Exposition of the Whole Bible

HIS pfalm is called a pfalm of Afaph; either becaufe it was compofed by him under di-

-vine infpiration, fince he was a prophet and a feer, 1 Chron. xxv. 2. 2 Chron, xxix. 30. or becaufe it was delivered to him to be fung in public fervice, he being a chief mufician; fee 1 Chron. xvi. 7. and fo it may be rendered, a pfalm for Afaph; or unto Afaph°; which was direéted, fent, and delivered to him, and might be wrote by David; and, as Junius thinks, atter the angel had appeared to him,

¥.18. Though while be lived, he bleffed his fiul, &c,] Praifed and extolled himifelfon account of his acquifitions and merit; or’ proclaimed himfelf an happy man, becaufe of his wealth and riches 5 or foolifhly flattered himfelf with peace, profperity, and length of days, and even with honour and glory after death. And men will praife thee when thou doft well to thyfelf; or but * men will praife thee, &c. both rich and poor, all wife men; when, as the Jewith interpreters ’ generally explain the word, aman regards true wifdom and religion, and is concerned for the welfare of his foul more chan that of his body; or when thou thyfelf docft well, that is, to others, doing acts of beneficence, communicating to the neceffities of the poor; or rather, when thou doeft well to thyfelf, by enjoying the good things of life, taking his portion, eating the fruit of his labour, which is good and comely; fee, Eccl, v. 18 —20. and vi. 1, 2. and xi. 9.

y.19. He fhall go to the generation of bis fathers, &c.] Be gathered to them at death; or to the dwelling-place of bis fathers™; either the grave, or hell, or both; the habitation of his wicked anceftors: unlefs the words be rendered, as they are by fome, though be /Zall come to the age of bis fathers”; live as long as they have done; yet he muft die at laft, and leave all behind, as they have done.. They «

Jfoall never fee light; neither/he nor his fathers; they fhall never fee the light of the fin any more, nor return to the licht of the living, but fhall lie in the dark and filent grave until the refurrection; or rather, they fhall never enjoy eternal light, glory, and happinefs.. The ultimate ftate ‘of glory is fometimes expreffed by /ight, John viii, 12. Col. i. 12. this the people of God, fuch who are made light in the Lord, and’are’the children of the day, fhall fee; but wicked men fhall not; they will be caft into outer darknefs, where are weeping, wailing, and gnafhing of teeth.

y¥. 20. Man that is in honour, &c.] A wicked man; as the Zargum; fee the noteon ¥. 12, Andunderfiandeth not; from whence his riches and honour come, and what ufe he fhould make of them, and for what end he has ‘them; or that underfiandeth not fpiritual things, which relate to the falvation of his foul; who does not know God in Chrift, nor the way of falvation by Chrift; nor has any ~ experience of the work of the Spirit of God upon his foul; nor has any fpiritual underftanding of the doétrines of the gofpel; nor knows himfelf, his {tate and condition, and’ what true happinefS is, 7s like the beasts that peri/b; fee the note on y. 12,

: ee and he. was directed where he thould build an altar pfalm.of the day. of 1ucement and be takes it to be a prophecy of the future redemption by their expected Meffiah; and d it does refer to the times of the gofpel-di on;

for it treats of the calling of the Gentiles, of the ab- rogation of legal facrifices, and of the controverfy the

Lord would have with the Jews for retaining them, and © i Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi & Ben i a and rejecting pure, fpiritual, and evangelical wor- er than the children of nien; he is moré glotious fhip. ei ZU

