Exposition of the Whole Bible

‘received the commiffion from him to preach the gofpel to every creature; when, as a full anfwer to thefe petitions, God worked with them, greatly affifted them, ftrengthened them with ftrength in their fouls; confirmed the word with fiens and wonders following; made it the power of God to falvation to multitudes; and fo itrengthened caufe, intereft, and kingdom of the Redeemer.

y¥. 3. Remember all thy offerings, 8cc.| The {pi ritual facrifices of prayer and praife which Chrift, as the great high-prieft, offers up for his people; or which they offer by him, and are acceptable to God through him, by virtue of the incenfe of his mediation; or the offering up of himfelf; which anfwers to, and is the body, the fum and fubftance of all the offerings of the law; they were types of this, and what they could not do, this did; and therefore it is expreffed in the fincular number in the next claufe. And accept thy burnt-facrifice. Selab. The word rendered accept fignifies to reduce to afbes° and the way in which ic was known that facrifices were acceptable to God, was by fire coming down from heaven upon them and: confuming them, Lev. 1x. 24. 1 Chron, xxi. 26, 2 Chrom. vii. 1. i Kings xvi. 38. and therefore the word is rightly rendered accepi; and Chrift’s facrifice- of himfelf, putting away fin, and perfecting for ever them that are fan@tified, is of a fweet {melling favour to God; for hereby his juftice is fatisfied, his law is magnified and made honourable, the fins of his people are atoned’ for, their perfons are accepted, and their facrifices of prayer and praife come up alfo with acceptance to. him through the virtue of this facrifice; aud fo thefe petitions have their accomplifhment.

¥s 4. Grant thee according to thine own beart, &c.] Which is to:fee his feed, the travail of his foul, and to have the pleafure of the Lord profoer in his hand; to have all his people called, preferved, and glorified. And fulfil all thy counjels whatever was agreed’ upon in the council and covenant of peace between him:and his Father, ‘relating to his own glory, and the falvation of his people.

¥. 5. We will rejoice in thy falvation, &c.] That is, fo will we, Fc. or that we may”, Se. or let us 3 thefe words, with what follow, point at the end of the church’s requefts, and what the refolved to

_do upon the accomplifhment of the above things s | for inftance, fhe would rejoice in the falvation of the Meffiah; meaning either the falvation and deliverance from death and the grave, and all other enemies, which he himfelf is poffefled of, and which enters into, and is the occafion of the joy of

| his people; for not his fufferings and death only, but chiefly his refurrection from the dead, feffion at God’s right hand, and interceffion for them, caufe the triumph of faith in him, and further the joy of it, Rom. viii. 33, 34. or elfe the falvation he is the author of, which being fo great, fo fuitable, fo compleat and perfect, and an everlafting one, is matter of joy to all fenfible of their need of it, and who have a comfortable hope of intereft in it. And in the name of our God we will fet up our ban-

27. fo when Cefar *fet up his banner, it was a token to his foldiers to run to their arms and prepare to fight; and then the fenfe is, putting our truft in the Lord, relying on his ftrength, and not on our own, we will chearfully and courageoufly engage with all his and our enemies, fin, Satan, and the world; as good foldiers of Chrift, we will endure hardnefs, fight his battles under the banners of the Lord of hofts, in whofe fervice we are enlifted; or as a token of victory, when ftandards were fet up, and flags hung out"; fee Fer. 1. 2. Exod. xvii. 15. and then the meaning is, Chrift, the great captain of our falvation, having obtained a compleat victory over all enemies, and made us more than conquerors thereby, we will fet up our banners, hang out the flag, and in his name triumph over fin, Satan, the world, death and hell. be Lord fulfil all thy petitions, the fame as in y. 4. this is put here to fhew that the church will be in fuch a frame as before defcribed, when the Lord fhall have fulfilled all the petitions of his Anointed; of which fhe had a full affurance, as appears from the following words.

¥. 6. Now know I that the Lord faveth bis Anointed, &c.] Not David, though he was the anointed of the God of Facob, and was anointed with material oil to be king of J/rael by Samuel, at the- exprefs order of God himfelf; but David is not here ipeaking of himfelf, nor the church of him, but of the Meffiah; anoifited by Fehovab king over his holy hill of Zion, with the oil of gladneis, or the holy Spirit. The church in prayer. rifes in her faith, and is ftrongly affured’ of the falvation of the Meffiah; that though his troubles would be many and great, he fhould be delivered out of them all; fhould be heard and helped in the day of falvation, and be freed from the forrows of death and hell, he fhould be encompafied with; that he fhould be raifed from the dead; have all power in heaven and earth given him; afcend on high and triumph over all his enemies; and all his people, all the members of his body fhould be faved through him, which is in a fenfe the falvation of himfelf. He will hear him from his holy heaven; where his throne and temple are, which is the habitation of his holinefs, whither the prayers of the Meffiah when on earth afcended, where they were received, heard, and anfwered. Before the church prays that he might be heard, now fhe believes he would; and that, With the faving ftrength of bis right hand; that is, by the exertion of his mighty power, in ftrengthening him as man to bear up under his forrows, go through his work, and finifh it; by upholding him with his right hand whilft engaged in it, and by raifing him up from the dead with it, and fetting him down at it in the higheft heavens.

¥. 7. Some trutt in chariots, and fome in horfes, &c.}] That is, in chariots and horfes prepared for war; which, befides their ufe for carriage, did great annoyance to the enemy in battle, and were very terrible to them, and were greatly trufted in by thofe that poffefled them, Deut. xx. 1. I/a. xxxi.1. fuch chariots as were called currus falcati, that had fcythes at the fides of them, which being drove with fury among the infantry, cut them down as grafs is mown with fcythes; fuch the old Canaanites ufed, which were very terrible, Fo/b. xvii. 16. Fudg. iv. 3. and horfes trained up for war do much execution in a battle by pawing and trampling; fee Fob xXxix. 21—25. though thefe are vain things for fafety, and not to be depended on, for falvation and victory are of the Lord, Pal. xxxiti. 17. Prov. xxi. 31. and fuch are the chariots and horfes of the fun, and the idols in which the Gentiles trufted, 2 Kings xxiii. 11. Pfalm cxv. 8. and all external things in which men depend for falvation, as flefhly privileges, outward works of righteoufnefs, morality, a profeffion of religion, a round of duties, &c. all which are difclaimed by thofe who know the way of life and falvation by Chrift, Ho/ea xiv. 3. But we will remember the name of the Lord our God; not any of the names by which the Lord God is called, as Elohim, El-fhaddai, Fehovab, and the like; though each of thefe are worthy of remembrance, and greatly ferve to encourage faith in him; but rather the perfections of God, {uch as the goodnefs, wifdom, and power of God, which are to be remembered and confided in; and not the friendfhip of princes, the fchemes of human policy, and the outward forces of ftrength; or elfe God himfelf is intended, whofe name is himfelf, and is a {trong tower to the righteous: and to remember him is to bear him in mind, and not forget him; to have the defires of the foul towards him, and to the remembrance of him; and to make mention of him, of his names, attributes, word and works 3 which is both for his glory and for the encouragement of faith in him, both in ourfelves and others; it is to call upon his name in times of trouble, and at all times, and alfo to truft in him and not in an arm of flefh; for it ftands oppofed to trufting in chariots and horfes; and it is to call to mind paft inftances of his goodnefs, wifdom and power, and be thankful for them, and make ufe of them to engage confidence in him; and which fhould be done from the confideration of his being God and not man, and of his being our God, our covenant- God and Father, ¥. 8, They are brought down and fallen, &c.} Thefe are they that rode in chariots and on hotfes, and trufted in them; who are brought down from their places of honour and fafety; and fall, not into the hands of their enemies, and into a low and mean eftate, but to the ground by death; as alfo fuch who, being like Capernaum, lifted up to heaven with their own outward attainments, and think to get thither by them, are brought down to hell, and fall into the pit of corruption. But we are rifen, and ftand upright; who remember the name of the Lord, and truft in him; the church is fometimes in a very low and depreffed condition; ic confifts of a poor and an afflicted people, and who are perfecuted by men; fo the church has been under the heathen Roman emperors, and under the papacy, and will be as long as fhe is in the wildernefs, and the witnefles prophefy in fackcloth; and efpecially when they will be flain, and their bodies lie on the earth unburied; but thefe fhall rife and ftand upright, and afcend to heaven; there will be a glorious ftate of the church; there will be a reviving of the intereft of Chrift, through the bringing in the fulnefs and forces of the Gentiles, and the converfion of the Jews; the dry bones will live again, and ftand upon their feet, an exceeding great army; in thofe days the righteous will flourifh and have abundance of peace and profperity. This may alfo include the firft refurrection, which the faints will have a part in; the dead in Chrift will rife firft, and will ftand before the Lord with confidence, and not be afhamed; when the ungodly fhall not ftand in judgment, nor finners in the congregation of the righteous; for though thefe words are expreffed in the prefent tenfe, becaufe of the certainty of them, they belong to future times; hence the following petitions. ¥. 9. Save, Lord, &c.] Not the king, as the Septuagint, Ethiopic, and Arabic verfions read the words, joining the word king to them, which is an the the next claufe; but this, as Aben Ezra obferves, is not right, becaufe of the accent athnach, which divides thefe words from the following; rather the word us may be fupplied; and fo the Syriac verfion renders it; the Lord will deliver us; and the Targum is, O Lord, 7 PrBp, redeem us, or fave us; that is, wich a temporal, {piritual, and eternal falvation: this petition is directed to Fehovab the Father, as ‘the following is to the King.Meffiah. Let the king hear us when we call; for not God the Fa- King, the King of kings; and who hears his people, when they call upon him, and while they are calling; yet he is rarely, if ever, called the King, without any other additional epithet; whereas the Meffiah often is, as in the next pfalm, ¥. 1, 7. and xlv. 1. and prayer is made to him, and he hea and receives the prayers of his people; and, as Mediator, prefents them to his Father perfumed with his much incenfe; for he is a Prieft as well as a King.

ther is here meant, though he is an everlafting

HIS pfalm was either written by David; and i therefore called a p/alm of David; or it was written, as it may be rendered, for David, by fome other perfon, on account of his victories and triumphs; or rather, concerning David *; that is, concerning the Meffiah, the Son of David, as Kimebi fays, {ome expound it; or concerning the Meffiah, who ts called David, Ezek, xxxvii. 24, 25. and Farchi obferves, that their Rabdins interpret it of the Meffiah; but, fays he, it is right to explain it, moreover, of David himfelf, for an anfwer to the heretics (chriftians) who err in it; and various paffages in this pfalm are by the Jewifh writers underftood of the Meffiah; as the King, in ¥. 1, 7. is in the Zargum called the King Meffiahs; y. 4. is inthe Talmud applied ‘to him, y. 3, 5. Zobar*, and in the Midraj/bes”, interpretedofhim; and many chriftian writers underftand the whole of him; which is right: though Thesdoret thinks it was penned on the account of the health of king Hezekiah, and his reftoration from his difeafe,;which verfion of his people, when falvation is brought near unto them; and efpecially at their glorification, when they fhall be in the full enjoyment of it; then will they be his joy, and crown of rejoicing: this is the joy that was fet before him, which made him go fo chearfully through his fufferings and death for them, Heb. xii. 2. the reafons of this joy are, becaufe of the great love he bears to them; the intereft and property he has in them; his undertakings for them, as their furety, to bring them fafe to glory; his purchafe of them by his blood; his interceffion for them, that they might be with him to behold his glory; and lait of all, becaufe of his Father’s glory, his own glory, and the glory of the bleffed Spirit, which are concerned in the are in, falvation of thefe perfons.

