words sufficiently declare the sense but I have added more to explain the phrase which is borrowed from the custom of those days about which the Reader may consult Mr. Mede p. 483. last Edit In this resolution he was so serious that he repeats it again in the conclusion and saith he will pay his vows in the midst of Jerusalem from whence the History tells us he was forced to fly in great haste to save his life 2 Sam. XV. 14 c. This seems to be the occasion of the Psalm which may very well befit any other persons that receive any great deliverance from God and accordingly I will order the Paraphrase and fit it for the expressing of their devout affections 1. I Love the LORD because he hath heard my veice and my supplications 1. O How I love the Lord He knows that I love Him exceedingly and there is the greatest reason for it because He hath so graciously heard my prayer when in my distress I cried unto Him 2. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me therefore will I call upon him as long as I live 2. I cannot chuse but mention again this love of his in granting so readily my desires which incourages and ingages me on all such occasions to address my self with thankfull acknowledgments unto Him and to the last breath of my life to expect deliverance from Him 3. The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of hell gat hold upon me I found trouble and sorrow 3. Great was my misery exceeding great Death it self and the grave were ready to seize on me and I saw no way to escape nay I my self in the anguish of my Soul inconsiderately cast my self into danger 4. Then called I upon the name of the LORD O LORD I beseech thee deliver my soul 4. Yet I did not despond in these straits but made the mighty wise and good Providence of God my refuge to whom I cryed saying O Lord who wast before all things and commandest them as Thou pleasest rescue me I most humbly beseech Thee from those dangers which threaten my destruction 5. Gracious is the LORD and righteous yea our God is mercifull 5. And it was not in vain that I cryed unto Him for the Lord hath shewn me how ready He is to doe good and how faithfull in his promises and withall how gentle in his punishments and inclinable to pardon our faults which demonstrates that no people serve such a gracious Master as our mercifull God 6. The LORD preserveth the simple I was brought low and he helped me 6. I had perished I am sure if I had relied onely on my own Wisedom or the skill and policy of others But the Lord was my hope who preserves the most simple and incautious Souls when they commit themselves to Him and wholly depend on his Providence I ought to say so who was reduced to a most forlorn estate and then by his assistance in a wonderfull manner delivered 7. Return unto thy rest O my soul for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee 7. What hast Thou then to doe O my Soul who hast been so tempestuously tossed but to settle thy self again in peace and tranquillity loving and praising the Lord who hath very many ways expressed his bounty most liberally to thee 8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling 8. For when the dangers of death surrounded me Thou O my God didst deliver me when ever any sadness seized on me Thou hast been my Comforter and when I have been in danger of hurts maims or bruises or of falling into the hands of my enemies Thou still hast been my Protectour 9. I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living 9. I ought therefore and I am resolved to imploy all that health and chearfulness that soundness of body and mind that peace and safety which Thou hast thus graciously bestowed on me in doing Thee to whom as my Sovereign Lord I owe all faithfull service as long as I stay in this world 10. I believed therefore have I spoken I was greatly afflicted 10. I had nothing I will thankfully remember to depend upon but onely thy kind Providence In this I placed my trust in this I placed my trust in this I gloried to others when I was in my greatest straits for the truth is I was extreamly miserable 11. I said in my haste All men are liars 11. Pressed on all sides with dangers from which when I fled as fast as I was able 2 Sam. XV. 14. XVII 16. 22. I concluded it was vain to rely on the friendship and help of men For they in whom I trusted proved so false and treacherous 2 Sam. XV. 31. that I had reason to think the rest would deceive and fail my expectation when I was in the greatest need of them 12. What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits towards me 12. O the greatness of thy love who even then didst interpose and deliver me by the assistance of some faithfull Friends who still stuck to me 2 Sam. XVII 13 c. What shall I render unto the Lord who heard my prayer 2 Sam. XV. 31. How shall I shew my self gratefull to Him for this and for all other his benefits which He hath heaped upon me 13. I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the LORD 13. All that I can doe cannot make Him more happy But as my duty binds me I will praise the Lord and speak good of his Name and give Him thanks in the best and most solemn manner I am able I will call all my Friends together to rejoice with me and taking the Cup which we call the Cup of Deliverance because when blessed and set apart we are wont to commemorate the blessings we have received I will magnifie the Power Goodness and Faithfulness of God my Saviour before all the company and will drink my self and then give it to them that they may praise his Name together with me 14. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people 14. And whatsoever I have promised Thee O Lord in the time of my distress I will faithfully ingage my self to perform before them all They shall see I am not forgetfull of Thee who wast so mindfull of me in my trouble 15. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints 15. As indeed Thou art of all good men whose lives Thou preservest as a precious Jewel and wilt not give them up to the pleasure of their enemies nor suffer them to be lost but by thy special Providence 16. Oh LORD truly I am thy servant I am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid thou hast loosed my bonds 16. Accept good Lord of these my resolutions for I am sensible that I am thy servant every way thy servant and intirely obliged to be faithfull to Thee
be devoured by ravenous Beasts and Birds 3. Their bloud have they shed like water round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them 3. For they valued the shedding of their bloud no more then the pouring out of water which flowed in such abundance about Jerusalem that they left not men enow alive to take care of the Interment of the dead 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours a scorn and derision to them that are round about us 4. And we that remain lead a most despicable life being not onely scorned and abused but openly derided and made the sport of the Edomites and other Nations which formerly stood in awe of us 5. How long LORD wilt thou be angry for ever shall thy jealousie burn like fire 5. And which is saddest of all we have long complained of this and find no relief but onely in our most passionate cries to Thee O Lord the effects of whose just anger and jealousie we groan under because we have forsaken Thee and been unfaithfull to our Covenant with Thee but hope it will not always last nor proceed to make an utter end of us 6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name 6. Pour it out rather in as full a measure and with as little pity as they did our bloud Ver. 3. upon the Babylonians who though they have conquered many Kingdoms do not acknowledge Thee at all nor ascribe their successes to thy Power but to their Idols whom they serve and honour with that worship which is due to Thee alone 7. For they have devoured Jacob and laid wast his dwelling-place 7. They have been the Instruments indeed of thy vengeance but have executed it with such cruelty that not content with the conquest of us they have sought our total extirpation having depopulated our Country and made that pleasant Land a Wilderness which Thou gavest to Jacob and his Seed for their habitation 8. O Remember not against us former iniquities let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us for we are brought very low 8. O let not his vertue and the Covenant Thou madest with him be forgotten when Thou reckonest with us for the sins of our Fore-fathers the punishment of which we beseech Thee that we may bear no longer speed our deliverance Good Lord and how unworthy soever we be let thy tender compassion prevail with Thee to save us from utter ruin which is very near so few so broken and spent we are unless seasonably prevented by thy mercy 9. Help us O God of our salvation for the glory of thy name and deliver us and purge away our sins for thy names sake 9. Send us that seasonable help O God from whom alone we expect it and have heretofore very often received it for it will tend much to the honour of thy almighty Goodness which in former times was much celebrated but of late hath been exceedingly disparaged to save us now when none is able to preserve us upon that account be pleased to pass by our sins and to interpose for our deliverance lest Thou suffer together with us 10. Wherefore should the heathen say Where is their God let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the bloud of thy servants which is shed 10. While the Idolatrous Nations utter this insolent language which is exceeding grievous nay insupportable to us If their God be so great in Himself and so kind to them as they pretend why doth He not take their part and appear for their deliverance O that Thou wouldst put them to silence by taking such an open and remarkable vengeance on these blasphemous Nations for the bloud they have shed that not onely we but all the world may see Thou hast a care of us thy Servants 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die 11. Let the sighs and groans of those who lie in prison be as prevalent with Thee as thee prayers and magnifie thy power by preserving the lives of those whom they have condemned to die 12. And render unto our neighbours seven fold into their bosom their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee O LORD 12. And when Thou hast done with the Babylonians reckon with our neighbours also who have insulted over us and derided us or rather have spoken so reproachfully of Thee O God that they justly deserve not onely to be paid home in their kind but to be made seven times more contemptible then we have been 13. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever we will shew forth thy praise to all generations 13. So we thy people being conducted again to our Land and happily restored to live under thy Government there will never cease to give thanks unto Thee for thy benefits bestowed upon us And be carefull to transmit the memory of them to those who shall come after us that all future Generations may perpetuate thy praises PSALM LXXX To the chief-Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth A Psalm of Asaph ARGUMENT This Psalm is something of kin to the former deprecating the displeasure of the Almighty in a time of great calamity Which as all that I have met withall think was either in the captivity of Judah and Benjamin by Nebuchadnezzar or of the Ten Tribes by Salmanassar But it seems to me rather to have been penned between these two in the time of Hezekiah who had wrote a Letter you find 2 Chron. XXXI 6. to the remnant that were escaped out of the hand of the King of Assyria especially to Ephraim and Manasseh the Tribes nearest to them that they would come to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem and keep the Passover with them which summons several of them obeyed Ver. 11. 18. and kept the Feast as long again as they were wont Ver. 23. And when this was finished they all went through the Country and threw down all the High places and Altars that they found not onely in Judah but in Benjamin also Ephraim and Manasseh 2 Chron. XXXI 1. But after this happy settlement you reade there XXXII 1. that the Land was invaded by Senacherib and sorely distressed to the great discouragement no doubt of those who had joined in the Reformation which moved Asaph mentioned 2 Chron. XXIX 30. see the Argument of LXXIII Psal most earnestly to beseech God Ver. 2. of this Psalm that he would be pleased to stir up Himself before Ephraim and Manasseh as well as Benjamin who was so linkt to Judah that part of Jerusalem and of the Temple stood in that Tribe and let them see by a remarkable deliverance that their zeal for the purity of their Religion was acceptable to Him Another reason indeed there may be given which I have not omitted in my Paraphrase why these three are joined
our Defender 2 King XIX 19. 10. For a day in thy courts is better then a thousand I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedness 10. For one day spent in thy Courts is far more pleasant than a thousand in any other place and I had rather lie at the Gates of thy House then live in the most splendid condition in Idolatrous Countries 11. For the LORD God is a sun and shield the LORD will give grace and glory no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly 11. For though our happiness be sometimes clouded yet the Lord like the Sun will dispell the darkness of affliction and having brought us out of a disconsolate condition defend and secure us in a better 2 King XX. 6. The Lord will give those favour with others and advance them to great honour 2 Chron. XXXII 22 23. He will never be sparing of his blessings but heap them abundantly on those who sincerely doe his will in all things 2 King XVIII 5 6. XX. 3. 12. O LORD of hosts blessed is the man that trusteth in thee 12. O most mighty Lord who commandest all the host of heaven happy is that man who by his integrity preserves this hope and confidence in Thee though for the present he be restrained from the delightfull injoyment of Thee in thy Temple PSALM LXXXV To the chief Musician A Psalm for the Sons of Korah ARGUMENT It is thought by many that this Psalm was composed by some of the Sons of Korah after David's banishment from Jerusalem by his Son Absalom called a Captivity as we reaâ—… Psal XIV ult and his happy restauration to his Kingdom though not to such a settlement as they desired But it may be as well or better applied to the miraculous providence which drove Senacherib out of the Land who had taken many Captives V. Isa 13. and restored them to the happy liberty whose loss they bewailed in the Psalm foregoing Which way soever we understand it the composure is such that it might be much better used by them after their return from the Captivity of Babylon then at any other time when they were infested with many enemies who disturbed their peaceable injoyment of their Country and Religion And therefore it is possible it might be reviewed if not made in those days and delivered to the chief Master of Musick in the Temple to be sung presently after the Foundation of it was laid III. Ezr. 10 11 c. but the Work hindred from proceeding by the opposition of their enemies And so I shall interpret it 1. LORD thou hast been favourable unto thy land thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 1. THou hast been exceeding kind unto us O Lord and we most thankfully acknowledge the favour Thou hast done us in delivering us the posterity of Jacob out of our sad Captivity and restoring us to the Land in which Thou thy self hast chosen to dwell I. Ezra 2. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people thou hast covered all their sin Selah 2. Our sins kept us from it in banishment a long time but now Thou hast graciously pardoned both our Idolatry and all the other crimes for which we justly suffered 3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath thou hast turned thy self from the fierceness of thine anger 3. Thou hast put an end to the sore punishments which in thy heavy displeasure Thou inflictedst on us and turned thy severity which like sire had almost consumed us into great clemency and mercy toward us 4. Turn us O God of our salvation and cause thine anger towards us to cease 4. Compleat good Lord our deliverance which Thou hast thus graciously begun and let not our ingratitude provoke Thee to continue this new vexation and trouble that is befaln us IV. Ezra 4 5 21 23. 5. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations 5. Which forces us to sigh and say in the anguish of our Souls will there never be an end of our miseries Is it not enough that the foregoing generation hath felt the sad effects of thine anger but it must extend it self to us also and our posterity 6. Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee 6. Will it not be more for thy honour not onely to preserve this feeble life which Thou hast bestowed on us but to give us a perfect recovery that thy people may have nothing to damp their joy and intire satisfaction in thy goodness to them 7. Shew us thy mercy O LORD and grant us thy salvation 7. Make us so happy good Lord and though we deserve indeed to be more miserable then we are yet let thy mercy prevail with Thee to grant us a compleat deliverance 8. I will hear what God the LORD will speak for he will speak peace unto his people and to his saints but let them not turn again to folly 8. I will wait patiently upon the Lord the Judge of the world for a gracious Answer to these Prayers hoping that He will not condemn us to further punishment but settle his people who devoutly worship Him in a prosperous tranquillity provided they return not again to their old Idolatry 9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him that glory may dwell in our land 9. He will be so far from deserting those who fear to offend Him that I am confident the time approaches when He will finish what He hath begun to doe for us in rebuilding our Temple V. Ezra 2 8. VI. 7 8 c. and restoring our Country to its ancient dignity and splendour 10. Mercy and truth are met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other 10. For methinks I see goodness and fidelity justice and concord which are the principal glory of a Kingdom meeting together like ancient Friends which have been long absent and embracing each other 11. Truth shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven 11. And as Truth and Honesty with all other Vertues shall grow and flourish among us like Flowers and Herbs in the Spring after a tedious Winter so God shall faithfully fulfill his promises to us and exercise a most gracious providence over us 12. Yea the LORD shall give that which is good and our land shall yield her increase 12. Yea the Lord will doe us good beyond our expectation and reward our fruitfulness in good works with such a large and plentifull increase of the fruits of the earth as shall demonstrate the bounty of heaven to us 13. Righteousness shall go before him and shall set us in the way of his steps 13. He will govern us with great justice and mercy having his faithfull promises always before his eyes from that rule He will never swerve but stedfastly proceed by it as the constant method He will hold in his Divine Administrations PSALM
thine handmaid 16. In confidence of which I humbly beseech thy favour and gracious pardon though I have highly offended Thee Assist thy poor servant by thy irresistible power against those mighty forces which are ready to assault me O deliver me who am here humbled in the lowest manner before Thee looking upon my self as more absolutely thine then any slave that is born in our house can be ours 17. Shew me a token for good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed because thou LORD hast holpen me and comforted me 17. Vouchsafe me now in this great distress such manifest tokens of thy favour towards me that I may not onely be delivered but all may take notice of it And good men thereby be encouraged to hope in Thee but they that hate me be utterly confounded to see him whom they intended to destroy not onely preserved but blessed with comforts proportionable to the sorrow he hath indured PSALM LXXXVII A Psalm or Song for the Sons of Korah ARGUMENT It is as uncertain when this Psalm-Song see LXVII was composed as which of the Sons of Korah was the Authour of it But it is manifest enough that it was written in commendation of Jerusalem situate in the holy Mountains of Sion where David built his Palace and afterward settled the Ark and of Moriah where Solomon built the Temple There are those that think it was composed upon the Anniversary of the Birth or Coronation of some great Prince such as Hezekiah in whose days this City was made more famous by the glorious deliverance which God gave it from the power of the King of Assyria's Army But this is a mere conjecture and I shall follow the vulgar opinion according to which the beginning of this Psalm must be lookt upon as very abrupt but expresses the greater rapture of joyfull admiration wherein the Psalmist was 1. HIS foundations is in the holy mountains 1. GReat is the strength and beauty of this place which is founded by God in the high Mountains which He hath peculiarly chosen for the seat of his Kingdom and of his Priesthood 2. The LORD loveth the gates of Sion more then all the dwellings of Jacob. 2. Though the Lord loves all the habitations of his people yet none are so dear unto Him as those within the Gates of Jerusalem A principal part of which is Sion 3. Glorious things are spoken of thee O city of God Selah 3. There is no City in the world of which such glorious things are foretold or of which any thing can now be said comparable to what we can truly boast of thee that art the City which God Himself hath separated for his own habitation 4. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me behold Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia this man was born there 4. I do not deny the due praises which belong to other places and Countries but rather am wont to make honourable mention among my acquaintance and familiars of Egypt and of Babylon and of those who are nearer to us the Philistines Tyrians and Arabians bidding them observe that such a notable person was born among them 5. And of Sion it shall be said This and that man was born in her and the Highest himself shall establish her 5. But what is this to Sion of whom it shall be said in future times that not such a single person but this and that man a great many Worthies and far more eminent both in Learning and in Arms but especially in Piety were born in her for she hath no meaner instructour than the most high who shall settle her in a flourishing estate by educating and forming her inhabitants to the most excellent qualities 6. The LORD shall count when he writeth up the people that this man was born there Selah 6. So that when He himself whose eyes nothing can escape shall look over the register of those Nations and count the famous men they have produced He shall find onely some one great man and he comparatively of no great value was born among them 7. As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there all my springs are in thee 7. But in thee O City of God He shall find multitudes of excellent persons all eminent in their kind even among those of lower rank as well as in the higher And there shall be a constant succession of such as there is of water from a spring PSALM LXXXVIII A Song or Psalm for the Sons of Korah to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite ARGUMENT Who this Heman was is uncertain Not he who was the famous Singer in David's time for he was of the Tribe of Levi 1 Chron. VI. 32. XV. 17. whereas this was descended from Zerah who was one of the Sons of Judah 1 Chron. II. 6. where we find indeed not onely Heman but Ethan to whom the next Psalm is ascribed mentioned as two of Zerah's Sons But we cannot reasonably think that they were in those early times the Authours of these two Psalms because Ethan plainly makes mention of David and the promise which God had passed to him of a perpetual Kingdom It remains therefore that these two here mentioned were of the posterity of those Sons of Zerah and thence called Ezrahites and had the Names of their noble Ancestours given them to perpetuate the memory of those who were so famous for wisedom 1 King IV. 31. But in what time they lived cannot be certainly determined It is probable when Jechoniah otherwise called Jehojachin or after him Zedekiah was taken and carried captive to Babylon together with abundance of the Nobility and the principal Commanders and Artizans 2 King XXIV 14 15 16. In some of which ranks I suppose this Heman was who being cast into a dark prison which hath made some fancy Jehojachin himself to have made it Ver. 6 8. or otherwise as miserably treated as if he had been in a dungeon bewails his private calamity as Ethan in the next Psalm doth the publick Why it is called a Song-Psalm see upon the Title of Psal LXVII It was to be sung by the Sons of Korah interchangeably which is the meaning of Leannoth upon a Flute or Pipe see Psal LIII to the known tune of Maschil see Psal XXXII Some passages in it may be applied to our Saviour's Death and Burial in his Grave which the Prophet Isaiah compares to a Prison and so is used by our Church upon Good Friday 1. O LORD God of my salvation I have cried day and night before thee 1. O Mighty Lord by whose gracious care and good providence I have been hitherto preserved and on whom all my hopes of safety still depend I have not failed in this sore affliction to implore thy mercy with most earnest cries without any intermission 2. Let my prayer come before thee incline thine ear unto my cry 2. Let them at last prevail I beseech