'| than the angels in heaven:.'as Mediator, he is full of grace and truth, which’ makes him ‘vety lovely and amiable to his people: he is the’expreis image of his: Father*s perfon; and the glory of all the divine perfections is confpicuous in his ‘work of falvation; as well as in himfelf: now as hé was to come out of Zion, Pfal. xiv. 7. that is; not from the fort of \ Zion, or city of Yerufalem; for he was’to be born at Bethlebem;. only hé was to be of thé Jews, and {pring from them; fo he fhone‘out, or his appearance;and manifeftation in’ Z/rael’ was like the rifing fun; fee Mal. iv. 2. Luke i. 78,79. and the love and kindnefs of God in the miffion and’ gift of | him, appeared and fhofie out in like manner, Tit. | iii. 4. cor’ élfe the gofpel may be meant, “which has a beauty -in it: it is a glorious: gofpel,’ and holds forth the beauty and glory of Chrift. All truth is lovely and-amiable, efpecially evangelical truth: it has.a divine beauty on it; it comes from God, and bears his imprefs 5 yea, it is a perfection of ‘beauty: it contains \a perfeét plan of truth, and’ is able to make:the man-of God perfeét; and this was to come out of Zion; Ifai. ii. 3: ‘and’ which great light firft arofe in Fudea; and froth thence fhone out in’ the Gentile: world, like the fun if/all its Tuftre and glory, Vit. ii. rt. or, according to our verfion, God hath foinedout of Zion; which, as Ben‘ Melech’ on the text obferves, is the perfection of Beauty;’ fee Lam, iit 5. by which is'meant the church under the gofpel-difpenfation, Heb. xii. 22.’ which, ‘as in gofpelyorder, is exceeding beautiful; and’ as’ its members: are adorned with the graces of ‘the Spirit, by Which they are all glorious: within 5 and _efpeciallyas ‘they are clothed ‘with the righteoufmefs ‘of -Chrift, and. fo are “perfectly éomely through the comelinefs he’ hath put upon them’; ‘and'here it is that Chrift, who is thé great God, and our Saviour, fhines: forth upon his ‘people, grants his gracious prefente;:and *manifefts himfelf in his ordinances, to their gréat joy and 'pleafure: 7" 9. 80 Pee” | yi gu Our God fhall come, 8c.) That is, Chrift, who is ‘truly and properly God, and who was promifed and ‘expected as'a'diviné perfon; atid which was ‘neceflary on account of the work he*caime about’! afd: beliévers jclaimi an ‘intereft’ in him as their'God’s' and he jdltheit Géd inwhom they truft, and«whom they worfhip: and ‘this coming of his listo be wnderftood, not of his coming in’ the flefh; ‘forithough' that was promifed, believed, and:pray- ‘ed for;:asothefe words are ‘by fome rendered, ‘may our'God'come™; yet at his firft coming he was filent, ‘his-voice was not heard in the ftreets, Marth. xii. rg. nor did any fire or tempeft’ attend that: nor is ‘it to beiinterpreted of his*fecond ‘coming, or coming to judgment; aT though that alfo is promifed, believed; and prayed for;. and when he will not be ‘filent, but by his voice will taife the dead, fummon’ allbefore:him, and pronounce the fentéence’ on all; andthe world, and all that is therein, will be burnt with fire; ‘and a horrible tempeft rained upon the wicked;»yet' it is’ better to underftand it of his’. coming'to fét'up his kingdom in the'world, and to punith ‘his’ profefling people for their. difbelief | atid irejeGtion’of hinys {te Matth. xvi. 28. Heb. x. 37. And: foal not ‘keep filence; contain himfelf, bear: with the Jews any longer, but come forth in his wrath againft them; ‘fee y. 21, 22. and itmay alfo denote the great found of the gofpel, and the very public miniftration of it in the Gentile world, kings, and Lord of lords, by. whom, they reign and judge, and to. whom, they, are, accountable. ‘The Largum renders. it. the mighty.God,.as:we dos which is the title and name of Chrift.in J/a ix: 6. and well agrees with him,,as appears by his»works of creation, providence, and redemption, and-by his government of his church and people:. by all the grace, ftrength,. afliftance and ptefervation they have from,him now, and by all that glory and happinefs they will be brought’ unto, by him hereafter, when raifed from,the,dead, according to his mighty power... It is added,, Evemshe Lord, hath {poken;, or. Febovab, | Some. have’ obferved, that theie three names,..4/, Elobim,.Febovab, here mentioned, have three, very,diftinctive accents fet to them, and which being joined to a verb, fingular 337, ath fpoken, contains the myftery. ofithe Trinity of perfons in the unity..of,thedivine Effence; fee Fo/b.. xxii. 22. though rather, all. the names belong to Chrift, the Son of God, and who.is Febovah our Righteoufnels, and to whom, he’! being the eternal Logos, fpeech is very,\properly afcribed: He hath fpoken for the elect in the council and coz Yenant, of.grace and) peace, that they, might »be given to him; and.on their behalf, that. they might have grace and glory, and he:might be: their Surety, Saviour, and Redeemer..;..He hath f{poken all things out of nothing in creation: he {poke -with Mofes at the giving of the Law on mount'Sinai: he, the,angel. of God’s: prefence,. {poke for the Old Teftament-faints, and {poke.good and comfortable words unto them: he hath-fpokeni in his:own:per- ~ {on here on earth,.and fuch,words, afid with fuch authority, as,neyer man. did 54nd he has fpoken (in, his judgments, and. providences againft the Jews and he now fpeaks in his gofpel by his minifters.:! whereforeit follows,.... And called the earth frontthe rifing...of the jun unto the going down thereof;-which may. be. confidered as.a.preface, exciting, atten tion to what, is, after fpoken,, as, being of moment and importance; fee Deut.,xxxil., x.\ or as calling the earth,.and fo the heavens, y+ 4. to:bé, witnefles of the. juftnefs and equity. of his, dealings with ‘the Jews, for their rejection of him, and his gofpel;: fee

