord live; * but then it muft be underftood only, that he would fhew himfelf more abundantly to be the living God, and that he might be acknowledged fo by others. The next claufes are by way of petition; ud bleffed be my Rock; on which he was built and eftablifhed, to which he betook himfelf in times of diftrefs, which was his place of defence, and from whence he had a fupply; wherefore he defires he might be bleffed, not by invoking or conferring a bleffing on him, neither ‘of' which can be there being none greater than he to call upon,*and he being E/-/baddai, God all-fufficient, and in no need of any; but by declaring his bleffednefs, by celebrating his greatnefs and’ goodnefs, and by afcribing blefling and honour and glory to him. dud let the God of my falvation be exalted; God was the God of bis fal-

vation in a temporal fenfe, faving him daily from his many enemies; and in a fpiritual fenfe, being the contriver, author, and applier of it to him; on which account he would have him be exalted both by himfelf, and in the high praifes of his people; afcribing the whole of falvation to him, and giving him all the glory of it. Some render the words, The God of my falvation is bigh *; he is the moft high God, the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, and is above all others. In 2 Sam. xxii. 47, the words are read, And exalted be the God of the rock of my falvation.

¥. 47. It is God that avengeth me, &c.| Or gives vengeance unto me, or for me *: vengeance only belongs to God, and he repays it for and in behalf of his people. Private revenge is not to be exercifed by any; public vengeance on delinquents may be exercifed by the civil magiftrate, to whom God gives power and authority to exercife it, Rom. xiii. 4. as he did to David, as king of J/rael; tho’ the phrafe rather feems to defign the victories which he obtained over his enemies, which were punifhments to them, vengeances inflicted on them, and owing to God; fo the acceptable year of the Mefiiah’s coming, and the time of his people redeemed by him, is called the day of vengeance of our God, both on his and their enemies, J/a. 1xi. 2. and Ixiii, 4. And fubdueth the people under me; the Edomites, Moabites, and others, as in 2 Sam, viii. or the Gentiles under Chrift; fee the note on ¥.39.

ye 48. He delivereth me from mine enemies, &c.] From Saul andhis men, from J/bbo/beth and Abner, from Abfalom and the confpirators with him; fo all believers are delivered out of the hands of their enemies by Chrift, as that they can ferve the Lord without fear; and fo Chrift himfelf is delivered from all his enemies, being raifed from the dead, and fet at the right hand of God, where he muft reign till all enemies are put under his feet. Yea, thou lifteft me up above thofe that rife up againft me; David was lifted up from a low and mean eftate, and placed on the throne of //rael, above all thofe that rofe up againft him, and fought to deftroy him; and the faints are fet upon their high places in Chrift, where they are out of the reach of their enemies to do them any hurt; and Chrift, he is highly exalted at the right hand of God, above all principality and power, might and dominion, and every name that is named in this world. Thou baft delivered me from the violent man; either from Sau, from whom David was delivered; or from Satan the enemy, the fon of wickednefs, who fhall no more exact upon and afflict the Meffiah, P/a/. Ixxxix. 21, 22. The Chaldee paraphrafe fays, from Gog; as the faints will be delivered from Antichrift, the man of fin, and fon of perdition, who will be deftroyed with the breath of Chrift’s mouth,

¥. 49. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, &c.} Thefe words are cited by the apoftle, in Rom. xv. g. and applied to the converfion of the Gentiles, which is manifeftly prophecied of in fome preceding verfes of this pialm: there it is rendered, J will confe/s to thee among the Gentiles; and defigns not confeflion of fin, nor profeffion of the truth, but an acknowledgment of unworthinefs, joined with thankfulnefs for mercies received; done in the moft public manner, not only in the congregation of the righteous, but before the heathen conquered by him; owning before them all, that the victories he had obtained over them, were not to be afcribed to his arm and fword, but to the power of the Lord. And fing praifes unto thy name; which is comely for the faints to do, and which Jefus Chrift himfelf did, in the great congregation of his difciples, and among the Gentiles, by his apoftles, and others, on the account of the converfion of them.

