Exposition of the Whole Bible

HISis the firft of the pfalms that bears this title: fome think it is the name of a mufical inftrument, on which this pfalm was fung; others the firft word of a fong, to the tune of which it was fung, as Aben Ezra; fome fay, it is fo called, becaufe it was explained by an interpreter, as Farchi 5 and the Rabbins * fay, thatevery pfalm that is called Ma/febil, was dictated by an interpreter: the Zargum venders it a good underftanding; and the word properly fignifies inftrudion, or caufing to underftand’; and it may be the apoftle has fome reference tq this title in 1 Cor. xiv. 15. Itis an inftructive pfalm; a didafcalic ode, as Fumius renders it: it gives an account how the pfalmift was inftructed under a difpenfation of providence; and was brought to a fenfe of fin, and acknowledgment of it; and was favoured with a difcovery of pardoning grace, and init he takes upon him to inftruct others, y. 8, g. and does inftruct in the doctrine of the pardon of fin by the grace of God.

¥. 1. Bleffed is he whofe tranfereffion is forgiven, &c.}] Or lifted up™; bore and carried away: fin is a tranfgreffion of the law; the guilt of it charged upon the conicience of a finner is a heavy burden, too heavy for him to bear, andthe punifhment of it is intolerable: forgivenefs is»a removal of fin, guilt, and punifhment. Sin was firft taken off, and transferred from the finner to Chrift, the furety; and was laid upon him really and judicially, as the fins of the people of J/rael were put upon the cape- goat typically; and was bore by him, both guilt and punifhment, and taken away, finifhed, and made an end of; and by the application of his blood and facrifice, it is taken away from the finner’s con{cience; it is caufed to pafs from him, and is removed afar off, as far as the eaft is from the weft; it is fo lifted off from him as to give him eafe and peace, and fo as never to return to the deftruction of him; wherefore fuch a man is a happy man; he has much peace, comfort, calmnefs, and ferenity of mind now, can appear before God with intrepidity, and ferve him without fear; no bill of indiétment can hereafter be found againft him; no charge will be exhibited, and fo no condemnation tohim, ‘The fame is exprefled, though in different words, in the next claufe. ed not by himfelf, by any works of righteoufnefs done by him; for thefe are a covering too narrow;

nor by excufes and extenvations; for profperity and happinefs do not attend fuch a conduct, Prov: XXvVili, 13. but by Chrift; he is the mercy-feat, the covering of the Law; who is the covert of his people from the curfes of it, and from the ftorm of divine wrath and vengeance, due to the tranf greffions of it; his blood is the purple covering of the chariot, under which the faints ride fafe to-heaven; the lines of his blood are drawn over erimfon and fcarlet fins, by which they are blotted out, and are not legible; and’ being clothed with the robe of Chrift’s righteoufnefs, all their fins are covered from the eye of divine juftice; not from the eye of God’s omnifcience, which fees the fins of all.men, and beholds thofe of his own people; and which he takes notice of, and corrects for, in a fatherly way. but from vindictive juftice, they are fo hid as nat to be imputed and charged, nor the faints to be condemned for them; fuch are unblameable and unreproveable in the fight of God, and are all fairin the eyes of Chrift; and their fins are caufed to pafs away from themfelves, and they have no more fight and confcience of them; and tho’ fought for at the laft day, they will not be found and brought to light, nor be feen by men or angels, ‘There is fomething. unfeemly, impure, naufeous, abominable, and provoking in fin; which will not bear to be feen by the Lord, and therefore mutt be covered, or the finner can never ftand in his prefence and be happy..; Wi. Buf ed is the mantowhom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, 8cc.) Or does not think of us with refpeét unto men, at leaft to the hurt.of them 3 his thoughts are thoughts of peace, and not of evil; their fins and iniquities he remembers no more; he does not charge them, with them, he does not reckon them, or place them to their account, having imputed them to his Son; fee 2 Cor. v.19. The apoftle Paw/ interprets this as inclufive of the imputation of righteoufnefs without works,; even of the righteoufnefs of Chrift, in which the bleflednefs of a man lies, Rom. iv. 6-8. forfuch an one is accepted with God, is juftified in his fight, and is fecure from condemnation and wrath; it is well with him at all times, in life, at. death, and at judgment; he is an heir of eternal life, will enter into it, and be for ever glorified. And iz whofe fpirit there is no guile; for being thoroughly convinced of fin, he is fincere in his repentance for b yqae s F oth ase. ry * Elias Levita in Tifhbi, p. 271.; m Verbum » ATI? cogitat, it, without deceit and hypocrify in his confeffion of it; as David, the apoftle Paul, and the publican were, when they acknowledged themfelves finners; his faith, in looking to Chrift for pardon and righteoufnefs, is from the heart, and is unfeigned, and fo is his profeffion of it before God, angels, and men; and whatever hypocrify and guile are remaining in the old man, there is none in the new fpirit put into him; in the new man, which is created in him, and which finneth not: as the other phrafes are expreffive of pardon and jutftification, this points at internal fantification, and which ferves to compleat the defcription of the happy man; fuch an one as David himfelf was; and this happinefs he illuftrates from his own experience in the following verfes.