y. 2. Thou hast given him his beart’s defire, &c.} Which the church had prayed for in P/al. xx. 4. whatever Chrift’s heart defired, or his lips requefted, has been given him. dud haft not withbolden the requeft of bis lips. Selab. whatever he afked in is not likely. the council and covenant of peace was granted; he afked for all the eleét, as his fpoufe and bride; thefe

¥. 1. The king fhall joy in thy Strength, O Lord, &c.} Either in that ftrength which is in Zebovab himfelf, in whom is everlafting ftrength; and which is feen in the works of creation and providence, and is the fame in Chrift himfelf, as he is the mighty God; or elfe in the ftrength which 7eovah communicated to Chrift as man, whereby he _was ftrengthned in his human nature, to go thro’, “and complete the work of man’s redemption; or inthe ftrength which the Lord puts forth, and the power which he exerts towards, and upon his people, in converfion; which is the produce of the exceeding greatnefs of his power; and in ftrengthning them, from time to time, to exercife grace, difcharge duty, and withftand temptations and fin; and in keeping them fafe to the end; in fupporting them under all their trials, and in carrying on and finifhing the work of faith upon their fouls; all which is matter of joy to Chrift. And in thy fal- _vation bow greatly foall be rejoice? meaning either his own falvation by the Lord, from all his fore rows and troubles, and out of the hands of all enemies, being in the prefence of God, where is fulnefs of joy, P/a/. xvi. g—11. or elfe the falvation of his people by him, which Yebovab appointed them to, fecured for them in the covenant of grace, feat Chrift to work out for them, applies by his Spirit, and at laft puts into the full poffeffion of; Chrift rejoices at the effectual vocation and conwere the defire of his heart and eyes, and they were given him; he afked for all the bleflings of grace for them, and all grace was given to them in him; he afked for glory, for eternal life, and it was promifed him; and not only the promife of it was put into his hand, but the thing itfelf; fee P/alm ii. 8. 2 Tim. i. 1,9. 1 John v.11. and Pfal. xx. 4. whatever he requefted of his Father, when here on earth, was granted; he always. heard him; that memorable prayer of his in Yobn xvii. is heard and anfwered, both in what refpects himfelf, his own glorification, and the converfion, fanétification, union, prefervation, and glorification of his peoples whatever he now defires and requefts in heaven, as the advocate and interceffor for his faints, is ever fulfilled; which is an inftance of the great regard Febovab has unto him, and may be confidered as a reafon of his joy in him.

y. 3. For thou preventeft him with the bleffings of goodnefs, &c.] Not temporal, but fpiritual blefsings, which fpring from the grace and goodnefs of God, and confift of it; and relate to the fpiritual and eternal welfare of thofe for whofe fake he receives them, and who are bleffed with them in him; __ his being prevented with them, denotes the freenefs of the donation of them; that before he could well afk for them, or before he had done requettir them, they were given him; and alfo the eacaee of the gift of them, they were put into his hands before his incarnation, before he was manifeft in the fleth, even from the foundation of the world, and before the world began, Eph. i. 3, 4. 2 Tim. i. g. and likewife the order in which they were given, firft to Chrift, and then to his people in him, as the paflages referred to thew. Thou fetteft a crown of pure gold on bis bead; which is expreffive of his victory over all enemies, fin, Satan, and the world, death and hell; and of his being poffeffed of his throne and kingdom; and has refpect to his exaltation at the right hand of God, where he is crowned with glory and honour: and this crown being of pure gold, denotes the purity, glory, folidity, and perpetuity of his kingdom; this is a crown, not which believers put upon him by believing in him, and afcribing the glory of their falvation to him, or what the church, called his mother, has crowned him with, Cant. iii. 1#. but which his Father put upon him, who has fet him King over his holy hill of Zion, Pfal. ii. 6. and vili. 5. compare with this Rev. xiv. 14. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin verfions read 4 crown of a precious tone; and fo Apcllinarius; and feem to refer to the crown fet on David’s head, which had precious ftones in it, 2 Sam. xii. 30. Fofephus * {ays it had a fardonyx. Fortunatus Scacchus* tancies the topaz is meant, and that the Hebrew text fhould be read 4 crown of topaz; miftaking the fenfe of the word phaz, which never fignifies a topaz, but the beft gold, pure, folid gold, y. 4. He afked life of thee, and thou gaveft it him, &c.] Both for himfelf, as man, when he was about to die, that he might be raifed to life again, which was granted him; and for his people, that they might live fpiritually and eternally, and accordingly life is given to him for them; and he has power to give it to as many as the Father has given him, Fobn xvii. 2. Even length of days for ever and ever; the life he has for himfelf as man is what will ever continue; he will die no more, death will have no more dominion over him; he will live for evermore, and that to make interceflion for his members, Rom. vi. 9, 16. Rev. i, 18. Heb, vii. 25. and the life. which is granted them at his requeft is an ever-

Jafting one, both as to body and foul; for though they die as other men, they fhall live again in the refurrection of the juft, and never die more, but fhall be like the angels in heaven; and as for the fecond death, that fhall not hurt them, nor have any power over them; they will live and reign with Chrift for ever.

y. 5. His glory is great in thy falvation, &c.| That is, the glory of the king Meffiah is great in the Lord’s falvation of him; delivering him from all his troubles and forrows, and out of the hands of all his enemies, when he was raifed from the dead, and was fet at the right hand of God, and crowned with glory and honour: or the fenfe is, that his glory is great in the falvation of his people by him; it was his glory as mediator to be appointed to be the Lord’s falvation to them; and it being effected by him declares the glory and greatnefs of his perfon; and the nature of it is fuch as ‘cannot fail of bringing glory to him; and fuch is the fenfe his people have of it, that it obliges them to afcribe the glory of it alone to him. Honour

.and majefty baft thou laid upon him, which is to be underftood not of the honour and majefty of his divine nature, which are effential to him, and not laid upon him by any; nor of the glory which the faints attribute to him on account of their falvation by him; but of that which his Father has put upon him, and lies in the introduétion of him into his glory after his fufferings, and death, and refurrection from the dead; in exalting him at his right hand above all creatures and things; in giving him all power in heaven and in earth; in putting all the gifts of the Spirit into his hands, which he receiving gave to men, and in ordaining him judge of, quick and dead.

¥. 6. For thou haft made him moft bleffed for ever, &c.] Not as God, for as fuch he is over all bleffed for ever, and not made fo; but as man and mediator: the words may be rendered, thou haft fet him to be bleffings for ever’, which defign the blefsings which are laid up in Chrift for his people, and which he imparts unto them, and they are bleffed with in him; fo that he is made a bleffing, or ra- © ther bleffings to them; fuch as redemption to free them from bondage, righteoufnefs to juftify them, fanétification to make them holy, wifdom to direét and guide them, and ftrength to affift and fupport them; through whom they have the forgivenefs of fins, by whom they have peace with God, and from whom they receive all their joy and comfort, and at laft eternal life and happinefs; and all thefe are for ever, they are irreverfible bleffings, are never repented of, nor taken away: or this bleflednefs may be underftood of that which Chrift himfelf enjoys as man; which lies in his human nature being exalted to union with the Son of God; in being heard and helped in the day of falvation; in being raifed from the dead and glory given him; in being fet at God’s right hand, angels, authorities and powers being fubject to him, and in feeing the travail of his foul with fatisfaCtion; the particular in- {tance of his bleffednefs follows. Thou haft made him exceeding glad with thy countenance; the glorious prefence of God in heaven; Chrift having done his work on earth afcended to heaven, where he was received by his Father with a chearful countenance, was made to fit down on the fame throne with him, being well-pleafed with his obedience, righteoufnefs, and facrifice; and being now in the prefence of God, in which is fulnefs of joy, and at his right hand, where are pleafures for evermore, the human nature of Chrift is filled with an excefg of joy; the words may be rendered, thou hajt made or wilt make bim glad with joy*, with thy countee nance; fee Pfal. xvi. 11. Ads ii. 28,

¥. 7. For the king trufteth in the Lord, &c.| That is, the king Meffiah, as the Targum paraphrafes it; he trufted in the Lord for his fupport and fuftenance as man, for affiftance and help in his time of trouble, and for deliverance out of it; he trufted in the Lord that he would hear him for himfelf and for his people; and that he would glorify him with all glory, honour, majefty, and bleffednefs before fpoken of; fee P/al. xxi, 8, 9, 10. J/fa. 1. 7, 9. John. xiii. 31, 32. And through the mercy of the moft High, he shall not be moved; God the Father is the moft High; Chrift is called the Son of the Higheft, and the Spirit the power of the Higheft, Luke i. 32, 35. there is mercy with him, which is a ground of hope and truft, in his people, and alfo in the Meffiah; fee P/al. Ixxxix. 28, and ome verfions make the mercy of the moft High to be what the king Meffiah trufts in, reading the words °, fr the king trusteth in the Lord, and in the mercy of the most High; but the accent athnach, which diltinguifhes the propofitions, will not admit of it; but the fenfe is, that becaufe of the mercy, grace, goodnefs, and faithfulnefs of God in making and keeping his promifes, Chrilt would not be and was not moved from his truft and confidence in the Lord; nor fhall he ever be removed from his throne of glory on which he fits; nor from the glorious and happy ftate in which-he is: nor will it ever be in the power of his enemies to difplace him; fer thefe in time will be deftroyed by him, as the following words fhew.

¥. 8. Thine band fhall find out all thine enemies, &c.|. The Jews, that would not have him to reign over them, who crucified him and perfecuted his apoftles; the Gentiles, who were alfo concerned in his death; the Roman emperors, who perfecuted the chriftians, and are fignified by the red dragon that waited to devour the man-child when brought forth by the woman, the church, Rev. xii. 3, 4. and alfo the papifis, the followers of the man of fin, who oppofe Chrift in his offices and grace, and are the enemies of his witneffes, and of his intereft; and befides thefe there are many profeffors of religion who are enemies to Chrift, either doétrinally or practically;to whom may be added, the devil and his angels, and all thofe who are the children of him and are influenced by him: thefe the hand of Chrift will find out fooner or later; for the words are an addrefs to the king Meffiah, who being omnifcient knows where all his enemies are, and where to find them; and being omnipotent he will lay hold upon them, and hold them, and none fhall efcape from him; his hand of vengeance fhall fall upon them, and he fhall inflict righteous and deferved punifhment on them; and this fhall be the cafe of al] of them, none will be able to hide themfelves in fecret places from him, ‘This has been in part verified in the Jewifh nation at the deftruction of Ferufalem, when wrath came upon that people to the uttermoft for their treatment of the Meffiah; and in the pagan empire, when it was demolifhed, and kings and great men in vain called to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. and will have a farther accomplifhment in the antichriftian ‘ftates and kingdoms, when the vials of God’s wrath fhall be poured out upon them; and efpecially at the batthe of Armageddon, when Chrift will avenge himfelf, and get rid of all his enemies at once; and will have its final accomplifhment in all wicked men and devils at the day of judgment, when all Chrift’s enemies will be found out by him, whether open or fecret, and receive their juft punifhment. Thy right band foall find out thofe that hate thee; this is the fame with the former claufe, and is repeated for the farther certainty and greater confirmation of the thing; and the right band is mentioned as expreflive of the mighty power of the Lord. The Chaldee paraphrafe renders it, the vengeance of thy right band. ~ yt. 9. Thou foalt make them as a fiery oven, &c.