Deut.iv. 26.%0r, rather, as,a, call; to the inhabitants! of the earth to hear the. gofpel,,which, hadats:accomplifhment in. the. times,of the apoftles 5. when Chrilt having a people, notin Judea only, but in the feveral parts of,the.world, from eaft.to weft, fent them into. all the, world with his gofpel,cand by: it effectually called them through his.grace s: and churches, were ‘planted every where, to the chonour of his name,5,,compare, with this Mal. inra.) |. “Yi Qe Out, of Zion, the. perfection. of beauty:God bath foined.\.;,Or foall fhine?, the pat for the fu: ture, as Kimchi oblerves; or the perfection of the. beauty of. God bath» fhined out of Zion; that is, Chrift; he is the perfection of beauty 5" he is fair at or before this time, for the enlargement of Chrift’s kingdom in it. 4 fire fhall devour before bim, meaning either the fire of the divine word making its way among the Gentiles, confuming their idolatry, fuperftition, &c. or rather the fire of divine wrath coming upon the Jews to the uttermoft; and even it may be literally underftood of the fire that confumed their city and temple, as was predicted, Zech. xi. 1. Matth. xxii. 7,. And it foall be very tempeftuous round about bim; the time of Ferufalem’s deftruction. being fuch a time of trouble as has not been fince the world began, Matt. XXIV. 21.)

¥. 4. He fhall call tothe heavens from above, and to the earth, &c.| To hear what he {hall fay, when he will no longer keep filence; and to be witneffes of the juftice of his proceedings; fee J ai.

i. 2. Deut. iv. 26. The,Zargum interprets this of the angels above on high, and of the righteous on the earth below; and fo Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, explain it of the angels of heaven, and of the inhabitants of the earth. Tbat be may judge bis people; not that they, the heavens and the earth, the inhabitants of either may judge his people but the Lord himfelf,.as in y..6, and this defigns.not the judgment of the whole world, nor that of his own covenant-people, whom he judges, when. he corrects them in i they might.not be condemmed with the world; when he vindicates them, and avenges them on their enemies, and when he protects and faves them; but the judgment.of the Jewifh nation, his. profeffing people, the fame that Peter fpeaks of, 1 Pet. iv. 17.