¥. 50. Great deliverance giveth he to bis king, &c.] Not that is king over him; for he is King of ings and Lord of lords; but that is made king by him, as David was; who did not ufurp the throne, but was anointed king by the appointment of God, and was placed by him upon the throne; to whom he gave great deliverance from his enemies, or magnified falvalions to him; which were great in kind, and many in number; and as Chrift is, whom God has fet as his king on his holy hill of Sion, againft whom the heathen raged, and kings and princes fet themfelves; but he is delivered from them all, and faved from the power of death and the grave, and ever lives to reign over, protect, and defend his people; in 2 Sam. xxXil. 51. itis, he is the tower of falvation for bis king, with which compare Prov, xviii. 10. And fheweth mercy to bis anointed, to David and to bis feed for evermore; which may be underftood either of David literally,who was the Lord’s anointed, and to whom God fhewed mercy in various inftances; and then by his feed is meant the Meffiah, who was of his feed according to the flefh: or of the Meffiah, whofe name fignifies Anointed; and who is often. called David, Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24. and xxxvii. 24, 25. Hof. iii. 5. and fo fome of the Jewith doétors * from this verfe prove that the name of the Meffiah is David: and by his feed are meant his fpiritual feed; all the eleét of God, who are given him as his children, to whom he ftands in the relation of the everlafting Father: and as mercy is kept with him for evermore, P/al. Ixxxix. 28. fo it is fhewn to them in regeneration, in the forgivenefs of their fins, and in their everlafting falva- fi Ii HIS pfalm was penned by David, and in- {cribed to the chief mufician, as others, to be uled in public fervice; and was defigned for gofpeltimes, as the fubjeét of it fhews; which is firft, not an account of the light of nature, and then of the law of Mofes, but of the gofpel of Chrift; and e- {pecially as miniftred in the times of the apoftles, as acitation out of it in Rom. x. 18. makes a pear.

¥. 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, &c.}. By whieh we are to underftand not the heavens literally taken, though thefe with the firmament are. the handy-works of God, and do declare the glory

Pf xix. ¥.2—4. of his perfections, efpecially his wifdom and power; thefe fhew that there isa God, and that he is a glorious one: but either gofpel-churches, often fignified by the kingdom of heaven, in the New Teftament; the membersof them being heaven-born fouls, and the doétrines and ordinances miniftred among them being from heaven; and there being a very great refemblance between them and heaven, in the company and communion enjoyedin them; and whodeclarethe glory of the divine perfections, which is very great in the handy-work of their redemption; and who afcribe the glory of their whole falvation to God: or rather, the apoftles and firft preachers of the word, as appears from Rom. x. 18. who were fet in the higheft place in the church; had their commiffion, do&trine, and fuccefs from heaven; and who may be called by this name, becaufe of the purity and folidity of their miniftry, and their conftancy and ftedfaftnefs in it, and becaufe of their heavenly lives and converfations: thefe declared the glory of the divine perfections; fuch as thofe particularly of grace, goodnefs, and mercy, which are not difcoverable by the light of nature or law of Mofes, as they are difplayed in the falvation of men by Chrift, in the forgivenefs of their fins, the juttification of their perfons, and the gift of eternal life unto them: they taught men to afcribe the glory of falvation to God alone, Father, Son and Spirit; they fet forth in their miniftry the glory of Chrift, of his perfon, and of his offices and grace; and they fhewed that redemption was his handywork, as follows: The firmament fheweth bis handywork: for the fame perfons may be called the firmament, fince they that are wife are faid to fhine as the brightnefs of it, Dax. xii. 3. Thefe were like to ftars in it, and were the light of the world, and declared that redemption is the work which Chrift undertook, and came into this world to perform, and which he has finifhed; his hands have wrought it, and his own arm has brought falvation to him. The Targum interprets the heavens and the firmament, of fuch perfons as contemplate the heavens, and look upon the firmament or air; and fo do fome other Jewifh writers ”. y¥. 2. Day unto day uttereth fpeech, &c.] This, with the following claufe, and night unto night foeweth knowledge, fome underftand, of the conftant and continued fucceflion of day and night; which declares the glory of God, and fhews him to be pofiefied of infinite knowledge and wifdom; and which brings a new acceffion of knowledge to men; others, of the continual declaration of the glory of God, and of the knowledge of him made by the heavens and the firmament, the ordinances of which always continue; the fun for a light by day, and the moon and ftars for a light by night; and fo night and day conftantly and fucceffively proclaim the glory and wifdom of God: but rather, this is to be underftood of the conftancy of the gofpel-miniftry, and the continuance of the evangelic revelation, The apoftles of Chrift perfevered ‘in their work, and laboured in the word and doc- “trine night and day; they were in it at all feafons; yea, were inftant in feafon and out of feafon; and though they are dead, the gofpel continues, and will do as long as day and night remain: and ‘thefe, like overflowing fountains, fent forth in great abundance, asthe word * rendered uétereth, fignifies, the ftreams of divine light and knowledge; they were full of matter, and their tongues

Ww Jarchi & Kimchi in loc.

Pe) were as the pen of a ready writer; they diffufed the favour of the knowledge of Chrift, in great plenty, in every place where they came. Theie words exprefs the continuance of the gofpel-revelation, as the next do the extent of it,