his lawfull successour in the Kingdom 2 King XXIV 20. XXV 6 7. IV. Lam. 20. 39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant thou hast prophaned his crown by casting it to the ground 39. Thou seemest not to regard the Covenant made with that thy faithfull Servant which Thou promisedst not to break Ver. 34. and instead of raising his Family higher then all other Kings Ver. 27. hast suffered it to lose all its Authority which together with the royal Diadem is vilely trodden under foot 40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges thou hast brought his strong holds to ruine 40. Thou hast broken down all the walls of Jerusalem 2 King XXV 10. and made all his fortified places a mere desolation 41. All that pass by the way spoil him he is a reproach to his neighbours 41. So that he hath no defence against those who have a mind to make a prey of him 2 King XXIV 2. and is now scorned and derided by those who formerly dreaded him 42. Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice 42. Thou hast made his adversaries whom Thou promisedst to depress Ver. 23. far stronger then himself they have executed all that they designed and now triumph in his ruin 43. Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword and hast not made him to stand in the battel 43. His forces have done him no service but being shamefully routed durst never rally again to make any opposition to their enemies 44. Thou hast made his glory to cease and cast his throne down to the ground 44. Thou hast put out that splendour which we thought should have been perpetual Ver. 37 38. and hast utterly overturned his Kingdom 45. The days of his youth hast thou shortned thou hast covered him with shame Selah 45. Thou hast made a speedy end of the reign of Jehojachin who in his youth is made a slave 2 King XXIV 8 c. and suffered Zedekiah to be most disgracefully condemned as a rebel to lose his eyes and remain a prisoner all the days of his life 2 King XXV 6 7. 46. How long LORD wilt thou hide thy self for ever shall thy wrath burn like fire 46. O what a sad condition is this in which Thou seemest wholly to neglect us But O Lord wilt Thou never appear for us again and put a period to our miseries wilt Thou let thy anger burn till we be utterly consumed 47. Remember how short my time is wherefore hast thou made all men in vain 47. Our natural weakness pleads for some mercy and imboldens us to beseech Thee that since we must not onely die unavoidably but a short time will bring us to our graves Thou wilt be pleased to let us spend that little time in more ease and not live as if we were made for nothing else but onely to be miserable and to die 48. What man is he that liveth and shall not see death shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave Selah 48. For where is the man whose constitution is so firm that he shall not yield to death For what ability have we though our enemies should not thus destroy us to defend our selves from the power of the grave 49. LORD where are thy former loving-kindnesses which thou swarest unto David in thy truth 49. Lord what a difference is there between our times and those when Thou wast so exceeding good to David And swarest most faithfully to continue to him for ever thy loving-kindness which we beseech Thee now restore unto us 50. Remember LORD the reproach of thy servants how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people 50. Shew O Lord that Thou dost not forget the scoffs and jeers whereby our enemies augment the sufferings of thy servants there is nothing I lay to heart so much as all the reproaches of many and mighty Nations 51. Wherewith thine enemies have reproached O LORD wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed 51. Who are thy enemies as well as ours and have blasphemed Thee O Lord and mockt at Thee as if our slavery were the effect of thy inability to protect us and as if there were an end of the Family and Kingdom of David thine anointed which Thou saidest should last for ever 52. Blessed be the LORD for evermore Amen and amen 52. But let them laugh on neither their scoffs nor our calamity shall hinder us from praising the Lord and speaking good of Him continually in assured hope that He will at last deliver us Let it be so we beseech Thee Let it be so as we desire and hope that we may ever praise Thee for our happy restauration The End of the THIRD Book of Psalms The Fourth BOOK OF PSALMS PSALM XC A Prayer of Moses the man of God ARGUMENT Here begins the FOVRTH Book of Psalms in this differing from the rest that as those of the first Book are most of them ascribed to David and those of the second in great part to the Sons of Korah and those of the third to Asaph so there are few of these whose Authour is certainly known and therefore I suppose were all put together in one and the same Collection The first of them indeed being made by Moses the Hebrews have entertained a conceit which Saint Hierom and Saint Hilary also follow that he was the Authour also of the Ten next immediately insuing But as there is no reason for that it will appear in due place so I can see no cause why we should fancy David or some of the Children of Moses in his time or a singer of that name as Aben Ezra conjectures to have composed this present Psalm when not onely the Title expresly gives it to that Moses who was the Man of God as their Law giver is called XXXIII Deut. 1. or that famous Prophet by whom God spake to them but the Chaldee Paraphrase and the very matter of the Psalm sufficiently shew that it was a Meditation of his when the people offended so highly against God in the Wilderness especially by murmuring at the Relation the Spies brought them of the good Land XIV Numb that He shortned their lives to seventy or eighty years at the most and suffered them not to arrive at the age of their Ancestours or of Moses Caleb and Joshua whose lives he prolonged to an hundred and twenty years Which grievous punishment Moses prays God they may lay to heart seriously and so recover his favour Ver. 12 c. who is the eternal God as he tells them in the beginning of the Psalm and had been in a particular manner kind to their Progenitours in former Generations This is the substance of the Psalm which the Collectour of this Book thought fit to place in the very beginning of it because of the great antiquity of this Psalm and the dignity of its Authour 1. LORD thou hast been our dwelling-place
expect an happy issue of all the vexation which they gave them 1. O LORD God to whom vengeance belongeth O God to whom vengeance belongeth shew thy self 1. O Eternal Lord the Sovereign of the world in whose power it is to punish the highest offendors and to whom alone it belongs to take revenge on those who oppress thy people when they should protect them make thy justice conspicuous in a severe vengeance upon them 2. Lift up thy self thou judge of the earth render a reward to the proud 2. Call them to an account O Thou righteous Judge of the whole earth And by making them suffer according to the wrong they have done let those proud men who have acted as if they thought none could controle them know they have a Superiour 3. LORD how long shall the wicked how long shall the wicked triumph 3. We can scarce behold these wicked men without indignation it tempts us to impatience O Lord to see how they prosper and triumph in their injurious proceedings 4. How long shall they utter and speak hard things and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves 4. And to hear their insolent and provoking language for they care not what they say but as they intolerably abuse us so they audaciously blaspheme Thee the whole company of them priding themselves in the mischief they doe and scornfully deriding those that tell them thy judgments will overtake them 5. They break in pieces thy people O LORD and afflict thine heritage 5. They have crushed thy people so that they dare scarce complain of their tyranny which cruelly afflicts those who are dear unto Thee with all manner of rapines and extortions 6. They slay the widow and the stranger and murther the fatherless 6. They have no compassion upon the widow or the stranger but the rather spoil them nay condemn them to die upon false accusations that they may possess themselves of their estates because they have no Patron to defend them and in the same manner they murther for it is no better the poor fatherless children whom they ought to protect from violence 7. Yet they say The LORD shall not see neither shall the God of Jacob regard it 7. And to harden themselves in their wickedness they say what do you tell us of the Lord He knows not or minds not what we doe here though there are such evident demonstrations of the Divine providence over Jacob and his posterity yet for all that they fancy He doth not regard nor will call them to any account for their doings 8. Vnderstand ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise 8. What stupid wretches are these who think themselves the wisest but are in truth the most brutish of all mankind whom I would advise if they have not perfectly lost their reason to consider this and sure they are not such fools but they may soon understand it 9. He that planted the ear shall he not hear He that formed the eye shall he not see 9. Shall not He hear your blasphemies who gave you the faculty of hearing and shall not He see all you doe who gave you the power of seeing Is it possible He should give to others what he wants Himself 10. He that chastiseth the heathen shall not he correct he that teacheth man knowledge shall not he know 10. He that taught all Nations his will shall not He correct them when they transgress it To what purpose did he make man to know the difference between good and evil but that he should observe it and expect if he did not to suffer for it 11. The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity 11. Let them devise what ways they please and flatter themselves with hopes to escape his vengeance the Lord knows them all and will make them see one day that all such counsels and contrivances are but mere folly and vanity 12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O LORD and teachest him out of thy law 12. And far better had it been for them to have been punished sooner For not he that prospers in his wickedness is happy but he whom Thou chastenest O Lord when he doth amiss and thereby teachest to study and obey thy Law with greater care and diligence 13. That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity untill the pit be digged for the wicked 13. Which will quiet his mind under all his troubles and at last procure the removal of them when absolute destruction and ruin mean time is preparing for the ungodly 14. For the LORD will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance 14. For the Lord will never abandon the care of his people nor leave those whom He owns for his peculiar possession to be utterly undone by the oppressions which for a time they may endure 15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness and all the upright in heart shall follow it 15. But how much soever his judgments may seem to depart from the rules of righteousness while the wicked flourish and the godly are afflicted they shall at last return to such a perfect conformity with them that all honest hearted men shall be incouraged thereby still to follow the Lord and by no means to depart from their integrity though all things look as if they were unequally carried 16. Who will rise up for me against the evil doers or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity 16. Let them learn by my example not to despond for who is it but He alone from whom I have expected and still do expect to receive protection and help against these malicious men who make no conscience of what they doe and design my utter ruin 17. Vnless the LORD had been my help my soul had almost dwelt in silence 17. Whose power also is so great that if the Lord had not seasonably interposed for my assistance and deliverance I had not now been praying to Him but laid in a silent grave 18. When I said My foot slippeth thy mercy O LORD held me up 18. This was my constant support if at any time my heart even failed me and I was ready to conclude I cannot subsist any longer then thy mercy O Lord sent me relief and preserved me from the danger wherein I was afraid I should have unavoidably perished 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul 19. I have had innumerable perplexed thoughts and anxious cares which have extreamly disquieted me But as soon as ever I reflected on thy goodness justice and truth they all vanished and I felt such consolation from thence as revived my dejected soul 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee which frameth mischief by a law 20. And made me say I will never imagin it possible that Thou shouldest favour the tyrannical proceedings of these unrighteous Judges who not onely oppress thy people but doe it in
means dost restore my strength and makest my youth and freshness return like the Eagles O that I may with fresh delight and joy be still praising Thee and be lifted up to heaven as they are when they have renewed their plumes in more vigorous love and affectionate desires and indeavours to imploy all my renewed strength in thy faithfull service 6. The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed 6. Nor am I alone obliged to my gracious Lord for his singular favour to me but blessed be his name He relieves all those who suffer wrong and doth justice upon their oppressours who are too mighty for them 7. He made known his ways unto Moses his acts unto the children of Israel 7. Moses and the rest of our Forefathers are witnesses of this whom the Lord delivered in a stupendious manner out of the house of bondage 8. The LORD is mercifull and gracious slow to anger and plenteous in mercy 8. And by other methods of his Providence towards them and dealings with them declared how bountifull his blessed nature is and how ready to forgive forbearing long when men deserve to be punished and soon releasing them from their pain when they heartily repent of their folly 9. He will not always chide neither will he keep his anger for ever 9. He doth not love blessed be his Name to be always chastising us for our faults And when He doth chastise us He neither loves to prolong our miseries nor to inflict them proportionable to our deserts 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities 10. No Blessed be his holy Name there is mercy even in our punishments our sufferings are never so great as our sins but we might justly suffer a great deal more then we do for our faults 11. For as the heaven is high above the earth so great is his mercy toward them that fear him 11. And were we never so obedient there is not a greater disproportion between the vast circumference of the heavens and this little spot of earth then there is between his mercies towards us and our small services 12. As far as the east is from the west so far hath he removed our transgressions from us 12. To those mercies alone it is to be ascribed that we are not bemoaning our selves under innumerable miseries but He hath quite taken away his wrath from us and adored be his goodness perfectly remitted the punishment due to our manifold offences 13. Like as a father pitieth his children so the LORD pitieth them that fear him 13. O what bowels of mercy are these No father can be more indulgent and tender-hearted to his returning children then the Lord blessed be his Name is to those who so reform by his chastisements as to fear hereafter to offend Him 14. For he knoweth our frame he remembreth that we are dust 14. He easily relents and takes compassion on them considering how frail he hath made them and how soon of themselves they will moulder into the dust out of which He took them 15. As for man his days are as grass as a flower of the field so he flourisheth 15. For what is man that the Almighty should contend with him He looks fresh and fair but alas is as feeble as the grass and as a flower in the field whose beauty is far greater then its strength 16. For the wind passeth over it and it is gone and the place thereof shall know it no more 16. Many accidents snatch him away even in his prime Just as the biting wind to which the field flowers are exposed blasts them on a sudden and they spring up no more in the place that was adorned with them 17. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto childrens children 17. O how much doth this magnifie the wonderfull mercy of our God! who designs to be everlastingly kind blessed be his Goodness to such short-liv'd creatures as we are rewarding the faithfull services of a few years with eternal life to our selves and with many blessings to our posterity in future generations 18. To such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to doe them 18. There is no doubt of this which hath been verified in those who have sincerely kept their faith with Him and not onely promised but constantly performed the obedience they owed Him 19. The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth over all 19. For none can hinder Thee O most mighty Lord from being as kind as Thou pleasest who art the universal Monarch the blessed and onely Potentate to whom not onely the greatest men on earth but the highest powers in heaven are subject 20. Bless the LORD ye his angels that excell in strength that doe his commandments hearkening unto the voice of his word 20. Let the Angels therefore who know his greatness power and gracious Providence better then I bless his holy Name Let those mighty ones whose strength surpasses all the powers on earth and yet never dispute his sacred commands give praise unto Him with all their might and with the same chearfulness wherewith they obey his word 21. Bless ye the LORD all ye his hosts ye ministers of his that doe his pleasure 21. Let the whole company of heaven all the several hosts of those glorious creatures who have been imployed by His Majesty so many ways for our good and understand how much we are beholden to his love speak good of his Name and bless his Mercy both to themselves and unto us 22. Bless the LORD all his works in all places of his dominion bless the LORD O my soul 22. Yea let every creature throughout the wide world proclaim as well as it is able the loving kindness of the Lord let none of them be silent but all with one consent bless his holy Name And thou O my soul be sure thou never forget to make one O fail not to bear thy part in this joyfull quire that daily sing his praise PSALM CIV ARGUMENT The foregoing and the following Psalm being certainly composed by David the Greeks and from them several other ancient interpreters have ascribed this also to the same Authour For which they had this further reason that it begins as Aben Ezra observes just as the foregoing Psalm ends and celebrates the mighty power and goodness of God in the fabrick of the world as the CIII doth his benefits to himself and to the rest of the children of men As for the occasion of it we may look upon it as a probable opinion that when David thought of building a House for the Divine Service and God sent Nathan to forbid him 2 Sam. VII 5. he fell not long after into the contemplation of the Majesty of God who having built this great world as his Temple needed none of his erecting though He
power was which wrought such wonders for us in Egypt and in the Wilderness and in the Land of Canaan where shall we find a man that can set forth as they deserve all the praise-worthy acts of the Lord 3. Blessed are they that keep judgment and he that doeth righteousness at all times 3. Which are so great and many that they are most happy men who by faithfull obedience to all his precepts not onely when they have newly received his benefits but throughout the whole course of their lives preserve themselves in the favour of so gracious a Lord and Master which our Forefathers foolishly lost by revolting presently from their mercifull Deliverer 4. Remember me O LORD with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people O visit me with thy salvation 4. Make me good Lord one of this happy number and let me partake of the favour Thou still designest for thy people and find Thee ready at hand in all dangers to preserve and deliver me 1 Chron. XVIII 6 13 14. 5. That I may see the good of thy chosen that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation that I may glory with thine inheritance 5. That I may live to see thy chosen people Israel settled in a peaceable enjoyment of all thy blessings 1 Chron. XXII 18. and have my share in their joy and felicity 1 Chron. XXIX 9. nay triumph together with them in the highest praises of thy bounty towards thy own Nation and peculiar inheritance 1 Chron. XXIX 10 11 12 13 c. 6. We have sinned with our fathers we have committed iniquity we have done wickedly 6. Our sins indeed may hinder these blessings from us for we are no better then our Forefathers but have offended after their example by which we ought to have been amended we are guilty of many iniquities against one another and much impiety against Thee 7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt they remembred not the multitude of thy mercies but provoked him at the sea even at the Red sea 7. We are the wicked offspring of those who were so stupid as not to be affected with the prodigious Works Thou didst in Egypt or presently to forget that long series of miraculous preservations and deliverances by which they were brought from thence But in the very next strait into which they fell at the borders of the Sea that remarkable place the red Sea distrusted his power and wisht He had left them in that cruel servitude of which before they so heavily complained XIV Exodus 11 12. 8. Nevertheless he saved them for his names sake that he might make his mighty power to be known 8. And yet such was his stupendious Goodness He would not let them perish in their ingratitude but to preserve the name He had gotten of their mighty Saviour gave them a new deliverance that the world might not imagin He wanted power to compleat what He had begun to doe for them 9. He rebuked the Red sea also and it was dried up so he led them through the depths as through the wilderness 9. On this consideration He checkt the course of that Sea by so strong a wind that He made a path in the midst of it and led them through those depths on as hard and dry ground as they trod upon in their march through the parched desarts XIV Exod. 21 22. 10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy 10. By which means He saved them from Pharaoh's Army which pressed hard upon their backs as the Sea was before their face XIV Exod. 9 10. He rescued them from the power of those implacable enemies whose hatred carried them to pursue them eagerly even into the Sea XIV Exod. 23. 11. And the waters covered their enemies there was not one of them left 11. Where they were drowned every man of them the Sea which had stood fixed as a wall to save the Israelites returning back with a mighty violence to overwhelm their adversaries 12. Then believed they his words they sang his praise 12. Which was so evident a token of his power and goodness that they were perswaded by it at that present to believe God's promises XIV Exod. 31. and to sing a Song of praise to Him for this miraculous deliverance XV. Exod. 1 c. 13. They soon forgat his works they waited not for his counsel 13. But within three days they grew impatient again XV. Exod. 22 24. and forgetting the great and many pledges they had received of his Divine power quarrelled with his Servants and would not expect till He shewed what way He intended to relieve them 14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in the desart 14. But not long after this murmured again XVI Exod. And though instead of punishing them for it He satisfied them with bread from heaven and gave them several other demonstrations of his Divine presence among them in the wilderness Exod. XVI XX. XXIV c. yet to please their wanton appetite they mutined another time and cried out vehemently for flesh to eat XI Numb 4 5 c. and desired new proofs of his power to supply them 15. And he gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul 15. Which He was pleased to grant in such abundance that they surfeited of the Quails which He sent them and instead of being nourished fell into a grievous disease whereby great numbers of them were wasted and consumed XI Numb 31 32 c. 16. They envied Moses also in the camp and Aaron the saint of the LORD 16. And they that escaped were not cured of their rebellious humour but seditiously disputed the Authority of Moses And accused both him and Aaron whom the Lord had consecrated for the service of his Altar as ambitious men that took too much upon them XVI Numb 3. 17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram 17. Which moved the Divine Justice to punish their presumption with a most terrible vengeance for the earth opened and buried alive Dathan and Abiram and the faction that adhered to them XVI Numb 32 33. 18. And a fire was kindled in their company the flame burnt up the wicked 18. And the other company raised by Korah were smitten with lightning from heaven which burnt up those impious men who were so bold as to invade the Office of the Priests of the Lord XVI Numb 35. 19. They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molten image 19. Whose anger they began very early to incense for even at that very place where the Lord had newly appeared to them in astonishing thunder and lightning and clouds XX. Exodus 18. and had spoken to them with an audible voice and at the second word He spake had charged them not to make any graven image XX. Exod. 4. and had called Moses up into the Mount to receive the rest of his