¥. 5. Gather my faints together unto me, &c.] Thefe words are {poken by Chrift to the heavens and the earth; that is, to the angels, the minifters of the gofpel, to gather in, by the miniftry of the word, his eleét ones among the Gentiles; -fee Mait. xxiv. 30. called his /aints, who had an intereft in his favour and loving-kindnefs, and:were fanctified or fet apart for his fervice and glory: Thofe that have made a covenant with me by facrifice; or, who have made my covenant by, or on facrifice* y the covenant of grace, which was made: with Chrift from everlafting, and which was confirmed by his blood and facrifice; this his people may be faid to make with God in him, he being their head, fure-: ty, and_ reprefentative:. now thefe coyenant-ones he will have gathered in to himfelf by effectual vocation, which is ufually.done by, the miniftry of the word; for this.is not to be underftood,of the gathering of all nations; to him, before him. asa, Judge; but of his fpecial: people to him asia Sa-' viour, the Shiloh, to, whom.the gathering: of the people was to be, Gen. xlix. 10, J/ai. xxvii. 125 03. and. lyi,.8. Zeab. x. 8. 01] y¥..6., And the heavens. /ball. declare his righteous. nefs, 8cc.} That is, either the heavens: fhall bear witnefs to his juftice and equity in judging his people; or the angels, the minifters of the gofpel, fhall declare his juftitying righteoufnefs, which is revealed init, to, the; faints and covenant-ones, they fhall be.a means of gathering in: or rather the juftice of Chrift in the deftruction of the Jews, hall be attefted and applauded by angels and men, juft as the. righteoufnels. of God in the deftruction of the antichriftian powers is celebrated by the angel of the. waters, Rev. xvi. 5, 6. For God is judge himfelf, Selab. and not another, or by another; and therefore his judgments mutt be juft and righ- teous, feeing he is juft and true, loves righteoufnefs, and is righteous in all his ways and works.

y. 7. Hear, O my people, &c.] This is an addrefs to the people of the Jews, whom God had chofen to be his people above all others, and who profeffed themfelves to be his people; but now a Lo-ammi was about to be written upon them, being a people uncircumcifed in heart and ears, refufing to hear the great prophet of the church, him that fpake from heaven. And I will fpeak; by way of accufation and charge, and in judgment againft them for their fins and tranfgreffions. O J - rael, and I will testify againft thee, or to thee‘; to thy face produce witnefles, and bring fufficient evidence to prove the things laid to thy charge. I am God; even thy God which is an aggravation of their fin againft him, and is the reafon why they fhould hearken to him; fee P/a/. Ixxxi. 10, Il, a2; ‘ ¥. 8. I will not reprove thee for thy facrifices, &c.] » For the neglect of them; this they were not chargeable with; and had they omitted them, a charge would not have been brought againft them on that-account, fince thefe were not what God commanded when he brought them out of Egypt, Jer: vii..22. and were now abrogated; and when they were in force, acts of mercy, kindnefs and beneficence, were preferred unto them, Hof. vi. 6. Or thy burnt-offerings, to havé been continually before: me; or, for thy burnt-offerings are continually before me"; fo far were they from being reproveable for not bringing their facrifices, that they were continually offering up before the Lord even mul— titudes of them, though to no purpofe, being offered up without ‘faith, and in hypocrify; and could. not ‘take away fin,'and’ make atonement for it 5 and befides, ought now to have ceafed to be offered, Chrift the great facrifice being now offered up, as he was in the times to which’ this pfalm belongs $ fee J/ai. i. v4. Mic. vi..6, 7) Heb. x. 3, 45 14. wherefore it follows,’ - ois Yi gh Ewilldake.no bullock out of thy houfe, &c.J. That is, “will accept of none; fuch facrifices being no more‘agreeable’.to the will of God; Heb. x. 5, 6,8. thedallock is mentioned, that being a principal creature ufed in facrifice; as alfo the following, Nor: he-goats out of thy folds; the reafons follow ttinic jay, eidl,f bc ath;

y. 10. For every beaft of the foreft is mine, 8cc.

By creation and prefervation; and therefore he ftood: inno need: of their bullocks and -he-goats. And the cattle upon’ a'thoufand bills; meaning all the cattlein the whole world, ©) © yeaa Dknow all the fowls of the mountains, '&c.]

God not’only knows them, bur takes care of them;’ not a fparrow falls to the gtound without his know-. ledge, and all the fowls of the air steed by him, Matt. X.29. and vi. 26.’ and therefore needed not’

their turtle-doves and young pigeons,’ which were’

the only fowls ufed in facrifice. And the wild beafts of the field are mine; which are mentioned in oppo-_ fition to domeftic ones, fuch’ as they had in their houfes or folds, ¥. 9. ie’ ye a2. If I were hungry, I would not teil thee, &c.] Or/fay to thee”; afk for any thing 5 for the world is mine, and the fulnefs thereof; with which, was the former his cafe, he could fatisfy / fee Pfal. xxiv... *’ Sata aoe a y¥. 13. Will T eat the fleh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?] Thatis, exprefs a pleafure, take delight delight and fatisfaction in fuch kind of facrifices, which can never take away fin: no, I will not; wherefore other facrifices, more agreeable to his nature, mind, and will, and to the gofpel-difpentfation, are next mentioned;