Some think the allufion is to David’s caufing the Ammonites to pafs through the brick-kiln, 2 Sam, xii. 31. others to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah: it reprefents what a fevere punifhment fhall be inflicted on the enemies of Chrift; they fhall be caft into a fiery oven, or furnace of fire, as Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, were by the order of Nebuchadnezzar 3 fo fome render the

Pf.xxi. ¥.8—1I. words, thou /halt put them into a fiery oven,-D as being put for 3 ito °: wicked men are as dry trees, as ftubble, as thorns or briers, and are fit fuel for a fiery oven or furnace; by which is meant the wrath and fury of God, which is poured forth as fire; and this has had its fulfilment in part in the Jews at Ferufalem’s deftruction; when that day of the Lord burned like an oven, and the proud and haughty Jews, and who dealt wickedly by Chrift, were burned up in it, Mal. iv. 1. and will have an additional accomplifhment, when the whore of Babylon fhall be burnt with fire; and when the beaft and falfe prophet fhall be caft alive into a lake of fire burning with brimftone; and ftill more fully at the general conflagration, when will be the perdition of ungodly men, and the earth and all that is therein fhall be burnt up; and efpecially when all wicked men and devils fhall be caft into the lake and furnace of fire, where will be weeping, wailing, and gnathing of teeth; fee Rev. xvii. 16. and xix. 20. and xx. 10-—15. Matt. xiii. 41, 42. and xxv: 41. 2 Pet. iii. 7, 10,12. This will be in the time of thine anger, or of thy countenance*; not his gracious, but his angry countenance; when he fhall put on a fierce look, and appear as the lion of the tribe of Fudab, and ftir up all his wrath. The Lord fhall fwallow them up in bis wrath: not that they fhall be annihilated; their fouls remain after death, and their bodies after the refurreétion, and will be tormented with the fire of God’s wrath for ever and ever; the phrafe is expreflive of utter ruin, of the deftru¢tion of foul and body in hell; fee Pfal. xxxv. 25. Farchi takes it to be a prayer, may the Lord fwallow them up, &c. and the fire foall devour them; that is, as the Targum para= phrafes it, the fire of hell; or, however, it defigns the wrath of God, who is a confuming fire; or that fiery indignation of his, which fhall devour the adverfaries; which comes down upon them either in temporal judgments here, or in their everlafting deftruction hereafter.

¥. 10. Their fruit fhalt thou deftroy from the earth, &c.] Meaning the offspring of wicked men; the fruit of the womb, P/al. cxxvii. 3. the fame with their feed in the next claufe; and their feed from among the children of mens fee Pfal. Xxxvii. 28. which muft be underftood of fuch of their feed and offspring as are as they were when born; are never renewed and fanétified, but are like their parents; as the Jews were, their parents were vipers, and they were ferpents, the géneration of them; and were the children of the devil, and did his works: now thefe paflages had their accomplifhment in the Jews, when-the day of God’s wrath burnt them up, and left them neither root nor branch, Mal. iv. 1. and in the Pagan empire, when every mountain and ifland were moved out of their places, and the heathen perifhed out of the land, Rev. vi 14. P/al. x. 16. and will be further accomplifhed, when the Lord thall punifh the wicked woman Fezebel, the antichriftian harlot, and kill her children with death, Rev. ii. 23. See Pfal. civ. 35.

y. 11. For they intended evil againft thee, 8ec.] All evil, whether in thought or deed, if not immediately and directly, yet is ultimatel Lord, whofe law is tranfgreffed, and who is defpifed and refleéted upon as a lawgiver; all finis ~ an hoftility committed againft God, or againft Chrift, againft the Lord and his anointed, or againft his people, who are all one as himfelf: the intention of evil is evil, and is cognizable by the Lord, and punifhable by him; They imagined a mifcbievous device, which they are not able to perform: not the death of Chrift; that was indeed in itfelf a mifchievous device of theirs, but that they performed, though they had not their end in it; they expected his name would then perith, and they fhould hear no more of him: but rather, 1t refpects his refurrection from the dead, they could not prevent, though they took all imaginable care that there might be no fhew of it; and when they found he was really raifed from the dead, they contrived a wicked fcheme to ftop the credit of ir, but in vain, Matt. xxvii. 63-66. xxvill. 12, 13, 14, and Jews and Gentiles and Papifts, have formed f{chemes and done all they can to root the gofpel, ¢aufe, and intereft of Chrift out of the world, but have not been able to perform it.

¥. 12. Therefore foalt thou make them turn their back, &c,| Or fleeand run away to private places, to hide themfelves from the wrath of God and of the Lamb, though to no purpofe; or make them durn behind thy back: God will turn his back upon them, and be negligent and carelef$ of them, and not regard them when they cry in their mifery and deftruction. Some Jewifh interpreters * underftand it of their being put-together on one fide, in one corner, and be feparate trom the people of God; to which fenfe the Targum inclines, rendering the ward for back the shoulder, which fometimes fignifies unanimity and conjunction, Zeps. iii. g. and thus being all together by themfelves, the wrath of God fhall be poured forth upon them, and they fhall be deftroyed at once: fo the chriftians were, by the providence of God, brought out of Feru/a-: lem before its deftruction; and the faints will be called out of Babylon before its fall; and the goats, the wicked, will be feparated from the righteous, and fet together at Chrift’s left hand; for they fhall not ftand in the congregation of the righteous: but the beft fenfe of the words is, thou shalt fet them fora butt or ‘ heap; or, as it is in the Hebrew text, a fhoulder; a butt to fhoot at being fo called, becaufe it is earth heaped up like a fhoulder; feé Job xvi. 12, 13. and to this agrees what follows: when thou Jhalt make ready thine arrows upon thy firings againft the face of them; that is, direct the arrows of his wrath and vengeance right againft them; fee P/al. vii. 11-13.

¥.13. Bethou exalied, Lord, in thine own ftrength, &c.}] Exert thy ftrength, difplay thy power in fuch manner, that thou maytt be exalted and magnified on accountofit. ‘This was fulfilled at the deftruction of Ferufalem, when the kingdom of God came with power, Mark ix. 1. and will be again when Babylon fhall be utterly deftroyed, becaufe the Lord is ftrong who judgeth her, Rev, xviii. 8. and finally at the day of judgment,when the wicked will be punifhed with everlafting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and the glory of his power, 2 Thef.i.g. So will we fing aud praife thy power; forms of fuch fongs of praife may. be feen, as Cocceius obferves, in Rev. xi. 15——18. and XV. 3, 4. and xix. 1, 2—=7. at the founding of the feventh trumpet, at the victory over the beatt, and hisimage, and at the deftruction of Babylon.

Prt HE only thing obfervable in the title of this pfalm, is the fenfe of the words Ayeleth Shahar, left untranflated; which, according: to fome of thé Jewith ® interpreters, is the name of a mufical inftrumeént; to which our verfion inclines; and a learned Jew * fays, it is the inftrument which the mourning women ufed on account of diftrefs, which was fudden, not known till it came, asa man does not think of the morning till he fees it. Aijéleth with him has the fignification of mourning, as Ei in Foel i. 8. and Sbabar, as in J/ai. xlvily 11. and Hof. x. 15. fo AYyN and AN are ufed in the Mifnab' for a mourning woman; and with others, it is the beginning of a fong to the tune of which the pfalm was jet *: but I rather think.the words exprefs the fubject-matter of the pfalm, and that they may be beft rendered,. concerning Aijeleéth Shabar; which fignify either according to the Chaldee paraphrafe, the daily morningfacrifice; or, as fome Jewifh writers ' obferve, the morning-ftar; or, according to the Septuagint, the morning-help™; ox rather,. the morning-bind, or bind of the morning: but who fhould be defigned hereby is the queftion, The Jews would have any rather than the Meffiah; fome fay Ejther *, who fo feafonably anid readily appeared for the Jews in diftrefs, and was the means of their deliverance;

but there is not one word in the pfalm that agrees with her; and there are fome things which were manifeftly fpoken of a man, and not a woman, ¥. 8, 24. others fay David, ° when he fled from Saul, or, as others, from bfalom: but the dif jointing the bones of this perfon, the piercing his hands and feet, parting, his garments, and cafting lots on his vefture, mentioned in y. 14, 16, 18. were never fulfilled in him. Others? would have the congregation of J/rael in captivity intended s but it is plain that a fingle perfon is fpoken of throughout; and he is manifeftly diftinguifhed from others, from his brethren, from the congregation, from the feed of Facob and Ijrael, y¥. 22, 23, and, indeed, no other than the Meffiah can be meant: and of this there ought to be no doubt with chriftians,when ¥. 1. is compared with Matt, Xxvii. 46. yF. 8. with Matt. xxvii. 43. ¥.18. with Matt. xxvii, 35. ¥. 22. with Heb, ii. 12. and the Jews themfelves fometimes fay, that by Aijeletb Shabar, is meant the Shekinab %, or the divine Majefty; and in what way foever thefe words are ren+ dered, they agree with Chrift: he is the antitype of the daily morning-facrifice, the Lamb: of God, who continually takes away the fin of the world; and very fitly is he fo called in the title of a pfalm, which fpeaks fo much of his fufferings and death,

& Jarchi, Kimchi & Abendana in loc. h Leo Mu- & Aben ™ So Menachem in Jarchi, and others in Kimchi & Aben-