¥. 3. There is no /peech nor language where their voice is not beard, &c.} Not the voice of the day and night; as if the fenfe was, that there is no people, ot any fpeech or language under the fun, but there is fomething faid every day and night of the weather, what it is, or will be, as the face of the heavens appears morning and evening: but of the heavens and firmament; the meaning of which fome take to be this; either that though they have no proper {peech nor language, yet there is a voice in them which is heard, declaring the glory of God and his handy-works; and the words may very well be rendered, they have no fpeech nor words, without thefe ¢heir voice is beard; or that there is‘no people, nation, or language under the heavens; fee Daz. lll. 4, 29. and vi. 24. though they are ever fo different one from another, fo as not to be able to underftand each other; yet the voice of the heavens, uttering and proclaiming the glory of their maker, is heard and underftood by them all: but rather, this is to be interpreted of the extent of the gofpel-miniftry by the apoftles; who, according to their commiffion, went every where preaching the word, to men of all nations, of every fpeech and language; for which they were qualified, by having the gift of divers tongues beftowed upon them; 1o that there were no nations, of ever fo barbarous a fpeech and language, but they were capable of {peaking to and of being underftood by them; and though they could not underftand one another, they all heard the apoftles fpeak in their own tongues the wonderful works of God, és ii. 4e— 11. Their voice, inthe miniftration of the eofpel was heard in every nation externally, and by many internally: faith came by hearing; and they received the word with gladnefs and readinefs. This gives the gofpel-revelation a fuperiority to the legal one; that was only made to one nation, to the nation of the Jews; the voice of that was not heard elfewhere; but the voice of the gofpel is heard in all nations; this revelation is publifhed throughout the world: and this fhews that thefe words belong to the times of the apoftles, after they had received a commiffion from Chrift, to go into all the world, and preach the gofpel to every creature; which was done before the deftruction of Ferufalem, Matt. xxiv. 14. Col. i. 6, 23. and which is further confirmed by what follows.

y. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, &c.] Not the line or writings in the book of the creatures, the heavens, and the earth, which lie open, and are legible, and to be feen and read of all men 3 nor the line and writings in the book of the {criptures, called line upon line, and precept upon precept, J/a. xxviil. 13. which, though firft given to the Jews, were written for the initruction of others, and have been communicated to them; but the line of the apoftles: every one had his line or meafure; or the courfe he was to fteer, was meafured out and direéted to him; the line of one, where he was to go and preach the gofpel, reached fo far one way, and the line of another reached fo far another way; and what with one and another, their line reached throughout all the earth; fee 2 Cor XV1. 13—=16, the apoftle citing thefe words in Koz. x. 18,

Ainfworth; featurit, Muis; fcaturiendo effundit, Cocceius 5 copiofe ac conftanter inftar foecunde cujufdam {caturiginis protrudit, x. 18. renders them, their found went, &c. the found of the gofpel, as publifhed by them; which agrees with the next claufe 5 and their words to the end of the world, to the ifles afar off, even to thefe northern and diftant ones of Eng/and, Scatland, and Ireland, which were reached and vifited with the gofpel, either by the apoftles, or at leaft by fome of the firft minifters of the word. Jn them hath he fet a tabernacle for the fun; that is, in the heavens and firmament, where the natural fun is placed; and its habitation is fitly called’a tabernacle, becaufe itis always in motion and never ftops: or this may have fome refpect to its fetting, when, according to the vulgar appearance, and to common underftandings, it feems to be hid as in a tent or tabernacle; to be as it were gone to bed, and at reft; when in the morning it rifes gay and chearful, and comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber, as is faid in the next verfe: but this is all to be underftood {fpiritually and myftically, of Chrift the fun of righteoufnefs, who has his tabernacle among his people, his churches; and particularly has a place, and the chief place in the miniftry of the gofpel, being the fum and fubftance of it; and this is of God’s putting there, who committed to his apoftles the word of reconciliation, the fum of which is Chrift; and this is what makes the gofpel fo glorious a light, fo clear a revelation as itis: the nature, continuance, and extent of this revelation, are defcribed in the foregoing verfes; the perfpicuity and clearnefs of it is fet forth in this claufe, and in what follows.

¥. 5. Which is asa bridegroom coming out of bis chamber, &c.| His nuptial chamber’; who looks lovely and beautiful in his nuptial robes, chearful and pleafant in -his countenance, creating pleafure and delight in all his friends that fee him and hear his voice; and this fimile is expreffive of the brightnefs and glory of the fun, when it rifes; and of the joy and pleafure which it produces in the minds of men when they behold it: all which fets forth the lovelinefs and beauty of Chrift, as he is held forth in the miniftration of the gofpel, and the joy unfpeakable and full of glory which his prefence yields, after a fhort departure from his people; fee J/a. Ixi. 10. Fobn iii, 29. And rejoiceth asa ftrong man to run a race; in which he fhews his readinefs, velocity, and ftrength; and this denotes the fwiftnefs of the fun in running its courfe, and its indefatigablenefs in its conftant motion; though it has been employed therein for fo many thoufands of years, yet every morning rifes with the fame chearfulnefs, purfues it courfe, and is never weary: all which may point at the readinefs of gofpel-minifters, their fwiftnefs to run to and fro, and their ftrength to fulfil the courfe of their miniftry, in which Chrift, the fun of righteoufnefs, is held forth in fo glorious a’ manner.

y. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, &c.] From the eaft, where it rifes; And bis circuit to the ends of it to the weft, where it fets; which is expreffive of the large compafs the gofpelminiftration took in the times of the apoftles; whereby the grace of God appeared to all men, fhone out in a very illuftrious manner, and. Chrift became, what the fan is to the earth, the light of the world. And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof; though things may be hid from the light of it, yet not trom its heat, fo forcible and pene-

° S hh PLxix.%g—7, trating it is, Chrift in the miniftration of the gofpel to all to whom it comes with power, not only enlightens their minds, but quickens their fouls, warms their hearts, caufes them to burn within them, arifes with healing in his wings upon them, and makes his gofpel the favour of life unto life unto them, The pfalmift goes on to fay more and excellent things of the gofpel, its nature and ufefulnefs.

y¥. 7. The law of the Lord is perfec, &c.} By which is meant, not the law of Mo/es, or the ten commandments, but the doéfrine of the Lord; as the word mM, Torah, fignifies, even the whole word of God, as in J/a. viii. 20. All the fcriptures of truth, which are profitable for doctrine; for fetting doétrine in a clear light, and for the vindication and eftablifhment of it, and are the rule of doetrine both to preachers and hearers; and which are perfec?, contain the whole mind and will of God, both with refpect to faith and practice; whereby the man of God is made perfect, and thoroughly furnifhed to all good works, 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. and efpecially the gofpel-part of the word of God may bedefigned, which both in the Old and New Teftament is called a Jaw or doéfrine, being eminently fo; the doétrine of the Meffiah, and of juftification by faith in his righteoufnefs, Jj. ii. 3. and xlii. 1. Rom. iii. 27. The gofpel isa perfeét plan and fcheme of fpiritual and faving truths: it gives an account of perfect things; as of the perfect righteoufnefs of Chrift, and compleat juftification by it; of the full as well as free pardon of fins by the blood of Chrift; and of redemption and falvation from all fin and evils by him: and it alfo fhews where true perfection is; namely, in Chrift, in whom the faints are compleat, he being made to them wifdom, righteoufneis, fanctification, and redemption; fee James ii. 25. This character, therefore, fuits better with the gofpel than with the moral law; though that, as it is to be gathered out of the whole word of God, contains the good and perfect will of God, with refpeét to what is to be done or avoided;_ nor is any thing to be added to it; nor did our Lord come to add unto it, or to make it more perfect, but to fulfil it, which men could not dos nor could the law make any man or any thing perfect, either perfectly fanétify, or juftify, or fave; whereas the bringing in of the better hope in the gofpel does, Heb. ix. 7, 19. The effect, under a divine influence and bleffing a- {cribed to it, is, converting the foul; which is a fure ther proof that the law of Mo/es is not intended: for though by it is the knowledge of fin, or conviction of fin,which often falls fhort of converfion; yet the Spirit of God as a Spirit of regeneration, converfion, and fanétification, is not received thro?” the doctrine or preaching of the law, but through the miniftration of the gofpel; which is defigned to turn men from darknefs to light, and from the power of Satan to God; and which ufe it has when it is attended with the demontftration of the Spirit and of power; fee Rom. iii. 20. Gal. iii. 2. Aétsxxvi, 18. though the words may be rendered rem lieving, i. e. retrefhing and comforting the oul =, as in Lam. i. 11—16. Through want of bodily food, which is the cafe in the paffage referred to, the fpirits faint and fink, the foul is almoft gone, when, by the miniftration of proper food, it is asit were brought back again, as the word * here ufed y Elias in his Tihbi, p, 119, fays, ** we call the garment (or canopy) fpread over the head of the bridegroom and bride, fup-

«< ported by four pillars, in the time of their efpoufals, 7DN.”

The fame word is ufed Ifa. iv. 5. and tranflated a defence, @ Reftituens animam, Junius & Tremel-