¥. 14. Offer unto God thank/[giving; &cc.] Which is a facrifice, ¥..23. P/al. exvi. 17. Heb. xiii, 15. and the Jews fay, that all facrifices will ceafe in future time, the times of the Meffiah,, but the facrifice. of praife; and this fhould be offered up for all mercies temporal and fpiritual; and unto God, becaufe they all come from him; and becaufe fuch facrifices are well-pleafing to him, and are no other than our reafonable fervice, and agreeable to his will; and then are they offered up aright, when they are offered up through Chrift, the great Highprieft, by whom they are acceptable unto God, and upon him the altar, which fanétifies every gift, and by faith in him, without which it is impoffible to pleafe God. Some render the word confeffion’; and in all thankfgivings it is neceffary that men fhould eonfefs their fins and unworthinefs, and acknowledge the goodnefs of God, and afcribe all the glory to him; for to him, and him only, is -this facrifice to be offered: not toman; for that would be to facrifice to his own net, and burn incenfe to his:drag. - And pay thy vows unto the most High, meaning not ceremonial ones, as the vow of ‘the Nazarite; nor to’ offer fuch and fuch. a facrifice, fince thefe are diftinguifhed from, and oppofed unto the dacrifices of the ceremonial Law before mentioned; and much Jefs; monattic ones, as the vow of celibacy, and abftinence from certain meats at certain tires; but moral,’ or fpiritual and evangelical ones; fuch as devoting one’s felf tothe Lord, and to his:fervice and worfhip, under the influence, and in the ftrength of grace; fignified by faying, Iam the Lord’s, and by. giving up ourfelves to him and:to his churches, to walk with them in all his commands and ordinances, to which his love and grace conftrain and oblige; fee //ai. xliv. 5. 2 Cor.viii, 5. and particularly by them may be meant, giving God the glory and praife of every mercy and deliverance, as was promifed previous to it; hence thofe are put together, Pfa/. Ixv. 1. | This fcripture does not oblige to the making of vows, but to the payment of them when made; fee cel, v. 4, 5. and may refer to every thing a man lays | correttion *, to be reproved or reformed by the ftatutes and covenant they declared to others; they himfelf in a folemn manner under obligation to perform, efpecially in religious. affairs. An - ¥e-15. And call upon me in the day of trouble, &c.} This is another. part of fpiritual facrifice or worfhip, which is much miore acceptable to God than legal facrifices.. Invocation of God includes all parts of religious worfhip, and particularly defigns. prayer, as it does here, of which God, and he only, is the object; and which fhould be performed in. faith, in fincerity, and with fervency; and though it fhould be-made at all times, in private and in public; yet more efpecially fhould be attended to in a time of affliction, whether of foul or body, whether of a perfonal, family, or public kind, fam. v. 13. and the encouragement to it is, 1 will deliver thee; that is, out of trouble: as he is able, fo faithful is he that hath promifed, and will do it. The obligation follows, And thou

¥. 16. But unto the wicked God faith, &c.| By whom are meant, not openly profane finners; but men under a profeffion of religion, and indeed who were teachers of others, as appears from the following expoftulation with them: the {cribes, Pharifees, and doétors among the Jews are defigned; and fo Kimebi interprets it of their wife men, who learned and taught the Law, but did not act according to it. It feems as if the preceding verfes refpected the truly godly among the Jews, who believed’ in Chrift, and yet were zealous of the Law; and retained legal facrifices; as fuch there were, Aé; xxi, 20. and that thefe words, and what follow, are {poken to-hypocrites among them, who fat in M4- fes’s chair, and faid, and did not; were outwardly righteous before men, but inwardly full of wickednefs, deftitute of the grace of God, and righteoufnefs of Chrift: What haft thou to do to declare my