'® Kimchi & Ben Melech in loc, which are a propitiatory facrifice for the fins of his people; he is the bright and morning flar, Rev. xxii. 16. the day-fpring from on high, the fun of righteoufnefs, and light of the world; he had morning-belp in his very infancy, when his life was fought for by Hered; and had early and feafonable help and affiftance in the acceptable time, and in the day of falvation, and early in the morning was he raifed from the dead, and had glory given him: but as the words are better rendered the mornings bind, this fuits with Chrift, who is frequently compared toa roe or a young hart, Cans. ii. 9, 17. and viii. 14. and he may be compared to a bind for its lovingnefs to its mate and young, Prov, v. 19. the love of Chrift to his church and people being very ftrong and affectionate, and palling knowledge; and alfo for its lovelinefs and goodlinefs, Gen, xlix. 21. Chrift being exceeding amiable and lovely, and fairer than the children of men; likewife for its gentlenefs and harmlefsnefs, Chrift being meek and lowly, holy and harmlefs; and for its antipathy to ferpents, there being an enmity between Chrift, the feed of the woman, and the ferpent and his feed; for its being hunted by dogs, as Chrift was by Herod, by the fcribes and Pharifees, by Fudas, and the band of foldiers; fee ¥. 16. of this pfalm; for its being fit for food, Deut. xiv. 5. and as it is faid to be the fittter for being hunted, Chrift’s flefh being meat indeed, and the more fuitable:to faith, as being facrificed for us; and for its long’ life itis faid to have, Chrift, though once dead, being alive again, and living for evermore; to which ~may be added. its great {wiftnefs, expreflive of the readinefs of Chrift to comply with his Father’s propofals and do his will; to come into this world in the fullhefs of time, and fet about the work he came to do; to delivér up himfelf into the hands of his enemies, and Jay down his life for his people; and of his hafte to help them in diftrefs, and vifit them with his gracious prefence, and to appear a fecond time to them unto falvation. He may be called the hind of the morning, looking lovely and beautiful as the morning, and fwift and chearful as the hind when it rifes trom its reft, and runs’ its courfe;* or, becaufe of his being hunted in the morning of his infancy ‘by Herod; or becaufe it was early in the morning; the chief priefts confulted to take away his life; and as early ‘alfo he rofe from the dead, when God made his feet like hinds feet, and fet him on his high places, P/al. xviii. 33. The ancient chriftian writers generally’ underftood it of Chrift wholly. ‘ujftin- Martyr * fays, the whole pfalm is fpoken of Chrift; and Tertullian obferves *, that it contains the whole paffion, or all the fufferings of Chrift. The late Monfieur Fourmont * the elder, profeffor of the oriental languages in the univerfity of Paris, has a very fingular notion, that this pfalm was written by ‘Yeremiah, when he was drawn up from the dungeon, and is a hiftory of his life and fufferings, in which he was a type of Chrift.

y. 1.’ My God, my God, &c,] God is the God of Chrift as he is man; he prepared a body for him, an human nature; anointed it with the oil of gladnels fupported it under all its forrows and fufferings, and at laft exalted it at his own right hand; «and Chrift behaved towards him.as his coe’

venant-God; prayed to him, believed in him, ae a ie: Pf xxi. ¥.1,2. loved him, and was obedient to him as fuch; and here exprefies his faith of intereft in him, when he hid his tace from him, on account of which he expoftulates with him thus, why haft thou oni me? which is to be underftood, not as if the hypo- {tatical or perfonal union of the divine and human natures were diffolved, or that the one was now feparated from the other; for the fullnefs of the Godhead ftill dwelt bodily in him; nor that heceafed to be the object of the Father’s love; for fo he was in the midft of all his fufferings, yea, his Father loved him becaufe he laid down his life for the fheep; nor, that the principle of joy and comfort was loft in him, only the act and fenfe of it; he was nowdeprived of the gracious prefence of God, of the manifeftations of his love to his human foul, and hada fenfe of divine wrath, not for his own fins, but for the fins of his people, and was fora while deftitute of help and comfort; all which were neceffary in order to make fatisfa¢ction for fin: for as he had the fins of his people imputed to him, he muft bear the whole punifhment of them, which is twofold, the punifhment of lofs and the punifhment of fenfe; the former lies in a deprivation of the divine prefence, and the latter in a fenfe of divine wrath, and both Chrift fuftained as the furety of his people. This expoftulation is made not as ignorant of the reafon of it; he knew that as he was wounded and bruifed for the fins of his people, he was deferted on the fame account; nor as impatient, for he was a mirror of patience in all his fufferings; and much lefs as in defpair; for in thefe very words, he ftrongly exprefles and repeats his faith of intereft in God; fee ¥. 8. and alfo J ai.

1. 6, 7,9. But this is done to fet forth the greatnefs and bitternefs of his fufferings; that not only men hid their faces from him, and the fun in the firmament, withdrew, its light and heat from him, but, what was moft grievous of all, his God departed from him. From. hence. it appears that_he was truly man, had an human foul, and endured forrows and fufferings in it; and this may be of ufe to hismembers, to expect the hidings of God’s face, though on another account; and to teach them to wait patiently for him, and to truft in the Lord, and ftay themfelves upon their God, even while they walk in darknefs and fee no light. Why art thou fo far from helping me 2 or from my falvation; from faving and delivering him out of his forrows and fufferings? not that he defpaired of.

help’; he firmly believed he fhould have it, and accordingly had it: but he expoftulates about the deferring of it. He adds, and from the words of my roaring? which expreffes the vehemency of his fpirit in crying to God, the exceeding greatnefs of his forrows, and his excruciating pains and fufferings: this is what the apoftle means by his Sfrong crying and tears, Heb. v. 7. or the words of my roaring are far from my falvation; there is a great fpace or interval between the one and the other, as: Guffetius * obferves. * it oe ee ¥. 2. Omy God, Icryin the day-time, &c.. the time of his fuffering on the crofs, which w in the day-time: But thou hearest me not, and y he was always heard, Yobn xi. 41, 42. thoug was not faved from dying, yet he was quickly delivered from the power of death, ‘and fo was heard in that he feared, Heb. v. 7. And in the night-feafon, in the night in which he was in the garden, forro a ing and praying, the night in which he was be- “ ray: 13-3 ef?! trayed | pa | trayed and was apprehended; and though the natural defires of his human foul were not heard and anf{wered, thatthe cup might pafs from him, yet his prayer in fubmiffion to the will of God was: moreover, the day-time and night feafon, may defign the inceffant and continual prayer of Chrift; he prayed always, night and day: avd am not filent; but continue to pray, though as yet feemingly not heard and anfwered; or there is 0 filence to me™; that is, no reft from forrow and pain; or no likene s to me*, there are none like me, no-forrow like my forrow, as in Lam. i. 12.

y. 3. But thou art boly, &c.] Which may be confidered either as an argument with his God, why he fhould hear and anfwer him, fince he is holy, juft and faithful; he has promifed, when any call upon him in a day of trouble, he will hear and anfwer them, and will be glorified by them; this Chrift did, and therefore pleads his faithfulnefs to his promife: or rather, a reafon quieting him under divine defertion, and a fenfe of divine wrath; that God was righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works; and that whereas he was the furety of his people, and had all their fins on him, it was perfectly agreeable to the holinefs and juftice of God to treat him in the manner he did; yea it was done to declare his righteoufnefs, that he might appear to be juft, whilft he is the juftifier of him that believes in him. O thou that inbabiteft the praifes of Ifrael, either the place where J/rael offered the facrifices of praife to God, the tabernacle or temple, the houfe of prayer and praife in which Febovah dwelt; or the true J/rael of God praifing him, who are formed for himfelf, and called by his grace to fhew forth his praifes; among whom he takes up his refi dence: or elfe the praifes themfelves; and fo the phrafe denotes God’s gracious acceptance of them, and well-pleafednefs in them, fignified by his inhabiting of them, and the frequent and conftant afcription of them to him: and perhaps refpect may be had chiefly to the praifes of his people for providing fuch a Saviour for them, fending him in the fullnefs of time, and nat {paring him, but delivering him up into the hands of juftice and death for them; and for giving all things freely with him.

y. 4. Our fathers trusted in thee, &c.] By whom are meant Abrabam, Ifaac and Facob, from whom our Lord defcended; and the people of J/- rael when in Egypt, in the times of the Judges, and in all ages before the coming of Chrift, of whom, as concerning the flefh, or as to his hyman nature, Chrift came, Rom. ix. 5, thefe, as they were fojourners, and went from place to place, efpecially the patriarchs, and were often in trouble and diftrefs, when they called upon the Lord, looked to him, and put their truft and confidence in him; not in themfelves, their own wifdom, riches and ftrength, nor in others, in any mere Creature, nor in any outward thing, or arm of flefh, but in the Lord Feho- _ wah, in whom is everlafting ftrength; they be- -Jieved in the power of God, that he was able to help and deliver them, and they had faith in him that he would; they depended upon his word and romife, and were perfuaded he would never fuffer his faithfulnefs to fail; they committed themfelves to the Lord, and ftayed themfelves upon him. They trusted, this is repeated not only for the fake of emphafis, pointing gut fomething remarkable and commendable, and for the greater certainty of it, more ftrongly confirming it; or to obferve the many that put their tru{t in the Lord, the numerous inftances of confidence in him; but alfo to de= note the conftancy and continuance of their faith, they trufted in the Lord at all times. And thou did% deliver thems, out of the hands of all their enemies, and out of all their forrows and afflictions; inftances of which we have in the patriarchs, and in the people of //rael when brought out of Egypt, and through the Red fea and wildernefs, and in the times of the Judges, when they were diftrefled by their neighbours, and God fent them a deliverer time after time. » ¥. 5. They cried unto thee, and were delivered, &c ] As the J/raelites did in Egyptian bondage, and as they in after times did when in diftrefs; fee Exod. ii, 23. Pfal. cvii. 6, 13, Se. The crying is to be underftood of prayer to Gad, and fometimes defigns mental prayer, fighing and groaning, which cannot be uttered, when no voice is heard, asin Mofes, Exod, xiv,15. but oftener vocal prayer, put up in times of diftrefs, and denotes the vehemency of trouble, and eagernefs of defire to be heard and relieved; and this cry was from faith, ic followed upon and was accompanied with trufting in the Lord; it was the prayer of faith, which is effectual and avajleth much, and iffued in deliverance, They trufied in thee, and were not confouud= ed; or afbamed neither of the object of their truft, the living God, as thofe who truit in graven images; fo Moab was afhamed of Chemofh, Jer. xlviii. 13. nor of their hope and truft in him, it being fuch as makes.not afhamed, P/a/. cxix. 116, Rom. v. 5. nor of the confequences of it; when men truft in any thing and it fails them, and they have not what they expect by it, they are filled with fhame and confufion, //a, xxx. 2. but they that truft in the Lord are never confounded, or made afhamed; their expectations do not perifh: now Chrift mentians this cafe of his anceftors as a reafon of the praifes of Z/rael, which they offered up to God for deliverances, and which he inhabited, y. 3. as alfo by way of encouragement to him(elf in his prefent circumftances, thac though the Lord was at a diftance from him, and feemed not to regard him and his cries, yet that he would deliver him; and likewife as an argument with God that he would do fo, fince it had been his wonted way and method with his fathers before; moreover he may take notice of it in order to reprefent his own forlorn, une comfortable and deplorable condition, which was abundantly worfe than theirs, and the reverfe of it, as it feemed at prefent. ' y. 6. But [am a worm, and no man, &c.| Chrift calls himfelf a worm, not becaufe of his original, for he was not of the earth earthy, but was the Lord from heaven; nor becaufe of his human nature, man being a worm, and the fon of man fuch, Fob xxv. 6. and becaufe of his meannefs and low eftate jn that nature, in his humiliation; nor to exprefs his humility, and the mean thoughts he had of himfelf, as David, his type, calls himfelf a dead dog, and a flea, 1 Sam. xxiv. 14. but on account of the opinion that men of the world had of him; fo Facob is called a worm, Ifa. xli. 14. not only becaufe mean in his own eyes, but contemptible in the eyes of others. The Jews efteemed Chrilt as a worm, and treated him as fuch; he was loathfome to them and hated by them; every one trampled upon him and trod him under foot as men do worms; fuch a phrafe is ufed of him in Heb. x. 29, there there is an agreement in fome things between the worm and Chrift in his ftate of humiliation; as in its uncomelinefs and difagreeable appearance; fo in Chrift the Jews could difcern no form nor comelinefs wherefore he fhould be defired; and in its weaknefs, the worm being an impotent, unarmed, and defencelefs creature; hence the Chaldee paraphrafe renders it here a weak worm; and though Chrift is the mighty God, and is alfo the fon of man whom God made ftrong for himfelf, yet there was a weaknefs in his human nature, and he was crucified through it, 2 Cor. xiti: 4. and it has been obferved by fome, that the word Myyi7 here wied fignifies the fcarlet-worm, or the worm that is in the grain or berry with which fcarlet is dyed; and like this fcarlet-worm did our Lord-look, when by way of mockery he was clothed with a {carlet robe; and efpecially when he appeared’in his dyed garments, and was red in his apparel, as one that treadeth in the wine-fat; when his body was covered with blood when he hung upon the crofs, which was fhed to make crimfon and fearlet fins as white as wool. When Chrift fays he was no man, his meaning is, not that he was not truly and really man, for he affumed a true body and a reafonable foul; he partook of the fame flefh and blood with his children, and was in all things made like unto his brethren, excepting fin; but that he was a man of no figure, he bore no office, and had no title of honour; he was not a Rabbi, nor a member of the Fewify Sanbedrim, he had no fhare of government, either in the civil or ecclefiaftic ftate; he was a carpenter’s fon, and a carpenter; nor was he treated as a man, but in the moft inhuman manner; he was defpifed and rejected of men, he was called a madman, and faid to have a devil. 4 reproach of wen; he was reproached by men, as if he had been the worft of men; the reproaches of God and of his people all fell on him, infomuch that his heart was broken with them; fee Pal. lxix. 7—12, 19, 20. and it was reckoned a reproach to men to be feen in his company, or to be thought to belong to him, and be a difciple of his; hence fome who believed he was the Meffiah, yet would not confefs him, becaufe they loved the praife of men more than the praife of God, Fobm xii. 42, 43. And de- Spifed of the people, rejected with contempt as the Meffiah, refufed with fcorn as the ftone of J rael, difallowed of men, and fet at nought by them; by the people are meant the people of the Jews, his own people and nation; which contempt of him they fignified both by geftures and words, as in the following verfes.

