Exposition of the Whole Bible

tended. It may be applied to any wicked, law-

Jefi, and tyrannical perfecutor of God’s people;

and particularly to the lawlefs and wicked one, the man of fin, the fon of perdition, Antichrift, 2. Theff-

The objeét, ground, and foundation of it, even of prefent deliverance, and of future and eternal falvation. Thou art my trust from my youth; in whom he trufted in his youthful days, of which there is an eminent inftance in 1 Sam. xvii. 33

¥. ©. By thee have I been holden up from the womb, &c.] Supported in being, upheld in life, and fuiftained with food and raiment, and followed with the mercies and bleffings of life from thence to this-prefent moment; which the pfalmift takes notice of, as he does of-what goes before and follows after, to encourage his faith and hope in God as to prefent deliverance. Thou art he that took me out of my motver’s bowels; fee the note on Pfal, xxii.

g. the Syriac verfion is, thou art my hope from my mother’s bowels the Arabic verfion, thou art my belp-

ér, and the Septuagint.and Vulgate Latin verfions, thou ari my protector: the word is only ufed here, and in P/al. xc. 10. and is there rendered cul off; the Lord was, as it were, his cutter off ‘; that gut the. navel-ftring, and loofed him from his mother, and

- fafely brought him into the world, and prefervet hia ever fince: wherefore he adds, My praife fhall be continually of thee, as the God of nature and providence; and alfo as the Ged of grace, who | had bleffed him both with temporal and fpiritual. bleffings; and thefe being continued with:him, he determines that God fhould be the iubject of his praife always. The Targumis, ‘¢ in thy word my ‘* praife is continually.”.

. ¥. 7. I am as a wonder unto many, &c.] To the multitude, to the populace, or fo che great“ and mighty; and indeed to both: which refpects not his wonderful prefervation from the womb, he had before obferved; nor his being in a wonderful manner raifedto the throne of J/rae/; nor the wonderful things, and amazing exploits done.by him, and victories he obtained; nor the wonderful inftances of divine grace and goodnefs:to him; but rather the forlorn and diftreffed ftate and condition he was now in, being obliged to quit his palace, and flee from the face of his fon, accompanied only witha few of his férvants; and fo was a fhocking fight, a fpectacle, as the apoftle fays of himfelf, to others, to the world, to angels, and to men, 1 Cor, iv. g. fo the Meffiah and his children are faid to be fet for figns and wonders, J ai. viii.

18. and Fo/bua and his fellows to be men wondered at, Zech. iii. 8. as the faints are by themfelves, that they fhould partake of fuch favours; and by the angels, that they fhould be the objects of electing, redeeming, calling, adopting, juftifying, and pardoning grace; and by the world, that they fhould chute to fuffer affliction and reproach for Chrift, bear it with fo much patience, and be fupported, and thrive under it; fee 2 Cor. vi. 810. But thou art my firong refuge; or my refuge of firength”; his refuge and ftrength, as in Pfal. xlvi. 1. bis refuge to which he betook himfelf, when refuge failed him, and no man cared for him, and which he found to be a ftrong one, and init fafety.

¥. 8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praife, &c.] Or thy praife foall fill my mouth *; which thews that his heart was affected with the goodnefs of God to him, and. that he had a deep impreffion and fenfe of it upon him; for out of the abundance of the > heart the mouth {peaks; and. for the mouth to be filled with the praife of God, is to fpeak largely, ublickly, and with great delight, in the praile of od, his divine perfections and benefits. And with thy honour all the day; the excellency of his. nature, the glory of his majefty, the honour due unto him, on.account of his being, attributes, and bleffings of providence and grace; a work to be employed in all the day, evening, morning, and at noon; as often as prayer is made to God, praife, honour, and glory fhould be given him; fince his mercies are new every morning, and they continue all the day long; his goodnefs endures for ever.

¥.9. Caft me not off in the time of old age, &c.] The Lord never cafts off, nor cafts away his people, whom he foreknew; they are near unto him; they are on his heart, and are engraven on the palms of his hands; and they fhall never be removed from his heart’s-love, nor out of *his arms, nor out of his covenant, and fhall always~be the objects of his care,: he bears and carries them to.old age, and even to hoary hairs: the Lord had been the guide of Davia’s youth, and his ‘truft then, y. 5.. and now he defires he would be the ftaff of his old ages at which age he was when Ab/alom rebelled againft him. Forfake me not when my ftrength faileth, as it does when’ old age comes on; then the keepers of the houfe tremble, and the ftrong men bow themfelves, and efpecially atdeath, when flefh and heart fail; but God will never forfake his people, ‘neither in youth, nor in old age, neither in life nor at death.)

y¥. 10. For mine enemies {peak againft me, &c.] Or fay unto me’, what is exprefled in the following verfe, God bath forfaken bim; and fo thefe words are a reafon of the above petitions: or mine enemies [peak to me; or of me”; not good, but evil: and fo the Targum paraphrafes it, ‘ for ‘“* mine enemies {peak evil againft me;” or concerning me. David had his enemies, and many, as Abitbopbel, and others, who fpake againft him to the people, and thereby drew many with them into rebellion againft him; and particularly Sbimei {poke againft him, and curfed him, calling him a bloody man, -a man of Belial, 2 Sam, xvi. 7. And they that lay wait for my foul; or life, that laid fnares for him, or lay in ambufh,- and fought for an opportunity. to take away his life: or they that keep my foul, or life*; that were his lifeguards that were about his perfon for the prefervation of him; and fo ehe Zargum feems to underftand it. Take coun/el together; lay fchemes, and form plots how to deftroy him, as Abithophel did, 3 Sam. XVi. 20——23. and Xvil. I—4.;

¥. 11. Saying, -God bath forfaken bim, &c.} Good men may feem to others to be forfaken of God; and they themfelves may fometimes think they are; and they may be forfaken for a {mall moment, when God withdraws his gracious prefence, or does not afford immediate help; but never finally and totally. This Davia’s enemies concluded, from the diftrefled condition he was in, being obliged to leave his family and court, and

6 “ cil Ce MR OMA fice from his fon} ‘and wander up and‘down with a -fmall retinue; and this they faidto one another, to encourage themfelves to lay ‘violent hands upon him, ‘Which they thought they might do with eafe and ‘itypunity; wherefore it follows, — Per/ecute and take him; purfue after him eagerly and dilisently; lofe notime; and when come up to him, eize upon him, without any fear of God or man, For there is none to deliver him out of ‘our hands. God will not, ‘for he has forfaken him; and men- éannot,’ for he has not an army fufficient to defend him or recover him. © singe Da “oy/12. 0 ‘God, be not far from me, &c.} God isevery where, at hand and afar off, with regard to his being, power and pfovidence; his glorious prefence is in’ heaven, ‘his gracious prefence is with bis peoples but whenche hides his face, he feems to beat a diftance; and this they cannot ‘bear, and therefore deprecate it; fee P/al. x. 1. O my God, make haste for my help; he knew that his help was in God, and that there was none for him elfewhere; and that he could help him when none elfe could, and was a prefent help in time of trouble; and it being fuch' a time with him, and his cafe defperaté, he defires the Lord that he would make hafte; and he addreflés him as his‘own God, the confideration of ‘which encouraged his faith and hope in him, and carried init an argument to help him; fee P/al. cxix. 94.