Jtatutes? the laws of God, which were given to the people of J/rael; fome of which were of a moral, others of a ceremonial, and others of a judicial nature; and there were perfohs appointed to teach and explain thefé to the people, as the priefts and Levites: now fome of thefe were abrogated, and not to be declared at all in the times this pfalm refers to; and as for others, thofe perfons were very improper to teach and urge the obfervance of them, when they themfelves did not keep them 5 and efpecially it was wrong in them to declare them to the people, for fuch purpofes as they did, namely, to obtain life and righteoufnefs by them. Or that thou fbouldeft take my covehant in thy mouth? which is to be underftood, not of the covenant of works made with Adam, and now broke; nor of the pure covenant of grace, as adminiftred under the gofpel-difpenfation, of which Chrift is the Mediator, and the gofpel a tranfcript, fince both were rejected by thefe perfons; but the covenant at mount Sinai, which was a typical one; and being in fome fenfe faulty,was now antiquated, and ought to have ceafed; and therefore thefe men‘are blamed for tak-

‘ing it in their mouths, and urging it on the peo- }ple: and befides, they had no true fight of, and faith in the thing exhibited by it; and moreover were not ftedfaft, nor did they continue in it, like their fathers before them, P/a/. Ixxviii, 37. Heb. viii, 7, 8, 13.

taught others, but not themfelves, Rom. ii. 21—23. or evangelical inftruction, the doétrines of grace, and of Chrift; for, as concerning the gofpel, they were enemies, Rom. xi. 28. and fince they were haters of that, they ought not to have been teachers of others. And cafteft my words bebind thee; \ the doétrines of the gofpel, which they defpifed and rejeéted with the utmoft abhorrence, as loathfome, and not fit to be looked upon, and into; and alfo the ordinances of it, the counfel of God, which they rejected againft themfelves, 47s xiii.

¥. 18. When thou faweft a thief, then thou confentedSt with bim, &c.] Or didft run with bim*; joined and ‘agreed with him in the commiffion of the fame things; which was literally true of the foalt glorify me; by offering praife,'¥. 23. afcribing’ the glory of the deliverance to God, and ferving) Scribes. and Pharifees:- they devoured widows houfes, and:robbed them of their fubftance, under him in righteoufnefs and true holinefs continu- | h: aS | deeds of Barabbas, a robber, when they preferred 4 € ' ° 2° S21 Phi a pretence of long prayers; they confented to the and thereby fully confute their vain imagination, that either he did not take notice of them, or elie ritual fenfe, they ftole away the word of the Lord, every man from his neighbour; took away the key of knowledge from the people, and put falfe gloffes upon the facred writings. Axd bajt been a partaker with adulterers, thefe teachers of ‘the law were guilty both of theft and adultery, Rom. ii. 21,22. they are called by our Lord an adulterous generation, Maft. xii. 39. and they were fo in a literal fenfe; fee Fobn viii. 49. and in a figurative one, adulterating the word of God, and handling it deceitfully. deftruction;