¥. 7. All they that fee me, laugh me to feorn, &c.

To the afflicted pity fhould be fhewn; but inftead of pitying bim in his diftreffes they laughed at him, this muft be underftood of the foldiers when they had him in Pi/ate’s hall, and of the Jews in general when he hung upon the crofs; fome particular perfons muft be excepted, as ‘fon the beloved difciple, the mother of our Lord, Mary Magdalene and fome other women, who ftood afar off beholding him. They /hoot out the lip, or open with the lip’, they made mouths at him, they put out their lips, or gaped upon him with their mouths, and in a way of fport and paftime made wide mouths and dréw out their tongues, as in Fob xvi. 10. L a. lvii.

4. They foake the bead, faying; in a way of fcorn and derifion, as in Lam. ii.15. This was fulfilled n the Jews, Matt. xxvii. 39.

yt 8.) He trusted on the Lord, that be avould:deli-. ver him, &c,| Not that they {poke in a deriding, way of the ebject of his-truft,, for as impious as. they were, this they: did: not do; but of bs eit in the Lord, which they looked upon.to be.a falfe. one, as would appear by his not being delivered as’ he trufted; but his confidence was a well-grounded’ one; though jeered at by thefe men, and he was_ delivered in the Lord’s own time and way from’ ~ all his enemies, and out of all his.troubles. Let. him deliver him, feeing he delighted in him’; this, is, another ironical, farcaftic flout, not at God, but at, Chrift, and at his profeffion of truft in God, his claim of intereft in his favour, -and of relation to, him as being the Son of his love in whom he was well-pleafed; he always was the delight of his Father; he expreffed his well-pleafednefs in him at his baptifm, and transfiguration on the mount;- he took pleafure in him whilft he was fuffering and dying in the room and ftead of his people; and he delivered him, raifed him from the dead, and. brought him into a large place, becaufé he delighted in him, P/al. xvii. 19, Thefe very words were faid by the Jews concerning Chrift, as he hung upon the crofs, Matt. xxvii. 43.

¥. 9. But thou art be that took me out of the womb, &c.| The Papifts affirm, that there was fomething miraculous in the manner of Chrift’s coming into the world, as well as in his conception; that his conception of a virgin was miraculous is certain, being entirely owing to the wonderful and myfterious overfhadowing of the Holy Ghoft, and which was neceflary to preferve his human nature from the contagion of fin, common to all that defcend from Adam by: ordinary generation; that fo that individual of human nature might be proper to be united to the Son of God, and that it might be a fit facrifice for the fins of mens but. otherwife in all other things, fin only excepted, he was made like unto us; and it is aclearcafe, that his mother bore him the ufual time, and went with him her full time of nine months, as women commonly do; fee Luke i. 56. Matt. i, 18, 20, 24s Luke ii. 5, 6, and it is as evident that he was born and brought forth in the fame manner other infants, are, feeing he was prefented to the Lord in the Temple, and the offering was brought for him accord ing to the law refpecting the male that opensthe womb, Luke ii. 22, 23. and the phrafe that is here ufed, is expreflive of the common _ providence of God which attends fuch an event, every man bei as it were midwifed into the world by God himfelf; fee Fob x. 18. Pfal. \xxi. 6. though there was, no doubt, a peculiar providence which attended the birth of our Lord, and makes this expreffion more peculiarly applicable to him 5 fince his mo- — ther Mary when her full time was come, was ata diftance from the place of her refidence, was in an inn, and in a ftable there, there being no room for her in theinn, and fo very probably had no women about her to affift her, nor any midwife with her; and there was the more vifible appearance of the hand of God in this affair, who might truly be faid to take him out of the womb: Thou didft make me hope when 1 was upon my mother’s breafiss — which may be underftood of the tion and hope, common to infants,which have not the ufe of reafon,with all creatures, whofe eyes wait upon the

Lord, and he gives them their meat in due feafon 5 and here may regard the fudden and fuitable fd. a i vifion of milk in the mother’s breaft, to which there is in the infant a natural defire, and an hope and expectation of. The words may be rendered, as iy by fome, thou did/t keep me in fafety, or make me fafe and fecure 7, when I was upon my mother’s breaft: this was verified in Chrift at the time Hered fought to take away his life; he was then in his mother’s arms, and fucked at her breaft; when the Lord in a dream acquainted Fo/eph with Herod’s defign, and directed him to flee with the young child and his mother into Eeyp/, where they were kept in fafety till the death of Herod. This fenfe of the words frees them from a difficulty, how the grace of hope, or of faith and confidence, can, in a proper fenfe, be exercifed in the infantftate; for though the principle of grace may be implanted fo early, yet how it fhould be exercifed when there is not the due ufe of reafon, is not eafy to conceive; if, therefore, the words are taken in this fenfe, the meaning muft be, that he was caufed to hope as foon as_ he was capable of it, which is fometimes the defign of fuch a phrafe; fee Fob xxxi. 18. unlefs we fuppofe fomething extraordinary in Chrift’s human nature, which fome interpreters are not willing to allow, becaufe he was in all things like unto us excepting fin; but I fee not, that feeing the human nature was an extraordinary one, was perfectly holy from the firft of it, the grace of God was upon itas foon as born, and it was anointed with the Holy Ghoft above its fellows, why it may not be thought to exercile grace in an extraordinary manner, fo early as is here expreffed, literally underftood.

y. 10. I was caft upon thee from the womb, &c.] Fither by himfelf, trufting in God, hoping in him, and cafting all the care of himfelf upon him; or by his parents, who knew the danger he was ex- ofed to, and what fchemes were laid to take away his life; and therefore did, in the ufe of all means they were direéted to, commit him to the care and protection of God: the fenfe is, that the care of him was committed to God foearly; and he took the care of him and gave full proof it; Thou art my God from my mother’s belly: God was his covenant-God from everlafting, as he loved his human nature, chofe it to the grace of union, and gave it a covenant-fubfiftence; but he fhewed himfelf to be his God in time, and that very early, calling him from the womb, and making mention of his name from his mother’s belly, and preferving him from danger in his infancy; and it was his covevant-intereft in God, which, though mentioned laft, was the foundation of all his providential care of him and goodnefs to him. Now all thefe early appearances of the power and ‘providence of God, on the behalf of Chrift as man, are fpoken of in oppofition to the fcoffs and flouts of his enemies about his truft in God, and deliverance by him, and to encourage his faith and confidence in him; as well as are fo many reafons and arguments with God yet to be with him, help and affift him, as follows.

y. 11. Be not far from me, &c.] Who had been fo near unto him, as to take him out of the womb, and to take the care of him ever fince; this is to be underftood not with refpeé& to the omniprefence of God, who is every where, and is not far from any of us; but of his gracious prefence, which was now withdrawn from Chrift, and he was filled with a fenfe of divine wrath, and with forrow and diftrefs; and alfo of his powerful and affifting pre- ters *, and power, and ufed them to the oppreffion of the poor, are compared to the kine of Ba/ban, Amos iv. 1. anda very fit mame this was for the kings and princes of the earth; for Caiapbas, Annas, and the chief priefts, that lived upon the fat of the land, who befet Chrift around, and employed all their power and policy to take him and bring him to death; nor is it unufual with heathen writers ° to compare great perfonages to bulls.

fence which he had promifed, and Chrift expected, and believed he fhould have, as be had: the reafons for it follow; For trouble is near; Satan was marching towards him with his principalities and powers, to attack him in the garden and on the crofs 5 Fudas, one of his own difciples, was at hand to betray him; a multitude with {words and ftaves were about to feize him; the fins and chaftifement of his people were juft going to be laid upon him; the {word of juftice was awaked againft him, ready to givethe blow; the hour of death was near, he was brought to the duft of it, as in y. 15. cond reafon is given, For there is mone to help; none among his difciples: one of them was to betray him, another to deny him, and all to forfake him and flee from him, as they did; nor any among thé angels in heaven; for though they miniftred to him in the wildernefs, and {trengthened him in the garden, there were none near him on the crofs, that it might be manifeft that falvation was wrought out alone by him, J/az. Ixili. 5. and, indeed, if any of thefe had been willing to have helped him, it was not in their power to do it, none but God could; and therefore he applies to him, who had promifed and was as good as his word, J/a. xlix. 8.

y. 12. Many bulls bave compaffcd me, &c.] By whom are meant the chief priefts, elders, {cribes, and Pharifees among the Jews, and Herod and Pontius Pilate among the Gentiles, comparable to bulls for their fiercenefs, rage, and fury againtft Chrift, P/al. ii. 1, 2. and for their pufhing at him with their horns of power and authority, and for their trampling.him under their feet, his perfon and offices; thefe compafled him about at his apprehenfion, arraignment, trial, and condemnation; and there were many of them to one child, Jefus: Strong bulls of Ba/ban have befet me reund, Ba- Joan was a very fruitful country, in which cattle of various forts, and bulls among the reft, were fed and fattened; fee Deut. xxxil