¥. 13. Let them be confounded, &c.] See Pfal. Ixx. 2. And‘ confumed; like fmoke; fee P/al. XXxXvii. 20, as Antichrift will be with the breath of Chrift’s mouth, and the brightnefs of his coming, 2 Theff. ii. 8. That are adverfariesto my foul; that hated him with a diabolical hatred, as the devil hates the fouls of men, and who has his name Satan from the word here ufed; all wicked men are Satans, full of enmity againft God, and all good men; and fuch were Davia’s enemies, fpiteful and malicious, and nothing would fatisfy them but his life. Let them be covered with reproach and difbonour; as with a garment, That feek my burt; fee Pal, xxxv. 26. and cix. 18, 19. as Abfalom and his company; fo Arama, y. 14. But Iwill hope continually, &c.| For deliverance and falvation from prefent outward troubles, for more grace here and glory hereafter: it is the excellency of the grace of hope to be exercifed in times of affliction and diftrefs, and with Abraham to believe in hope againft hope; and then it is that this grace is eminently and remarkably ufeful: it is an anchor to the foul when in diftrefs, which keeps it firm and ftedfaft; and an helmet, which covers the head in the day of battle; in the exercife of which the believer glories in tribulation: it is an abiding grace, and fhould be continually exercifed by thofe that have it, which is to abound in it; but this muft be through the power of the holy Ghoft, Rom. xv.13. And will yet praife thee more and more; or will-add to all thy praife®; to former praifés and thankfgivings, frefh ones, as his mercies were renewed to him, and he was daily loaded with benefits.

X15. My mouth shall fhew forth thy righteoufnefi, &c.] Both his punitive juftice in taking vengeance on his enemies, agreeable to the above

- imprecations; and his faithfulnefs in the performance of promifes of good things unto him; as alfo his effential righteoufnefs difplayed and glorified in the redemption that is by Chrift; and particularly the righteoufnefs of Chrift, accepted of God, and

imputed by him; which the pfalmift with his mouth declared his faith in, expreffed his joy at, and fet forth in a ftrong manner the glory and excelléncy of it, and determined to make mention of it, and of that only, as in the following verfe, And thy falvation all the day; both temporal and etérnal’; the glory of both, and praife for the fame.

For I know not the numbers thereof; of that righte- - oufnefs and falvation, the numerous bleffings which are contained in them; fee Pfal. xl. 5. or though I know not the numbers of them‘; though he could not fully declare the glories and excellencies of the righteoufnefs and falvation of God, and the numerous mercies and rich grace included in them; yet he would attempt to fet them forth in the beft way he could, though in a feeble and imperfect manner, Vous pe “y. 16. I will go in the ftrength of the Lord God, &c.]' Go on praifing him, as he had determined to do in the preceding verfes; not in his own ftrength, knowing that his heart was not always difpofed aright, or prepared and fit for fuch fervices —- and that though the daily continuance of favours required conftant praife; yet he needed always the aids of divine grace to raife his affection and fong: or I will go into the ftrengths of the Lord God‘; the power of God is exprefied in the plural number, ta fhew the greatnefs of it, which is as a garrifon to the believer; fee 1'Pet.i. 5. a ftrong-hold, a ftrong tower, a ftrong habitation, as in ¥. 3. into which he goes by faith, and is there fafe, in all times of diftrefs and danger: or the fenfe is, that he would go into the houfe of God, the temple and fanctuary, and in his ftrength perform the duties of public worfhip there; and it may include all religious actions, private and public, and every fpiritual undertaking; which ought to be attempted and performed, not in our own ftrength, ‘but in the ftrength of the Lord: man is become, thro” fin, a weak and impotent créature; though heis very hard to be brought to a fenfe and acknowledement of his weaknefs; true believers are fenfible of it, and own it; and fuch knowing that there is a fufficiency of ftrength in Chrift for them, look and go to him for it; to do otherwife, to attempt to do any thing in our own ftrength, betrays our weaknefs, folly and vanity, arid is dangerous, attended with bad confequences, and never fucceeds well: the apoftle Peter is an inftance of this, Matt. xxvi. 33, 35, 70. of thy’ righteoufne/s, even of thine only; and that before the Lord himfelf: not his own righteoufnefs, which he knew would not juftify him in his - fight, nor render him acceptable to him; nor furnifh out a plea or argument why he fhould receive any favour from him and therefore refolves not to mention it; “but the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which is the righteoufnefs of God, which he approves of, accepts, and imputes. This is a pure, perfect, and {fpotlefs righteoufnefs, which God is well pleafed with; honours his law, fatisfies his ~.

juftice, and fo juftifies in his fight, and renders perfon and fervice acceptable to him; and therefore with great propriety, pleafure and boldnefs, may be mentioned unto him; as it fhould be to Chrift himfelf alfo; by afcribing it to him, as the author of it; by expreffing a defire to be found in, it; to have faith of intereft in it, and joy on account of it; and by owning him openly and freely, as the Lord our righteoufnefs:-and we fhould make mention of it to,others, in praife of it 5 ex- tolling it as the righteoufnefs of, God, and not a creature; and fo fufficient to juitify many, even all the feed of J/raels as the beft robe of righteoulnefs, better than the beft of man’s, better than dam’s in innocence, or than the angels in heaven; as a law-honouring and juftice-fatisfying one, and as an everlafting one. And we fhould put our- {elves in mind of it, and, by repeated aéts of faith, put it on as our juttifying righteoufnefs; fince much of our joy; peace and comfort, depend. upon it. And this, and this only, is to be made mention of; it is only in the Lord: that there is. righteoufnefs: as there is-{alvation in him, and in no other; fo there is righteoufnels in him, and in no other; wherefore. no other is to. be mentioned along with jt: juftification js not partly by Chrift’s righteouf-

_ nefs, and partly. by our own; but only by his, and thro’ faith in it; fee Rom. ix. 32.

y. 17. O God, thou aft taught me from my youth, &c.}| The corruption of human nature; the weaknefs and impotence of it, to. every thing that is fpiritually good; and.the need of continual ftrength and.grace fromeChrift, to go to him for righteoufnefs and ftrength, life and falvation, and to Walk by faith on: him; the doétrine of juftification by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and the infufficiency of his own; the will, ways, and worfhip of God; and all the duties of religion, prayer, praife, €?c. and whoever were the inftruments, or whatever were the means, of teaching David thefe things, he,afcribes to God. Whether. his parents, or the priefts and Levites, taught him the facrifices and ordinances of the law, it was the Lord that bleffed inftru€tions to him;. and that taught him by providences and precepts, and by his holy Spirit. And a wonderful bleffing it is to be'taught of God, and not of men, things relating both to doctrine and practice; and it is an addition to it, to be taught thefe things early, as David was from his youth; and therefore the Lord was fo foon the object of his faith and truft, y. 5. and, as Timothy, from a child, was acquainted with the holy {criptures, and the things contained in them, which are able to make wife unto falvation, J/a: xxix. 13. and liv. 13. 2 Tim. iii. 15. And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works; not only of nature and providence, but of grace; the treafuring up of all grace, and the bleffings of it in Chrift; the work of redemption by him; the work of regeneration and converfion by his Spirit; and the perfeverance of the faints by his grace and ftrength; which are all wonderful and amazing. And as the pfalmift faw his intereft in thefe things, and had an experience of them; he declared them to others for their encouragement, and to the glory of all the three Perfons; fee Pfal. xvi. 16. Mark v.19.