Pf. xix. ¥. 8,9. food of the foul, by which it is refrefhed and ex- hilarated, when ready to fink and faint away; hereby it is reftored and revived, comforted and nourifhed. The teftimony of the Lord is fure 3 this is another. name for the word of God, or the holy {criptures; fo called becaule they teftify of Chrift, of his perfon, office, and grace; of what he is, was to do, and fuffer, and perform for his people, and of his glory that fhould follow thereon, Fobn Vv. 39. and particularly the doétrine of the gofpel, is the teftimony of our Lord Jefus Chrift, both which he himéelf teftified, and which is a teftimony Concerning him; 2 Tim. i. 8. Fobu iti. 11. this is /ure, or to be believed ®; the whole of feripture is true, coming from the God of truth; having for its principal fubjecét Chrift, who is truth itfelf, and being dictated by the fpirit of truth; and particularly the gofpel-part of it, and all the truths therein contained, efpecially the doétrine of falvation by Chrift, which is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation: the gofpel is a teltimony or record whichGod himfelf has bore concerning his Son, and eternal life by him, and therefore fure and to be depended upon; for if the witnefs of men 1s received, the witnefs of God is greater, 1 ohn v. 9, 10, 11. The effect afcribed to the word of God, or to the gofpel under this character is, making wife the fimple. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic verfions, renit babes or children; and fo Apollinarius; and the word 9s) here ufed in the 4rabic language, is faid to ° fignify fuch; and here it intends babes and children not in years, but in underftanding, to whom God is pleafed to reveal the truths of his gofpel, when he hides them from the wife and prudent: thefe fimple ones are fuch who are fenfible of their fimplicity and folly, and of their want of underftanding; who, with Agur, think themfelves more foolifh than any man, and have not the underftanding of a man; and thefe, by the word of God, are made wife to know themfelves, their folly, finfulnefs, imperfection, and impotence; and are made wife~unto falvation, to know the right way of falvation by Chrift; fee 2 Zim. iii. 15. where the fame phrafe is ufed as here, and feems to be borrowed from hence, and is ufed of the fcriptures; which alfo make men wife in the knowledge of gofpel-doctrines, the wifdom of God in a myftery, which to know is the greateft wifdom and underftanding, and much more fo than to be acquainted with the law only, Deut. iv. 6. ¥. 8. The ftatutes of the Lord are right, &c.] The word of God may be called /tatutes, or vifitatations *, becaufe that God will vifit, in a way of refentment, fuch perfons as defpife its authority, do not act according to it, or add unto it, or detract from it; or the word may be rendered commiffions °, things committed to truft, as the fcriptures were to the Jews, Rom. iii. 1, 2. and as the gofpel is committed to the truft of the minifters of it, who faithfully difpenfe it, 2 Cor. v.19. 1 Tim. i. 11. Now thefe may be faid to be right, as the word of the Lord is, Pal. xxxiii. 4. fince they fet men right in their principles, and direét them to right practices; they are the means of making them upright in heart, and in converfation: the doétrines of the word of God have nothing crooked, froward and perverfe in them; are without fophifm, ufed fignifies, and the animal fpirits are cheared and revived: and of like ufe is the gofpel; it is the and the hidden things of difhonefty they are all in righteoufnefs, and plain and eafy in every thing refpecting falvation, to thofe who havea {piritual knowledge and underftanding of them, Prov. viii. 8, g. they lead into right and ftraight paths, of truth and holinefs, in which way-faring men, tho’ fools, fhall not err; and particularly the gofpel direéts to the right way of falvation and eternal life by Jefus Chrift; the effect of which is rejoicing the heart. ‘This cannot be underftood of the law, which is a voice of terror, pronounces guilty, curfes and condemns, is the killing letter, and works wrath; but of the gofpel-part of the word, which is a joyful found; publifhes good tidings of good things; and when applied by the Spirit of God, is found to have this effect, fee Fer.xv. 16. The commandment of the Lord is pure; not only the {criptures in general may bear this name, becaufe they deliver out the commands of God to men, as thofe of a moral and ceremonial kind, tothe Jews under the former difpenfation; fo the ordinances of Chrift, which are his commands under the gofpel-difpenfation; yea, the gofpel itfelf may be fo called, though, ftrictly fpeaking, it has no command in it; becaufe, according to the commandment of the everlafting God, it is made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, Rom. xvi. 25, 26. befides, the commandment is no other than the word or doétrine, fee 1 Fobn ii. 7. and as every commandment of the Lord, of what kind foever it is, is pure and holy, fo is every word of God, Prov. xxx. 5. being without any mixture of mens inventions, orthe drofs of corrupt doctrine, fincere, unadulterated, clear of all chaff and impurity, confiftent, uniform, and all of a piece, and which tends to promote purity of heart, life, and converfation.

Enlightening the eyes; that is of the underftanding, fo as fora man to fee his loft ftate and condition by nature; to fee the glory, fullnefs, and grace of

Chrift; to behold wondrous things in the doétrine of the gofpel, and to obferve the way of duty in which he fhould walk: this is the eye-falvein Rev, tii. 18. and fo the Jewifh doctors f explaining this text call the law, ufing the fame word as there.

¥. 9. The fear of the Lord is clean, &c.] Still the word of God is intended, which teaches men to fear the Lord; gives a full account of the worfhip of God, which is often meant by the fear of God; it inftruéts in the matter and manner of worfhip; and nothing more powerfully engages to ferve the Lord with reverence and godly fear than the gofpel does: and this is c/ean 5 and the doétrines of it direét to the blood of Chrift, which cleanfes from all fin, and to the righteoufnefs of Chrift, the fine linen, cleagand white; the promifes of it put the faints on cleanfing themfelves from all filthinefs of flefh and fpirit; and the whole of it is the word of truth, by which God and Chrift fanétify the church and the members of it, Fobn xv. 2. and xvii. 17. Eph. v. 25, 26, And this word is enduring for ever; the law is done away; the ceremonial law entirely, and the moral law, as a covenant of works, and as to the miniftration of it by Mo es;

but the gofpel continues; it is an everlafting one; it endures for ever, notwithftanding all the oppofition made to it by open perfecution, or falfe teachers. The judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether; the judgments of the Lord are the fame with the word of God, as appears from P/al. cxix. 25, 149. and thefe feem to defign that pare of the vie which contains rules of God’s judging and governing his people; or the laws, orders, and ordinances of Chrift in his houfe, which his people fhould obferve, and yield a chearful obedience to, he being their King, Judge, and Lawgiver: and thefe are true, or ¢ruth® itfelf; being wilely made, according to the truth of things, and agreeable to the holinefs and righteoufnefs of God, and fo righteous; not at all grievous, but eafy, pleafant, and delightful, one and all of them.