14. Lek. XXxXix. 18. bulls are noted for their ftrength in other wri- Hence great men, who abounded in riches

¥. 13. They gaped upon me with their mouths,

&c.] Either by way of derifion and contempt, Fob xvi. 10. or belching out blafphemy againft him, or rather, with the greateft vehemency, crying out crucify him, crucify him; and this they did as a ravening and roaring lion, when it has got its prey and rejoices, Amos ili. 4. and being in fuch hands, and encompaffed about with fuch enemies, as Chrift was in the garden, in the high prieft’s hall, and in Pi/ate’s judgment hall, is a third reafon or argument ufed by him with God his Father, to be near to him and not far from him. ¥. 14. [am poured out like water, &c.) This may refer to Chrift’s fweat in the garden, when © through his agony or conflict with Satan, and his vehemency in prayer, and the preffure on his mind, in a view of his people’s fins, and the wrath of God for them, and the accurfed death he was about to undergo on that account; fweat in great abundance came from all parts of his body, and not only ftood in in large drops, but fell to the ground like great drops of blood; io that his ‘body was all covered with water, or rather feemed to be diffolving into water, or elfe to the quantity of tears he fhed both there and elfewhere; his forrow was great even unto death, which vented itfelf in foods of tears; his prayers were offered up with ftrong crying and tears; his head was, as ‘feremy wifhed his might be, as waters, and his eyes a fountain of tears, yea, his whole body feemed to be bathed with them: or elfe to the fhedding of his blood, and the pouring out his foul unto‘death for his people, which was voluntarily done by himfelf; or by his enemies; which they fhed like water, and made no account of it, Pfal. Ixxix. 3. Some have thought this refpects the opinion ‘fome had of him, even fome of his own difciples, when he was dead; all their hopes of his being their redeemer and Saviour being gone, he was as water fpilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up; fee 2 Sam. xiv. 14. but rather, the phrafe intends his being quite difpirited, his heart failing, his foul forrowful unto death, his hands feeble, his knees weak like water, and he juft ready to faint and die; fee Fo/bua vii. 5. and Ezek. vii. 17. And all:my bones are out of joint; not through the ftretching of his body on the crofs, which feems to be defignedin ¥. 17. but as it is with perfons in a panic, their joints feem to be loofed, and their bones parting afunder, their legs tremble, no member can perform its office, but as if every one was diflocated and out of its place; fee Pfalm. vi. 2. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midft of my bowels; as wax melts before the fire, fo did the heart of Chrift at the wrath and fury of God, which was poured forth like fire upon him; and which he had a fenfe of, when inthe garden and on the crofs, bearing the fins of his people, and fuftaining the punifhment due unto them; for it was not becaule of his enemies, nor merely at the prefence of God, and his ‘righteous judgments, which is fometimes the cafe; fee 2 Sam. xvii. 10. Pfal. \xviti. 2. and xcvii. 5. but atthe apprehenfion of divine wrath and feeling the fame as the furety of his people; and what an idea does this give of the wrath of God? for if the heart of Chrift, the lion of the tribe of fudah, melted at it, what heart can endure, or hands be ftrong, when God deals with them in his wrath? Ezek. xxii. 14. ¥. 15. My ftrength is dried up like a potfbeard, &c.] The radical moifture of his body was dried up through his lofs of blood and {pirits, and through the violent fever upon him, brought on him by his being hurried from bar to bar; and which generally attends perfons under a panic, in confternation and fear of danger and death, and at crucifixion; or this was occafioned.by the inward forrow and diftrefs of his mind, which affected his body and dried his bones, as a broken fpirit is faid to do, Prov. xvii. 22, and chiefly it was brought upon him through the fenfe he had of the wrath of God, which like fire dried up his ftrength, juft as a pot- -fheard burnt in a furnace; which expreffes his dolorous fufferings, which were typified by the pafsover-lamb being roafted with fire, and the manna being baked in pans. And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; fo that he could not, or rather, would not ipeak; this phrafe fometimes fignifying filence, Fob xxix. 10. Ezek. iii. 26. Thus Chrift anfwered not a word to the charges of the falfe witnefies before the high prieft, nor to the accufations of the chief priefts and elders before Pilate; not did he open his mouth when he was led to be crucified, neither againftthe Jaw and juttice of God; nor againft his people for whom he fuffered; nor again{t his enemies who ufed him cruelly; when he was berdat- he reviled not again; but rather, this was occa= fioned by thirft, through the violent fever t upon him fee Lem. iv. 4. Hence when | upon the crofs, he faid, J thir/f, John xix. 28. thou haft brought me into the duft of death; meaning either death itfelf, which brings to the duft, and whichis fignified in this pfalm by going down to it, y¥. 2g. or the grave, where the body crumbles into duft, and where it is covered with duft, and therefore is faid to fleep in the duft of the earth, Daz. xii. 2. and accordingly the Targum renders it here,. thou haft fout me up in the boufe of the grave: now. Chrift both died and was laid in the grave, though he did not lie there fo long as to corrupt and pul-, verize, yet he might be truly faid to be laid in the duft: and this is attributed to God, to his counfel, difpofal, and providence; and even whatever was. done to Chrift antecedent to his death, and which led on to it, were what God’s hand and counfel had determined to be done; and though it was with wicked hands the Jews took Chrift and ufed him. in the manner after related, and crucified and flew him, he was delivered to them by the determinate counfel and foreknowledge of God; and by thefe he was delivered into the hands of juftice, and brought to death itfelf, 4é7s ii. 23. andiv. 27, 28. y. 16. For dogs have compaffed me, &c.| By whom are meant wicked men, as the following claufe fhews; and fo the Cha/dee paraphrafe renders it, the wicked who are like to many dogs; and to thefe fuch are often compared in feripture, Matt. vii. 6. Rev. xxii. 15. and it may be the Roman foldiers, who were Gentiles, may be chiefly intended, whom the Jews ufed to call dogs, Matt. xv. 26. thefe aflembled together in Pz/ate’s hall, and fur-. rounded Chrift, and made fport with him; to thefe” were committed the execution of him, they crucified him, and fat around him watching him_ whilft on the crofs, as they alfo did when in the” grave: fome have thought the dregs of the Jewifh’ people are defigned, the common people, fuch as_

Fob fays, he would not fet with the dogs of his.

flock, Fob xxx. 1. who encompafied Chrift on the crofs, wagging their heads at him; though I fee’ not but that all’of tiem, even the chief anion them, the high prieft, Senbedrim, {cribes and Pha-. rifees, may be intended; who are fo called becaufe. of their impurity in themfelves; for their avarice and covetoufnels, being greedy dogs that could never’ have enough; and for their impudence, calumnies, malice, and envy againft Chrift: the allufion feems to be to hunting dogs, who, when they have gor. the creature they have been in purfuit of, furround” itand fall upon it. Chrift, in the title of this pfalm,’ is called Aijeleth Shahar, the morning-bind, who’ was hunted by the Jews, and at laft furrounded’ and taken by them. The afembly of the wicked bave enclofed me, the Jewith Sanhedrim, the chief priefts and elders, who affembled together to con-— {ult his death, before whom he was brought when taken; and in the mid{t of whom he was fet and examined, and by them unanimoufly condemned;_ and who, notwithftanding all their pretenfions to’

religion, were a fett of wicked men: and alfo the _ whole congregation of the Jews, the body of the people, who were united in their requeft for his’ crucifixion and death; and who in great numbers” got together, and in a circle ftood around him when on the crofs, infulting him, They pierced my hands and my feet, by nailing them tothe crofs,*’

which, though not related by the evangelifts, is plainly fuggetted in Fobn xx. 25, 27. and is referred to in other paffages of fcripture, Zech, xii. 10.%

Rev. i. 7, and clearly points at the kind of death Chrift fhould die; the death of the crofs, a fhameful and painful one. In this claufe there is a fe ln in fome copies in the margin it is; as a lion my bands and my feet, but in the text, they have dug or pierced my hands and my feet; both are joined together in the Targum, biting as a lion my bands and my feet; as it is by other interpreters®; and Schultens* retains the latter, rendering the preceding claufe in connexion with it thus, «© the afflembly of the wicked have broken me to “¢. pieces, as a lion, my hands and my feet.” In the Targum, in the King of Spain’s Bible, the phrafe, as a lion, is left out. The modern Jews are for retaining the marginal reading, though without any good fenfe, and are therefore iometimes charged with a wilful and malicious corruption of the text; but without fufficient proof, fince the different reading in fome copies might be originally occafioned by the fimilarity of the letters » and 1; and therefore finding it in their copies, or margin, fometimes YIN and fometimes IND have chofe thar which beft fuits their purpofe, and is not to be wondered at; however their majoretic notes, cantinued by them, fufficiently clear them from fuch an imputation, and direét to the trne reading of the words; in the fmall Ma/oraé on the text it is obferved that the word is twice ufed as here painted, but in two different fenfes; this is one of the places, the other is Jfa. ¥xxviii. 13. where the fenfe requires it fhould be read as a lion: wherefore according to the authors of that note it muft have a different fenfe here, and not to be underitood of a lion; the larger Maforab, in Numb. xxiv. 9. obferves the word is to be tound in two places, in that place, and in P/a/. xxii. 16. and adds to that, itis written PIN2 they pierced; and Ben Chayim confirms‘ this reading, and fays, he found it fo written in fome correct copies, and in the margin 99N9; and fo it is written in feveral manutcripts; and which is confirmed by the drabic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Greek, and Vulgate Latin verfions; in which it is rendered, they dug my bands and my feet; and fo teok it to be a verb and not a noun; fo Apollinarius in his metaphrafe, and which is alfo confirmed by the points; though taking »9N3 for a participle, as the Targum, that reading may be admitted, as it is by fome learned men‘, who render it digging or piercing, and fo has the fame fenfe, deriving the word either from x3 or 913, which fignify to dig, pierce, or make hollow 5 and there are many inftances of plural words which end in?, the f omitted, being cut off by an apacope; fee 2 Sam. xxiii, 8. 2 Kings xi. 4, 19. Lam. iil. 14, Ezek. xxxii. 30. and either way the words are expreflive of the fame thing, and manifeftly paint to the fufferings of Chrift, and that kind of death he fhould die, the death of the crofs, and the nailing of his hands and feet to it, whereby they were pierced. This paffage is fometimes applied by the Jews ® themfelves to their Meffiah. ~e y. 17. I may tell all my bones, &c.]. For what with the ftretching out of his body on the crofs, when it was faftened to it as it lay on the ground, and with the jog of the crofs when, being reared up, it was fixed in the ground, and with the weight of the body hanging upon it, all his bones were difjointed and ftarted out; fo that could he have feen them, he might have told them, as they might told’ by the fpeétators who i ed him 3 as fo the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic verfions render it, they have numbered all my bones, that is, they might have done it; the Tar» Sum is, Iwill number all the fears of my members, made by the blows, fcourges, and wounds he received. They look and jtare upon me, meaning not his bones, but his enemies; which may be underftood either by way of contempt, as many Jewith interpreters explain it; fo the fcribes and elders of the people, and the people themfelves, looked and ftared at him on the cro{s, and mocked at him, and infulted him; or by way of rejoicing, faying, Aba, aba, our eye bath feen, namely, what they defired and wifhed for, P/a/. xxxv.21. Such a fight as was enough to have moved an heart of {tone, made no impreffion on them; they had na fympathy with him, no compaffion on him, but rejoiced at his mifery: this ftaring agrees with their character as dogs. | ¥. 18. They part my garments among them, &c.} Such as died the death of the crofs were crucified naked *, and their clothes were the perquifites of the executioners; there were four foldiérs concerned in the crucifixion of Chrift, and thefe parted his garments into four parts, and every one took his part. dud caft lots on my vefture; which was a feamlefs coat, wove from the top to the bottom; and therefore, not willing to rent it, they caft lots upon it, who fhould have it; all this was exactly fulfilled in Chrift, Yobn xix. 23, 24, vee a ¥. 19. But be not thou far from me,.O Lord, &c.| See the note on y. 11. O my firength, Chrift as God is the mighty God, the almighty; as mediator, he is the {trength of his people; but as man, God is his ftrength; he is the man of his” right hand, whom he has made {trong for himéelf, and whom he has promifed his arm fhall ftrengthen, Pfal. \Xxx., 17, and Ixxxix, 21. and therefore he addrefles him in this manner here, faying, Hafte thee to belp me; his help was alone in God his ftrength; there were none that could help him bug he, and he feemed to ftand afar off from helping him, ¥.-1, 11. and his cafe being fo diftrefled, as is reprefented in the preceeding verfes, it required hafte., ¥. 20. Deliver my foul fram the fword, &c.] Wicked men, whofe tongues were as a fharp fword, reproaching and blafpheming him, and. bearing falfe witneis again{t him; and crying out, Crucify him, crucify him; fee Pfal. xvij. 12. and lvii, 4, Prov. xxv. 18. or any inftrument of violence, as the iron bar with which the legs of the malefactors crucified with him were broken, which he efcaped 5 and the {pear whiclr pierced his fide, after he had commended his foul or fpirit into the hands of his’ Father; or a violent death; for though his death had the appearance of one, he was taken in a vialent manner, and adjudged to be put to death, and was crucified, yet his life was not taken away by men; he laid it down, and gave up his breath himfelf. My darling from ihe power of the dog, or my only one‘; meaning his life or foul, as before; fo called, not becaufe there is but one foul in the body,’ but becaufe it was dear and valuable to him; and hence we render it darling, an only one being cath ¥ e pfually ufually the darling of its parents; fo a man’s life is dear to him, all that he has will he give for it, Fob ii. 4. Chrift’s life was a more precious life than any man’s, and peculiarly his own, in fuch fénfe as another man’s is not his own; and his foul alfo was an only one, it was not polluted with. original fin, as the fouls of other men are; it was pure and holy: the word here ufed is fometimes rendered de/olate and folitary; fee Pfal. xxv. 16. and Ixviii. 6. and it may have this fenfe here, and be tranflated my lonely or folitary one*, he being forfaken by God, and deferted by his difciples 5 his foul was in darknefs, forrow, and diftrefs, wherefore he prays it might be delivered from the power of the dog; either Satan is fo called for his malice and envy, who had put it into the heart of Fudas to betray him, and had filled the Pharifees with envy at him, and who through it delivered him to Pilate; or the impure, cruel, and wicked Roman foldiers, and in fhort all his crucifiers; called in the plural number dogs, in y. 16. fee the note there.