y. 3. When I kept filence, &c.] Was unthoughtful of fin, unconcerned about it, and made no acknowledgment and confeffion of it to God, being quite fenfelefs and ftupid’; the Zargum adds, from the words of the law; which feems to point at fin as the caufe of what follows. My bones waxed old; through my roaring all the day long; not under a fenfe of fin, but under fome fevere affliction, and through impatience in it; not confidering that fin Jay at the bottom, and was the occafion of it; and fuch was the violence of the diforder, and his uneafinefs under it, that his ftrength was dried up by it, and his bones ftuck out as they do in aged perfons, whofe flefh is wafted away from them; fee Pfal, ci. 3, 5- y¥. 4. For day and night thy band was heavy upon me, &c.] Meaning the afflicting hand of God, which is not joyous, but grievous, and heavy to be borne; efpecially without his gracious prefence, and the difcoveries of his love: this continued night and day, without any intermiffion; and may defign fome violent diftemper; perhaps a fever; fince it follows, My moisture is turned into the drought of -fummer. Selab. that is, the radical moifture in him was almoft dried up, as brooks in the fummerfeafon; his body was parched, as it were, with the burning heat of the difeafe; or with an apprehenfion of the wrath of God under it, or both: and fo he continued until he was brought to a true fenfe of fin, and an acknowledgment of it, when he had the difcoveries of pardoning love, as is exprefied in the next verfe. The Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin verfions read, I am turned into diftrefs, through a -thorn being fixed, and fo Apollinarius paraphrafes the words, ** I am become miferable, becaufe “* thorns are fixed in my fkin;” reading pyp for 7p; and which Suidas® interprets fin, that being dike the thorn, unfruitful and pricking; fee 2 Cor. xii. 7- ¥ 5. I acknowledged my fin unto thee, &c.| The fin of Adam, in which he was concerned; original fin, the corruption of his nature, the fin that dwelt in him, his private and fecret fins, which none knew but God and himfelf; even all his fins, which were many, with all their aggravated circumftances; wherefore he ufes various words to exprefs them by, in this and the following claufes; as fin, iniquity, and tranfgreffions; the fame that are ufed in the doétrine of pardon in the preceding verfes; his confeffion being of the fame extent with ardon: and all thefe he calls his own; as nothing i more a man’s own than his fins are; and thete the pfalmift acknowledged to the Lord; or made, or will make known? to him: not that any fin is unknown to God, even the moft fecret ones; but