y. 10. More to be defired are they than gold, &c.] This refers to allthe truths in the word of God; to all the doctrines of the gofpel; which, by good men, are more defireable, and by them more prized and valued, than all worldly riches and treafure. 2a, than much fine gold; more than gold, and the beft of gold, and a great deal of it, than thoufands of gold and filver; fee P/al. cxix. 72, 127. Prov. Vill. 10, 11. Sweeter alfo than honey, and the boneycomb; or the dropping of the honey-combs*, which is the pureft and {weeteft of the honey; and what honey is to the natural tafte of men, that is the gofpel, and the truths of it, to the fpiritual tafte of believers, P/al. cxix. 103. and when the prefence of Chrift is enjoyed, his love is fhed abroad, and the bleffings of his grace are partook of, the ordinances of the gofpel are very delightful, Cant. il. 3. eloquence, and eloquent orators, are fometimes defcribed by mellifluous words; or by their expreffions being like honey, and {weeter than that ‘, y. 11. Moreover, by them is thy feruant warned, &c.]_ By whom the pfalmift means himfelf, who was the fervant of the Lord, not only in common with other faints, but as he was a king and prophet, and as fuch he received advantage from the word of God; all his inftruétions as a prophet, and all -his rules of government as a king; and the whole of that wifdom, prudence, and knowledge, with which he conducted in both offices, were from the Lord by his word: and it may be applied to any fervant of the Lord; and efpecially in an ecclefiaftical office, as an apoftle of Chrift, and minifter of the word; who ferve God in the gofpel of his Son, and, by means of the {criptures, are furnifhed for every good work; and alfo to believers in Chrift in common; who, of whatfoever rank and quality, in whatfoever ftate and condition of life, whether high or low, rich or poor, bond or free, are Chrift’s fervants; and whatfoever is written is for their inftruction, and by the word of God they are warned; the {criptures are a way-mark to them, to direct them in the right way, and to caution them again{t turning to the right or left; either to immoral practices, or the errors and herefies of wicked men: it is a lamp to their feet, and a light to their path, and teaches them to walk circum{pectly, and warns them of rocks, gins, and fnares in the way; or, as the words may be rendered, dy them is thy fervant made clear, or bright*; fo the word is ufed in Daz. xii. 3. that is, in his underftanding: the pfalmift confirms, by his own experience, what he had faid before of the word, y. 8. that it enlightned the eyes: the light of the glo-

-Nious gof{pel of Chrift fhining into the heart, gives the ight of the glory of God in the perfon of Chrift; it illuminates and irradiates the mind, and gives clear ideas of the glory and perfections of God, of his counfels and covenant, of his works of nature and of grace; and makes a bright difcovery of the perfon, offices, and grace of Chrift; and of the blefled Spirit, and his operations; and of the bleffings of grace, and of eternal glory and happinefs. And in keeping of them there is great reward; which is to be underftood, not of keeping the law of Mo/es, and the precepts of that, which, if a man did keep perfectly a conftantly, he fhould live inthem; but of obferving the word of God, and by diligent fearching into it, reading and learning it, and meditating on it, to get and obtain knowledge of divine things; which carries its own reward with it, and is better than thoufands of gold and filver; andof laying up the wordof God, and the truths of the gofpel, and keeping them in mind and memory, which is very profitable and ferviceable, to promote fpiritual peace and comfort, and to preferve from fin, doctrinal and practical; and alfo of yielding a chearful obedience to the gofpel, by cordially embracing and profeffing the doétrines, and fubmitting to the ordinances of it; from all which arife great profit, and much reward: fuch come at the knowledge of Jefus Chrift, which is preferable to every thing elfe, and is more precious than rubies, and all defireable things; fuch enjoy the prefence of Chrift, have much peace and comfort in their fouls; they are made wife unto falvation, and are fitted for every good word and work.