y. 21. Save me from the lion’s mouth, &c.} Kither the devil, who is asa roaring lion, whom Chrift overcame both in the garden and on the crofs, and deftroyed him and his works; or all his wicked enemies, efpecially the moft powerful of them, who were in greateft authority, as the chief priefts and elders; fo rulers and civil magiftrates, whojare cruel and unmerciful, are compared to lions, Prov. xxviil. 15. 2 Zim.iv. 17. For thou haft beard me from the horus of the unicorns; ome read this as a prayer like the former, hear thou me’, &c. that is, deliver me; but according to our verfion it expreffes what God had done, that he had heard him and faved him; and is ufed as a reafon or argument with him, that he would regard alfo his other petitions: or it may have refpect to what follows, that fince God had heard him, and delivered him out of the hands of his moft powerful enemies, therefore he would declare his name and praife him; for the unicorn being avery ftrong creature, and its ftrength lying much in its horn, with which it pufhes and does mifchief; fee Numb. Xxili, 22. Fob xxxix. g—e12. Deut, Xxxill, 17, Chrift’s ftrong and potent enemies are intended here;. fuch as Satan and his principalities and powers, the Sanbedrim of the Jews, Herod, Pontius Pilate, and others, from whofe power he was freed when raifed from the dead. According to Pliny”, the Monoceros or unicorn, is the fierceft of wild beafts; in its body like a horfe, it has the head of an hart and feet of an elephant, the tail of a bear, makes a great bellowing; has one black horn rifing up in the middle of the forehead, of two cubits long; it is denied that it was ever taken alive, which agrees with Fob xxxix. 9, 10. fee the note there.

y. 22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren, é&c.} Not thofe who were more nearly related to him according to the flefh; for though there were fome who believed in him, and to whom he declared the name of God, as Fames and Fo/es, and Fudas and Simon, Matt. xiii. 55. yet there were others that did not believe on*him, Yobz vii. 3, 5. nor thofe more remotely related to him, «as all the Jews, who were his brethren and kinfmen alfo acs cording to the fleth 5 to thefe indeed he came and preached, but they received him not; but rather his apoftles, whom he called his brethren, even after his refurre€tion, and to whom he appeared and declared’ the name of God, Mati, xxviii. 10.

even all true believers in him, who through hisincarnation, being their Goe/ and near kinfman $ in fuch: a relation to them, and through thei - tion into his Father’s family, his Father being their ’

Father, and his God their God; which is. manifefted in regeneration, and evidenced by their doing the will of God, which is believing in Chrift, Adate. xii. 49, 50. By the name of God, is meant, not any one of the names by which he is known, as God Almighty, Jehovah, &c. if any of thefe- could be thought to be defigned, the New Teftamentname and title of God as the Father of Chrift would:

bid fair for it; but rather, the perfections of God,.

which appear in Chrift, and were glorified in the work of redemption; or God himfelf; or elfe:his. gofpel, Ais ix. 15. and which Chrift declared and: manitefted to his difciples, both before and after his refurrection, Fobn xvii. 6, 8. As i. 9. which latter feems here to be referred unto, Jw the midjt of

Fobn xx.17.and the five hundred brethren: by whony: - he was feen at once, may be alfo included; and - the congregation will I praifé thee, meaning not the — congregation of the Jews, their fynagogue, or temple, where he: often attended on public worfhip, and preached and praifed the Lord; but rather the company of his difciples, among whom he fung am hymn the night he was betrayed, and with whom: he converfed by times for forty days after his rejurrection: unlefs the general affembly and church, of the firft-born in heaven is intended, inthe midft of which he praifed the Lord, when he afcended on high, led captivity captive, and received gifts for men; though it feems beft to underftand this of the church of God, particularly among the Gentiles, under the gofpel-difpenfation, where Chrift in his members fings the praife of electing, redeeming, and calling grace; fee Pfal. xviii: 49. compared with Rom. xv. 9. This is a proof of finging of pfalms and hymns in gofpel-churches, and of its being a duty to be publickly performed by the members of them; who may expeét the prefence of Chrift in the midft of his church, feeing he here promifes to be there: thefe words are applied to Chrift in Hebd. ii. 12.

Ve 23. Ye that fear the Lord, praife him, &c.} By whom are meant, not the profelytes among the Gentiles, as diftinét from the Jews, which is the fenfe of fome Jewifh interpreters"; but all the people of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, who have the grace of filial and godly fear put into their hearts, with which they worfhip God, and walk before him in all holy converfation; which is not a fear of wrath, or a diftruft of divine goodnefs; but is a reverential affection for God, and is confiftent with the greateft degree of faith, the ftrongeft expreffions of fpiritual joy and holy courage: it includes the whole worfhip of God, internal and exe ternal; and fuch who have it in their hearts, and before their eyes, are called upon by Chrift to praife the Lord for him, for the unfpeakable gift of his love; that he has not fpared his Son, but delivered him up for them, to undergo fo much forrow, and fuch fufferings as before related, to obtain falvation for them; and that he has delivered him out of them, raifed him from the dead, and has him glory. All ye the feed Ma siorify him s not of Facob,.

the natural, but fpiritual fee who walk in the fteps of the faith of chat man of God; thefe - are exhorted to glorify the Lord with their bodies and fpirits, which are his, being redeemed ‘with the precious blood of Chrift; by believing in him, glorying in him, and offering praife unto him. dnd fear him all ye the feed of Ifrael; who are the fame with the feed of Facob, Facob and Ifrael being two nama of the fame perfon; and defign not //rae/, according to the flefh, but according to the Spirit; the whole J/rae/ of God, theall fpiritual feed of J rae?, who are juttified in Chrift, and are faved in him; they are the fame with them that fear the Lord, and are here ftirred up to exercife the grace of fear upon him; to fear him only, and not men, though ever fo mighty and powerful, as before defcribed in y. 12, 13, 160, 20, 21, and that not only becaufe of his power and greatnefs; but becaufe of his grace and goodnefs, as fhewn forth in Chrift Jefus. ¥. 24. For be hath not defpifed nor abborred the affittion of the affisited, &c.] That is, Chritt, who was afflicted by men, both by their tongues, and by their hands; by devils, by the temptations of Satan; for Chrift fuffered being tempted, though he was not overcome; and by his attacks upon him, both in the garden and on the crofs; and by » the Lord himfelf, Zebovad his Father, who laid on him the iniquity and chaftifement of his people, bruifed him, and put him to grief; awoke the {word of juftice againft him, and {pared him not: his afflictions were many, both in body and foul; in body, being fcourged, buffeted, bruifed, pierced, racked and tortured on the crofs; in foul, being made exceeding forrawful, and an offering for fin; fuftaining his Father’s wrath, and feeing and enduring affliction by the rod of it; fee J/a. lili. 4, 7. now, though his. afflictions and fufferings were defpifed by men, and he was defpifed and abhorred on account of them; yet not by his Father, he took pleafure in them, and in him as fuffering for his people; not fimply confidered, as if he delighted in his fufferings as fuch, but as they were agreeable to his counfel and covenant, and brought about the falvation of his chofen ones: he accepted them in the yoom and ftead of his people; the facrifice of Chrift was of a {weet-fmelling favour to him; he was well pleafed with his righteoufnefs, his law being magnified and made honourable by it; and his death was precious in his fight, being the propitiation for the fins of his people; fo far was he from defpifing and abhorring the afflictions of his Son. And this is mentioned as a reafon or argument for praife and thankfgiving in them that fear the Lord; fince God has looked upon the redemption-price his Son has paid for them fufficient; has not defpifed, but accepted of it as the ranfom of their fouls: fome render the words, the prayer of the affliéied; fo the

Targum, and the Septuagint verfion, and the verfions that follow that; which agrees with the next words: Neither hath be hid his face from him, when men did, as afhamed of him, J/a. lili. 3. for though he forfook him for a while, and in a little wrath hid his face from him for a moment,.that he might bear the whole curfe of the law for us; yet he returned again, and did not hide his face from him forever. But when he cried unto him, be beard, cried, not only on account of his crucifiers, that God would forgive them; but on account of himielf, that he would not be afar off from him, that he would take his fpirit or foul into his hands, into which he committed it; that he would deliver him from the power of death and the grave, and loofe their bands; in all which he was heard, Heb, y. 7.