they may be faid to be made known to God, when a finner makes a fincere and hearty acknowledgment of them before him, and exprefles his own fenfe of them; how that they are with him, and ever before him, what knowledge rather he has of them, how much he is affected with them, and concerned for the commiffion of them; and fuch an acknowledgment the Lord expeéts and requires of his people, Fer. iii. 12,13. And mine iniquity have I not bid; by retaining it as a fweet morfel under his tongue; for he not only acknowledged it, but forfook it; or by not confeffing it, as 4- chan; for non-confeflion of fin is hiding it; or by denying it, as Gebazi, Ananias and Sappbiras or by palliating and extenuating it; or by cafting the blame on others, as did Adam and his wife; fee Fob xxxi. 33. or by covering it with a guife of fanctity and religion. J faid, I will confefs my tran[grefiions unto the Lord, not unto men, though in fome cafes confeffion of fin is to be made to men; a confeffion of it in general is to be made to the churches, and adminiftrators of ordinances, in order to admiffion into a church-ftate, and to the ordinances of Chrift, Matth. iti. 6. As it. 37, 41- and in cafe of private offences, faults are to be confefied one to another, and forgivenefs granted; and in-cafe of public offences, a confeffion fhould be made to a church publickly; partly for the fatisfaction of the church, and partly for the glory of divine grace; but confeffion is not to be made to a prieft, or toa perfon in a minifterial charaéter, in order for abfolution; but to the Lord only, againft whom fin is committed, and who only can pardon it; and this the pfalmift faith in his heart he would do, and did do it; he not only confefled faéts, but the fault of them, with their evil circumftances, and that he juftly deferved punifhment for thems and this he did from his heart, with abhorrence of the fins committed by him, and in faith, with a view to the pardoning mercy of God in Chrift. And thou forgaveft the iniquity of my fin. Selab. that is, either the guilt of his fin, which he took away from him; or the punifhment of it, which he delivered him from: moreover, this phraf may denote the exceeding finfulnefs of fin, and fo may both exprefs the fenfe which the pfalmift had of it, and exalt the grace of God in the forgivenefs of it by which muft be meant, a frefh manifeftation, and application of pardon to his foul: now, when confeffion of fin, and remiffion of it, are thus -put together, the fenfe is not that confeffion of fin is the caufe of pardon; it -is not the moving caufe of it, that is the grace and mercy of God; nor the procuring and meritorious caufe of it, that is the blood of Chrift: it is not for the fake of a finner’s conféffion of fin, but for Chrift’s fake, that fin is forgiven; but this is the way in which it is enjoyed; and fuch as truly repent of fin, and fincerely confefs it, are the perfons to whom the Lord manifefts his forgiving love; fuch may expect it, Prov, XXVill. 13. 1 Fobni. g.

¥. 6. For this fball every one that is godly pray unto thee, &c,] Meaning either, that the fuccefs he had met with in acknowledging his fin, would encourage others alfo to take a like ftep, and make their fupplications to the Lord alfo; or that every godly perfon fhould pray to God for the fame blefsing of pardoning grace likewife. Pardon of fin is to be prayed for; not only Mojés, David, Daniel, and other Old Teftament-faints, prayed for it; but Chrift has direéted his difciples and followers, wy

P IYIIN cognolcere feci te, Pagninag Montanus; Mafeulus, Vatablus; fo Junius &.— and that both in his houfe below, where the faints, his loving people and faithful fubjeéts, would join — with him, in the midft of whom he fhould ftand encompafied with their fongs of praife; or in heaven above, where he fhould fing the fong of Mojes, and of the Lamb, and be furrounded with the hallelujahs of angels and glorified faints; Aben Ezra interprets thefe fongs of the voices of angels.