¥. 12. Who can underStand his errors? &c.J Sin is an error, a wandering out of the way of God, {werving from the rule of his word; and many miftakes are made by the people of God themfelves; even fo many, that they cannot number them; they are more than the hairs of their head; they cannot underftand, find out and exprefs, neither their number, nor their evil nature, nor the many aggravating circumftances which attend them: this the pfalmift faid, upon a view of the large extent, glory, and excellency of the word of God; and upon comparing himfelf with it, in which, as in a glafs, he faw how far fhort he came of it, and what a difagreement and want of conformity there was in him unto it; fee P/al. cxix. 97. Rom. vii. 14. and he fuggefts, that though the word he had been defcribing was perfect, pure, and clean, he was not; nor could he expect any reward of debt, but merely of grace, for his obfervance of it; and that it was beft, under a fenfe of fin, to have recourfe, not to works of righteoufnefs done by men; but to the grace and mercy of God: in Chrift, as follows: Cleanfe thou me from fecret faults; by which are meant: not fuch fins as are done in fecret, and are unknown to men; fuch as Devid’s fin with Bathfoeba, 2 Sam. xii. 12. nor the inward motions of fin in the heart, to which none are privy but God, and a man’s own foul; not but that each of thefe may be properly enough included in fuch a petition; but fins, which are unknown to aman himfelf, are meant: there are fome actions, which, though known when committed, are not known to be finful ones; and there are fome fins which are committed unadvifedly, and through carelefSnefs, and pafs unobferved; not only many vain and finful thoughts pafs to and fro uncontrolled, without being taken notice of; but many foolifh and idle words are fpoken, and many evil actions, through infirmity and inadvertency, are done, which, when a good man, at the clofe of a day, comes to reflect upon the things that have pafied in it, are quite hidden from him, are unknown to him, being unobferved by him; wherefore fuch a petition is highly proper to be inferted in his addrefs at the throne of grace: and which alfo fuppofes the perfon fenfibleof the defiling nature of fin, and of his own impotency to cleante himfelf from it; and that God only can do it, who does it by the application of the blood of his Son, which cleanfes from all fin; for this refpeéts not regenerating and fanctifying grace, but pardoning grace; a manifeftation of it, a view of acquittance trom fin by Chrift, and of freedom from obligation to punifhment for it. y.13. Keep back thy fervant alfo from prefumptuous fins, &c.] Some underftand thefe words of perfons: the Septuagint, and the verfions that follow that, render it from ftrangers; fuch who are itrangers to God and godlinefs;' that is, keep from all converfation with them in things finful, or from others fins; from having a fellowfhip with them, being a partaker of them, left their plagues and punifhments fhould be fhared in: others, as the Zargum, from proud men, who are haughty, infolent, and conceited of themfelves; left he fhould be fo corrupted and drawn afide by them: but rather, the words are to be underftood of fins wilfully, contumacioufly, and prefumptuoufly committed; and the petition fuppofes, that thefe may be commited by good men, if left to themfelves; and that there is a pronenefs in them to them; and that they would rufh into them, were they not kept back and reftrained by the powerful and efficacious grace of God: and it alfo fuppofes, that the faints cannot keep themfelves; that God only can keep them from evil; and therefore they pray to him that he would, who does keep them by his:power, at leaft from a final and total falling away. Let them not have dominion over me; neither prefumptuous fins, nor any other, Pfal. cxix, 133. as they fhall not, Rom, vi. 14. as fin has over wicked men; and they yield a ready obedience to the laws and lufts of it; it reigns over them as a king and tyrant, even unto death: it is fomething very powerful in good men; it prevails over them, and carries them captive; wherefore they pray it may not have a continued dominion, as it fhall not; becanfe they

” 569 are in another kingdom, and under grace as a governing principle, which reigns through righteoufnefs unto eternal life. Then fall I be upright, in heart, and walk uprightly in converfation; being cleanfed from fecret faults, and kept from noto-— rious crimes, and grofs enormities; and fhal exercife a confcience void of offence, both to God and man; and be perfeé?, as the word is fometimes rendered, at leaft comparatively; and abfolutely fo, as wafhed in Chrift’s blood, and juftified by his righteoufnels. nd I fhall be innocent from ihe great tranfgreffiion; which fome underftand of pride, others of apoftafy; perhaps the fin againft the Holy Ghoft may be intended; though the words may be rendered, from much tranfgreffion*; and the fenfe is, that he fhould be cleared and acquitted of a multitude of tranfgreffions he had been guilty of; or be preferved from much fin, which otherwife he fhould have fallen into.

y¥. 14. Let the words of my mouth, &c.| Meaning either his fpeech in common converfation, which fhould not be filthy and foolifh, rotten and corrupt; but fuch as minifters grace to the hearer; or elfe his addrefs to God, both in prayer and thankfgiv~ ing. And the meditation of my beart 5 his inward thoughts continually revolving in his mind; or his meditation on the word of God and divine things; or mental prayer, which is not exprefled, only conceived in the mind. Be acceptable in thy fight as words and thoughts are, when they are according to the word of God; and as the facrifices of prayer, whether vocal or mental, and of praife, are through Jefus Chrift our Lord. The pfalmift, in order to ftrengthen his faith in God, that he fhould be heard and anfwered in the petitions he put up,. makes ufe of the following epithets: O Lord, my jirength, or rock’, and my Redeemer; who had been the ftrength of his life, and of his falvation, the rock on which he was built and eftablifhed, and the Redeemer who had redeemed his life from deftruction, and out of the hands of all his enemies, and from all his iniquities.