y. 18. Now alfo when I am old and gray-beaded, O God, forfake me not, &c.] A repetition of his requeft, ¥ g. with a reafon annexed to it, fuggefted in the following words: Until I bave fhewed thy ftrength unto this generation, or, thine arm* 5 which fometimes defigns the Meffiah, J/a. liii. 1. who is the power of God, by whom he made the worlds, and in whom all things confift,;. and who has wrought out the falvation of his people; and is the arm_on which they Jean, and by which they are upheld. And the pfalmift may be thought to defire that he might be continued a little longer, and be favoured with the prefence of God, and the in- fluences of his Spirit and grace; that he might fhew forth in prophecy, both by word and writing, to the men of the then. prefent age, more things concerning the perfon, office and grace of Chrift; his fufferings, death, refurrection from the dead, and feffion at the right hand.of God; things which are {fpoken of in the book of Pfalms. Sometimes the arm of the Lord denotes his power and ftrength, — Pal. xliv. 3. and fo it. may be taken here; and the next claufe feers to be an explanation of it: And thy power; or even thy. power, to every one that is to come; that is, to come into the world, that is to be born into it; namely, the power of God, not.. only in, creating all things out of nothing, and fupporting what is made; but in the redemption of men; in the converfion of finners, and in the pre-

| fervation of the faints, and in enabling them to hold on and out unto, the end: and which is fhewn forth by the pfalmift in what he has committed to writing; and which continue, and will continue to the end of the world, for the inftruction of thofe that ‘come into it; fee P/a/, xxii. 31.

| y. 19. Thy righteoufne/s alfo, O God, is very high, &c.J] Or, unto the place on bigh*; it reaches unto heaven, as the mercy, truth and faithfulnels of God, are faid to do, P/al. xxxvi. 5. and’lvii. 10. Fhe righteoufnefs of Chrift is &ccepted of with God the Fathet in heaven; it is in Chrift, who is thére at the right hand of God; and it is higher apd infinitely above any righteoufnefs of a cfeature, angel’s or man’s. Who haji done great things; in na-~. -~ ture, in forniing the world out of nothing, and in upholding all creatures in their beings; in providence, in governing the world, and ordering. all things. in it for the beft, and to anfwer the wifeft purpofes;"in ‘grate, inthe falvation of loft finners by Chrift; in the juftification of them by his righ-. teoufnefs; and in the atonement and pardon of their fins, through his blood and facrifice; in the regeneration of them by his grace; in making and performing exceeding great and precious promifes, and in giving them eternal life. O God, who is like untO thee? either for greatnefs or goodnefs; for power or for mercy; for juftice, truth and faithfulnefs; for the perfections of his nature, or the works of his hands; and to be praifed, reverenced and adored, as he is; fee P/al. Ixxxix. 6, 7. ¥. 20. Thou which haft foewed me great and fore troubles, &c.) Or, made him to fee*; that is, to experience. David had his troubles, and thefe were great, both as to quantity and quality; and very grievous and hard to be borne, and were very try— ing ‘and afflictive: fome outward, fuch as he endured when perfecuted by Sau/; and afterwards in his own family, through the inceft of Amnon, the murder of him by Ab/alom, and Ab/alom’s rebellion again{t him; the curfes of Shimei, and the bicker« ings of the fons of Zeruiah; with many others: and fome inward, arifing from the corruptions of his heart, the hidings of God’s face, and the temptations of Satan. His experience of all which he afcribes, not to inftruments or fecond caufes, but to God himielf;, who had either laid them upon him, or fuffered them to befal him, for wife ends of his glory, and his fervant’s good, ‘There is in this claufe and the following, a keri and a cetib; according to the ceti, or writing in the text, it is, who haft foewed us; and fo the Targum renders it: but according to the keri in the margin, and the points, points, it is as we read; fo it is in-the Septuagint and Oriental verfions, and both may be retained; tor David's troubles, and thofe of other faints, are much the-fame- Shalt quicken me again; either raife -him from fo great a death of afflictions, in which he feemed to be as a dead man, both by himfelf and others, to a more comfortable and happy ftate and condition, in which he might live more free from vexation and trouble: ‘or, in a fpiritual fenfe, quicken him, being dead and lifelefs, ‘in the exercife of grace, and difcharge of duty; which is ufually done by, the word: and ordinances, and to purpofe, by the difcoveries of the love of God, which’excite grace, and animate to duty. And this-is God’s work, ‘and may be called a quickning again, in diftinétion from the firft quickning, when dead in trefpaffes and fins. And /halt bring me up again from the depths of the earth, expreflive of a very low eftate, either of body or mind, into which he had been brought; fee P/al. exxx, 1. and Ixxxviii. 6. Could the pfalm be underftood of Chrift, this and the preceding claufe might be applied to his refurrection from the dead; fee Ephef. iv. 9. and to the refurre¢ction of the faints; on which the faith of Chrift and his people is exercifed.

y. 21. Thou fhalt increafe my greatnefs, &c.] His temporal greatnefs, as he did, by crufhing the rebellion of his: fon; returning him to his palace and family; and*giving him reft from his enemies all around: and his fpiritual greatnefs, by favouring him with his prefence; by fhedding abroad his love in his heart; by enlarging his experience, increafing his faith, caufing his love to abound, and him to grow in every grace, and in the knowledge of Chrift. _ 4nd comfort me on every fide; by his ‘ Spirit, word and ordinances; by his truths and promifes;-with his rod and ftaff; and with mercy,

the abundance of comfort, which. fhould come as it were from every quarter, and encompafs him ‘ about. '. ¥.22. Twill alfo praife thee with the. pfaliery, © &c.] An inftrument of mufic; fee the note on Pfal. xxxiii. 2. hat is, his faithfulnefs in fulfilling his promifes, which is never fuffered to fail. Unto thee will I fing with the harp another inftrument of mufic; and both typical of the fpiritual melody in the heart, which believers make in praifing the Lord, when they fing the Lamb’s new fong; fee Rev. xiv. 2,3. O thou boly One of Ifrael, the God of I/rael, that dwells among them, and fanctifies them; and who is effentially and perfectly holy in himfelf, and in all his, ways and.works; the remembrance of which occafions praife and thankfulnefs, P/al. xcvii. 12." ¥. 23. My lips fhall greatly rejoice when I fing unto thee, &c.] Both with vocal and inftrumental mufic; this is praifing the Lord with joyful lips, Pfal: \xiti. 5. And my foul, which thou halt redeemed; fignifying, that it would not be lip labour, or bodily fervice only that he fhould perform; but that his heart would go along with his lips in praifé; and that under a fenfe of redeeming love, than which nothing can more ftrongly engage in fuch work, Pal. ciii. 1, 2,°3. “For the redemption of the foul is exceeding precious; being the contrivance of infinite wifdom, the fruit of divine grace, and owing to the ‘blood and facrifice of Chrift. © | ra

¥. 24. My tongue alfo fhall talk of thy righteouf= nes all the day long, &c.| See the note ae y. 16. For they are confounded, his adverfaries, for whofe confufion he prayed, ¥. 13. For they are brought unto foame that feek my hurt; as Abfalom and Abi- - thophel, being both brought to a fhameful end.