¥. 8. I will instruct thee, &c.) Or caufe thee to underftand*, Thefe are by many thought to be the words of the Lord, who gives.to a man an underftanding of {piritual things; he inftruéts by his providence, and even by afflictive difpenfations of providence; and by his word, which is written for the learning of men, and is profitable for doétrine and inftruction in righteoufnefs; and by the minifters of it, who are therefore called inftructors in Chrift; and by his Spirit, when he inftructs effeétually and to purpofe; by him he inftructs men in the knowledge of themfelves, and of himfelf in Chrift, and of peace, pardon, righteoufnefs and falvation by Chrift; and leads into all truth as it is in Jefus; and opens the underftanding, to under- {tand the fcriptures, and the doétrines contained in them. nd teach thee in the way which thou fhalt go; the path of duty, from whence men are apt to wander; when the Lord hedges up the way they would go with thorny providences, and by his minifters, word and Spirit, directs them in the right way; faying, this is the way, walk in it; and the way of truth, which is clearly pointed to in the fcriptures of truth, and by the Spirit of truth; and alfo the way of life and falvation by Chrift, revealed in the gofpel, and which the preachers of it. fhew to the fons of men. J will guide thee with mine eye; as a mafter guides his fcholar; or as mine eye’ with as much care and tendernefs as if thou wert the apple of mine eye; fee Deut. xxxii. 10. Zech, ii. 8. or the words may be rendered, I will counfel, or give counfel,; as he does, who is wonderful in counfel, and that by his Son, who is the wonderful Counfellor, and by his word and teftimonies, which are the delight of his people, and the men of their counfel; Mine eye is upon thee*; as the eye of the Lord is upon the righteous, to watch over them for good, to provide for them, guide and direct them. Thefe words may very well be confidered as the words of David, in which he determines to act a part, agreeable to the title of the pfalm, Ma/cbil; which fignifies inftruéting, or caufing to underftand; and as he thought himfelf bound in duty to do, under the influence of the grace and mercy he had received from the Lord, ‘in the forgivenefs of his fins; and which heelfewhere refolved to doin a like cafe, and which is an in- {tance parallel.to this, P/al. li. 12. he here promifes to in/trué? men in the way of attaining to the bleffednefs he had been fpeaking of, by directing them to take the fteps he did; namely, to go to the Lord, and acknowledge and confefs their fins before him, when they might expect to find pardoning mercy and grace, as he did; and to teach them the way of their duty upon this, to fear the Lord and his goodnefs, and to ferve him in righteoufnefs and holinefs all the days of their lives; and to guide them with bis eyes by declaring to them the gracious experiences he had been favoured with, by telling them what he himfelf had feen and known.