give my self unto prayer 4. Who have been so far from doing them any harm that I have deserved well of them 1 Sam. XIX 4 5. and even now when they requite my kindness with indeavours to destroy me do nothing but recommend my self by prayer to thy protection refusing to make use of the opportunity I had to revenge my self upon them 1 Sam. XXIV 9 10 c. 5. And they have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love 5. And yet this will not mollifie them but still they are so extreamly ungratefull as to repay my kindness with new attempts to doe me mischief 1 Sam. XXVI 2. And the more affection I express with the greater hatred am I prosecuted 6. Set thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right hand 6. So implacable is his malice who is the principal Authour of the calumnies wherewith I am loaded 1 Sam. XXII 9 11. against whom therefore I implore thy justice O most righteous Judge of the world Let the worst man that can be found be appointed to hear his cause when he is accused and his most malicious Adversary plead against him 7. When he shall be judged let him be condemned and let his prayer become sin 7. When sentence is given let him be condemned to be as guilty as really he is and if he petition for a pardon let it not onely be rejected but prove an aggravation of his crimes 8. Let his days be few and let another take his office 8. Let him and the false Traitour who in future times will use the Messiah as now they do me be cut off before his time and his Office 1 Sam. XXI 7. XXII 9. wherein he behaves himself with such insufferable insolence and falshood be transferred to a better man 9. Let his children be fatherless and his wife a widow 9. Let not his Fatherless Children succeed him in any thing that he hath nor his Widow have any thing left to maintain her 10. Let his children be continually vagabonds and beg let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places 10. Let them not have so much as an house wherein to put their heads but be perpetual Vagabonds supporting a miserable life by begging an Alms and seeking where to lodge because their own dwellings are laid waste and desolate 11. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath and let the stranger spoil his labour 11. Let his Creditour pretending a judgment seize on all his estate and a stranger by that means reap the fruit of all his care and labour 12. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him neither let there be any to favour his fatherless children 12. Let no man shew the least kindness to his memory or upon that account bestow an Alms upon his Fatherless Children 13. Let his posterity be cut off and in the generation following let their name be blotted out 13. Let them rather be odious for his sake and the sooner destroyed so that they be the last of the name and in the next generation not one of that family be found 14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembred with the LORD and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out 14. But according to the just sentence of thy Law XX. Exod. 5. let the punishments which were due long ago but thy patience moved Thee to forbear fall all upon him let him suffer for the sins of his progenitours on both side in whose wicked steps he would not cease to tread 15. Let them be before the LORD continually that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth 15. Let it be seen that their wickedness is not forgotten though committed many years ago but prosecute it with a continued vengeance till no body remember that there were such people in the world 16. Because that he remembred not to shew mercy but persecuted the poor and needy man that he might even slay the broken in heart 16. This will be but a deserved recompense of all his cruelties For as he let all benefits slip out of his mind and was ungratefull to those who had obliged him so he had no sense of that common compassion which is due to the calamitous but when he saw me in a necessitous condition destitute of Friends and dejected in spirit made no other use of it but to persecute me to the death 17. As he loved cursing so let it come unto him as he delighted not in blessing so let it be far from him 17. What can be more just then that the mischief in which he delighted and both wished and designed to others should fall upon himself and that he should never meet with the blessing of those righteous courses which he always hated and avoided 18. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment so let it come into his bowels like water and like oyl into his bones 18. His very business was to slander others every where taking a pride in the mischievous effects of his cursed lies and therefore let him feel the miserable fruit of this wickedness spreading himself like the water he drinks into every vein of him and sticking as close to him as oyl unto the bones 19. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually 19. Let him be involved in perpetual misfortunes and miseries and never be able to shake them off Let him be hampered in straits and difficulties without any possibility of getting out 20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the LORD and of them that speak evil against my soul 20. This shall most certainly be the reward which the righteous Lord will give to my malicious adversaries for all the pains they have taken by slanderous reports and calumnies to take away my life 21. But do thou for me O GOD the Lord for thy names sake because thy mercy is good deliver thou me 21. Which I commend to thy protection O Lord the Governour of all things beseeching Thee to take my part and appear for me though not for my honour yet for thy own whose kindness is so exceeding bountifull unto all that for that reason I am incouraged to hope Thou wilt deliver me to whom Thou hast engaged thy self by many promises of mercy 22. For I am poor and needy and my heart is wounded within me 22. Which I never needed more then now for I am so poor and forsaken of all my friends 1 Sam. XXV 8 c. that I am ready to faint away with grief and sorrow like one that is wounded at the very heart 23. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth I am tossed up and down as the locust 23. The evening shadow doth not vanish sooner then I from the place of my present abode 1 Sam. XXII 1 3 5. XXIII 13 14. which I am forced to quit on a sudden and to wander like the
enemies that invade us not that we may grow more famous no we have no thoughts of the glory that will accrue to our selves thereby but that thy Divine Majesty may be honoured and thy goodness and faithfulness to thy promises be made the more illustrious 2. Wherefore should the heathen say Where is now their God 2. What a sad thing will it be to hear the Nations that surround us insult not so much over us as over Thee saying what is become of their God in whom they trusted If He be so powerfull as they boast why doth He not deliver them 3. But our God is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever he pleased 3. Let them know that Thou art infinitely superiour to them and all their gods being the possessour of the heavens as well as the earth 2 Chron. XX. 6. whom no power of theirs can hurt or so much as restrain but art able to doe whatsoever Thou pleasest for their confusion and for our deliverance 4. Their idols are silver and gold the work of mens hands 4. Their Idols cannot hinder it in the least who are of no more value then the silver and gold of which they are made and are so far from being the makers of things that they themselves are the work of those that adore them 5. They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not 5. They are mere lifeless Images that have mouths but cannot give a word of advice or of incouragement and comfort to their supplicants and eyes also but cannot see the devotion wherewith they look up unto them or prostrate themselves before them 6. They have ears but they hear not noses have they but they smell not 6. Let their worshippers cry to them never so loudly they cannot hear a word All the Frankincense and sweet Odours which they burn to them are merely lost for they cannot smell them 7. They have hands but they handle not feet have they but they walk not neither speak they through their throat 7. Though they have thunderbolts in their hands they feel them not nor are able to doe either good or harm They cannot stir a foot from the place where they stand unless they be carried nor make so much noise as a fly being utterly void of breath as well as of sense and reason 8. They that make them are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them 8. To what then but to those Idols shall we compare the makers of them and such as confide in them who are mere Images of men having eyes but do not see that the brutes are more excellent then such gods and that the least help is not to be expected from them 9. O Israel trust thou in the LORD he is their help and their shield 9. O ye Israelites who by the Divine Favour are better instructed repose that confidence in the eternal Lord which they do in those Vanities And He will not onely protect and defend you against all the assaults of your enemies but help you to overcome them 2 Chron. XX. 9. 10. O house of Aaron trust in the LORD he is their help and their shield 10. O ye Priests and Levites do you above all others rely upon that eternal Lord whose praise you sing and to whom you offer continual Sacrifice For He will never fail not onely to protect but to assist all such as piously confide in Him 11. Ye that fear the LORD trust in the LORD he is their help and their shield 11. And let all that fear the Lord and devoutly worship Him of whatsoever Nation they be place the like confidence in his Almighty Goodness For He will never forsake those that depend on Him alone though they be not of the seed of Abraham but defend them also in all dangers and aid them against all their enemies 12. The LORD hath been mindfull of us he will bless us he will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron 12. We have had abundant experience of his care over us in all ages and therefore though now for the present our enemies afflict us yet let us believe that the Lord will doe us good and bless us with a glorious deliverance All the house of Israel shall see how kind He is especially they that minister unto Him in his holy Temple 13. He will bless them that fear the LORD both small and great 13. And He will not forget those pious Proselytes that are come to worship Him there as the onely God but without any respect of persons give them his blessing also which shall not be denied either to old or young to rich or poor 14. The LORD shall increase you more and more you and your children 14. Nor will He grant you onely a single blessing by sending a present deliverance but heap his benefits and multiply his mercies upon you and upon all those that shall succeed you 15. You are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth 15. Ye are a happy people who live under the care and love and benediction of that mighty Lord whose power nothing can confine for He is not made like the Gentile gods but Himself created both the Heaven and the Earth 16. The heaven even the heavens are the LORD's but the earth hath he given to the children of men 16. In which He cannot be comprehended neither for his Empire extends further then you can see to the heavens which are above these visible heavens from whence his Providence reaches down even to us the children of men whom He hath placed upon this earth to admire and praise his infinite Majesty 17. The dead praise not the LORD neither any that go down into silence 17. And therefore will not suffer us to be rooted out as our enemies design 2 Chron. XX. 11. for then the earth would have none in it to sing his praises which the dead who dwell in the silent grave cannot celebrate 18. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore Praise the LORD 18. But will continue us still alive that we may praise the Lord and speak good of his Name as we do at this time 2 Chron. XX. 21 22. and leave those to succeed us who shall continue his praises in all future generations to the worlds end Hallelujah Praise the Lord. PSALM CXVI ARGUMENT I do not understand the reason why Theodoret applies this Psalm to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes when it agrees so exactly to the condition of David in his flight from his Son Absalom which seems to be mentioned Ver. 11. when Ahitophel and others proved very false to him and he had little or nothing to depend upon but onely the Goodness of the Almighty who was pleased to plead his cause and deliver him For which he resolved to be very thankfull and to call all his Friends to rejoice with him as I have expressed it Ver. 13. where the first
both by my Birth and by my Education and by this marvellous Deliverance whereby Thou hast rescued me from the power of death which had in a manner taken hold of me 17. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the LORD 17. I can never sure prove ungratefull to Thee unto whom I am tied by so many bonds But will always be making Thee my most thankfull solemn acknowledgments for the benefits I have received And together with those praises and thanksgivings wait upon thy Goodness for the like mercies in time to come 18. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people 18. I resolve again religiously to make good these and all other my vows wherein I stand ingaged to the Lord and that not onely in private but here at this solemnity in the face of all his people 19. In the courts of the LORD's house in the midst of thee O Jerusalem Praise ye the LORD 19. When they are gathered together at his House in the midst of the holy City of our God where they meet to worship Him and to doe Him honour There let them all join with me to bless and praise the great Creatour and Preserver of all things PSALM CXVII ARGUMENT This Psalm like the CX seems to be altogether Prophetical of the joy that all the world should conceive at the coming of the Messiah to give Salvation first to the Jews and then to all other Nations according to his faithfull promise Saint Paul applies the first words of it to this business Rom. XV. 11. and some of the Hebrews justifie his application confessing that this Psalm belongs to that matter The brevity of it makes it the more remarkable and easier to be remembred both by Jews and Gentiles 1. O Praise the LORD all ye nations praise him all ye people 1. LET not the praises which are due to the great Lord of all be confined to our Nation but let all people upon the face of the earth praise Him Let all mankind sing thankfull hymns unto Him 2. For his mercifull kindness is great towards us and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever Praise ye the LORD 2. For they are all concerned in his transcendent kindness which hath done mighty things for us and the Lord who changes not will never fail to perform his faithfull promises to the worlds end Therefore let us all join our praises to our common Benefactour PSALM CXVIII ARGUMENT There is nothing more probable then that David composed this Psalm after God had settled him upon the Throne of Israel as well as Judah and also subdued the Philistines who hoped to have crusht him before he grew too powerfull 2 Sam. V. 17. together with other enemies round about him who though they are not mentioned yet in all likelihood joyned with them as we may gather from Ver. 10 11. of this Psalm compared with 2 Sam. VII 1. For that it was written after he had brought the Ark to Jerusalem mentioned there Chap. VI. and placed it in the House he had prepared for it seems very plain from Ver. 19. of this Psalm Where he begins to praise God in such words as had not their compleat fulfilling till the Lord 's Christ whom the Jews rejected and said He shall not reign over us was made King of the World For to Him R. Solomon himself acknowledges those words The stone which the builders refused c. are to be applied And as the latter part of the Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ in David his Type so the former part may be accommodated to all Christians who being persecuted as Theodoret speaks and tormented and disgracefully treated by many Princes and their people by Kings and Governours got a glorious Victory over them all after they had indured a thousand deaths It seems also to have been pronounced at first in some solemn assembly of all the people met together to praise the Lord for his benefits And it is the common opinion of most Interpreters that they all had a part in this Psalm The greatest part of which was spoken by David who begins with a declaration how much he was indebted to God desiring all to assist him in his praises And then coming in a solemn procession I suppose to the Gates of the Tabernacle calls upon the Porters Verse 19. to open them to him that he might praise God in his Sanctuary which he doth in the very entrance Ver. 20 and then in the Courts of his House Ver. 21. After which all the people shout and magnifie the Divine Goodness in making him who was banished from his Country their King Ver. 22 c. And then the Priests come forth and bless both the King and people in the Name of the Lord Ver. 26 and exhort them to be thankfull Ver. 27 And then David seems to take the words out of their mouth and to declare that he will never be unmindfull of God's benefits desiring all the people also to remember them Ver. 28 29. According to which account of the Psalm I have ordered the Paraphrase 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good because his mercy endureth for ever 1. O Make your thankfull acknowledgments to the great Lord of all the world who as He is the Authour of all good and hath been exceeding bountifull unto us so will continue his kindness to all succeeding generations 2. Let Israel now say that his mercy endureth for ever 2. Let the Children of Israel who have had such long experience of his love and now see his promises fulfilled let them confess and thankfully acknowledge that his kindness continues to all generations 3. Let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy endureth for ever 3. Let the Priests and the Levites whose business it is to attend upon His service confess now and thankfully acknowledge that his kindness extends unto all ages 4. Let them now that fear the LORD say that his mercy endureth for ever 4. And let all the devout Worshippers of the Lord of whatsoever Nation they be join together with us for there is one Lord of all who dispenses various benefits to every one of us and confess now most thankfully that there is no end of his kindness 5. I called upon the LORD in distress the LORD answered me and set me in a large place 5. You may see an example of it in me who was in grievous straits and dangers 1 Sam. XXIII 26. XXVII 1. but then imploring the Divine Protection the Lord not onely delivered me but placed me in a secure estate free from all such molestation 2 Sam. V. 3. VII 1. 6. The LORD is on my side I will not fear what can man doe unto me 6. For the Lord it is evident takes my part and therefore though I have many enemies I am not afraid of them for when He is for me what disturbance can men be they
potent Kings who presuming of their strength opposed the accomplishment of his promises to you 11. Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan 11. First of all Sihon King of the Amorites who were esteemed invincible XXI Numb 24. II. Amos 9. and then Og that giantly King of Bashan XXI Numb 33. III. Deut. II. and at last all the Kingdoms and Kings of the Land of Canaan XII Josh 7 24. 12. And gave their land for an heritage an heritage unto Israel his people 12. Which He graciously bestowed upon us the Children of Israel as an inheritance we should hold of Him by a Divine right of which none while we continue his obedient people shall be able to dispossess us 13. Thy name O LORD endureth for ever and thy memorial O LORD throughout all generations 13. O Lord how astonishing is this thy omnipotent Goodness the fame of which shall never be forgotten But an illustrious memory O Lord shall be continued of it from generation to generation 14. For the LORD will judge his people and he will repent himself concerning his servants 14. For though our enemies may sometimes oppress us when we offend Him yet the Lord at last will take the part of his people and deliver them and being reconciled unto his servants will turn his severity into kindness towards them 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold the work of mens hands 15. It is not in the power of the Idols which the heathen worship to divert his kindness from us for they are of no more value then the silver and the gold of which they are made and are so far from being able to doe any thing that they themselves are made by those that adore them 16. They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not 16. They are mere Images of things without their life having mouths but cannot give a word of advice or comfort to their supplicants and eyes also but cannot see much less prevent any danger that doth approach them 17. They have ears but they hear not neither is there any breath in their mouths 17. Ears they have but cannot hear a word that is said to them and noses also but they do not so much as breathe much less can they smell the odours that are offered to them 18. They that make them are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them 18. They that make them therefore or put any confidence in them are as senseless as themselves having eyes for instance but do not see that brutes are more excellent then such gods and that no help is to be expected from them 19. Bless the LORD O house of Israel bless the LORD O house of Aaron 19. O how much then are we all bound to bless the Lord the Creatour of all who hath freed us from this stupid blindness Let the whole Nation of the Children of Israel especially the Priests of the Lord praise Him and give thanks to Him who hath better instructed them 20. Bless the LORD O house of Levi ye that fear the LORD bless the LORD 20. Let all the Levites declare how gracious He is yea let all his pious Worshippers of whatsoever Nation they be join in this heavenly imployment of speaking good of the Lord. 21. Blessed be the LORD out of Sion which dwelleth at Jerusalem Praise ye the LORD 21. Let them all say with one accord the Lord be ever praised in this holy place who though He be the owner of all the World yet makes his special residence at Jerusalem The honour the heathens give to their lifeless Images ought to excite you all with the greater devotion to praise the Lord of the World PSALM CXXXVI ARGUMENT This Psalm like the former is a commemoration of the goodness of God expressed in his wonderfull works particularly those He had done for that Nation And it is likely was composed to be sung upon the great Festivals as every day I suppose they sung the foregoing which is of the same strain with this and contains much of the same matter onely here at every half Verse one half of the Quire answers to the other in these words For his mercy endureth for ever A form of acknowledgment prescribed by David to be used continually in the Divine Service 1 Chron. XVI 41 and accordingly followed by Solomon 2. Chron. VII 3 6. when he dedicated the Temple and by Jehoshaphat when by the incouragement of a Prophet he went out to incounter a vast Army with small Forces 2 Chron. XX. 21. and here is repeated six and twenty times to make them the more sensible that they owed all they had to the mere bounty of God and to excite them to depend intirely upon it and rest assured it would never fail them if they did piously and most heartily acknowledge it Such repetitions we use now in our earnest Prayers when we say Lord have mercy upon us c. which are no more vain then these I have variously expressed the sense of this repeated acknowledgment according as the other part of the several verses seemed to direct me 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 1. OFfer your thankfull Hymns unto the Lord of all who is as good as He is great and will continue his kindness which hath been exceeding abundant towards us unto all succeeding generations 2. O give thanks unto the God of gods for his mercy endureth for ever 2. He is the Sovereign of all the heavenly Hosts and therefore praise Him and give thanks unto Him for He can imploy them all for your help and protection as He hath in former times and you need not doubt of his kindness which continues unto all Ages 3. O give thanks unto the Lord of lords for his mercy endureth for ever 3. All the Kings and Princes of the Earth are his Subjects upon which account also give Him praise and thanks For his kindness endures throughout all Ages to defend you as He hath done hitherto from their tyrannical violence 4. To him who alone doth great wonders for his mercy endureth for ever 4. He it is and He alone whose Works are so great that they surprise all those who seriously consider them with wonder and astonishment and therefore give Him praise and thanks For his kindness will never fail still to imploy his infinite Power for the good of those who are truly gratefull to Him 5. To him that by wisdome made the heavens for his mercy endureth for ever 5. Look upon the Heavens and behold with admiration and praise the splendour and the order wherein his wisdome hath contrived and setled them For his kindness is as large and as firm and durable as they 6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters for his mercy endureth for ever 6. And then look down to the Earth and thankfully praise Him
â—â—E BOOK OF PSALMS PARAPHRAS'D WITH ARGUMENTS to each PSALM The Second Volume By SYMON PATRICK D. D. Dean of PETERBVRGH and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by M. Flesher for R. Royston Bookseller to His most Sacred MAJESTY An. Dom. MDCLXXX TO The Right Honourable HENEAGE Lord FINCH Baron of DAVENTRY Lord High CHANCELLOUR OF ENGLAND And one of His MAJESTY'S most Honourable Privy Council My LORD IT is so unusual in this Age to confer Benefits unsought especially such as your Lordship was pleased lately to think me worthy of that I ought to have the higher esteem not merely of your Lordship's singular kindness to me but chiefly of that noble principle of Vertue in your mind from whence it purely flowed Which will excuse I hope the presumption of this Dedication to which I am prompted by nothing but onely an eager desire publickly to testifie my gratitude to your Lordship as soon as it was possible Which made me lay hold upon the very first opportunity that presented it self and chuse rather to prefix your Lordship's great Name to the remainder of this Work part of which was published some months ago then let any thing appear in the world under my name which did not carry along with it a thankfull acknowledgment of my obligations to your Lordship To whose Judgment knowing persons attribute so much that as it is a very great honour to receive any mark of your Lordship's good opinion so it is a preferment to which whether I will or no your Lordship hath advanced me I will endeavour not to fall from it by forgetfulness of your Lordship's favours but preserve such a remembrance of them as is sutable to the present sense I have of them which is as much beyond what I can express as they are beyond what I could deserve The best expression I can make of it will be in my prayers to God that as the King hath made you the supreme Dispenser of his Justice to his People and his Divine Majesty hath made you a great Pattern of Piety and Devotion as well as other exemplary Vertues so He would be pleased to give you wisedom and prudence to conduct your self with such dexterity as well as integrity in the management of all the publick Business with the care of which you are intrusted that you may continue as you are a supporter of the Government a Patron of Religion a Friend of good Men and in a word a Blessing not onely to your own vertuous Family but to the whole Nation For though there are some so imperfect that they will allow no such words to be said of any but those that please them in every thing yet the most of good Men or at least the best will thankfully acknowledge the happiness we enjoy in the Authority your Lordship hath and will joyn in those Prayers with My LORD Your Lordship 's most humble and most obliged Servant S. Patrick A PARAPHRASE ON THE PSALMS The Third Book PSALM LXXIII ARGUMENT Here begins a new Collection of XVII Psalms most of them very disconsolate and full of sad Complaints which make up the Third Book of this Volume as the Hebrews divide it They were most of them composed by Asaph and but one of them by David though who he was is not resolved by Interpreters who suspect indeed there might be another Authour of some of these Psalms but have no other Asaph to name but Asaph the Singer who was famous in the days of David 1 Chron. VI. 39. XVI 5. 2 Chr. V. 12. And accordingly Apollinarius thus descants upon the Title The Divine invention of David failing in the composing of Songs Asaph arose and by the Divine Spirit resounded this Hymn But it seems to me that there is another person of this name mentioned in the holy Books who may be more probably intituled to this Work called Asaph the Seer see Psal L. who lived in the days of Hezekiah 2 Chron. XXIX 30. and whose Son I suppose was then Recorder 2 King XVIII 37. XXXVI Isa 3. Some of them indeed as I shall take notice in due place may be thought rather to belong to another Asaph in after times but for the present Psalm and most of the rest I can find no person so likely to whom it may be intituled as him now named who composed it I conceive either when he saw the miserable havock which Strangers made among them in the days of Ahaz 2 Chron. XXVIII 17 18 19. XXIX 8 9. or when Senacherib invaded them notwithstanding the reformation which Hezekiah had made or which is most probable upon the occasion that David wrote the XXXVII Psalm to comfort himself and good men when they saw the lewder sort among them thrive and prosper and the pious sometimes sorely afflicted quite contrary to the Sanctions of their Law which promised all good things to those that observed it and threatned the evil to those that broke it This extreamly afflicted his Spirit and staggered his Faith till he considered the matter more deeply and then he broke out into this Meditation saying 1. TRVLY God is good to Israel even to such as are of a clean heart 1. I Will never hereafter whatsoever Confusions I behold question the justice of God's Providence but constantly affirm that He is not merely Just but very Good yea hath a most singular love to his faithfull people who notwithstanding the evils they indure will never consent to do any evil 2. But as for me my feet were almost gone my steps had well-nigh slipt 2. Time was indeed when I even I who have had such long experience of his care over me began to doubt and stagger in my Faith nay was in danger to tumble headlong into unbelief 3. For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked 3. The reason was that having a just indignation against the folly or rather madness of wicked men it first vext me to see them notwithstanding their ill deservings in a very flourishing condition and then tempted me to think it very hard that sober men should not equal if not exceed them in such happiness especially when I saw no likelihood that it would end but that they continue in their prosperity 4. For there are no bands in their death but their strength is firm 4. For as they carry on all their designs smoothly and meet with no rub in their way nor are in any danger so great is their power to be bound over by humane justice to answer for their crimes how many soever they commit so they are not afflicted with sore diseases by the hand of God nor brought to their graves with pains and torment but after a long life in firm and vigorous health depart easily out of the world 5. They are not in trouble as other men neither are they plagued like other men 5. Their life is nothing so laborious and toilsome as that of many honest but