HE title of this pfalm is by fome rendered, a pfalm of Solomon";as a plalm 1yI9 for David, is often rendered a@ plalm of David; and fo make Solomon to be the writer of ity to which the Targum inclines, which paraphrafes it, «* by «¢ the hand of Solomon, faid in prophecy.” But, though Solomon had a gift of divine poetry, as appears by the Song of Songs, compofed by him; and the Thoufand and Five, he was the author of; and perhaps wrote the 127th Pfalm: yet by the firft and laft-verfes of this pfalm, it may be concluded, it was not wrote by him, but by David; and very ‘likely, at the clofe of his days, when he ordered Solomon to be anointed king, and exprefied his fatisfaction in it; his prayers and wifhes then being ended with regard to that affair; fee 1 Kings xxxiv. 48. And fo the title in the Syriac yerfion is, ‘* a ‘*« pfalm of David, when he made Solomon king:” the fame Kimchi obferves; it was written for him, and on his account: and it might be fent to him, _and delivered into his hands, to be laid up and kept by him, and be referred to for.his jufe at proper times. For.it may be rendered, as in the Arabic verfion, to Solomon; which adds, the fon of David: or elfe it may denote the fubject of the pfalm, and be read, concerning Solomon’, the Metfliah, the antitypical Solomon; who is often called by this name in the Song of Songs; fee Cant. iii. 7,9, 11. and viii. 11. Solomon being a'type of him in his wifdom and riches, and in the peaceablenefs and extent of his kingdom; to which reference is had in this pfalm. But a greater than Solomon is here; that the Meffiah is the fubjeét of it is manifeft, from the largenefs of, his kingdom, it reaching'to ~ the ends of the earth; which was not true of So/o~ mon, ¥.8. and from the duration of it, it being as long as the fun and moon endure, y¥. 5, 7, 17. and from the abundance of peace and profperity in it, which equally laft, ¥. 3, 7. and from the fubjection of kings and nations to him, even all of them, y¥.9, 10,11. and from the happinefs of his fubjects; they having protection, deliverance, and falvation by him, and all fpiritual bleffings in him;.. which fhews him to be the promifed feed, in whom all nations fhould be blefled, ¥. 2, 4,12, 13, 145 16, 17. and from the honour, praife, glory and” bleffednefs, afcribed to him, y. 15, 17,18, 19. So Tertullian *, long ago, obferved, that this pfalm belongs to Chrift, and not to Salamon. And that the ° Mefiiah is intended, many of the Jewifh writers, both ancient and modern, acknowledge; as ap-

Even thy truth, O my God; that

ther writings, which will be dbfrved i in the expo-.

fition of it. | ‘Farchi, though he interprets it of Solomon, yet owns, that their Rabbins expound the: whole pfalm of the Meffiah? and Kimchi,.who ex~ plains it _hyperbolically. of Solomon, acknowledges: that in the proper and literal fenfe, it is to be un-. -derftood of the Meffiah; and.which is: the fenfe given by his father, R. Fofepb Kimchi... Aben Ezra fays, this pfalm is either concerning Solomon, or concerning the Meffiah; but Abarbinel! makes no doubt that it is faid concerning him. R. Obadiah fays, it is concerning the coming of the Meffiah 5 and to this agrees the title in the Syriac véefiOns “anda prophecy concerning the coming of the Mef- “*fiah, and the calling of the Gentiles. ”

¥.1. Give the king thy judgments, O God, &e.} A prayer of David, or of the church he perfonates, to God the Father concerning Chrift; for he is be,

King meant; which is the fenfe of the old Jewifh fynagogue: the Targum is, ** give the conftitutions *<of thy judgments to the King Meffiah;”’ and fo their Midrafp™ interprets it. He is #be King, ‘by way of eniinetice, as in Pfal. xiv. 1. not only the King of the world, in right of creation and prefervaane in conjunétion with his Father. having an equal right with him; but of faints, of the church and people of God, by the defignation and conftitution of his Father; hence he was promifed and

XXxVii. 24. Hofea iii. 5. Zech, ix. g. and he came into the world as*fuch, though his kingdom did not appear very manifeft in his ‘{tate of humiliation;; yet at his afcenfion it did, when he was made and declared Lord and Chrift; and it is for the manifeftation of his kingdom, and the glory of it, the plalmift here prays..For by judgments are meant, not the: ftatutes and Jaws of God, given him to be fhewn, explained unto and enforced on others, which rather belongs to his prophetic office, or as the rule of ‘his government 3 nor the judgments of God to be inflied upon wicked men, “which is only one part of his kingly office; but of all. power in heaven and in earth, which was given him by his Fathér upon his refurrection, and about the time of his afcenfion, Matt. xxviii. 18. and is the fame with ail judgment committed by him to his Son, Fobn v. 22. and which explains the claufe here, and is the reafon why it is expreffed in the plural number heres which takes in the whole of the power and authority, the kingdom and the greatnefS of the kingdom, delivered to Chritt 5 and which chiefly lies in the government of the church, which is on his fhoulders, and is committed into his hands; exercifed in enacting laws, and delivering out ordinances, to be oblerved by the faints, and in the protection and defence of them, and alfo includes his judgment of the world at the laft day, to which he is ordained and appointed by his Father, and will be managed and conducted by him. And thy righteoufnefs unto the Ring’s fon, who is the fame with the King, as archi well obferves; for only one fingle perfon is afterwards {poken of, and defi figns the Meifiah;; who, as a divine perfon, is the Son of the King of kings, the only begotten of the Father, the true and proper Son of God; and as man, the fon of David the king. And fo the Targum, «« and thy righteoufnefs to the Son of David the “*¢ king;’? a known name of the Meffiah, Mast. I fs and XXii, 42. And by righteoufne/s is meant,

not the efiential tighteoufnels of God; this Chritt.

has by nature equally with his divine Father, and is not given or communicated to him; but the fulnefs af the graces of the Spirit, and ‘perfection of virtues, which he received without meafure; whereby, as Mediator, he is abundantly qualified toyudge. with righteoufnefs, and reprove with equity; and not as other judges do, after the fight of the eyes, or hearing of the ears; fee Ja. xi. 2, 3. Unlefs it can be. underftood of the everlafting righteoufnefs, which Chrift has wrought out, called his Father’s, - becaufe appointed in council and covenant, approved of and accepted by him, and imputed to his people.’ To work out this righteoufnefs, was not only given to Chrift in covenant, but he was fent in the fulnefs of time to do it; and had a power given him as Mediator, to juftify many with it, Z/a. li, 11. and which may’ be here prayed for. ‘ferom, by the king’s fon, underftands fuch as are regenerated, and taken into the adoption of children 3; and to “fuch the righteoufnefs of Géd is given. This is a truth, but not the fenfe of the text.