der the gofpel-difpenfation, to do the'fame, Luke xi. 4. and which muft be underftood of praying for the manifeftation of it to their confciences; for God has by one eternal act forgiven all trefpaffes at once, for Chrift’s fake; nor can any new act of pardon arife in the mind of God, ora frefh one pafs in the court of heaven, nor the blood of Chrift be fhed again for the remiffion of it. Moreover, godly men will, in this fenfe, pray for it, as they have daily occafion todo: a godly man is a man that is Created after the image of God, is born of him, and is poflefied of internal, powerful godlinefs, and has all things pertaining to it; and particularly has a godly forrow for fin, and the fear of God in his heart, and before his eyes: and fuch a man is a praying one; having the fpirit of grace, he has the fpirit of fupplication, and prays with the fpirit and with the underftanding; and his praying for the pardon of fin fhews that he is not without it, but daily commits it, and fo needs frefh difcoveries of forgiving love: and which he prays for in a time when thou mayft be found, which is to be under ftood, not of any particular ftated times of prayer, as morning, noon, and night; for the throne of grace is always open, and God is to be found, and grace and mercy with him at all times; and much lefs does this refpeét a day of grace for particular perfons, which, if improved, and the opportunity taken, they may have pardon but if neglected till it is over, then there is no pardon for them; for there is no fuch day of grace: the whole gofpeldifpenfation is a day of grace; and that will not be over until all the eleé&t of God are gathered in; and until then it is, and will be, now is the accepted time, now is the day of falvation; but it defigns a time of need, of foul-diftrefs, in which, when perfons call upon God in truth, and feek him with their whole heart, he is found by them, and they find grace and mercy with him to relieve them in their diftrefs;\the Targum is, ** in an acceptable “‘ time.” Surely in the floods of great waters they Jeall not come nigh unto him thatis, unto the godly man; not but that afflictions, which are comparable to great floods of waters, do reach godly perfons, but not fo as to overwhelm them and deftroy them; they are delivered out of them. The phrafe feems to denote fafety in the greateft calamities; that though even a deluge of vengeance and awful judgments fhould come upon the world, yet the godly man is fafe; his place is the munition of rocks; he is in. the hands of Chrift, and is inclofed in the arms of everlafting love, from whence he can never be taken by men or devils: the Targum interprets thefe waters of many people; and adds, fo as to do any evil, or burt. ¥. 7. Thou art my biding-place, 8&c.] In time of trouble; fee P/a/. xxvii. 5. fo Chrift is faid to be, J/a. xxxii. 2. Thou pee alert me from troudle; not from having it; for in this world the faints muft have tribulation, and through it enter the kingdom, but from being fwallowed up with it; the-Lord will bring them fafe out of it, and of them it fhall be faid, ¢hefe are they that came out of great tribulation, Rev. vii. 14. Thou foalt compafs me about with fongs of deliverance. Selab, or gird with gladnefs, as in P/a/. xxx. 11. the meaning is, that God would give him abundant reafon for praife and thankfulnefs; and an opportunity of attending him with fongs of praife for deliverance out of the hands of his enemies, and from trouble;

¥. 9! Be ye not as the borfe, or asthe mule; which have no underftanding, &c.| The defign of this exhortation is to direct men how to behave under the inftructions given; not as brutes, which have no:

rational faculties, but as men; that they fhould not thew themfelves thoughtlefs, ftupid, and unteachable, as thefe animals, or worle than they. nor ftubborn and obftinate, refractory and untractable,.

refolving not to be taught, ftopping the ear, and pulling away the fhoulder; nor ill-natured and)

. mifeHievous; not only hating inftruction, cafting away the Law of the Lord, but kicking and fpurning at, and perfecuting fuch who undertake to inftruct them; as thefe creatures fometimes attempt to throw their riders, and when down) kick’ at them. Whofe mouth muft be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee; to-do-mifchief, bite or kick; or becau/e they do' not come near to thee*; and that they may come near, and. be brought into fubjection, and become obedient; therefore fuch methods are. ufed; fee fam. iii. 2. there is in the words a tacit intimation; that men are commonly, and for the moft part, like thefe creatures, {ftupid, ftubborn, and mifchievous; and therefore fevere methods are ufed by the Lord, fore chaftenings, to humble and inftruct them; fee Fer. xxxi. 18, 19. the mule, more efpecially, is remarkable for its ftupidity"; and though the horfe is docible, yet he is fometimes ftubborn and refractory.

¥. 10. Many forrows fhall be to the wicked, 8c. } Who will not be inftru€ted and reformed, but are like the horfe and mule, without underftanding; many outward forrows or afflictions attend them; loathfome and confuming difeafes come upon their bodies, by intemperance and debauchery; and they and their families are brought to a piece of bread, through their vicious courfes; and inward forrows, horror. and terror of mind feize them, when their confciences are at any time awakened, and are open to conviction; when a load of guilt lies on them, what remorfe of confcience do they feel? and what fevere reflections do they make? and how are they pierced through with many forrows? And though indéed, for the moft part, wicked men have their good things in this life, and are in profperous circumftances, and are not in trouble, as other men; yet what they have is with a curfe; and they have no true peace, pleafure, and fatisfaction in what they enjoy; they are under the wrath of God, and the curfes of a righteous Law; and everlafting de- {truétion is prepared for them in the other world, when they will have many forrows indeed; their wortn will not die, and the fire of divine fury will