.¥. 25. My praife thall be of thee in the great congregation, &c.| Or, my praife is from thee?; got that he fhould have praife of God, as he had, when he was received up into heaven, and fet down at the right hand of God; but that God fhould be the object of his praife, as he was the caufe of it, his falvation and deliverance of him, and. refurreéction from the dead, and exaltation of him, were the occafion and matter of it: the place where Chrift determined to praife the Lord, is the great congregation; either his apoftles, who, though a little flock, yet, on account of their extraordinary office and gifts, and peculiar privileges, were the greateft congregation that ever was in the world; or the five hundred brethren ta whom Chrift appeared at once after his refurrection; or elfe the whole church under the gofpel-difpenfation; in the midft of which Chrift is, and who in the members of it praifes the the name of the Lord; and this efpecially will have its accomplifhment at the latter day, when great multitudes will be canverted, and the voice of praife’and thankfgiving will be among them, Rev. vil. 9, 10, and xi. 15, and xiv. 1, 2. and xix. 1,5, 6. J will pay my vows before them that fear him, either thofe which he made in the council and covenant of grace, when he engaged ta become a furety for his people, to affume their nature, ta fuffer and die for them, ta redeem them from fin and mifery, and bring them nigh ta God, and fave them with an everlafting falvation; all which he has openly done; fee Pfal. xxxi, 19, or thofe which he made in y. 21, that he would declare the name of the Lord unto his brethren, and fing praife unto him in the midft of the church; compare with this P/al. cxvi. 12-—14,

¥. 26, The meck fhall eat and be falisfied, &c.] Such who, being made throughly fenfible of ‘in, look upon themfelves the chief of finners and the leaft of faints; and being truly convicted of the infufRciency of their own righteoufnefs, wholly truft to, and rely on the righteoufnefs of Chrift; and being acquainted with their impotency and inability ta do any good thing of themfelves, afcribe all to the grace of God, and have no dependence on any thing done by them; who are willing to be inftructed and reproved by the meaneft faint; are not eafily provoked to wrath; patiently bear indigni+ ties and affronts, and are gentle unto all men: thefe fhall eat the fat, and drink the fweet of Chrift the bread of life; they fhall eat of his Aeth by faith, which is meat indeed; they fhall find the word, and eat it; feed on the wholefome words of Chrift, the words of faith and good doétrine, and fhall be atis- fied, or filled; other food is not fatisfying; it proves gravel, afhes, and wind; itis not bread, and fatisfies not; but fuch as hunger and thirft after Chrift and his righteoufnefs, and are poor in their own eyes, meek and humble; thefeare filled with good things to fatiffaction, Matt. v, 6. Lukei. 53. Farchi interprets thefe words of the time of the redemption, and the days of the Meffiah. hey /hall praife the Lord that feek him; in Chrift, with their whole heart; who being filled by him, and fatisfied, blefs the Lord, for their {piritual food, and comfortable repaft, as it becomes men to do for their corporal food, Deut. viii, 10, Your heart fhall live for ever, this is an addrefs of Chrift to them that fear the Lord, the feed of Facob and Ifrael, the meek ones, and that feck the Lord, his face and favour, and who eat and are fatishied; fignifying, that they fhould be revived and refrefhed, fhould be chearful and comfortable;

‘fhould live by faith on Chrift now, and haye eternal life in them; and fhould live with him for evey hereafter, and never die the fecond death, y. 27. All the ends of the world fhall remember and turn unto the Lord, &c.] That is, all the ele of of God among the Gentiles, who live in the furthermoft parts of the world, for whom Chrift is appointed to be their falvation, and whom he calls to look to him for it; thefe fhall remember the Lord whom they have forgotten, and againft whom they have finned, how great and how good he is; they fhall be put in mind of their fins and iniquities committed againft him, and call to mind their latter end; and confider, that after death will come judgment, to which they muft be brought; they fhall be apprifed of the grace and goodnefs of God in Chrift, in providing and fending him to be the Saviour of loft finners, by his fufferings and death, at large defcribed in this plalm; which will encourage them to turn unto the Lord, fince they may hope for full pardon of fin, through his blood and facrifice,; and to turn from their idols, and from all their evil ways, and from all dependence on themfelves or on creatures, to truft in, and ferve the living God in faith and fear; which turning is ufually brought about under, and by the miniftry of the word; which is appointed to turn men from darknefs to light, and from the power of Satan unto God; and has this effect, when it is attended with the Spirit and power of God; for converfion is not the work of man, neither of minifters nor of men themfelves, but of God, in which men are at firft paffive; they are turned, and then, under the influence of grace, become active, and turn to the Lord, by believing in him, and fo cleave unto him: and likewife remembrance of the above things is not owing to themfelves, but to the Spirit of God, who puts them into their minds; and which is very neceflary and effential to converfion, even as a remembrance of paft things is neceflary to a reftoration after backflidings, which is a fecond converfion. And all the kindreds of the nations fhall worfbip before thee, not only externally, by praying before the Lord, and attending on his word and ordinances; but internally, in fpirit and in truth, which worfhippers the Lord feeks; fuch {piritual worfhip being fuitable to his nature, and fuch worfhippers believers in him aré; this muft be underftood of fome of all nations, kindred and tongues, whom Chrift has redeemed by his blood, and calls by his grace; fee Zech. xiv. 16, 17.

¥. 28. Lor the kingdom is the Lord’s, 8&cc.] Not the kingdom of nature and providence, though that is the Lord Chrift’s; but the kingdom of grace, the mediatorial kingdom: this was Chrift’s by the defignation and conftitution of his Father from eternity; the government of the church was always upon his fhoulders during the Old Teftament-difpenfation; when he came into this world, he cameas a King, though his kingdom being not of this world, it came not with obfervation; but upon his afcenfion to heaven, whither he went to receive a kingdom and return, he was made or declared Lord and Chrift, and was exalted as a Prince, as well as a Saviour; and in confequence of his being fet down at the right hand of God, he fent forth the rod of his ftrength, his gofpel, into the Gentile world, which was fucceeded to the converfion of multitudes of them, among whom he has had a vifible kingdom and intereft ever fince; and which will more abundantly appear in the latter day,when he fhall be King over all the earth; and now this is areafon why fo many, in the diftant parts of the world, and among all the kindreds of the nations, fhall remember, turn to’ him, and worfhip him.

And be is the governor among the nations, he rules in the hearts of fome by his Spirit and grace, and over others with a rod of iron.

y.29. All they that be fat upon earth, 8ec.] Rich men, who abound in worldly fubftance, are in ve~ ry flourifhing and profperous circumftances, of whom for the moft part this is literally true; ye by thefe fometimes are meant princes, rulers, the chief among the people’in power and authority, as well as in riches; fee P/al. xxviii. 31. J/ai.x. 16. the phrafeé may defign fuch who are in profperous circumftances in their fouls, in {pirirual things, in faith, comfort, and fpiritual joy, Pfal. xcil. 14. but the former fenfe is beft: Faerchi inverts the words, they jhall eat, i.e. the meek fhall eat, all the fat of the earth, and worfoip, which may be underftood of the fpiritual bleffings of grace,which converted perfons fhall feed and live upon, Pad. Ixiii. 5. the allufion may be to the fat parts of the earth, and what grows thereon, made fo by afhes, which the word uied has the fignificationof; for fome lands are fattened by afhes being ftrowed upon them’; but rather, the rich and great men of the earth are intended, who yet are bur duft and afhes. They fhall eat, and worfeip, for as in the firft times of the gofpel, not many mighty and noble were called, yet fome were; fo. more efpecially, in the latter day, many of this fort will be called, even kings and queens; who will not live upon their titles of honour, their grandeur and glory, but upon Chrift and his gofpel, and will fall down before him, and ferve and worfhip him; fee Pfa/. xxii. 10,11. J/a. xlix. 7,23. and Ix. 9,16. All they that go down to the dujt foall bow before bim, fuch as are in mean circumftances of life; fo that both rich and poor fhall ferve him; or who are mean in their own eyes, fit in the duft of felf-abhorrence, and put their mouths in the duft, are in a low condition, out of which the Lord raifes them, P/al. cxiii. 7, 8. the Zargum paraphrafes it, who go down to the boufe of the grave; thatis, the dead; and then the fenfe is, that Chrift is the Lord, both of the dead and living, and that thofe that are underthe earth, ‘and are reduced to duft, as well as they that live and are fat upon it, fhall bow the knee to Chrift, when raifed again, who is the judge of quick and dead; fee Kom. xiv. 9. Phil. ii. 10, 11. And none can keep alive bis own foul; as no man can quicken himfelf when dead in trefpafles and fins; fo when he is made. alive, he cannot preferve his life, nor nourifh himfelf, nor make himéelf lively and comfortable, nor caufe his heart to live, as in y. 26, but by eating the fefh, and drinking the blood of Chrift, feeding and living upon him by faith: though fome take the fenfe to be, that fuch as are before defcribed as converted perfons, will. not feek to fave their lives, but will freely lay them~ down and part with them for Chrift*s fake; but rather the meaning is, that fo univerfal will the kingdom of Chrift be, as that high and low, rich and poor, will be bowing to him; whoever are his enemies, and-will not have him to rule over them, will be brought before him and flain, and none of them will be able tofave themfelves; fothe Targum, he will not quicken, or keep alive the foul of the wic- keds or as archi interprets it, “ he will haveno -

«¢ mercy on them, to keep their fouls alive from «© hell.” os gees pee y¥. 30. A feed fhall ferve bim, &cc.] That is, Chrift fhall always have a feed to ferve him in every age; a remnant according to the election of grace, fee Rom. ix. 29. fo that/as the former verfes peak of the amplitude of Chrift’s kingdom, through the calling of the Gentiles, thefe words and the, foltowing exprefs the duration of it: and this ced.e1- ther means Chrift’s feed’; fo the Septuagint verfion, and others that follow it, render it, my feed 3 the fpiritual {eed and offspring of Chrift, which. the Father has given him, and which fhall. endure for ever, J/a. litte 10. ‘Pfal, Ixxxix. 29, 36. ar elfe the church’s.feed, which comes to the fame thing; not the natural feed af believers, but a fucceffion of godly men in the church, who are born in, her, and nurfed up at her fide; fee J/a. lix. 21. fuch fhall, and-do,; in every age ferve Chrift, willingly and ehearfull),in righteoufnefs and true holinefs, without flavith fear, and yet with: reverence and godly, fear. ‘The; baldee-paraphrafe is, the fred of Abraham fhall ferve before bim;, but this feed defigns not the. Jews only, but the.Gentiles alfo, and chiefly: {¢ /ball he accounted to the Lord for a generation; of his people, -his children whom’.he accounts. of,. reckons and efteems as {uch; or the feed fhall be reckoned to the Lord, as belonging to him, uvto generation; that is, in every generation %, throughout all ages, to the end of time; fo the Targum, to an after generation; Ot, a generation to come,