¥.2. He fhall judge thy people with righteoufne/s, &c.] Or, fo fhall be judge; or, that be may judge”, as the Syriac and Arabic verfions; having the judgments and righteoufnefs of God given hina he will be thereby qualified to judge the people of God; fuch as are fo, not by crearion, but by fpecial grace;

his chofen and covenant-people, the redeemed and.

purchafed people of God; and who in effectual vocation. appear to be fo, and are made his willing people. Thefe Chrift judges, rules and governs, protects and defends, in a righteous manner; pleads their caufe, vindicates their right, and avenges them on their enemies, as well as juftifies them with his own righteoufnels. - And thy poor with judgment 3 juftice and equity. Such who are literally poor, and are the Lord’s poor, whom he has chofen, and makes rich in. faith, and heirs of a kingdom; and with whom Chrift, when here on earth, was chiefly concerned, and now is; and not with the great men and rulers of the earth: or fuch who are poor in fpirit, fenfible of their fpiritual poverty; that find themfelves hungry and thirfty, and deftitute of righteoufnefs, and without money, or any, thing to procure either. Or, thine afflifted ones®; fuch as are diftreffed_ in body or mind,* with refpect to things temporal or {piritual; opprefied by ‘fin, Satan, and the world. “Thefe Chrift regards, and adminifters, juftice to in his own time and way; fee Ifa. xi. 4. y¥. 3. The mountains fhall jae peace to the people, &c.] The people of God, as before. * ‘Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret this of the nations, and kings of the nations, comparable to mountains and hills, as-in Micah vi. 1, 2. that fhould make peace with //rael in the days of Solomon, and in the days of the King Mefliah. Farchi, of the abundance of fruit the mountains and hills fhould bring forth; fo that there would be no contention among men‘ about gathering it; but every one would invite his neighbour to partake thereof, according to Zech. iii, 10. and fo the Midrafh’. of the inhabitants of the mountains; and may be applied to the churches of Chrift, comparable to the mountains for their firmneis and ftability, J a.

ii. 2. and xi, 9. and xxv. 6, and to the abundance of peace, holinefs and righteoufnefs, that fhould be found in them in the times of Chrift; or to the minifters of the gofpel, whofe feet are beautiful upon the the mountains, publifhing peace and falvation by Chrift, J/z. lii. 7. And the little bills by righteoufnefs; that is, fhall bring peace, by or with righteoufnels, the rightéoufnefs of Chrift; the effect of which is fpiritual peace and joy, Rom. v. 1. and xiv. 17, |

¥.4. He fhall judge the poor of the people, &c.] Of the people of God, whether among Jews or Gentiles; fee the note on ¥.2. He /hall fave the children of the needy, whofe parents being needy, they are fo too, in a {piritual fenfe, and in diftreffed circumftances. Such Chrift faves from their fins; from the curfes and condemnation of the law; from wrath to come, and out of the hands of all their enemies. And Jball break in pieces the oppreffor s the tyrant Satan, the god of this world; that has ufurped a power over it; who works in the children of difobedience, and leads captive the people of God in their unregenerate- ftate: the calumniator, as fome render the word; the accufer of the brethren: ¢h¢ defrauder *, as others; who beguiled our firft parents, and deceives mankind. Now it was foretold of Chrift, that he fhould break his head; and he was manifefted in the flefh to deftroy his works, and him himfelf; and he has broke him and all his fchemes in pieces, and fpoiled all his principalities and powers. The Syriac verfion reads tyrants or oppreffors, in the plural number; and it may include the Jews, -who were the perfecutors and oppreffors of the firft Chriftians; and Rome, pagan and papal; Antichrift, and all the antichriftian ftates, which have been, or will be broken to pieces by Chrift; who will rule them with a rod of iron, and break them in pieces as a potter’s veffel, Rev. ii. 27. and xii. 5. and xix. 15.

¥. 5. They fhall fear thee, &c.| The King Meffiah, the judge of the poor, and the deftroyer of the oppreffor: either the tyrants and oppreffors themfelves fhall fear him, and fuch who have been aiding and affifting to them; fee Rev. xi. 11, 13. or rather the people of God, the poor of the people, and children of the needy, judged and faved by Chrift; who fhall fear the Lord, both internally and externally, in the exercife of grace, and in the performance of religious worfhip; in all the parts of it, which are both included in the fear of the Lord; of which there will be many inftances, both among, Jews and Gentiles, in the latter day; fee Hofea il. 5. Ifa. \x. v. Rev. xv. 4, ard this they thall'do, 4s long as the fun and moon endure, throughout all generations, or, with the fun, and before the moon, generation of generations *; that is,to the end of the world, till fun and moon fhall be no more: fo long will Chrift have a feed to ferve him; fee Pfal. \xxxix. 36, 37.

¥. 6. He fhall come down like rain upon.the mowen grafs, &c,} That is, the King and King’s Son, the Meffiah, whofe coming is compared to rain and fhowers of it; fee Hofea vi. 3. and may be under- {todd of his incarnation; when, like rain, he came down from heaven; not by an illapfe of the human. nature, which before was not in him; nor by local motion of his divine perfon, with which that will not agree; but by affumption of human nature into union with him, as the Son of God; which was an inftance of his condefcending grace: like rain, he had no father as man; fee Fob xxxviil. 28. but was born of a virgin, through the power of the holy Ghott; which was very marvellous, like the dew that fell on Gideon’s fleece, when the earth about it was dry; which fome think is here referred to. The word ufed fignifies alfo a fhorn fleece of wool; and fo it is rendered by the Septuagint, and thofe verfions which follow that: or, foorn grafi, thorn by locufts, as the Zargum; rather by fheep, who, as. by claffical writers *, are faid to fheer the grafs by biting it. Or,.like rain upon the fleece‘; and as the rain. is the gift of God to perfons undeferving, in confequence of a decree, Fob xxviii. 26, fometimes. comes fuddenly, and is very grateful and refrefhing; fo Chrift is the-free gift of God to finners, and by a decree of his; and his coming was fuddenly, into his temple, and was welcome to them. that looked for him; as he ftill is to all fenfible finners. Or this may be interpreted of the coming of -

Chrift into the hearts of his people, by the communications of his Spirit-and grace, which, like — rain, came down from heaven; are dependent on the will of God, are free grace-gifts, and given in abundance; and, like rain, refrefh, revive and make fruitful. Or elfe this may be applied to the adminiftration of Chrift’s offices; as his prophetic office, — his gofpel and doétrine being from heaven, like rain, and.falling by divine direétion, fometimes in one place, and fometimes in another; and like it in its effects, foftening, quickning and fructifying; and more efpecially it may-refpect the adminiftration of his kingly office, fince he is in the context fpoken of as a King and Judge, and that in the latter day; whofe adminiftrations, though juft and righteous, yet not cruel and fevere, but mild and gentle; his commands are not grievous, nor his yoke heavy; though he will rule the wicked with a rod of iron, he holds forth the fceptre of grace and mercy to his own people; and when his kingdom fhall come in all its glory, it will be times refrefhing from the prefence of the Lord; and his favour will be as the cloud of the latter rain; fee Afs iii.