¥.21. Thefe things baft thou done, &c.] Thefe evil works, as the Targum; which they had done over and over again without remorfé, with the greateft. pleafure, and with promifes of impunity to theinfelves. This is a confirmation of the charge made by the omnifcient God, who faw and knew all their actions. And I kept filence; fpoke not by terrible things in righteoufnefs, deferred the execution of judgment, exercifed forbearance and patience, and gave {pace to fepent; which being defpifed, they were hardened yet more and tore in fin; fee Eeclef. viii. 11. Rom. ii. 4,5. This refers to the fpace of time between the crucifixion of Chrift, and the deftruétion of Ferufalem. Thou thoughteft that I was altogether fuch an one as thyfei; either that he did not fee the things committed by them in fecret, as the things before mentioned, theft, adultery, flander and detraction, monly are; becaufe they could not fee fuch actions done by others: or that he took pleafure in them, ds they did, and that he approved of their crucifixion of Jefus of Nazareth, and of their contempt of his gofpel, and of the: perfecution of his followers. But J will reprove thee; not verbally by the miniftry of the word, much lefs effectually and’ favingly by his Spirit; nor in a way of fatherly correction and chaftifement, but by fore judgments; by fending the Roman armies to burn their city approved of them. This: fignifies a formal pro- — ceis againft them, as in a court of judicature; bringing in a regular charge and accufation againft them, and an orderly difpofition of their fins, as to time, place and circumftances, committed by them 5 and a ftrong evidence, or thorough conviction of them, fo as not to be denied and gainfayed by them: ora fetting them in battle array, as in Fob vi. 4. in rank and file; fins being what war againft men, and bring upon them utter ruin and as the fins of the Jews fought againft them, and deftroyed them; fee Fer. ii 19. oil or- ¥. 22. Now confider this, &c.] The evils that had been committed, and repent of them; for repentance is an after-thought and reconfideration of fin, and humiliation for it; that the Lord was not like them, not'an approver of fin, but a reprover and what would be theit latter end, what all this would iffue in, in cafe of impenitence. 2 that forget God; that there is a God, his -being, perfections, word, works, and benefits. Let J peakeft | tear you in pieces 5 asa lion, leopard or bear; fee Hefea xiii. 7, 8. which was accomplifhed in the deftruétion of 7eru/alems when both their civil and ecclefiaftical ftate were torn in piecés; their city and temple levelled with the ground, ‘and not one ftone left upon another; and they fcattered about in the earth. Aud there be mone to deliver 5 which denotes their utter and irreparable ruin, till the time comes they fhall turn to the Lord; fee Jz, xlii. 22:. sils ~ y.23. Whofo offereth. praife, 8cc.} Which is exhorted to, ¥. 14. fee the note there: « Glorifierh me; celebrates the divine perfections, gives God the glory of all mercies 3° which honours him, and is’ more grateful and well-pleafing to-him than all burnt-offerings and facrifices. Aud to bim that ordereth bis converfation aright; according to the rule of God’s word, and‘as becomes’ the gofpebof Chrift,; who walks ‘inoffenfivelyto all, circumfpeétly and wifely in the world, and in love:to the faints; in wifdom towards them thatare without, and in peace with them that ate-within; who fs a follower’of God, of Chrift, and ofthis people; and who lives fo as to glorify God, and caufe others to glorify him likewife: or that choofes: for com-4 himfelf the right way, ‘as Adem Ezra, the’ tight way to eternal life; and the fenfe is; he that puts or féts his heart upon it, and is in purfuit after the evangelical way of life!’ To him»w¢ll I fhew the /a/vation of God or, caufe to fee or enjoy it”; not only temporal falvation from time:to time, but fpiritual and eternal’ falvation; to fee intereft in it, and to Heise it; and particularly Chrift, the author of it, who is the falvation of God’s provid. ing, appointing and «fending, and whofe. is greatly concerned’ therein; fee J/@. lit, 10, Luke

_ ¥. 19. Thou giveft thy mouth to evil, &c.} To thea evil things againft Chrift, his doétrines, inances, minifters and people; and to deliver out evil doétrines, pernicious to the fouls of men..4vd thy tongue frameth, deceit; puts and joins together deceitful words in a very‘artful manner, by which fimple and unftable minds are beguiled. for it;

¥.20. Thou fitteft, &c.] Either in the 3 of Mo/es, or on the feat of judgment, in the great fanhedrim of the nation; or, as Aben Ezra paraphrafes it, ix the feat of the feornful. And againft thy brother, even to pafs fentence upon him, to put him to death for protefling faith in Chrift, Matt. x. 21. Thou flanderest thine. own mother’s fon; the apoftles and difciples of Chrift, who were their brethren and kinfmen according to the flefh; and even our Lord Jefus Chrift himfelf, who was bone of their bone, and flefh of their flefh.

him to Jefus Chrift; and they joined with the thieves on the crofs in reviling him: and in a fpi- and temple, and carry them captive. And fet them in order before thine eyes; that is, their fins, it. 25, 30. ay coteboett Sipe v nis we OF ——_

, "S] > inhodw, hoe 2 gari2 be 1.9 ee } 0 ik ye Oe ryote ix “ P S A L M I dg i Jair 4 initpt abe ald. | rh wie vollot noice do ine To the chief mufician, a pfalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after Re had gone in to Bathfheba. @) soo visa aie yin -, wey Une eaivngigin ani tn, d

HE occafion of this pfalm was the fin of ] was a. David with Bathfbeba, fignified by going in to lar; an eupbemi/m for. lying ae her which fin very aggravated one, fhe being another man’s wife, and the wife of a fervant and foldier of his, who was at thé fame time expofing his life