but after I have suffered a while be preferred to those dignities from whence they fall and which is more be so graciously accepted by Thee as to continue in them unto immortal glory 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee 25. This I expect from thy Almighty Goodness who art the solest object of my hope For thou knowest there is none in Heaven whom I depend upon for help and protection but Thee alone none upon Earth whose favour I seek but onely thine which shall perfectly content me 26. My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever 26. It is possible I may still be pressed with such sore afflictions that not onely my bodily strength but also my courage may begin again to fail me but then I will recover my self and fortifie my Soul by flying unto Thee O God for safety in whose love I will alway think my self happy and enjoy everlasting satisfaction 27. For lo they that are far from thee shall perish thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee 27. For there is nothing more certain or more remarkable then this that they who by forsaking Thee have put themselves far from under thy care will never be able by any other means to save themselves from perishing For Thou hast already made such men a terrible Example of thy displeasure and utterly destroyed those who quitting thy service have devoted themselves to the worship of other Gods 2 Chron. XXVIII 6 18 19. XXIX 7 8 9. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God I have put my trust in the Lord GOD that I may declare all thy works 28. And therefore I will learn by their miscarriages that it is the best and safest course for me to adhere to my good God and to make my humble addresses to Him alone I have done so hitherto and no danger shall tempt me hereafter to quit this hold and to confide in any thing but onely in the Sovereign of the World who never fails those that depend upon Him and will I hope be so gracious unto me that I shall have abundant cause to publish and proclaim to all others the Works of his Providence in preserving the Good and in throwing the wicked down at last to the ground PSALM LXXIV Maschil of Asaph ARGUMENT The desolation of Jerusalem and of the Temple as well as the rest of the Country made by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon was the sad occasion of this Psalm For it is altogether improbable that it hath respect to the days of Antiochus Epiphanes as some fancy because as Theodoret perrinently notes to omit all other reasons we reade nothing in any History of his burning the Temple or so much as of his laying the City waste which are both here most sorrowfully bewailed by Asaph Who was not therefore that Asaph in David's time unless we should grant him to have written by the spirit of Prophecy and predicted what should be in after-times as a great many think because there was no such Temple in those days nor had been as is here described Nor was it Asaph the Seer in Hezekiah's days of whom see Argument of the foregoing Psalm who saw no such desolation made by Senacherib for he did not take Jerusalem nor shoot so much as an arrow into it nor in all likelihood prophesied of the destruction here spoken of because the description of it in this Psalm is so plain that we may most reasonably think the Authour of it had it before his eyes and did not merely see it by the spirit of Prophecy which is not wont to foretell things in so clear a manner but more obscurely and darkly I conclude therefore it was some other Asaph who composed this Psalm in the time of the Captivity and in the middle or rather toward the conclusion of it because he complains Ver. 9. that they had no Prophet as there was in the beginning of the Captivity particularly Jeremiah to tell them how long it should last And considering that in the second Verse he speaks of himself as one that dwelt still in the Land of Israel pointing to Mount Sion as a place near to him I take him to have been some pious man of the posterity of Asaph who was suffered to remain there with the Chaldaeans And if it were fit to suppose him to have written this Psalm very young and to have lived to a great age when I have no proof of either I should guess him to be Asaph the Keeper of the King's Forrest in the days of Nehemiah who desired Artaxerxes to write to him to furnish him with Timber out of Lebanon for the rebuilding some of those places which the Psalmist here complains were destroyed Among which the Porch of the Court of the Sanctuary remained unbuilt even unto those times Howsoever from the mention of Mount Sion in the second Verse it is manifest Grotius forgot himself when in his Notes upon Ver. 6. he applies this Psalm to the destruction of Shiloh which he supposes Asaph to have here bewailed For Mount Sion had then never been in their possession as it was afterward and had lain so long waste Ver. 3. when Asaph wrote this Psalm that it look'd like a perpetual desolation Besides the Tabernacle was not burnt when Shiloh was destroyed but remained though without the Ark till the days of Solomon 2 Chron. I. 3. see Psalm LXVIII And of the meaning of Maschil see Psalm XXXII 1. O God why hast thou cast us off for ever why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture 1. O God the Sovereign Judge of the world who hast justly expelled us out of our Land and continued our banishment so long that little hope appears of our being restored to it again behold the anguish of our Souls wherein we cry unto Thee for mercy For we are confounded to see Thee so highly incensed against those who were once under thy most indulgent care as if Thou wert resolved never to be reconciled to us any more 2. Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old the rod of thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed this mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt 2. Thou hast not forgotten we know though it be very long ago with the expence of how many Miracles Thou didst make our Ancestours thy peculiar people For which reason though we be exceedingly underserving we beseech Thee to let all the world see Thou wilt not utterly abandon the poor remainders of that Nation which Thou didst acquire at so great a price that Kingdom which Thou didst rescue out of the most miserable slavery to be thy own possession and this Mount Sion wherein after Thou hadst by many wonders brought us into Canaan and routed out the old Inhabitants Thou wast pleased at last to settle thy abode among us 3. Lift up thy feet unto
the perpetual desolations even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary 3. Make haste good Lord to come and visit the ruins of our Countrey and City which have lasted exceeding long and will never be repaired without thy powerfull help which we implore against the Authours of them who to all the other mischiefs they have done have with a peculiar spite not onely defaced but utterly destroyed thy dwelling-place 4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations they set up their ensigns for signs 4. They are thy Enemies therefore as well as ours whose fury and rage so transports them that they roar rather then shout whilst they triumph in those places where thy people were wont to meet to praise thy Name There they have set up their Banners in token of their Victory and bragg as if their Gods were superiour unto Thee 5. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees 5. Every one of them laid about him and bestirred himself with all his might as if he hoped to get renown by the mischief he did which was committed with no more remorse then if they had been lopping off boughs in the thickets of a Forrest where they may be spared 6. But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers 6. Just so methinks I see as if it were now a doing how they hacked and hewed with Axes and knocked down with Hammers the curious carved Work of the Temple whose elegance would have moved any but Barbarians to have preserved it with as great a zeal as they imployed to beat it in pieces 7. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary they have defiled by casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground 7. But so mad was their rage it was not satisfied with this but set fire unto thy holy place And what that did not consume they pull'd down till they had utterly profaned the habitation consecrated to thy Majesty by laying it level with the ground 8. They said in their hearts Let us destroy them together they have burnt up all the synagogues of God in the land 8. Nor did all this give a stop unto their fury but they rather grew the more outragious For designing quite to destroy our Religion both in this and in future Generations they left not so much as one place wherein we might meet to say our Prayers or hear the Law throughout the Land 9. We see not our signs there is no more any prophet neither is there among us any that knoweth how long 9. And which is the saddest thing of all Thou seemest to have left us too and we see no token of thy Divine presence with us So far we are from beholding any miraculous works as our Fathers did for our deliverance that there is not so much as a Prophet to be found to give us any advice or speak a word of comfort to us not a man among us that can tell when these calamities will have an end 10. O God how long shall the adversary reproach shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever 10. What a reproach is this O God which hath quite tired our patience and makes us cry unto Thee to make haste to avenge thy self of these insulting Enemies Stop their blasphemous mouths O God and let them not say any more as they have done too long that Thou art not able to deliver us 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand even thy right hand pluck it out of thy bosom 11. For we are confounded and know not what to say while Thou thus withdrawest thy powerfull presence from us that mighty power which was wont to do such wonders for us exert it again we beseech Thee and stretch it out for the destruction of those who have spoken of it so contemptuously 12. For God is my King of old working salvation in the midst of the earth 12. Why should I despair of it since the great God whom they deride hath many Ages ago undertaken the Government and Protection of us working for us such deliverances in this Land which now lyes waste as astonished all the world 13. Thou didst divide the Sea by thy strength thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters 13. Thou art that God to whose power the raging Sea is subject which at thy command retired and opened a way for us to pass thorough but came back again with its wonted violence and overwhelmed the Egyptians who like so many Sea-monsters thought to have devoured us 14. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness 14. Pharaoh that fierce Tyrant as terrible as the vastest Whales Thou didst utterly destroy there with all his stern Captains and Commanders whom the Sea spewed up XIX Exod. 30. to find their Tombs in the bellies of the wild Beasts and Birds which people the neighbouring Wilderness 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the floud thou driedst up mighty rivers 15. Where when our Fathers wanted drink Thou madest water to gush out of a Rock XVII Exod. 6. XX. Numb 9. which followed them in a full stream till they came to the borders of Canaan And then Thou driedst up the waters of Jordan at a time when they ran violently and as if many Rivers had been joined in one it overflowed all its Banks III. Josh 15 17. 16. The day is thine the night also is thine thou hast prepared the light and the sun 16. And still there are such instances of thy power which the whole world if they would but mind have alway before their eyes For as Thou didst sometimes change the dry Land into a River and a River into dry Land so Thou dost continually change the Day into Night and the Night into Day having settled the Moon to govern the one and the Sun to govern the other in their turns 17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth thou hast made summer and winter 17. By thy Almighty wisedom also it is that the motion of the Sun not onely makes the days and nights but the different climates of the Earth and the seasons of the year which are sometimes hot and sometimes cold sometimes flourishing as we see in the Summer with all manner of fruit and sometimes stript as we see in the Winter of all its ornaments that afterward it may be the more fruitfull 18. Remember this that the enemy hath reproached O LORD and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name 18. And we sure have indured a very tedious winter wherein all things have lookt most ruefully May it please Thee now to return like the Sun unto us and let thy Enemies know Thou hast not forgotten how they have reproached Thee O Lord whom they ought to have honoured as the mighty Creatour of all things but wilt vindicate thy glory by punishing these insolent people who foolishly puft up
the streams that were derived from it and all their Ponds and Pools of water into bloud 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them which devoured them and frogs which destroyed them 45. And sent an infinite swarm of the most pestilent and to them the most odious sort of Flyes VIII Exod. 21 22. which bit the Egyptians as they used to do their Dogs As not long before He had sent such an army of Frogs to invade all places VIII Exod. 3 8 9 c. and so to spoil their meat and drink and every thing else that if this plague had lasted they must have left their Country or not have lived 46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller and their labour unto the locust 46. After which He exposed the Fruits of the Earth for which they had taken long pains to be devoured by various kinds of Locusts with which the whole Country was so overspread that nothing else but they were to be seen upon the face of the earth X. Exod. 5. 47. He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycomore-trees with frost 47. Which had been miserably harassed before by storms of Hail both small and great whereby not onely the Grapes and such like Fruit were smitten down but the Trees themselves for instance the Vines and the wild Fig-trees quite killed and corrupted at the very root IX Exod. 18 19 25. 48. He gave up their cattel also to the hail and their flocks to hot thunderbolts 48. For there was a dreadfull Thunder and Lightning mixt together with it which let no living Creature escape but destroyed even the Cattel and the Flocks which were left abroad in the Field IX Exod. 22 23 c. 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger wrath and indignation and trouble by sending evil angels among them 49. Many other ways He plagued them which were tokens of his severest displeasure by a grievous murrain by fiery boils by a most dismall darkness IX Exod. 10. till at length He sent evil Angels who had frighted them in that darkness XVII Wisd 3. as the Ministers of his heavy wrath 50. He made a way to his anger he spared not their soul from death but gave their life over to the pestilence 50. Which irresistibly and speedily seised on them wheresoever He found them and spared not their lives but took away the First-born of all their Cattel by a pestilential disease XXI Exod. 30. 51. And smote all the first-born in Egypt the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham 51. As well as the First-born of all their Children the prop of their Families in whom the hope of future succession was principally laid throughout the dwellings of the posterity of Cham the Father of the Egyptians X. Gen. 6. XII Exod. 30. 52. But made his oron people to go forth like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock 52. And by that means brought forth his people from among them XII Exod. 31. as peaceably as a Shepherd doth his Sheep out of their Folds not so much as a Dog moving his tongue against them XI Exod. 7. and then directed them the way they should go in the wilderness XIII Exod. 18 21. where He graciously provided for them 53. And he led them on safely so that they feared not but the sea overwhelmed their enemies 53. He conducted them securely even through the red Sea without any apprehension of danger XIV Exod. 19 22. but overwhelmed Pharaoh and his followers in that very path where they travelled in safety 54. And he brought them to the border of his Sanctuary even to this mountain which his right hand had purchased 54. And never ceased his care over them notwithstanding all their provocations till He brought them into his holy Land and in the issue to this Mount Sion which not their prowess but his mighty power by the hand of David won for them 2 Sam. V. 6 c. 55. He cast out the heathen also before them and divided them an inheritance by line and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents 55. And after He had expelled the old inhabitants who were not able to stand before them XII Josh He distributed by lot to every Tribe their portion of Land which they should inherit XIV Josh and settled them in a quiet possession of it XXI Josh 43 44. 56. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God and kept not his testimonies 56. Yet after so many and so great benefits they behaved themselves no better in that good Land then they had done in the Wilderness but as soon as Joshua and the Elders were dead II. Judg. 7 10. they disbelieved the threatnings of their Law and would make a trial whether they were true or no provoking the great Lord of all the world by slighting his Commandments which He had so strictly injoined them to observe 57. But turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers they were turned aside like a deceitfull bow 57. They imitated their Fore-fathers both in their frequent apostasies from God and in their falseness to their promises when they pretended to repent of them II. Judg. 13 18 19. III. 7 c. having depraved minds and hearts which like an ill made Bow that never tends the Arrow to the mark would turn aside into crooked ways and not be directed according to the will of God 58. For they provoked him to anger with their high places and moved him to jealousie with their graven images 58. For they highly incensed Him by their Altars and Images VI. Judg. 25. which they built after the manner of the heathen XXII Numb 41. in the high places where they worshipped a number of false Gods X. Judg. 6. to his great offence and dishonour 59. When God heard this he was wroth and greatly abhorred Israel 59. Which was so notorious that the Judge of the world could not but take notice of it and severely punish it by abandoning that people for whom He had done such wonders into the hands of the Syrians the Moabites the Midianites Philistines and the Children of Ammon see the Book of Judges who made them as contemptible unto others as they were loathsome unto Him 60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh the tent which he placed among men 60. Insomuch that at last He quite forsook the City of Shiloh where in his Tabernacle He had been graciously pleased to be present with them 1 Sam. IV. 3 4. and would never return unto it any more VII Jer 12. and see Arg. of LXVIII Ps 61. And delivered his strength into captivity and his glory into the enemies hand 61. Nay He let the Ark of the Covenant the special token of his presence with them from whence his power was wont to appear most gloriously for them not onely fall into their hands but be carried away captive by the Philistines 1 Sam. IV. 11 22. V. 1. 62. He gave his
Thee and do not reject my petition accompanied with sad moans and dolefull lamentations but vouchsafe a favourable answer to it 3. For my soul is full of troubles and my life draweth nigh unto the grave 3. For my Soul is overcharged with great variety of long continued evils which have brought me so low that there is but a step between me and the grave 4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit I am as a man that hath no strength 4. All that know my condition look upon me as utterly lost and I have no reason to think otherwise being quite spent and having no power at all to help my self 5. Free among the dead like the slain that lie in the grave whom thou remembrest no more and they are cut off from thy hand 5. I am no longer one of this world from whose society I am quite separated there is little difference between me and those who being slain in a Battel and cast all together into one common grave are no further regarded or those whose families are so wholly exstirpated that there are none left to preserve their memory 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit in darkness in the deeps 6. For Thou hast thrust me down into a deep and dismal Dungeon which I can compare to nothing but a Grave wherein I lie neglected and see no hope of being delivered 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves Selah 7. My spirit is ready to sink under the weight of thy displeasure while my calamities fall upon me so fast and so heavily like the mountainous waves of the Sea one after another that it is impossible to express the soreness of my affliction 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me thou hast made me an abomination unto them I am shut up and I cannot come forth 8. I am not allowed to have any familiarity with my friends or acquaintance no more then if I were in another world And as for other men they abominate to come into such a loathsome place where I am kept so close that I have no means of getting out 9. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction LORD I have called daily upon thee I have stretched out my hands unto thee 9. Nor can I doe any thing there but weep till I am almost blind by reason of the miseries I endure onely I cease not to look up unto Thee O Lord continually who art my onely companion in this solitary and helpless condition imploring thy aid with fervent prayers and longing expectations saying 10. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead shall the dead arise and praise thee Selah 10. Make haste good Lord to deliver me if Thou intendest any kindness to me otherwise I shall presently perish and then without the greatest Miracle there is no help for me For can I with any reason expect that Thou shouldest doe wonders for me among the dead when Thou wouldest doe nothing for me while I was alive and raise me out of my grave when Thou wouldest not bring me out of prison 11. Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave or thy faithfulness in destruction 11. Now is the time to declare the love Thou bearest to me and to perform the promise Thou hast made to them that faithfully serve Thee For if Thou dost defer thy relief I die and what can I hope for when I am rotten in my grave 12. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness 12. Shall thy power be apparent there where nothing is seen And wilt Thou convince men how good and how just Thou art to thy servants in the place where they are no more remembred 13. But unto thee have I cried O LORD and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee 13. Thus O Lord I cry unto Thee in the anguish of my soul which keeps me awake to present my prayers unto Thee before the morning light 14. LORD why castest thou off my soul why hidest thou thy face from me 14. Though alas they have no effect but I see my self deserted notwithstanding all my prayers in these miserable straits wherein I lie sighing to think what the reason should be that Thou deniest me thy help and takest no notice of me 15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up while I suffer thy terrours I am distracted 15. Which is the more strange because I faint away under my misery which hath continued many years and under the sad prospect I have before me of more dreadfull calamities which so astonish me that I know not what to doe with my self 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me thy terrours have cut me off 16. I onely bemoan over again my forlorn estate which grows still more deplorable I suffer not merely the effects of thy anger Ver. 7. but of thy severest and most terrible displeasure wherewith I am so overwhelmed and oppressed that I am scarce able to fetch my breath 17. They came round about me daily like water they compassed me about together 17. Which way soever I turn my self I find that I am inviron'd with them and they increase continually like flouds of water coming from several places and at last meeting all together to inclose and swallow me up 18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me and mine acquaintance into darkness 18. And there is no Friend no Neighbour comes near me to give me the least consolation But all they whose sweet society was wont to help to mitigate my sorrow are either dead or kept from my sight or hide themselves for fear of being thrust down together with me into this dolefull place PSALM LXXXIX Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite ARGUMENT The Authour of this Psalm was near of kin to him that made the former see the Argument there and they lived I suppose in the same time Onely Heman bewailed some private affliction which was befallen himself whereas Ethan after a thankfull acknowledgment of the benefits God had bestowed upon them and especially of his promise made to David by Samuel and Nathan of settling the Kingdom upon him and his posterity for ever laments most sadly the publick calamity by the subversion of the Royal Family and Government in the days of Jehojachin or of Zedekiah Whose miserable fate seems in the conclusion of this Psalm to be bewailed with the greater passion because it looked like a breach of God's promise to David and gave the Babylonians and other Nations who assisted in their destruction occasion to say that notwithstanding all the promises they boasted of and the fidelity of their God in the performance there was now a period put to David's Family and Kingdom That 's the clearest account I can give of the meaning of the last clause of the last verse but one where we reade that they reproached the foot-steps of his Anointed The word we render