19,21. Prov. xvi. 15.. As fhowers that water the earth; fignifying the fame: The word ®75} is only in this place, and is ufed in the Ta/mud *, in the plural number, for drops of water; and this fenfe of fhowers dropping on the earth, is given by the Targum. Kimchi derives it from ®9% which, in the Syriac language, fignifies to cut; and thinks the phrafe is the fame with the former, as fhowers on the cut grafs of the earth”. But perhaps the word rather defigns the {ciflures and gaps of the earth through drought; and the fenfe is, that Chrift’s coming is like fhowers of rain upon the dry and parched ground, which are very acceptable to It.

y¥. 7. In his days fall the righteous flourifp, &c.J,

As the grafs of the field, ¥. 16, the dews and rain of grace déefcending upon them; and as a branch, Prov, xi. 28. They being branches in Chrift the vine, flourifh and bring forth fruit; and as the palm-tree, P/al. xcii, 12. which the more it is prefsed with weights, the more it grows; fo they, the more they are afflicted, as the //raelites, the more they grow in grace and experience, and become fruitful in every good word and work; which is owing to their being planted in a good foil, in the houfe and courts of the Lord, where the word is. _- preached, and ordinances adminiftered; to their — being rooted and grounded in the love of God and grace of Chrift; to their being watered continually with the dews of divine favour; enjoying the bright —_fhining fhining of the fun of righteoufnefs, and the refrething gales of the divine Spirit, like the fouth wind upon them, caufing their {pices to flow out. The Targum is, ‘¢ in his days the righteous fhall be mul- *¢ tiplied;” when the forces and fulnefs of the Gentiles fhall be brought in, and the nation of the Jews fhall be born at once: in the latter days of the Meffiah, all the Lord’s people fhall be righteous; and none but righteous perfons fhall dwell in the new heavens and earth, J/a. 1x. 21. 2 Pet. iii. 13. This is to be underftood not of perfons outwardly righteous only; nor that are ie in their own conceit 5 nor that feek for righteoufnefs by the works of the Jaw, or depend on an external profeffion of religion; for fuch never flourifh, nor grow in grace, who have no grace to grow in: but of fuch that are juftified by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, have faith in him, and the feed of grace implanted in them, This is interpreted of the Meffiah, by a Jewith writer *; who obferves, that in his days the priefthood fhall return, and the rod of Aaron fhall flourith. dnd abundance of peace, fo long as the moon endureth, alluding, no doubt, to the name of Solomon, which fignifies peace; and to that peace and profperity which were enjoyed under his reign, and was a fhadow of what would be in the times of

Chrift: univerfal peace, in a temporal fenfe, was in the times of 4ugu/tus, in which Chrift was born, ahd in whofe ‘reign the temple of Fanus was fhut, a fure fign of peace ”. Spiritual peace was made with. God by his blood, and all things were reconciled by him, whether in heaven or in earth; Jew and Gentile were made both one, and reeonciled in one body; and abundance of fpiritual peace: is enjoyed by thofe that believe in Chrift: they are kept in perfect peace, and~filled with it; and in the latter day there will be abundance of peace among the faints. There will be no jars nor difcord among them; no envying nor vexing one another; no animofities or contentions about religious matters; for they will then fee eye to eye: and they will be. at peace with the men of the world;' there will be - mo more wars in the earth, nor bloodfhed, nor perfecution. And this fhall endure till there is no moon, till there fhall be no need of one; as there will not in the new Ferufalem-ftate, in which there will be no night. Pens ‘y. 8. He jhall have dominion alfo from fea to fea, é&c.} The fame is faid of the Meffiah in Zech. ix, 10. where he is manifeftly fpoken of.as here, and regards the extent of his dominion; not: over ‘the Jand of J/rael only, as fome think; but over the Gentile world, through the preaching of the gofpel in the feveral parts of it; and efpecially as it will be in the latter day, when the-kingdoms of this world will be his, and he will be king over all the earth; fee Rev. x. 15. Zech. xiv. 9. which cannot agree with Solomon, whofe dominion reached only to the land of the Philiftines, to the border of Egypt, 1 Kingsiv. 21. but Chrift’s dominion will be, as it follows, ‘Axd from the river unto the ends of the earth; which, as Kimchi owns, is clear, if applied to the Mefiiah, fince his government fhall be overall the world. The note of dben Ezra on the text is worthy of regard. <* If.

«« this is faid conterning Solomon, the meaning is,

*¢ from the Red-fea to the fea of the Philiftines 5 and

<< from the river, this is Euphrates; and the ends of * the earth meanthe wildernefs; (fee Exod. xxiii. 31.) " * and lo, mention is made of the length and breadth

* of the land of J/rael: and if of the Meffiah, the “¢ fenfe is, from the fouth-fea, which is called the J- <¢ dumean fea, to the northern fea, which is the fea *¢ of the ocean; and from the river, the river that *- goes out of Eden at the beginning of the eaft, *¢ unto the ends of the earth, which is at the end

“¢ of the weft,” though rather the fenfe is, from the Jndian ocean, the great fea, unto the Mediterranean fea; and from the river Euphrates to the end of the world. This text-is applied to the Meffiah by many Jewifh writers *, ancient and modern, ¥. 9. They that dwell in the wildernefs hall bow before bim, 8c.) In tokeri of fubjeGtion to him, reverence and worfhip of him, to whom every knee fhall bow, J/a.xlv. 23. The Septuagint verfion, and others, render the word tp»»y Ethiopians, who dwell in a dry land, parched. and burnt with the fun; and fo it is a prophecy of their converfion to Chrift, as in P/al. IRviii, 31. and Ixxxvii. 4. of which there is an inftance, 47s viii. 27. the word is ufed of the wild beafts of the field, in J ai. xiii.

21. to which wicked men,, for the malignity of their nature, may be compared; as they are to the wild afs, to. lions, leopards and bears; and yet thefeare fo tamed by the power of divine grace as ta be made fubject to Chrift. Kimchi explains it as we do, of the inhabitants of the wildernefs; and fo the word is rendered in P/al; Ixxiv, 14. J a. xxiii.