To the chief mufician, a pfalm of David, fics: pfalm is thought, by fome, to be written by David, on account of himfelf, and as a form to be ufed by the people for him, when he was about to go to war; particularly with the 4mmonites and Syrians, 2 Sam, x. 6, 18. mention being made of chariots in it, ¥. 7. of which there was a great number in that war: Arama thinks it was made by him when he got the victory over the PAiliftines; others think it was written by one of the fingers on David’s account, and fhould be rendered, a pfalm for David, as Pfal. \xxii. and xcii, but rather it is @ pfalm concerning David; concerning the Meffiah, whofe name is David; or a pfalm of David concerning the Meffiah, fince he is exprefsly mentioned, ¥. 6. and Aben Ezra fays, there are fome that interpret it of the Meffiah; and fome paflages in it are, by Jewifh writers", applied unto him, as y. 6, g. and our countryman, Mr 4in/- worth, fays, the whole pfalm is a prophecy of Chrift’s fufferings, and his deliverance out of them, for which the church with him triumpheth.

Theodoret takes itto be a prophecy of Sennacherib’s invafion of Fudea, and of Rabjhakeb’s blafphemy, and of Hezekiah’s diftrefs and prayer on that account.

¥. 1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble, &c.] All the days of Chrift were days of trouble; he was a brother born for adverfity;_ a man of forrows, and acquainted with griefs; he had his own forrows, and he bore the griefs of others; he was perfecuted by Herod in his infancy; he was tempted by Satan in the wildernefs; he was haraffed by the fcribes and Pharifees continually; he was grieved at the hardnefs, impenitence and unbelief, of that perverfe and faithlefs generation of men, and was fometimes made uneafy by his owndifciples: at fome particular feafons his foul or fpirit is faid to be troubled, as at the grave of Lazarus,and when ina view of his own death, and when he was about to acquaint his difciples that one of them fhould betray him, Fobn xi.33. and xii, 27. and xiii, 21. but more particularly it was a day of trouble with him, when: he was in the garden, heavy, and fore amazed, and his fweat was, as it were, drops of blood falling on the ground, and his foul was exceeding forrowtul, even unto death; but more efpecially this was his cafe, when he hung upon the crofs, and is what feems to be principally refpected here; when he was in great torture of body through the rack of the cro{s; when he endured the cruel mockings of men, of the common people, of the chief priefts, and even of the thieves that fuffered with him; when he had Satan, and all his principalities and powers, Jet loofe upon him, and he was grappling with them; when he bore all the fins of his people, endured the wrath of his Father, and was torfaken by him: now in this day of trouble, both when inthe garden and on the crofs, he prayed unto his Father, as he had been ufed to do in other cafes, and at other times; and the church here prays, that God would hear and anfwer him, as he did: he always heard him; he heard him at the grave of Lazarus; he heard him in the garden, and filled his human foul with courage and intrepidity, of which there were immediate inftances; he heard him on the crofs, and helped him as man and Mediator, J/a. xlix. 8. The name of the God of Facob defend thee; that is, God himfelf, who is named the God of Facob, whom Facob. called upon, and trufted in as his God, and who anfwered him inthe day of his diftrefs: Jacob was exercifed with many troubles, but the Lord delivered him outof them all; and which may be the reafon why the Lord is addreffed under this character here; befides, [ rael is oneof the names of the Meffiah, J/a. xlix, 3. on whofe account the petition is put up; to which may be added, that Zacob may defign the people of God, the fpiritual fons of Yacob, the church of the living God, whofe God the Lord is; and the phrafe may be here ufed by the church, to encourage her faith in prayer: the petition, on-account of tne Meffiah, is, that God would defend him, or fet him on an bigh place", or exalt him: he was brought very low in his ftate of humiliation; he was in the form of a fervant; he was in a very low and mean condition throughout. the whole of his life; through the fuffering of death he was made lower than the angels, and he was laid in the lower parts of the earth: the church, in this petition, prays for his refurrection from the dead; for his afcenfion into the higheft heavens; for his exaltation at the right hand of God; for the more vifible fetting him on his throne in his kingdom; in all which fhe has been anfwered.

y. 2. Send thee help from the fanéiuary, &c.] Meaning either from the tabernacle, the holy place, where was the ark, the fymbol of the divine prefence; or rather heaven, the habitation of God’s holinefs; unlefs the fame is meant by it as by Zion, in the next claufe, the church of God, from whence he fends the rod of his ftrength. dnd /lrengthen thee out of Zion, and the help and firength prayed for are not to be underftood of that affiftance and fupport, which Chrift, as man, had from his Father, at the time of his fufferings, which were promifed him, and he believed he fhould have, and had, Pfal. Ixxxix, 21. Ja. 1.7, 9. and xlix. 8, fincée thefe petitions follow that which relates to his exaltation; but of the help and ftrength afforded to the apoftles and minifters of Chrift, after they had