foot-steps signifies properly the heel of a mans foot and from thence is translated to signifie the end of any thing as in Psal CXIX 33. Which notion of it in my judgment best suits with all that goes before in this Psalm concerning the stability of David's Kingdom which their enemies now boasted as we would express it in our present language they saw upon its last legs And the truth is it was never restored to that Family till Christ the great Son of David came to whom some passages in this Psalm are applied by the Jews themselves in both the Beresiths and in other Books to which Abenezra and R. Solomon consent Why this Psalm is called Maschil see Psal XXXII But why any should fancy as some have done that it was made by Jehojachin after he came out of Prison 2 King XXV 27 28. I cannot conceive unless the first words moved them to think that he who in the foregoing Psalm speaks of himself as in a Dungeon gives God thanks here for his deliverance 1. I Will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations 1. THE innumerable calamities that are befaln us shall not blot out the memory of the innumerable benefits which the Lord hath formerly bestowed on us but I will sing of them without ceasing and indeavour to make all posterity believe notwithstanding our present desolation that Thou art faithfull and constant to thy word 2. For I have said Mercy shall be built up for ever thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens 2. For I am confident thy Mercy which is immovable and indures for ever will raise us out of these ruines thy promises being as firm and stedfast as the heavens in which we see an image of the unchangeableness of thy Nature and of thy will 3. I have made a convenant with my chosen I have sworn unto David my servant 3. Which Thou didst declare by thy Prophet saying 1 Sam. XVI 13. 2 Sam. III. 9 10. V. 2. VII 15 16 28. I have chosen David my faithfull Servant to be the Governour of my people and have made a Covenant with him confirmed by an Oath 4. Thy seed will I establish for ever and build up thy throne to all generations Selah 4. That not onely he but his Children after him shall be settled in the Throne which though it totter sometime or be thrown down shall be raised again and continued throughout all succeeding generations 5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders O LORD thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints 5. For which stupendious kindness if we should forget to praise Thee or in this our calamitous condition distrust thy power and fidelity to make it good the heavenly inhabitants will not fail to doe it but in their holy Assemblies confess them both with their solemn praises 6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD 6. For there are none of the powers of the air they know much less any upon earth that can resist the Lord and hinder the fulfilling of his will The mightiest among themselves they are sensible are not to be compared with his Majesty to whom they are but Ministers 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him 7. And when they assemble in the greatest numbers and make the most glorious Court stand in great fear and dread of Him attending with awfull reverence what commands He will be pleased to lay upon them 8. O LORD God of hosts who is a strong LORD like unto thee or to thy faithfulness round about thee 8. With whom I will join O Lord the Commander of all these heavenly Hosts and celebrate thy Name on earth as they do in heaven saying Where is he among them all that can equal Thee O most powerfull Lord whose Faithfulness is as ready to fulfill thy Promises as the Angels are to execute thy Commands 9. Thou rulest the raging of the Sea when the waves thereof arise thou stillest them 9. The Sea it self which submits to no body else is under thy Government who when it is a calm makest it swell as if it would overflow the earth and reducest it when it is in its greatest rage to a perfect stilness again 10. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces as one that is slain thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm 10. There the Egyptians who had been wounded before with many other grievous plagues were utterly overthrown and with the like irresistible power the Canaanites were scattered at the entrance of thy people into the promised Land 11. The heavens are thine the earth also is thine as for the world and the fulness thereof thou hast founded them 11. For Thou art the owner of things both in heaven and earth and hast the justest right to dispose of them to whom Thou pleasest because the world and all the inhabitants of it are thy Creatures 12. The north and the south thou hast created them Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name 12. Whether we cast our eyes to the Southern or Northern parts of the earth to the West towards Tabor or Eastwards towards Hermon they all acknowledge Thee their Creatour and rejoice in thy bountifull Providence which inriches them with all things needfull for them 13. Thou hast a mighty arm strong is thy hand and high is thy right hand 13. And thy power extending it self throughout the whole always effects in every place whatsoever Thou designest whether it be to punish evil-doers or to preserve and exalt them that doe well 14. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne mercy and truth shall go before thy face 14. But none shall be able to say Thou doest them any wrong Because Thou dost not rule the world merely by thy absolute power but hast placed thy principal glory in justice and equity mercy and fidelity from which Thou never swervest 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyfull sound they shall walk O LORD in the light of thy countenance 15. Happy then are the people who live under thy righteous and mercifull Government and hear the Trumpet sound which signifies the royal presence of thy Majesty among them and calls them to attend upon Thee X. Numb 10. They shall spend their days most chearfully O Lord being secure of thy favour which will let them want nothing that is good for them 16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted 16. They shall not barely rejoice but triumph and that continually in thy love to them and thy power to defend them and walking in thy holy Laws shall by thy goodness be highly exalted and made superiour to all their enemies 17. For thou art the glory of their
strength and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted 17. For they owe not their conquests to their own valour or forces though never so great but it is Thou who givest illustrious Victories to the smallest Armies And therefore by thy favour we hope that our Empire which is now broken shall be raised again to its former splendour 18. For the LORD is our defence and the holy One of Israel is our King 18. For the Lord is still our Protectour though our Prince be taken and made unable to defend us He whom Israel adores and acknowledges infinitely to transcend all other Beings is our King and Governour 19. Then thou spakest in vision to the holy One and saidest I have laid help upon one that is mighty I have exalted one chosen out of the people 19. Who then didst reveal thy mind in a Vision to the holy Prophet Samuel 1 Sam. XVI 1. when the Philistines defied Israel and grew terrible to them XVII 10 11 24. saying I have provided myself a valiant Champion 1 Sam. XVI 18. to be your deliverer 2 Sam. III. 18. I have designed a person of singular worth from among the common people 1 Sam. XVI 11. to be promoted to the Kingdom 20. I have found David my servant with my holy oil have I anointed him 20. I have observed David 1 Sam. XVI 1. and find him a man that will faithfully serve me Go and anoint him with the holy Oil for I intend him for the Governour of my people 21. With whom my hand shall be established mine arm also shall strengthen him 21. With whom I will always be powerfully present for his assistance 1 Sam. XVII 45 c. and never desert him as I did Saul XVIII 12 24 28. But my mighty power shall extraordinarily strengthen him in all his enterprises 1 Sam. XXX 6. 2 Sam. VIII 6 14. 22. The enemy shall not exact upon him nor the son of wickedness afflict him 22. The subtilest of his enemies shall not be able to circumvent him nor the most malicious how powerfull soever oppress him 23. And I will beat down his foes before his face and plague them that hate him 23. But after all their vain attempts I will not onely protect him from their crafty violence but subdue all his adversaries under him and destroy those that hate him 2 Sam. VII 9. 24. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him and in my name shall his born be exalted 24. He shall ever find me not onely faithfull in my promise to him but kind above his expectation and by my powerfull assistance and his confidence in it his authority shall be highly exalted 1 Chron. XIV 17. 2 Sam. VII 9. VIII 13. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea and his right hand in the rivers 25. On one hand he shall conquer the Philistines and those that live upon the coast of the Sea 2 Sam. VIII 1. and on the other hand the Syrians as far as Tigris and Euphrates 2 Sam. VIII 9 c. X. 16 19. 26. He shall cry unto me Thou art my father my God and the rock of my salvation 26. For he shall intirely depend on me in all his distresses and fly to me for succour as a Child to his Parent saying with more then usual love and confidence Thou art my Father as well as my omnipotent God from whom alone I expect protection and deliverance 27. Also I will make him my first-born higher then the kings of the earth 27. Which I will never fail to afford him till I raise him to the prime dignity among all those whom I call my Sons and set him so high above all other Kings in the world that he shall be a most eminent Type of my Son Christ the King of kings and the Lord of lords 28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore and my covenant shall stand fast with him 28. Nothing shall alter these kind intentions toward him but I will always have a love for him and faithfully perform my Covenant with him 29. His seed also will I make to endure for ever and his throne as the days of heaven 29. Which is that his Family shall never be extinct but notwithstanding the changes which all things are subject unto here below have the royal power continued in it as long as the heavens endure 2 Sam. VII 16 28 29. I. Luke 32 33. 30. If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments 30. If his Successours indeed shall depart from the Law which I have given you by my Servant Moses and not judge my people righteously 31. If they break my statutes and keep not my commandments 31. If they prophanely neglect or corrupt my Religion and observe not the rest of the Rules of life which I have enjoined them 32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes 32. Then will I execute the threatnings which are in my Law XXVI Levit. upon them and punish their transgressions with sore diseases and their Idolatries with several plagues 2 Sam. VII 14. 33. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him nor suffer my faithfulness to fail 33. But I will not so chastise them as never more to doe good to his Family 2 Sam. VII 25. but will still have a kindness for it and faithfully keep my promise with it 1 King XI 34 36. XV. 4. 2 King VIII 19 c. 34. My covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips 34. I will not violate the Covenant I have made with David 2 Chron. XXI 7. nor retract the promise which I have solemnly passed to his Family 35. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David 35. For I have unalterably sworn by my own incommunicable excellencies that I will as soon cease to be what I am as deceive him 36. His seed shall endure for ever and his throne as the sun before me 36. His Family as I said Verse 29. shall never be quite extinct but always remain in my favour and hold the royal dignity as long as the Sun shineth 37. It shall be established for ever as the moon and as a faithfull witness in heaven Selah 37. The Moon may as well fall from her Orb as his Authority fall to the ground and rise no more Let that be a witness of my fidelity when you look upon it XXXIII Jer. 20 21. and conclude that after all the changes and eclipses his Kingdom may suffer it shall stand as fast as that and all the rest of the heavenly bodies 38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred thou hast been wroth with thine anointed 38. But all these promises alas so sacredly confirmed and oft repeated have not secured it from a dismal subversion For Thou hast rejected with the greatest contempt and indignation our Sovereign one of the posterity of David and
in all generations 1. O Lord who sustainest and governest the whole world Thou hast been the constant Protectour of our Nation for many Ages having afforded all things necessary for the defence and security of our Forefathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob when they had no certain dwelling-place but were strangers in the Land whither we are going and supported us in the Land of Egypt where in a time of dearth Thou madest an ample provision for us as Thou hast also done hitherto in this barren desert 2. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God 2. Where though we have no Towns nor Houses we ought to think our selves safe and to trust in Thee who art the same mighty God Thou ever wast not onely before we and our Forefathers were made but before the mountains arose out of the waters and Thou commandedst the rest of the earth and this beautifull world to appear and ever wilt be whatever changes there be here without any alteration 3. Thou turnest man to destruction and sayest Return ye children of men 3. We have highly offended Thee indeed and so did our first Parents who became thereby most wretched and miserable Creatures and were doomed by Thee to return to the dust out of which they were formed as all their posterity must do whensoever Thou summonest them to obey that sentence Thou hast passed upon them 4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night 4. And should we have a reprieve for a longer time then our first Father Adam and some of his successours had who lived near to a thousand years we should be wretched still especially when we compared our selves with Thee in whose account the longest life is as inconsiderable as one day and that when it is spent and gone nay as three or four hours which pass away in sleep 5. Thou carriest them away as with a floud they are as a sleep in the morning they are like grass which groweth up 5. But alas in these ages Thou carriest men away suddenly as a violent torrent doth those things it meets withall in its passage they vanish like a dream when we awake and are as grass which in the morning is grown higher and stronger then it was 6. In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up in the evening it is cut down and withereth 6. But how flourishing and fresh soever it then appear is cut down before night and loses all its beauty such is the frailty of man who now is in vigorous health and anon languishes and falls to the earth 7. For we are consumed by thine anger and by thy wrath are we troubled 7. This I am sure is our condition who have so provoked Thee to anger by our sins that we perish in an instant XVI Numb 35 46. and are perpetually disturbed with dreadfull apprehensions of thy heaviest displeasure XVII Numb 12 13. 8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee our secret sins in the light of thy countenance 8. After many threatnings Thou hast proceeded as a righteous Judge to call us to a severe account for all our foul crimes though never so secretly committed and makest it appear by our punishments to all the world XIV Numb 20 c. that we are a perverse generation though we pretend to thy service 9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath we spend our years as a tale that is told 9. For we constantly feel some effects or other of thine anger whereby our lives decline exceeding fast and many times before we can say what 's this is at an end 10. The days of our year are threescore years and ten and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years yet is their strength labour and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we flie away 10. We fall short of the days of our Forefathers being now all doomed to perish in the Wilderness and not to exceed commonly the age of LXX or if men be of a vigorous constitution at most of LXXX years the best part of which also is spent in toilsome travels XX. Num. 14. XXI 4. XXXI 11. II. Deut. 1 3 c. and much sorrow and vexation to see the strongest among us cut down like grass in a moment or at least making great haste unto their graves 11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger even according to thy fear so is thy wrath 11. And yet alas who is there that seriously considers and lays to heart the dreadfull effects of thy displeasure which irresistibly falls upon us XXV Num. 1 2 3 c. or with such a pious fear as it ought to excite takes any care to prevent more terrible punishments then those we have felt already 12. So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisedom 12. Lord do Thou touch us with a sense of thy judgments that we may not presume thus foolishly to offend Thee as our Fathers have done but making a just account of the shortness and uncertainty of our lives may wisely apply our selves to make the best use we can of them in repenting of our sins 13. Return O LORD how long and let it repent thee concerning thy servants 13. And then be pleased to turn thy severity into kindness towards us Let it suffice good Lord that we have indured so many and long punishments and now at last revoke or mitigate the sentence Thou hast past upon us who though very disobedient are thy servants 14. O satisfie us early with thy mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all our days 14. O let us see some appearance of thy love to us which may satisfie and chear our languishing souls like the morning light after a tedious night and instead of sighs and groans fill us with shouts of joy all the remainder of our days 15. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us and the years wherein we have seen evil 15. Compensate our past troubles with future comforts and make our happiness to equal if not exceed the misery we have suffered 16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children 16. Declare to all the world that Thou hast not quite forsaken us thy servants but wilt still work wonders for us and doe more glorious and magnificent things for our Children though we have sinned against Thee XX. Numb 17 18 c. XXXI 2. II. Deut. 25. III. 24. 17. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us and establish thou the work of our hands upon us yea the work of our hands establish thou it 17. Let them inherit by the special favour of the Lord our God that lovely and pleasant Land XLIX Gen. 15. VIII Deut. 7 8 c. which He hath promised to give us and for that end direct
shall not befall thee 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet 13. No shouldst thou come among Serpents Asps and Dragons with all the rest of those venemous sort of Creatures they shall not be able to doe thee hurt but thou shalt victoriously trample upon them and triumph over them X. Luk. 19. XVI Mark 18. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me therefore will I deliver him I will set him on high because he hath known my name 14. For so hath the Lord declared his will and pleasure to be when He gave commission to his Angels concerning me saying Because he heartily loves Me and delights in Me therefore will I deliver him from all present danger and raise him above the reach of all future because he hath acknowledged Me to be the onely safe refuge and relied on My power for his protection 15. He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honour him 15. I will grant him all his petitions especially when he is in any distress I will be present with him to afford him sutable comfort and not onely preserve him from perishing but after a happy deliverance make him great and illustrious 16. With long life will I satisfie him and shew him my salvation 16. And more then that he shall have the satisfaction of injoying his honour to a great old Age and when his strength fails him I will not but still give him evident proofs of my care of him and kindness towards him PSALM XCII A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day ARGUMENT If Adam had made this Psalm presently after he was created in the evening of the Sabbath which is a Rabbinical fancy mentioned in the Midrash upon this place sure it would have been set in this fourth Book of Psalms before that of Moses who may more probably be conceived to have composed it to raise the hearts of the Israelites to the proper business of the Sabbath-day which was to praise God when they meditated upon his wonderfull works not onely of Creation but of Providence in the government of the world Several instances of which in rewarding the good and punishing the wicked they themselves had seen since they came out of Egypt and were to see more when they came into the Land of Canaan to keep their Sabbath or rest there after their long travels in the Deserts with respect to which some thing Moses might call this A Psalm for the Sabbath-day But there is no certainty of these things or rather it is certain that neither of these conjectures are true For as Adam in Paradise had no enemies to rise up against him nor was troubled with any workers of iniquity such as we reade of Ver. 7 11. and there were no Psalteries Harps and Instruments of Musick then made which Moses himself tells us were found out by Jubal so those Instruments were not imployed in the service of God till the days of David who may therefore more reasonably be thought to have made this Psalm for the Sabbath then either of the other after God had given him such Rest round about from all his enemies 2 Sam. VII 1. that he concluded he should be able to subdue those who should hereafter adventure to oppose him such as those mentioned in the following Chapters 2 Sam. VIII X. 1. IT is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto thy name O most High 1. NOW is the proper season to give thanks unto the Lord for all the benefits we have received from Him and it is no less delightfull then it is profitable to sing Hymns in the praise of the Divine perfections which infinitely transcend all that can be said or thought of them 2. To shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night 2. This is the sweetest imployment in the morning and no entertainment equal to it at night to commemorate and declare to all how bountifull Thou art and how faithfull in performing thy promises to those who depend on thy Almighty Goodness 3. Vpon an instrument of ten strings and upon the psaltery upon the harp with a solemn sound 3. Which ought to be celebrated with a full Consort not onely of our chearfull Voices but of all the Instruments of Musick 4. For thou LORD hast made me glad through thy work I will triumph in the works of thy hands 4. For all are too little O Lord to express the joy I have in the acts of thy Providence by whom as the world was made so it is still governed it ravishes my spirit and makes me shout for joy to think how excellently Thou orderest and disposest all things 5. O LORD how great are thy works and thy thoughts are very deep 5. Whose administration though I cannot fully comprehend yet I admire and applaud the astonishing greatness of thy works and reverence the unsearchable depth of thy counsels and designs 6. A bruitish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this 6. Of which a stupid man who looks not beyond his senses is so wholly ignorant that seeing himself and other such like fools prosper and thrive while better men are in trouble and affliction He presently concludes Thou dost not meddle in our affairs but leavest all to chance For he doth not understand so much as this secret 7. When the wicked spring as the grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed for ever 7. That when the lewdest men grow rich high and powerfull and their interest is such that by their means all the workers of iniquity and few other men are promoted the reason is because nothing in this world is of any great value nor of any long continuance but after they have flourished a while in an empty glory they shall be cut down like grass and which is more never rise up again 8. But thou LORD art most high for evermore 8. And that Thou who rulest all things though far out of their sight canst as well punish or reward men hereafter as at present being the eternal Lord. 9. For lo thine enemies O LORD for lo thine enemies shall perish all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered 9. Who shewest Thou dost not intend to let the wicked escape though now they flourish for Thou hast begun already to give thy enemies who have long prospered a remarkable defeat they have received such a notable blow that I am confident they shall perish and all their partakers though never so numerous and strongly linkt together be dispersed and utterly destroyed 10. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn I shall be anointed with fresh oil 10. But my power and authority Thou shalt raise to a formidable height and crown that dignity with such undisturbed joy and pleasure as shall