13. and inftances in the Kedarenes; and jt may in particular defign chofe that dwell in the defarts of * Arabia; and in general the Gentiles, the wildernefs of the people, who in gofpel times fhould be brought to the knowledge of Chrift, and fubmiffion to him: and it fitly defcribes the people of God in an unregenerate {tate; when they are as barren andunfruitful as the'dry and parched greund, and as the heath in the wildernefs; are in want of provifion, and have nothing but hufks to feed upon; in perplexity of ways, and know not which to take, or whither they are going; and in very dangerous circumftances, deftruction and mifery being in all their ways: in this wildernefs-ftate the Lord finds them, as he did J/rael of old, and leads them about, and brings them to Chrift; when they fubmit to him as a Saviour, being willing to be: faved by him, and him only,: and. to his righteoufnefs, as their juttifying-righteoufnefs before God, and to the iceptre of his kingdom, to’his laws and commands, to his gofpel, and the ordinances of it; all which they-do not by conftraint, but willingly. The Targum and Farchi interpret it, the one of governors of provinces;.the other of companies of princes, The Syriac verfion is, the ifles/ball bow before:bim; the inhabitants of the iflands:. but this is exprefled in the following verfe: Aben Ezra thinks matters of fhips are meant. And his enemies fhall lick the duff; of the earth; which is an inftance of their great fubjection to him; fee J/a, xlix. 23. Mic. vii. 17. the allufion is to the cuftom of the eaftern people, and’ which continues. to this day with the Turks, that as foon as an ambaffador fees the Sul- ‘tan, whether at the window, or elfewhere, he immediately falls down on his knees, and kiffes the ground*. The Jews particularly are the enemies of Chrift, wha rejected him, and would not have him to reign over them; and yet fome of thefe became obedient to the faith of Chrift, and more of them, even the whole nation will in the latter day: all that are Chrift’s are, before converfion, ene-. mies

77° mies to him, to his people, to his gofpel and ordinances, to him as a King, and to all his laws and commands; but when his arrows are fharp in their hearts, they fall under him, and fubmit to him 5 throw off the yoke of fin, Satan, and the world, and own him, and obey him as their King and lawiver.

: ¥. 10. The kings of Tarfifh and of the ifles fhall bring prefents, 8c.) Tarfoifo either fignifies the fea, as it is fometimes rendered in the Targum 5 and then the fenfé is, the kings of the fea, that is, ‘of the iflands of the fea, as it follows, fhall. be fubject to the kingdom of Chrift; and, as a token of it, bring prefents to him, as the Moabites and Syrians did to David, and as feveral nations and kings did to Solomon, 2 Sam. viii. 2. 1 Kings iv. 21. or it defigns a large country inhabited by the Celre °, ‘and fo is diftiné& from the iflands; and then the fenfé is, that kings, both of the continent, and of the iflands of the fea, fhall do homage to the Meffiah. And the kings of Sheba and Seba fhall offer gifts; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabie verfions render it, the kings of the Arabians and Saba, and fo Apollinarius, the Arabians and Sabeans, thefe being places in Arabia Felix and Petrea®: this will be fulfilled when the kings of the earth fhall bring their honour and glory into the new ferufalem, Rev. xxi. 24. “This, and the preeeding verfe, are interpreted of the Meffiah by the ancient Jews“; who fay °, that all the gifts that Jacob their father gave to Lfau, the nations of the world fhall return them to the King Meffiah in time to come, according to the fenfe of thefe words; where it is not written they fhall bring; but 9a9w? £ they fhall return prefents.

" y. ut. Yeas all kings fhall fall down before him, &c. | Or worfhip him; not with a civil, but religious worfhip; for fuch worfhip is due to Chrift, he being God equal with 'the Father, and ‘fo to be equally honoured; the Creator of all things, the ‘Redeemer of his people, head and Lord. of the

. church, and whom the angels adore; every part of worfhip is to be given him; internal, which lies in the exercife of faith, hope, love, fear, &ve. and external, which confifts of prayer to him, praife of him, preaching in his name, and. the adminiftration of ordinances; and this worfhip is to be performed in the fame manner as to the Father, in fpirit and in truth, in’ righteoufnefs.and: holinefs, with reverence and godly fear, ‘This is to be underftood, either literally of the kings of the earth, and which will have its full accomplifhment in the latter day 5 fee J/a. xlix. 23. and Ix. 3,11, 16. or myftically of fuch who are made kings unto God the Father -by Chrift; who reign fpiritually now, through the power of divine grace in their hearts; have the honour, riches, and attendance of kings, and a crown and kingdom prepared for them; and fhall ‘reign with Chrift on ‘earth, though under him, at whofe feet they caft their crowns: all this fhews the dignity of Chrift’s perfon and office; that he is the prince of the kings of the earth, the firft born of God, whom he has made higher than they, and King of kings, and Lord ‘of lords’; whofe princes, and all whofe fubjects are altogether kings, This paffage is allowed to belong to the Meffiah, both by ancient and modern Jews*; and indeed it never was true of Solomon, nor of any other. A l nations /hall ferve him, which will be in the latter day 5 fay", that in the world to come, or the times of the Meffiah, all the Gentiles fhall be voluntary eth, &c.) Such as are not only in want, but are fenfible of it, fee their need of Chrift and his righteoufnefs, and falvation by him, and cry to him for the fame, under a fenfe of their mifery and danger; thele he delivers out of all their troubles, and out of the hands of all their enemies, and fupplies all their need. Tbe poor alfo, the poor in fpirit; who acknowledge their fpiritual poverty, and apply to him for the true riches; to thefe he gives gold tried in the fire, that they may be rich 5 he gives them grace here, and glory hereafter. And him that hath no belper; that is in an helplefs condition; can neither help himfelf, nor can any creature, angel, or man, give him any help: but this being laid on Chrift, and found in him, is given to him, whereby he is delivered out of a miferable {tate into a very comfortable and happy one; and fuch humane, kind, and tender regard to thie needy, poor, and helplefs, in this great King fpoken of, is what engages to a chearful fubjection to him, and worfhip and reverence of him; more of which is exprefied in the following verfes, as the reafon of the gteat efteem he fhould be had in, = re ¥. 13. He fhall fpare the poor and needy, 8&c.J Pity them, have mercy and compaffion on them, and fympathize with them; futh an one is Chrift, a merciful King, as well as high-prieft, who is touched with a feeling of his people’s infirmities, and who‘in his love and pity has redeemed them. And foall fave the fouls of the needy; not to the exclufion of their bodies, which are alfo his care and charge, are bought with his blood, are preferved by him, will be raifed from the dead, and made like his glorious body; but fouls are mentioned as being the moft excellent part of man, and which having finned, are liable to damnation and the fecond death; and are therefore the {pecial objects of redemption and. falvation; thefe are faved by him from all their fins, and from wrath to come they deferve; hence his name is called Jefus, a Saviour. y¥. 14. He fhall redeem their foul from deceit and violence, &c.] From all the fecret and open defigns and efforts of their enemies 5 from deceit, and deceitfulnefs of fin and its lufts, fo as that they thall not be finally hardened and deftroyed by it; from the deceitfulnefs of the old ferpent the devil, and all his cunning wiles and ftratagems; and from falfe teachers, who lie im wait to deceive, and who would, if poffible, deceive the very elect, but fhall not: and from violence; from the violent and