forty years long before the end of which I concluded that they were a people whose heart would never be stedfastly resolved to adhere unto me for they did not mind what wonderfull things I did for them nor what I commanded them to doe for me 11. Vnto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest 11. Which so highly displeased me that I sware they should wander all their days and die at last in the Wilderness XIV Numb 28 c. and never enter into that good Land where I intended to give them rest after all their travels XII PSALM XCVI ARGUMENT This Psalm also wants a Title in the Hebrew but the Greeks are justified in the former part of their Inscription which calls it An Ode of David's by the 1 Chron. XVI where we find that at the bringing up the Ark from the house of Obed Edom to the place he had prepared for it on Mount Sion David delivered this Psalm together with the CV into the hand of Asaph to express the joy he had in God's special presence among them which all their neighbours round about he foretells should be made sensible of as well as themselves This Psalm indeed is not exactly the very same with that but there is a difference in some expressions ex gr it is called here A new Song but not there which shews it was afterward altered by some divine person who accommodated it to other uses And very probably by Ezra when they came out of Babylon which occasioned the Greeks to add in the latter part of the Inscription of this Psalm these words when the house was built after the Captivity Ezra that is made use of it to express their joy at the re-edification of the Temple But it never had a compleat fulfilling answerable to the height of it till the Messiah who was indeed the Temple of God came to dwell among us to give eternal Salvation to us Several of the Jewish Writers acknowledge that it belongs to His times and accordingly we not onely may but ought to have Him in our minds when we say Sing unto the Lord a new Song for his new Grace that is in sending Him to give Salvation to all Nations and the Lord reigneth Ver. 10. and hath all things put under his feet See Euseb in his Demonstrat Evangelica L. 1. c. 4. 1. O Sing unto the LORD a new song sing unto the LORD all the earth 1. O Sing praises unto the Lord for his new and extraordinary benefits which He hath bestowed upon us Let all the earth join together with us to sing his praises 2. Sing unto the LORD bless his name shew forth his salvation from day to day 2. We can never praise Him enough and therefore cease not to bless his Name and to spread the fame of his Almighty Goodness towards us but publish every day with joyfull hearts the great deliverances He hath wrought for us 3. Declare his glory among the heathen his wonders among all people 3. Tell the Nations round about how He hath glorified Himself let none of them be ignorant of the wonderfull things He hath done among us 4. For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised he is to be feared above all gods 4. For all our praises fall infinitely short of the greatness of the Lord who is worthy of the highest praise of the whole world and hath shewn both to us 1 Chron. XIII 10 12. 1 Sam. VI. 20. and to others 1 Sam. V. 3 4 c. how dreadfull He is above all that are called Gods 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols but the LORD made the heavens 5. For all the Gods of the Nations are nothing worth being able to doe neither good nor harm But the Lord not onely made the earth but the heavens too which abundantly declare the greatness and the splendour of his Majesty 6. Honour and majesty are before him strength and beauty are in his sanctuary 6. Whose heavenly Court infinitely out-shines all the state and pomp wherein the greatest earthly Monarchs live 1. Esther 4. For all the words we have are not able to express the brightness and magnificence the power and comely order of so much as his Ministers an image of which we have in his holy place wherein He manifests Himself among us 7. Give unto the LORD O ye kindreds of the people give unto the LORD glory and strength 7. Ascribe therefore unto the Lord O ye people from whatsoever Family ye come ascribe unto Him that incomparable Majesty and supreme Dominion and Authority which you give to imaginary gods 8. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name bring an offering and come into his courts 8. And renounce them all and acknowledging the Lord alone to be the omnipotent King of all the world doe Him honour sutable to the excellency of his Majesty bring Him an oblation in token of your subjection to Him and humbly worship Him in his Temple 9. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness fear before him all the earth 9. O come and cast down your selves before the Lord in his Sanctuary where He hath fixed his glorious residence among us Adore his transcendent perfections and let all the people approach into his presence with a pious trembling and dread to offend their Sovereign 10. Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved he shall judge the people righteously 10. Go ye that are already become Proselytes unto Him and publish every where in all Countries that the Lord CHRIST is the Sovereign of the World who alone can make it happy For He shall settle those in peace that submit unto his Government and they shall not be so disturbed as they were wont with wars and tumults He shall administer equal justice unto all and neither suffer the good to be unrewarded nor the evil to escape unpunished 11. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad let the sea roar and the fulness thereof 11. Let the whole Universe therefore be filled with joy at this blessed news which the Angels themselves shall gladly receive I. Luk. 30 32. much more ought all mankind wheresoever they are dispersed on the Earth or on the Sea and the Islands thereof exceedingly rejoice and fill all places with the loud sound of their joyfull praises 12. Let the field be joyfull and all that is therein then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice 12. Let the husbandmen and the shepherds and all that dwell in the fields leap for joy and the woodmen and foresters shout for joy to see the happy day approaching when all the Idols that are worshipped there shall be thrown down together with their groves 13. Before the LORD for he cometh for he cometh to judge the earth he shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth 13. Let them
souls of his saints he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked 10. But do not content your selves merely with this passion of joy if you truly love the Lord hate every thing which you know is displeasing to Him so shall you have the Lord of all things for your continual keeper who preserves the lives of sincerely pious men and watches over them with such a carefull providence that when they are in the power of the wicked He will not suffer them to destroy them 11. Light is soweâ—… for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart 11. Be not discouraged though the world should frown upon you but rest assured that God designs you in due time more chearfull and happy days which if you continue faithfull and serve Him with upright hearts shall as certainly come as the corn at last springs up after it hath lain all winter in the ground 12. Rejoice in the LORD ye righteous and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness 12. Let all truly good men rely on this and rejoice in their worst estate that they serve such a gracious Lord Let them give thanks unto Him for his benefits and gratefully commemorate how kind and gracious He hath been unto them that it may be kept in perpetual remembrance PSALM XCVIII A Psalm ARGUMENT There is no Title here but onely this A Psalm to which the Greeks add of David who it is very probable was the Authour or if he was not it was made by some holy man in imitation of what David saith in the XCVI of many of whose expressions this Psalm consists upon occasion of some remarkable deliverance which God had newly granted to Israel as an earnest of future blessings especially of the coming of that great blessing the Lord Christ to give compleat Salvation to his people 1. O Sing unto the LORD a new song for he hath done marvellous things his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory 1. O Let the new and extraordinary benefits which the Lord hath bestowed upon us provoke you to sing praises unto Him with fresh devotion for He hath done stupendious things and by his Almighty goodness alone and incomparable strength hath wrought salvation for those who were as unworthy to be helped by Him as they were unable to help themselves 2. The LORD hath made known his salvation his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen 2. The Lord hath declared by the wonders He hath done how mighty He is to save and deliver He made the Gentile world apparently see that He is the just rewarder of all those who piously obey Him and will not let the wicked escape unpunished 3. He hath remembred his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God 3. He hath not forgot his ancient Covenant with our Forefathers but so faithfully performed what his mere mercy moved Him to promise 1. Luke 54 72. that all mankind have seen what our gracious God hath done and partake of his Divine benefits 4. Make a joyfull noise unto the LORD all the earth make a loud noise and rejoice and sing praise 4. Let them all therefore shout for joy let them cry aloud and with strong and chearfull voices sing hymns of thanks and praise unto the Lord. 5. Sing unto the LORD with the harp with the harp and the voice of a psalm 5. Let nothing be wanting to express your joyfull sense of the goodness of the Lord but let the Harp accompany your songs let the sweet sound of the Harp I say and the sound of your voices be mixt together with your Psalms 6. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyfull noise before the LORD the King 6. And let the Trumpet also and Cornet proclaim with a louder sound the exceeding greatness of your joy while you shout with triumphant acclamations to Him and acknowledge the Lord to be your King 7. Let the sea roar and the fulness thereof the world and they that dwell therein 7. Let the noise of his praises be heard like thunder throughout all the habitable world both among those that live on the Sea and those that are upon the Land 8. Let the flouds clap their hands let the hills be joyfull together 8. Let high as well as low applaud their happiness and joyn together with one consent to express by all the tokens of joy the singular pleasure and satisfaction they feel in their hearts 9. Before the LORD for he cometh to judge the earth with righteousness shall he judge the world and the people with equity 9. Let them meet the Lord with forward affections who is coming to reform the earth and will govern mankind by righteous and mercifull Laws distributing to every man according to his works PSALM XCIX ARGUMENT The Greeks intitle David to this Psalm which seems to have been made upon the same occasion and to the same end with the three foregoing onely with these two differences First that from the consideration of the royal power of the Lord who had manifested himself by some notable conquests over his enemies to be the onely Monarch whose Sovereignty extends over all the world they should mix fear and trembling together with that joy and exultation to which in the former Psalm he had excited them And secondly that he doth not so plainly as in those Psalms prophesie of the Kingdom of the Lord Christ But there are many passages as Theodoret observes which may be applied to the appearing of our Saviour and the infidelity of the Jews Saint Austin and Saint Ambrose apply to him that passage upon which the Roman Church builds the lawfulness of worshipping Images Ver. 5. where the vulgar Latin reading adorate scabellum pedum ejus worship his footstool those two Fathers think there is no way to reconcile this with that command Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him onely shalt thou serve but by expounding this of the flesh of Christ which is the footstool they say which the Psalmist exhorts all men to worship so far were those holy men from allowing adoration to any thing that is not God or hath not a personal union with Him And indeed Christ was represented by the Ark which was the Divine footstool here spoken of but not to be adored no more then the Hill on which it stood concerning which the Psalmist speaks in the last Verse just as he doth of the Ark in this and therefore we ought to understand both passages alike the particle in the Hebrew being the very same before footstool and before Hill and translate them thus worship at or before or towards his footstool and holy Hill as elsewhere he speaks of worshipping towards his Temple V. 8. CXXXVIII 2. And so Menochius very honestly here expounds this passage in these words worship in his Temple turning your faces towards the Ark on which
even upon the most barren and stony Mountains 17. Where the birds make their nests as for the stork the fir-trees are her house 17. In these trees the birds both small and great build themselves convenient habitations and some of them as the Stork for instance who seats her nest on the top of lofty Pines and Fir-trees with admirable artifice 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats and the rocks for the conies 18. And with no less safety the wild Goats deposite their young in the top of those craggy Mountains whither they can climb as easily as the birds fly to the tops of trees and other feeble creatures creep into the rocks and there lie secure from the violence that stronger beasts would offer to them 19. He appointeth the moon for seasons the sun knoweth his going down 19. By his most wise contrivance the Moon hath her full and her wane and the Sun doth not always shine but observes a constant time for its going down 20. Thou makest darkness and it is night wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth 20. And then darkness covering the face of the earth and inviting us to rest gives the wolves and other wild beasts of the Forest such is thy care O Lord of all creatures who were afraid to venture abroad before security and confidence to come out of their lurking places and seek their food 21. The young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God 21. Which the ravening young Lions then meet withall falling upon their prey with a horrible noise whereby they express the eagerness of their hunger which is not so sharp and devouring but by the Divine Providence it finds full satisfaction before the morning 22. The sun ariseth they gather themselves together and lay them down in their dens 22. When the Sun again appearing and rouzing us out of our sleep they all return with one consent and lay themselves down in their several dens 23. Man goeth forth to his work and to his labour untill the evening 23. And so man refreshed by the nights repose goes forth without any danger about his business in the fields and continues his labours till the night call him to rest again 24. O LORD how manifold are thy works in wisedom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches 24. O eternal Lord how many and how great are thy works and with what admirable wisedom hast Thou contrived them all If we look no further then this Earth what astonishing variety of good things do we behold wherewith Thy bounty hath inriched it 25. So is this great and wide sea wherein are things creeping innumerable both small and great beasts 25. And this great and spacious Sea also which seems to embrace the Earth in its arms is no less full of thy wonderfull works For there swim Fish without number some of which astonish us as much with the art Thou hast shewn in their small bodies as others do with the prodigious greatness of their bulk 26. There go the ships there is that leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein 26. There the Ships sail as swiftly as the Fishes swim fetching us the riches both of Sea and Land and there that great Leviathan in forming whom Thou hast shewn thy mighty power finds room enough to tumble up and down and sport himself in his absolute dominion over all that the Sea contains 27. These wait all upon thee that thou mayest give them their meat in due season 27. O how liberal is thy Goodness which provides convenient sustenance for such a vast world of creatures Every one of which though they know not their Benefactour is duly and seasonably supplied with the food they seek by the care Thou takest of them 28. That thou givest them they gather thou openest thine hand they are filled with good 28. For they onely gather what Thou without any care of theirs dispensest to them And Thou art not sparing of thy blessings but hast made a most plentifull provision which Thou scatterest every where for them 29. Thou hidest thy face they are troubled thou takest away their breath they die and return to their dust 29. If it fail at any time by the suspense of thy heavenly influences all things look most ruefully they grow weak nay die and are dissolved into the elements out of which they were made 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit they are created and thou renewest the face of the earth 30. But then Thou sendest forth again thy quickning power whereby new ones are produced in the room of those that are dead just as the earth after a sharp winter hath made it bare looks fresh and green again at the return of the spring 31. The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever the LORD shall rejoice in his works 31. Thus the world is still as full as ever it was and all future ages shall praise as well as we the same power and wisedom and goodness of the Lord which appears so gloriously in all his works that He himself is still pleased and delighted in the continuance of them as He was at first in their contrivance 1. Gen. 31. 32. He looketh on the earth and it trembleth he toucheth the hills and they smoke 32. Else they would all soon vanish and come to nothing for at his presence the very earth trembles and the mountains as our Fathers saw at mount Sinai are full of fire and smoke 33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live I will sing praise unto my God while I have my being 33. I will never cease therefore to sing the praises of the Lord who as He created so supports and maintains the whole fabrick of heaven and earth and all the creatures contained in them And I will never forget his particular kindness to me among the rest but acknowledge to my very last breath the innumerable benefits I have received from his bounty 34. My meditation of him shall be sweet I will be glad in the LORD 34. With such affection will I praise Him that all my thankfull meditations and discourses shall be I hope no less pleasing to Him then they shall be to my self who will take the highest satisfaction in thinking and speaking of the Goodness of the Lord from whom I shall still receive more abundant cause to rejoice in Him 35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth and let the wicked be no more bless thou the LORD O my soul Praise ye the LORD 35. But as for them whose onely pleasure it is to satisfie their brutish lusts and abuse the many good things they enjoy either denying or never acknowledging Him who is the donor of them they shall utterly perish and be no longer the care of that Providence to which they are so ungratefull O my Soul never imitate their impiety or negligence but be excited thereby to the greater diligence in
praising thy great Creatour and Benefactour And let all those who have any sense of Him stir up themselves and join with me in his praises PSALM CV ARGUMENT Though this Psalm have no Title yet we are assured by what we reade in the 1 Chron. XVI 8 c. that the first part of it at least to the end of Ver. 15. was made by David and delivered by Him to Asaph and his Brethren for the constant service of God in the Tabernacle when after several Victories over the Philistins 1 Chr. XIV he had settled the Ark of God in Sion And it is most probable that he afterward inlarged this Psalm for who else would adventure to doe it that it might be a more compleat commemoration of all the mercies of God towards their Nation from the days of Abraham to their taking possession of the Land of Canaan Into which he shews their gracious Lord conducted them by so many miraculous providences in several ages according to his faithfull promise made to Abraham his faithfull Servant that it deserved their most hearty acknowledgments to which he excites them by ten several expressions in the five first verses of the Psalm To which the Greeks praefix an Hallelujah for they take the last word of the foregoing Psalm and set it on the head of this as a note how much they were obliged to praise the Lord according to that exhortation when they remembred in this Psalm the benefits that He had bestowed upon their Forefathers which were sufficient to excite and whet their minds to the imitation of their vertue And it may serve to admonish the new people of God as Theodoret speaks that is us Christians how much we ought to rejoice in God's goodness to us and how dangerous it is to be ungratefull to Him which provoked Him to deprive the Jews of that fatherly care which He had taken of their Ancestours 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD call upon his name make known his deeds among the people 1. STir up your selves all ye that are here assembled to make your most gratefull acknowledgments unto the great Lord who is pleased to come and dwell among you never approach his presence to make your petitions to Him but join his praises together with them and proclaim to all the people round about what great things He hath done for you and for your Forefathers 2. Sing unto him sing psalms unto him talk ye of all his wondrous works 2. Sing his praise with a chearfull voice and with all the Instruments of Musick and let the subject of your hymns and of your ordinary discourse be his many marvellous acts of which let not one be forgotten 3. Glory ye in his holy name let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD 3. For nothing can be so great an honour to you as that you are the servants of such a mighty Lord who infinitely transcends all other Beings triumph therefore and make your boast of this as a greater happiness then all worldly goods let it fill the hearts of all his faithfull worshippers with the highest joy and gladness 4. Seek the LORD and his strength seek his face evermore 4. Let it incourage them to address themselves unto Him upon all occasions and prostrating themselves before the Ark of his presence 2 Chron. VI. 41. commend themselves to his powerfull protection let them unweariedly seek his favour and implore his gracious assistance 5. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done his wonders and the judgments of his mouth 5. Which you may with the greater confidence expect if you call to mind and thankfully commemorate the marvellous things He hath done for your deliverance and his terrible executions III. Exod. 20. according to his just sentence passed VII Exod. 4. upon your enemies 6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant ye children of Jacob his chosen 6. The benefit of which you still enjoy O ye who are the posterity of his servant Abraham whose faith and obedience you ought to imitate the children of Jacob whom He chose rejecting Esau to inherit the promised blessing 7. He is the LORD our God his judgments are in all the earth 7. He is still the same mighty Lord and our most gracious God who continues to execute his judgments every where upon our enemies 2 Sam. V. 7 10 17 c. and therefore let us never cease to praise Him and chearfully serve Him and faithfully depend upon Him 8. He hath remembred his covenant for ever the word which he commanded to a thousand generations 8. For He is never unmindfull of his ingagements to us but punctually performs in all ages what He hath promised in his Covenant 9. Which covenant he made with Abraham and his oath unto Isaac 9. Which He first solemnly made XV. Gen. 17 18. and then sware XXII 16. unto Abraham and renewed with his Son Isaac to whom He promised to perform that Oath which He sware unto Abraham XXVI Gen. 3. 10. And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law and to Israel for an everlasting covenant 10. And again confirmed it to Jacob both when he went to Haran XXVIII Gen. 13 c. and at his return when He changed his name into Israel XXXV Gen. 10 c. and at last passed it into a Law in that Covenant which He made with their posterity XXIII Exod. 22 23 31 32. never to be altered if they keep their Covenant with Him 11. Saying Vnto thee will I give the land of Canaan the lot of your inheritance 11. The sum of which was this I bestow upon thee and will bring thee into that good Land the Land of Canaan which according to this faithfull Covenant you now possess as by lot it was distributed to your several Tribes for their inheritance XIV Josh 1 2. 12. When they were but a few men in number yea very few and strangers in it 12. This Covenant He began to make with your Forefathers and shew'd his intention to perform it by his singular care over them when their Family was very small XII Gen. 1 5. and consequently so weak that they might easily have been destroyed in the Land where they were strangers XXIII Gen. 4. and had no friends nor allies to support them 13. When they went from one nation to another from one kingdom to another people 13. Nor any settled habitation but were forced to wander to and fro from one part of Canaan into another XII Gen. 6 8 9. and then to sojourn in other Kingdoms sometimes in Egypt XII Gen. 10. sometimes in Gerar XX. Gen. 1. XXVI and sometimes in the Eastern Country from whence they came XXIX Gen. 1. 14. He suffered no man to doe them wrong yea he reproved kings for their sakes 14. And wheresoever they sojourned He took them into his protection and suffered no man to doe them any injury XXXI Gen. 24 42. but gave severe checks even to the King of Egypt XII Gen. 16.
of various sorts of locusts X. Exod. 5 12 c. 35. And did eat up all the herbs in their land and devoured the fruit of their ground 35. Which by his command came and covered the whole face of the Country eating up the very leaves of the trees as well as all the grass and herbs upon the ground X. Exod. 15. 36. He smote also all the first-born in their land the chief of all their strength 36. And at last He finished these plagues in the slaughter of all the first-born both of man and beast the Angel of the Lord killing in one and the same night XII Exod. 29. the principal prop of every Family and the best of all their flocks and their herds 37. He brought them forth also with silver and gold and there was not one feeble person among their tribes 37. Which terrible destruction so affrighted them that they not onely let Israel go but were forward to thrust them out of Egypt and that loaded with silver and gold XII Exod. 31 35. And which is very wonderfull among so many thousand persons Ver. 37. there was not one at that time so feeble as to be unable to travel 38. Egypt was glad when they departed for the fear of them fell upon them 38. And great was the joy at their departure not onely among the Israelites but among the Egyptians who thought themselves not safe till the Israelites had their liberty but were in dread of another plague which they thought might kill them as the former had done their children XII Exod. 33. 39. He spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night 39. Nor did the Divine providence desert our Fathers after it had brought them out of Egypt but lest they should suffer any prejudice by the exceeding great heats or mistake their way in a desolate wilderness He defended them in the day from the scorching rays of the Sun by a cloud which it self gave them light to comfort and if need were to guide them in the night XIII Exod. 21 22. 40. The people asked and he brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven 40. He provided also a delicate food for that vast multitude even when they were so ungratefull as to murmur against Him XVI Exod. 12 c. sending them in the evening such flights of quails and in the morning such showrs of corn out of the clouds as abundantly satisfied every one of them 41. He opened the rock and the waters gushed out they ran in the dry places like a river 41. And when they murmured again for want of drink XVII Exod. 2 6. He was so kind as to stop their complaints by making water to spring out of a rock from whence it gusht so constantly and in such abundance that it made a stream which followed them in all the parched grounds through which they marched 42. For he remembred his holy promise and Abraham his servant 42. For the Lord was resolved punctually to perform his promise passed in former ages XV. Gen. 18. II. Exod. 24. which made Him reward the fidelity of his servant Abraham even upon his incredulous posterity at that very time which He had prefixed for it XV. Gen. 13. XII Exod. 41. 43. And he brought forth his people with joy and his chosen with gladness 43. When with much mirth and joy He brought his people out of the Egyptian bondage and made them shout to see the difference He made between them and the Egyptians who were drowned in the red Sea while they were conducted safe through it on dry Land XV. Exod. 1 13 19. 44. And gave them the lands of the heathen and they inherited the labour of the people 44. And in conclusion He cast out seven Nations to make room for them in the Land of Canaan where their posterity took possession of Cities and Towns Fields and Vineyards which the labour of others had built and planted for them VI. Deut. 10 11. XXIV Josh 13. 45. That they might observe his statutes and keep his laws Praise ye the LORD 45. That they might have the more leisure to purge the Country of all its ancient superstition and filthiness and set themselves heartily to worship God after that manner that He prescribed in a strict observance of all the rest of his holy Laws For which and all other his benefits excite your selves to praise the Lord. PSALM CVI. Hallelujah i. e. Praise the Lord. ARGUMENT There is little doubt to be made but this is the Title of the Psalm as it is of many other CXI c. whereby the Authour excites them to acknowledge God's bounty to their ungratefull Forefathers For as in the foregoing Psalm they are the words of Theodoret the Divine Benefits are commemorated so in this the Psalmist both commemorates them and also upbraids the ingratitude of those that received them Which magnified the mercies of God the more in being so very kind to those wicked people that when He punished them He did not utterly destroy them The opinion of that Father is that the Psalm was composed in the person of the more pious sort of people who bewail the common calamities and implore the Divine indulgence And most Interpreters that I have met withall imagin it to have been made in the time of the Captivity of Babylon but the proof of it is very weak For the last verse but one upon which they ground that conjecture may have another construction and mean no more but this that God would be pleased when the Nation or any part of it should be carried captive to take pity upon them and restore them again to their Country Or rather in my opinion it refers to those who in the days of Saul or before were taken prisoners by the Philistines and other Nations whom David prays God to gather to their own Land again that they might worship Him in that place which He had prepared for the Ark of his presence For it seems plain enough that this was one of the Psalms which he delivered then to Asaph the first verse and the two last being set down in the 1 Chron. XVI 36 37 as the beginning and ending of another Psalm which can be none but this which he then gave in with the other two there mentioned XCVI and CV to praise the Lord withall 1. PRaise ye the LORD O give thanks unto the LORD for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 1. O Make your thankfull acknowledgments to the great Lord of all the World who was exceeding gracious to your Forefathers and will continue his kindness you may hope unto all succeeding ages 2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD who can shew forth all his praise 2. Praise Him with all your might for when you have done your best you must acknowledge that it is impossible to express your obligations to his omnipotent Goodness For who is able to tell how miraculous that
the service of Devils but offered their bloud the bloud of innocent babes even of their own sons and daughters as I said upon the Altars of the Idols of Canaan prophaning thereby the holy Land with the most impious and unnatural Murthers 39. Thus were they defiled with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions 39. Besides other abominable works wherewith they defiled themselves such as Whoredom and all manner of beastly lusts which were the filthy vices of those Nations whom God cast out before them XVIII Lev. 24 25 27 28 c. 40. Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance 40. And so contrary to nature as well as his Law that the Lord was exceeding angry with them II. Judg. 14 20. and the more because He had made them his people whom He now abominated as impure and unclean though once they had been very dear unto Him 41. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen and they that hated them ruled over them 41. And thereupon delivered them up to the power of those impious Nations with whom they contracted friendship when they should have destroyed them III. Judg. 3 5. IV. 2. XIII 1. who retaining still their ancient hatred exercised a rigorous tyranny over them IV. Judg. 3. 42. Their enemies also oppressed them and they were brought into subjection under their hand 42. And so did many other of their neighbouring enemies the Mesopotamians and Moabites III. Judg. 8 12. the Midianites and Amalekites VI. 2 3 c. and such like X. 7 8. who not onely grievously afflicted them but deservedly made those their subjects nay slaves who would not serve their gracious God 43. Many times did he deliver them but they provoked him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity 43. Who still continued so kind to them that upon the first sign of their repentance He constantly raised up the spirit of some great Man or other to rescue them from every one of these Oppressours though they as constantly provoked Him again by relapsing to their former Idolatry which in the issue brought them exceeding low X. Judg. 8 9. 44. Nevertheless he regarded their affliction when he heard their cry 44. And yet such was his tender compassion towards them He did not absolutely refuse to help even these base revolters X. Judg. 14 15 16. when in their distress they made a lamentable moan and promised amendment 45. And he remembred for them his covenant and repented according to the multitude of his mercies 45. For He was not unmindfull of the Covenant He had made with their Forefathers XXVI Levit. 42 44 45. XXX Deut. 1 2 3. but let them reap the benefit of it in ceasing to punish them and when they deserved to be utterly destroyed bestowing many and exceeding great blessings on them 46. He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives 46. For He inclined the hearts even of those who had subdued and implacably hated them unto some compassion towards them so that they did not indeavour their total extirpation XIII Judg. 1. XIV 2. XV. 9 10 c. 47. Save us O LORD our God and gather us from among the heathen to give thanks unto thy holy name and to triumph in thy praise 47. And therefore we humbly hope still in the same great mercies and beseech Thee O most mighty Lord who hast been wont to doe our Nation good to deliver us how unworthy soever from all our present enemies and to restore such of us as are faln into their hands unto their own Country that they may join with us in giving thanks to thy incomparable goodness and setting forth thy praises with the greatest joy and triumph saying 48. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting and let all the people say Amen Praise ye the LORD 48. Let the great Lord of all the world who hath been so gracious unto Israel as to chuse them for his own peculiar people be most heartily blessed and praised Let all generations bless Him as long as the world shall last and unto all eternity and let all his people concur in these desires and wish it may be so let them all praise the Lord and desire He may be ever praised The End of the FOVRTH Book of Psalms The Fifth BOOK OF PSALMS PSALM CVII ARGUMENT The Fifth Book of Psalms which consists most of Praises and Thanksgivings begins here with an exhortation to those whom God according to the Prayer foregoing CVI. 47. had delivered from Pagan servitude to acknowledge that singular benefit with their hearty Thanksgivings and thence to take occasion to magnifie his mercifull Providence over all other men not onely of that but of all Nations when they addressed themselves unto Him in their distresses For instance Travellers in the desart who have lost their way Prisoners Sick people Mariners Husbandmen even whole Countries the Psalmist shews are made strangely prosperous if they have a regard to God and on the other side fall into great misery if they neglect Him It had been endless to enumerate all other cases but by these any man may understand if he please as he observes in the conclusion how good the Lord is and ready to help those who fly unto Him for succour whatsoever their condition be The Authour of the Psalm is unknown but if I have guessed aright at the connexion of this with the foregoing Psalm it is most probable it was composed by David who having in the CV put them in mind as Theodoret observes of the promises made to the Patriarchs and of the blessings bestowed on their posterity and in the CVI. of their horrid ingratitude for such benefits and the punishments for that cause inflicted upon them declares in this Psalm the inexplicable kindness of God in their freedom from slavery and in his carefull Providence as I said over all mankind which might give them the greater incouragement to hope in Him if they served Him faithfully who had taken them for his peculiar people 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 1. O Make your gratefull acknowledgments to the great Lord of the world of whose Goodness you and your Forefathers have had such long experience that you may conclude his loving kindness will extend it self to all succeeding ages 2. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy 2. Let them especially call upon one another to give thanks unto his Goodness whom the Lord hath graciously redeemed from a sad Captivity into which they were reduced by their prevailing enemies 3. And gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west from the north and from the south 3. And hath brought them back to their own Country again from all the Lands on every side into
Locust which flies or is driven with the wind uncertainly from place to place 24. My knees are weak through fasting and my flesh faileth of fatness 24. And for want of food in those desart places I am sometimes scarce able to remove for my body which heretofore was plump and fat 1 Sam. XVI 12. is now grown lank and thin like one of those miserable lean Creatures 25. I became also a reproach unto them when they looked upon me they shaked their heads 25. Which instead of moving their pity hath exposed me to such contempt and scorn that when I am seen by any of them they deride and scoff at me as an undone wretch that vainly hopes to escape their hands 26. Help me O LORD my God O save me according to thy mercy 26. But my hope is that Thou O Lord who hast hitherto been my most gracious God wilt seasonably interpose for my relief and deliver me out of that tender mercy which is wont to extend it self to those who have nothing else to depend upon 27. That they may know that this is thy hand that thou LORD hast done it 27. Whereby they themselves may be convinced and forced to acknowledge that not by chance no more then by my small forces but by thy Almighty power alone and thy care of me O Lord I am delivered 28. Let them curse but bless thou when they arise let them be ashamed but let thy servant rejoice 28. Thy blessing and protection I implore which if Thou wilt vouchsafe me let them go on to curse and slander me as long as they please it shall not hurt me nay let them assault me with armed force they shall onely be confounded at their vain attempt and give thy servant the greater cause to rejoice at their disappointment 29. Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame and let them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a mantle 29. Which shall so increase the confusion of my malicious adversaries that they shall not be able to bear the disgrace but wish they could hide themselves from the sight of their shame which their own wickedness hath brought upon them 30. I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth yea I will praise him among the multitude 30. In hope of which defeat I now beforehand to the Lord the best expressions of my gratitude that I am able to make not onely in private but in the greatest Assemblies where I will not cease to praise his Almighty love 31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from those that condemn his soul 31. And bid them trust in God who hath pleaded my cause and rescued me from death and will ever be the Advocate of him that hath no helper but depends on his goodness to deliver him from the hands of those Judges who prosecute the unjust sentence they have passed upon him to lose his life PSALM CX A Psalm of David ARGUMENT There is the same reason to think this Psalm was composed by David not by some other concerning David that there is to conclude all the rest to be so which have the same Title And then as it is very plain he speaks of some person much greater then himself whom he calls his Lord so it can be no other but the Lord Christ of whom he here prophesies Not as he is wont to doe elsewhere with respect to himself in the first place as His type and figure but in plain words which can belong to none but Christ alone For no other King but He can be said in any sense to sit at God's right hand nor was there any Priest of the order of Melchisedek that could be a shadow of him David indeed seems once to have exercised the Office of a Priest when he blessed the people at the bringing of the Ark to Sion 2 Sam. VI. 18. and so to have been then both King and Priest in one person as Melchifedek was but not a Priest for ever on whom the Office was perpetually established and that by an Oath as it was on the Priest here mentioned And therefore it is in vain to endeavour to accommodate any part of this Psalm to David who conquered many of the neighbouring Countries smote their Kings made them bring him tributes and at last smote the head of the Country of Rabbah as some render the last words of the sixth verse of this Psalm that is the King of the Children of Ammon But still we are to seek how the rest can be applied to him who never had any pretence to such an authority as is here described nor can in any sense call himself my Lord but as our Lord Christ hath demonstrated spake concerning Him XXII Matt. 43 c. and his Exaltation after his Resurrection from the dead as Saint Peter and Saint Paul also shew II. Act. 34 35. 1 Cor XV. 25. IV. Hebr. 1 13. V. 6. when He set up another Priesthood and abolished that of Moses which change is here predicted And though the Jews have taken a great deal of pains to wrest this Psalm to another sense yet they are so divided in their opinions about it speaking inconsistent things like drunken men as Saint Chrysostom's words are or rather says he like men in the dark running against one another that from thence alone we may be satisfied they are in the wrong and have their eyes blinded else they would not have embraced such interpretations as those which may be seen in them that have written upon this Psalm Which some of the Jews themselves such as R. Moses Hadarsan Saadias Gaon and divers others whom I might mention have been forced to acknowledge belongs to Christ and is a very plain prediction of his Divinity his royal Dignity his Priesthood and his victories and triumphs which the Psalmist sets forth as follows 1. THe LORD said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thine enemies thy footstool 1. THis is the decree of the eternal LORD that the great person whom we expect and whom I honour as my Lord and Master shall be advanced after his sufferings to the highest dignity 1 King II. 19. in the heavens and reign with Him as the King of all the world till He have perfectly subdued X. Josh 24. the most powerfull opposers of his Kingdom and overcome death it self by whom all mankind are conquered 1 Cor. XV. 25 26. 2. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Sion rule thou in the mids of thine enemies 2. The eternal Lord wâ—… hath thus decreed to honour Thee O most mighty Prince will make Sion first of all to feel how powerfull thy Scepter is I. Act. 8. II. 34 37. and thence extend thy Empire over all the Earth where I wish Thou mayest and foretell Thou wilt prevail over all Infidelity Idolatry Superstition and Impiety which will set themselves against thy Authority 3. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth 3. For in the day when thy forces 2 Tim. II. 3. compleatly armed with a Divine power IV. Act. 33. shall march forth to subdue the world unto thy obedience they that are fit for thy Kingdom IX Luk. 62. XIII Act. 48. shall chearfully submit themselves and present Thee with free-will Offerings in token of their absolute subjection to Thee II. Act. 45. IV. 34. And great shall be the number of chosen men 1 Joh. II. 13. who glad to see the night of Ignorance gone shall at thy first appearance by the celestial blessing fall unto Thee as thick as the morning dew 4. The LORD hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek 4. And happy are they who live under thy Government for the Lord hath unchangeably resolved that Thou shalt be a Priest as well as a King with full power to bless all thy Subjects not onely in that but in all future Ages even to all Eternity For Thou shalt not be a Priest like those after Aaron's order who die to make room for others but like that great King and Priest Melchisedek shalt neither have any Predecessour nor Successour in thine Office but continue a royal Priest for evermore Hebr. VII 5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath 5. Who as he will be most compassionate to all those that heartily acknowledge Him for their Lord and submit unto His Government so will break in pieces the greatest powers on earth that provoke his displeasure by obstinate opposal of his Authority at thy right hand 6. He shall judg among the heathen he shall fill the places with the dead bodies he shall wound the heads over many countries 6. From whence He shall demonstrate Himself to all the heathen world to be their Law-giver and their Judge taking a severe vengeance on those that persecute his Subjects and destroying at last even that mighty Empire which shall then rule over many Countries 7. He shall drink of the brook in the way therefore shall he lift up the head 7. But before all this He shall first humble Himself to the meanest condition not living in the state of a King here in this world but of a way-faring man IX Luk. 56. who is content with such provision as he meets withall For which cause after the enduring many hardships even death it self He shall be highly exalted to his Royal and Priestly dignity in the Heavens from whence He shall never fall PSALM CXI Hallelujah i. e. Praise the Lord. ARGUMENT It is certain this is the Title of the Psalm which consists of as many short Metres as there are Letters in the Hebrew Alphabet and therefore cannot begin with Hallelujah whos 's first Letter is the fifth not the first Letter in that Alphabet In which order it proceeds for the better help of the memory being composed thus artificially that every one as well as the singers to whom the Hallelujah perhaps is particularly directed might have in their minds a brief form of thanking God especially upon festival days for the wonderfull things He had done for that Nation It was a meditation which the Authour had in time of peace and quiet for in distress or immediately after a great deliverance mens spirits are not at liberty to use such art and curiosity in their composures as there is in this Psalm being full at those seasons of such passions as make them neglect it even when they are inclined to use it see Psalm XXV For which reason I think Theodoret's opinion hath no ground that the Psalmist hath respect to the great Victory obtained by Jehoshaphat over the Ammonites and other Nations who invaded his Kingdom for which they gave thanks to God presently after 2 Chr. XX. It is more likely that David who composed those larger forms of commemoration Psalm CV and CVI. made this as I said for a compendious remembrance of what is there more largely delivered And that He might not exceed the number of the Ten Commandments as some give the reason of it in the Verses of this Psalm the Metres of the two last are so short that they have each of them three Letters of the Alphabet in them whereas all the former have but two 1. PRaise ye the LORD I will praise the LORD with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation 1. I Will make my thankfull acknowledgments to the Lord not onely with my lips or with some slight affections of my mind but with all my heart and soul And that not onely in the private society of those good â—…en whom I am more inâ—…mately acquainted withall but in the publick congregation of all his people 2. The works of the LORD are great sought out of all them that have pleasure therein 2. Who ought to join together to praise the Lord for his mighty and wonderfull works which it will not cost them much labour to understand for they are easily found out by all those who take any pleasure in such inquiries 3. His work is honourable and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever 3. And there is not one of them but is full of majesty and splendour and the fruit of his infinite bounty and faithfulness to his promise which He still expresses towards us and will doe so for ever 4. He hath made his wonderfull works to be remembred the LORD is gracious and full of compassion 4. And such is his Goodness lest we should forget his Benefits He hath instituted solemn times for the commemoration of the wonders He hath done for us XII Exod. 14. XIII 3 9 c. which are everlasting testimonies that we serve a most gracious and compassionate Lord. 5. He hath given meat unto them that fear him he will ever be mindfull of his covenant 5. Who gave our Forefathers whom by his wonderfull works He possessed with the fear of Him XIV Exod. 31. the spoil of the Egyptians XII Exod. 35 36. and afterward fed them with Manna in the wilderness XVI Exod. according to his Covenant which He had made long before XV. Gen. 14. and will never forget in future Ages 6. He hath shewed his people the power of his works that he may give them the heritage of the heathen 6. He hath evidently demonstrated to his people the greatness of his power in destroying Sihon the Amorite II. Deut. 24 25. and Og the King of Bashan III. Deut. 21 24. with the rest of the Amorites and other Nations in the Land of Canaan X. Josh 6 11 12 c. which He took from the ancient Inhabitants that He might give it us for our possession 7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment all his commandments are sure 7. In which He did them no wrong but was exactly