For be foall deliver the needy when be cri- tyrannical power of fin, fo as that it fhall not have.

the dominion over them; from the rage and fury of the men of the world, which is overcome by him; and from Satan, the {trong man armed, who is ftronger than they; from him, the devouring lion, who will mot be able to fnatch them out of Chrift’s hands. And precious fhall their blood be in his fight; fo that he either prevents the fhedding of it, or when fhed, avenges it; and dear are fuch perfons to him and very acceptable is the facrifice of their lives for his fake, who have the honour to fuffer martyrdom for him; fee P/al, CXVie 156 '

15. And be foall live, &c.] Either the poor and needy man, faved and redeemed by Chrift; he, though dead in trefpaffes and fins, fhall live {piritually, be quickened together with Chrift, and by his Spirit, and live a life of faith and holinefs; and though dead in law, yet, through the righteoufnefs ot Chrift, fhall have the juttification and live in the fight of God; and fo fhall live comfortably by faith in Chrift, being filled with joy and peace in believing in him;, and though he may lofe his life for Chrift’s fake, he fhall find it again, and live eternally with him: or the Meffiah, the Saviour and Redeemer of the poor and needy; who, though he was to die, and by his precious blood redeem them; yet fhould live again, and never die more; as he now does live at the right hand of God, where he ever lives to make interceffion for his people, as well as lives in their hearts, and fup-. Plies them with all grace, and keeps alive his own work on their fouls. And to bim (hall be given of the gold of Sheba; or Arabia, as Apollinarius; either to the poor and needy, to whom is given faith, which is more precious than gold that perifheth; or the knowledge of Chrift, which is preferable to gold and filver; and of the doc-‘ -trines of the gofpel, which are of more value than thoufands of gold and filver; alfo the juftifying. tighteoufnefs of Chrift, which is the free gift, and is called clothing of wrought gold, and is fignified by gold of Ophir, Pfal. xlv. 9, 13, moreover, this may include.all the riches of Chrift, his durable and unfearchable riches; his riches of grace and glory, which he beftows upon his fubjeéts; fo that the poor and needy-are not only faved and redeemed, and live through him; but are maderich by him, become rich.in faith, and heirs of a kingdom: or to the Mefliah, who had gold prefented to him in his infancy, Ma/th. ii. 11. though rather it is to be underftood fpiritually of the exercife of faith upon him, and every other grace, which isas gold tried in the fire; and which, as it comes from Chrift, it is. given to him again. A truly gracious foul gives Chrift the beft ic has: it gives him its whole felf, body, and foul, its heart and affections, and all its grace, and the glory of all. Prayer alfo fhall be made for bint continually, or pray for him‘; that is, either Chrift fhall pray for the poor and needy man; not only fave and redeem, but make interceffion for him, as Chrift does for all he redeems: he prays\for them, that they may be enriched with all the bleffings of grace; that the gold he gives them may. be kept; that their faith fail not; that they may be preferved from the evil of the world, and be with him, where he is to behold his glory: or the poor and needy fhall pray for Chrift, for the profperity ‘of his church, for the increafe of his intereft, and the coming of his kingdom: or prayer hall be made by him; or through him continually*, as the Mediator between God and man, the way of accefs to God, through: whom petitions are offered to-himy and become acceptable with him. And daily fhall he be praifed; or daily fhall be blefs him’, either Chrift fhall daily blefs the poor and needy, with fpiritual bleffings, as he ftands in need of them, and even load him with his benefits: or he fhall blefs Chrift, afcribe blefling, honour, praife, and glory to him; becaufe of his perfections and excellencies; becaufe of redemption and falvation by him; and on account of the various bleffings of grace, and the daily fupplies of it he receives from y¥. 16. There fhall be, an handful of corn, &c.} By which are not meant the people of Chrift, coms of life, | pared to corn, or wheat, in diftinétion from hypocrites, faid to be as chaff, Matih. ii. 12. who are but few, yet fruitful and flourifhing; nor the gofpel, fo called in oppofition to the chaff of falfe doctrine, Yer. xxiii. 28. nor the bleflings of grace, fignified by corn, wine, and oil, Fer. xxxi. 12. but Chrift, who compares himfelf to a cornof ° wheat, Yobn xii..24. for its choicenefs and purity, and for its ufefulnefs for food; and he may be compared to an handful of it, becaufe of the little account he was made of here on earth, and the little that was expected from him; and on account of the {mall beginnings of his kingdom, which came not with obfervation, was like a little ftone cut out of the mountain without hands, and likea grain of muftard-feed: fo R. Obadiah Gaon™ interprets thefe words, « an bandful of corn; that is, the ‘* Meffiah fhall be at firft as an handful of corn; ** but afterwards a multitude of difciples fhall grow ‘* as the grafs.”’.J# the earth; that is, fown in the earth: this denotes not Chrift’s being on the earth in the days of his flefh; but his death and burial, his defcending into the lower parts of the earth; where he continued. a while to anfwer the type of Yonah; and which is reprefented by a corn of wheat falling into the earth and dying, Zobn xii. 24. by which is fignified, that Chrift’s death was not accidental, but defigned, as is the fowing of corn in’ the earth; and that it was voluntary, and not forced, and was but for a time: for as the corn dies, and lives again, and does not lie always | under the clods; fo Chrift rofe again; nor could he be held with the.cords of death.. It is added, Upon the top of the mountains; where corn being, fown, it is very unlikely it fhould come to any thing; and as little was expected by the Jews from the crucifixion and death of Chrift: or elfe this may denote the publicknefs of Chrift’s death, it being a fact known to all the inhabitants of Ferube fhall | falem, and many others. The fruit thereof shall. /aake like Lebanon; meaning either a Jarge number of fouls converted, the fruit of Chrift’s death, and of the gofpel-miniftry; of whom there was a large harveft, both in Zudea and in the Gentile world, in the firft times of the gofpel, immediately after Chrift’s death and refurrection; and there will be ftill a greater in the latter day: or elfe the bleffings of grace are meant, which come by the death and refurreétion of Chrift; as righteoufnefs, peace, pardon, and eternal life, The allufion is to a field of wheat when ripe, and its ears heavy, which, when the wind blows upon it, is fhaken, ruftles, and makes a noife*, like the fhaking of trees, and even of the cedars.in Lebanon; it denotes. the goodnefs and excellency of the fruit. dnd they of the city fhall flourifh like grafs of the earth; or they fhall flourifh out of the city? which the Targum interprets of the city of Feru/alem. and fo the Talmud”, and alfo Farchi; and was literally true; for the gofpel, after Chrift’s death, was firft preached in the city of Ferufalem, and was bleffed for the converfion of many there, who were fruitful in grace