just in fulfilling his promise to us and in executing his judgments upon those wicked wretches IX Deut. 5. XV. Gen. 16. For all his orders of either kind are in pursuance of most righteous decrees 8. They stand fast for ever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness 8. Which He doth not alter and change at pleasure but hath settled as eternal Rules because there is no partiality or iniquity in them but they were enacted with a sincere respect to all mens good and happiness 9. He sent redemption unto his people he hath commanded his covenant for ever holy and reverend is his name 9. And it was in conformity to these that He at first sent Moses and Aaron to bring our Fathers out of Egypt VI. Exod. 6. and then exercised his supreme authority over them in giving them a Law which He tied them by a Covenant perpetually to observe XIX Exod. 4 5. XXIV 8. Appearing in such Majesty to them XX. Exod. 18. XXIV 10 11. as might possess them with an awfull regard to Him and make them for ever dread by any profaneness to offend Him who infinitely excells all other Beings 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisedom a good understanding have all they that doe his commandments his praise endureth for ever 10. And indeed it is the first and principal point of wisedom to fear the Lord and carefully observe his Commandments the practice of which give men a better understanding of what is good for them then any politick maximes can infuse into them Therefore let the Lord be for ever praised who hath given us these good and wholsome Laws and thereby shewn us the way to eternal honour and praise PSALM CXII ARGUMENT This Psalm is composed after the very same manner with the former and seems to be intended for a short Commentary upon the last Verse of it shewing how well and wisely they consult their own good and happiness who observe God's Commandments especially those about Charity or doing good to others Of which that they might be always mindfull the Psalm is contrived for the help of their memories into as many short Versicles as there are Letters in the Hebrew Alphabet Hallelujah therefore is no part of them but the Title prefixt to the Psalm see upon Psalm CXI to excite them to praise the Lord who had made it their present interest to be religious 1. PRaise ye the LORD Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD that delighteth greatly in his commandments 1. HAppy is that man whose chiefest care it is to please the Lord by observing his Commandments which will yield in the issue the highest pleasure and satisfaction of mind to himself 2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth the generation of the upright shall be blessed 2. And procure a blessing also upon all belonging to him first upon his Children and those that shall descend from them in future times who shall fare the better and be more powerfull and prosperous for the sincere vertue of their pious Forefathers 3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house and his righteousness endureth for ever 3. And next on his Estate which shall not onely be rich and plentifull but so firmly settled and intailed on his posterity that they shall reap the perpetual fruit of his justice and charity 4. Vnto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness he is gracious and full of compassion and righteous 4. Or if any affliction come it will be so far from making him unhappy that besides the Divine comforts imparted to him for his support it will make the vertue of upright men the more illustrious while one exercises meekness and sweetness to those that provoke him another forgives offences and pities the instruments of his trouble and a third exercises the greater justice or mercy and will not be tempted to doe any dishonest or cruel thing for his own deliverance 5. A good man sheweth favour and lendeth he will guide his affairs with discretion 5. But above all other men he leads the most comfortable life who is so kind that he supplies the needs of others giving to one and lending to another as occasion serves and yet ordering all his affairs so judiciously that he doth not impair but rather maintain the good estate of his own family 6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance 6. Sure it will not be in the power of the most mighty and malicious enemies though they may disturb him quite to overthrow him and when they are forgotten or mentioned with contempt the worthy actions of this sort of righteous men shall be celebrated with never-ceasing praises 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings his heart is fixed trusting in the LORD 7. He is not affrighted and discomposed at the false reports that are raised of him nor at the rumour of dangers which threaten him being prepared for such things as these by a settled trust and hope in God that He will take care of him who hath been as kind as he could to others in their distresses 8. His heart is established he shall not be afraid untill he see his desire upon his enemies 8. This confidence is the prop and support of his soul which will not let him be dismaied but makes him expect the time when he shall be able securely to look upon all his enemies 9. He hath dispersed he hath given to the poor his righteousness endureth for ever his born shall be exalted with honour 9. He doth not merely heap up riches for himself but dispenses them to others dispenses them to others especially to the poor and needy with a liberal hand Nor is he weary of well-doing but ever producing some new fruit of his charity which shall gain him the greatest honour and raise him to an illustrious degree of power and authority 10. The wicked shall see it and be grieved he shall gnash with his teeth and melt away the desire of the wicked shall perish 10. At the sight of which the wicked who shall not be able not to observe it shall be extreamly vexed or rather furiously inraged he shall pine away with grief envy and impatience to see himself and his companions disappointed in all that they wished either of good to themselves or evil to the righteous PSALM CXIII ARGUMENT This Psalm with the Five next which follow the Hebrews call by the name of Hallel or Hymn which they recited at their Table as in the New Moons and other Feasts so in the Paschal Night after they had eaten the Lamb concluding it with Hallelujah which is the Title of this Psalm as of the two foregoing to excite all God's people especially those that constantly attended in the Tabernacle to the praises of Gods good Providence which extends it self as far as this Earth where we live several instances of which the Psalmist here mentions 1. PRaise ye the LORD Praise O
it is to minister to the Lord give you his Blessing from the holy place into which you are come to worship Him 27. God is the LORD which hath shewed us light bind the sacrifice with cords even unto the horns of the altar 27. Who is the omnipotent Lord most faithfull to his promise who hath put an end to our troubles and made peace among us O be not ungratefull to Him but solemnize this day with festival joys bind your sacrifices with cords and bring them to the corners of the Altar to be offered as testimonies of your love and thankfulness unto Him 28. Thou art my God and I wiâ—…â—…ise thee thâ—… 〈◊〉 my God I will exalt thee 28. And so for my part I am resolved who must own Thee to be my most gracious God and almighty Deliverer to whom therefore I will make continually my most thankfull acknowledgments to thy almighty Goodness alone I owe this greatness to which I am promoted and therefore I will never cease to speak the highest things I am able in thy praise 29. O give thanks unto the LORD for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 29. And let all good men join together with me and make their thankfull acknowledgments to the great Lord of the world who as He is the Authour of all good and hath been exceeding bountifull unto us so will continue his kindness unto all succeeding generations PSALM CXIX ARGUMENT This Psalm is contrived so artificially that one would think at first sight it was made after the foregoing when God had subdued the rest of David's enemies 2 Sam. VIII X. and given him leisure for such curious composures For it is divided into as many Parts as there are Letters in the Hebrew Alphabet each Part containing eight Verses and every one of those verses beginning with that Letter wherewith that Part begins The Verses for instance of the First Part all begin with Aleph or A and all of the Second with Beth or B c. And thence this Psalm is called in the Masora the great Alphabet which is an indication that David was now in a very sedate condition under no extraordinary motions when he penned this Psalm but quietly considered things as they were represented to his remembrance But when we observe how frequently he mentions his affliction as lying actually upon him now wâ—… he wrote these Meditations it forces u◠〈◊〉 â—onclude that it was penned during Saâ—…s persecution In which there were I suppose some quiet intervals see Verse 54. either between the time that Saul having his life given him by David resolved to persecute him no more 1 Sam. XXIV and his renewed attempts to destroy him upon the information the Ziphites again gave him 1 Sam. XXVI or after David's fresh demonstration of his loyalty to him before he went to Gath or while he was in that City where he had liberty to meditate on the excellence of God's Laws and the happiness of those that kept them and the comfort they were to him in his affliction which he found to be so sweet and so great that he begs of God little else but that he might be more and more in love with them which were already so much his delight that he mentions them under one name or other in every Verse of this Psalm none excepted but one Ver. 122 or two at the most Ver. 90 where he celebrating God's Faithfulness which relates to the stedfastness of his promise called in this Psalm his word it may well be thought to be no exception to that observation I shall not be so curious as to examine the nice difference which is made by some between Laws Statutes Testimonies Judgments Precepts c. because they seem here to be used promiscuously or if there be any peculiar meaning in some Verses I shall endeavour to express it plainly in the Paraphrase Theodoret hath a conjecture concerning David's design in this Psalm both in his preface to it and upon Ver. 157. which I shall mention that the Reader may take his choice David it is well known had great varieties in his condition for he both fled from enemies and chased them lived sometimes very melancholy and again most pleasantly ran in God's ways and stumbled and rose again to run that good course Now all these things says he and it is not improbable David afterward collected into this one Psalm connecting all the Prayers which He had made to God at several times and on several occasions and putting them together in this admirable Meditation divided into XXII Parts which propound one and the same most profitable lesson to all men and teaches them how it is possible to live vertuously in the worst condition Nor doth he neglect dogmatical instruction as he speaks but adds it to the other so that this Psalm is sufficient to perfect those that study exquisite vertue and to stir up the diligence of those that are lazy to comfort those that are sad to correct the negligent and in one word to afford all manner of medicines for the cure of the various diseases of mankind And if it would not have made this Book too big I should have taken the pains to shew the design of every Part in an Argument before it ALEPH. PART I. 1. BLessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the LORD 1. HAppy more happy then can be expressed are those men who do not take the liberty to live as they list but making the Law of the Lord their Rule order their life in an exact conformity therewith 2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies and that seek him with the whole heart 2. The stricter they keep unto that Rule wherein He hath testified his will unto us most heartily studying to please Him intirely devoting themselves to seek his favour in this way alone the Happier still they are 3. They also doe no iniquity they walk in his ways 3. Especially when they will not be tempted to doe an evil action though it were to gain the greatest good in this world but constantly adhere to Him in the way which He hath prescribed them 4. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently 4. We are infinitely beholden to Thee therefore O Lord that Thou hast obliged us to be so happy by requiring us to use our utmost diligence to observe thy Precepts which we our selves know to be good for us with all care and exactness 5. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes 5. O that I may ever be one of those happy men I have no greater wish then this that all the actions of my life may be ordered and governed according to thy Will 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect unto all thy commandments 6. Then shall I never be disappointed of my hopes nor blush at the crimes which are laid to my charge when my own conscience tells me that there is not one of
weight of my affliction support and strengthen me according to thy promise that I may never take any undue course for ease and relief 29. Remove from me the way of lying and grant me thy law graciously 29. Far be all fraud and falshood from me whereby my enemies contrive to undo me I desire not to learn any of their wicked Arts but onely beseech Thee to give me grace to observe thy Laws constantly 30. I have chosen the way of truth thy judgments have I laid before me 30. That 's the way I have resolved upon to deal truly and sincerely squaring all my actions according to thy judgments which I have laid before me as the most equal Rule of my life 31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies O LORD put me not to shame 31. And hitherto I have kept my resolution and never started from thy Testimonies Preserve me good Lord that I may not hereafter disgrace my self by doing any thing contrary to them nor be disappointed of my hope by falling into the hands of those that seek my ruin 32. I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart 32. And when Thou shalt have filled my heart with joy by freeing me from these grievous straits I will doe Thee better service and be more forward chearfully to execute all thy Commandments HE. V. 33. Teach me O LORD the way of thy statutes and I shall keep it unto the end 33. Instruct me therefore good Lord more and more in the right way of serving Thee and I will shew my self most thankfull for it by keeping exactly to it all the days of my life 34. Give me understanding and I shall keep thy law yea I shall observe it with my whole heart 34. Illuminate my mind to understand the excellence of thy Law and then I shall not onely observe it but set my self to doe it with a watchfull impartial and most affectionate diligence 35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments for therein do I delight 35. Be Thou my Leader and Guide that I may not stray from the path of thy Commandments wherein I find the greatest satisfaction 36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies and not to covetousness 36. Incline my heart always to seek its contentment in thy testimonies and suffer it not to be drawn away by the desire of worldly goods which having no measure is never satisfied 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity and quicken thou me in thy way 37. Help me to overlook those empty honours and fading beauties which we are apt to behold with too much admiration and with lively affections and vigorous indeavours to persist in the pursuit of thy favour in the way Thou hast set before me 38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear 38. And at last make good thy promise to thy servant 2 Sam. V. 2. who fears to doe any thing to offend Thee though thereby he might win a Crown 39. Turn away my reproach which I fear for thy judgments are good 39. Turn from me that disgrace of which I cannot but be sometime afraid 1 Sam. XXVII 1. and must certainly suffer if I fall into my enemies hands for Thou wilt proceed I know according to thy own judgments which are all equitable mercifull and gracious 40. Behold I have longed after thy precepts quicken me in thy righteousness 40. I appeal to Thee whether I have not a great zeal for thy Precepts unto which I desire above all things to be conform'd let me not perish therefore in these troubles but in much mercy revive me according to thy faithfull promise VAV. VI. 41. Let thy mercies come also unto me O LORD even thy salvation according to thy word 41. To those infinite mercies of thine which moved Thee to make me such gracious promises I betake my self and beseech Thee to let me feel the happy effects of both in my deliverance 42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me for I trust in thy word 42. So shall I be able to put to silence those that reproach me for my confidence in Thee which they call a vain presumption but is a humble reliance on thy own gracious promises to me 43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth for I have hoped in thy judgments 43. Which till Thou art pleased to fulfill do not so far abandon me as to let me be disheartned in asserting their truth and faithfulness which I am wont to oppose to all the threats of my enemies for my whole dependance is on this that Thou wilt not fail me but pronounce a righteous sentence for me 44. So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever 44. And I for my part promise when Thou shalt be so gracious to me not to suffer my self to grow more negligent in thy service but to be more carefull then ever in the observance of thy Laws to the very end of my days 45. And I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts 45. For then I shall have no such incumbrances on me as I now have in these straits and difficulties from which when Thou freest me I will doe my duty with the greater chearfulness and joy for it is not liberty no nor a Kingdom that I seek so much as better advantages to fulfill thy Precepts 46. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed 46. Which I will not be ashamed to justifie before the greatest persons in the world to be the most excellent Rule of life and the best testimony of thy love to us and will doe it with such reasons that they shall never be able to disprove me 47. And I will delight my self in thy commandments which I have loved 47. Nor will I confute my self by leading a voluptuous life when I have liberty to doe as I list but as I have hitherto preferred thy Commandments before all other things so then will I take the highest pleasure in them 48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments which I have loved and I will meditate in thy statutes 48. Not onely in their study but shew the truth of my love to them by a diligent and zealous practice of them which shall be the end of my meditation in them ZAIN VII 49. Remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope 49. Be pleased therefore in due time to perform the promise which Thou hast long ago made unto thy servant 2 Sam. V. 2. and when I thought of no such thing given me an assured hope of it 1 Sam. XVI 11 12 13. 50. This is my comfort in my affliction for thy word hath quickned me 50. Which as it hath been the occasion of many and great troubles to me so hath comforted me under them all and even when I despaired of safety revived my spirit and restored my courage
that fear thee will be glad when they see me because I have hoped in thy word 74. It will be a very great comfort and incouragement to all good men when they see me delivered out of all these troubles For thereby they will be confirmed in their belief of thy faithfulness to thy promises on which it will appear I have not vainly depended though I stay long for the performance 75. I know O LORD that thy judgements are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me 75. And I am satisfied O Lord that while Thou makest me wait for the performance Thou doest nothing contrary to thy justice or to thy fidelity but that all these cross dispensations of thy Providence in the heavy afflictions which have befaln me are perfectly righteous and will onely make thy truth and faithfulness at last the more illustrious 76. Let I pray thee thy mercifull kindness be for my comfort according to thy word unto thy servant 76. O hasten that happy time when I shall see thy loving kindness turning this disconsolate into a more comfortable condition according to the promises which Thou hast made unto thy servant 1 Sam. XVI 12 13. 77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me that I may live for thy law is my delight 77. Let me feel the speedy effects of thy compassionate mercy rescuing me from those that seek my life and raising me out of this forlorn estate 1 Sam. XXIV 14. For howsoever I am represented my highest satisfaction is in obedience to thy Law 78. Let the proud be ashamed for they dealt perversly with me without a cause but I will meditate in thy precepts 78. Confound all those proud contemners of it who making no conscience of what they say have oppressed and overthrown me with lies and calumnies as if I studied to disturb the Kingdom when my onely study is to observe thy Precepts 79. Let those that fear thee turn unto me and those that have known thy testimonies 79. Let all pious men who have a due regard to thy testimonies be convinced of this and be no longer abused by these slanders but turn to my side and become my Friends 80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes that I be not ashamed 80. And in order to it preserve me so blameless before Thee in such integrity of heart as well as life that I may not be ashamed of the hope I have that Thou and all good men will take my part CAPH XI 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation but I hope in thy word 81. For which blessing I have now attended so many years that I am ready sometime to faint away with vehement desire to see thy long expected promise fulfilled of deliverance from all my enemies 82. Mine eyes fail for thy word saying When wilt thou comfort me 82. That joyfull sight I have looked for till I am in danger to be weary with expectation saying When will the time come of my deliverance from this disconsolate condition 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke yet do I not forget thy statutes 83. I hope it will not be long delayed for I am worn away and my skin like an empty leathern bag that hath hung a great while in the smoke is shrivelled up with toil and grief and yet I have never taken any unlawfull course to rid my self of all this misery 84. How many are the days of thy servant when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me 84. I leave that to Thee O Lord beseeching Thee to consider how my days spend apace in trouble and sorrow which force me to sigh and say How long must thy poor servant still lie in this calamitous condition O when wilt Thou doe me right against my persecutours 85. The proud have digged pits for me which are not after thy law 85. Who proudly contrive by all manner of frauds and treachery to take away my life directly contrary to thy Law to which they are as injurious as unto me 86. All thy commandments are faithfull they persecute me wrongfully help thou me 86. For all thy Commandments teach us to be just and true being as faithfull as those men are false and perfidious therefore make good thy promises to me and deliver me from those who persecute me with lies and forgeries 87. They had almost consumed me upon earth but I forsook not thy precepts 87. Which they have imployed so successfully that I escaped very hardly with my life when I was in the Land of Judah 1 Sam. XXIII 26. and yet for all this I stuck to thy Precepts and would not take away the life of him that sought mine when I could have easily done it 1 Sam. XXIV 6 7. 88. Quicken me after thy loving kindness so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth 88. Deal as kindly with me O Lord and not onely spare my life but raise me out of this forlorn estate wherein I lie like a man that is dead 1 Sam. XXIV 14. and I will indeavour the more carefully to observe the Testimonies which Thou hast solemnly Verse 72. given us in charge LAMED XII 89. For ever O LORD thy word is settled in heaven 89. Thou art eternal O Lord and changest not and thy promises are like thy self fixed and settled in the heavens which are a lively emblem of their constancy and unvariable truth 90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations thou hast established the earth and it abideth 90. One generation goes and another comes but thy fidelity is still the same to all and alters no more then the earth which Thou hast firmly and immoveably established while all those creatures that live upon it pass away and perish 91. They continue this day according to thine ordinances for all are thy servants 91. All things remain to this day in the order at first appointed and never vary from the Laws which Thou hast set them for they are intirely subject to thy will and pleasure 92. Vnless thy law had been my delights I should then have perished in mine affliction 92. Which was a most comfortable Meditation in my afflicted condition when my heart would have failed me and I should have been undone if thy Laws which stand as fast as heaven and earth had not given me constant consolation 93. I will never forget thy precepts for with them thou hast quickened me 93. I will never therefore be guilty of neglecting thy Precepts which have revived me by the faithfull promises Thou hast annexed to the observance of them when I looked upon my self as a dead man that could not escape the hands of those that sought to destroy me 94. I am thine save me for I have sought thy precepts 94. And be Thou pleased still to deliver me from falling into their hands For though they have driven me from thy inheritance 1 Sam. XXVI 19. I still continue thine and serve no other God but have diligently inquired in my
greatest dangers what would be most pleasing to Thee as most advantagious to my self 95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me but I will consider thy testimonies 95. Those wicked men who are combined to destroy me have long watched for an opportunity which they confidently expect to meet withall but it doth not discourage my study of thy Testimonies as the best defence against their bloudy attempts 96. I have seen an end of all perfection but thy commandment is exceeding broad 96. For had I greater forces then my enemies alas I never yet saw any thing so compleat but as it had its bounds and limits so it is exceeding frail and when it is arrived at perfection comes to a speedy end whereas the wisedom which Thou hast revealed to us hath infinite satisfaction in it durable and lasting satisfaction which never fails those that depend upon it MEM. XIII 97. O how love I thy law it is my meditation all the day 97. It is impossible to express the love I have to thy Law which entertains my Meditation or inables me to entertain others with admirable variety whole days together 98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser then mine enemies for they are ever with me 98. My enemies are very crafty and use many artifices to destroy me But by observing thy Commandments I have defeated all their subtil devices and confounded them even by refusing because thy Commandments which are ever before my eyes restrained me to be avenged on them I Sam. XXIV 17 18 c. XXVI 21. 99. I have more understanding then all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation 99. I have outstripped all the Doctours of the Law of whom I formerly learnt and understand more perfectly then they the best means of securing my self because my mind is still imployed in thy Testimonies as the Rule of all my designs and undertakings 100. I understand more then the ancients because I keep thy precepts 100. Though I am but young yet I have more understanding in things then the Judges and grave privy Counsellours because my Maxime is strictly to observe thy Precepts 101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word 101. Whatsoever advantage it promised me I have never proceeded in any evil course to obtain my end but refused the seeming gain that I might not offend against thy Word 102. I have not departed from thy judgments for thou hast taught me 102. My respect to Thee hath hindred me from doing any injury unto others because I know Thou art the Authour of those Laws which forbid it and in the observance of them I have learnt consists my happiness 103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea sweeter then hony to my mouth 103. And a happiness it is I feel already incomparably above all other the pleasure I take in every word of thine is inexpressibly far to be preferred before all the delights of sense though never so sweet and luscious 104. Through thy precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way 104. And by thy Precepts I am so fully instructed how to behave my self that I need not to betake my self to any dishonest ways which I utterly abhor NVN. XIV 105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path 105. Thy word is my onely Guide whose directions I follow in all the dark and difficult passages of my life 106. I have sworn and I will perform it that I will keep thy righteous judgments 106. I have solemnly resolved and bound my self by the most sacred ties which I will never break but do now confirm that I will carefully observe thy Decrees which I find to be both just and good 107. I am afflicted very much quicken me O LORD according unto thy word 107. I have suffered very much upon that account and am still sorely afflicted But I comfort my self O Lord with thy promise according to which I beseech Thee to deliver me from those that seek to destroy me and raise me out of this forlorn condition wherein I can scarce be said to live 108. Accept I beseech thee the free-will-offerings of my mouth O LORD and teach me thy judgments 108. I have no other sacrifices that I am able in this exile to offer to Thee but these of Prayer and thankful acknowledgments and vows of sincere and chearfull obedience with which I do most freely and heartily present Thee O Lord beseeching Thee to teach me still more effectually thy Judgments that I may never fail to be conformed to thy will 109. My soul is continually in my hand yet do I not forget thy law 109. To which I have hitherto so closely adhered that though I go in continual danger of my life XII Judg. 3. it doth not move me in the least whatsoever shifts I am forced to make to save my self by forsaking thy Law 110. The wicked have laid a snare for me yet I erred not from thy precepts 110. They that make no conscience of their actions have contrived a subtil plot to ruin me But I have never stepped out of the way of thy Precepts to avoid the snares they have laid for me 111. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the rejoicing of my heart 111. I had rather alway continue as poor as I am then doe any thing against thy Testimonies which I hold to be my chiefest good and surest possession out of which none can expell me and which always yield me that inward satisfaction and joy which none can take from me 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway even unto the end 112. This infinitely out-weighs all other considerations and hath inclined my heart to resolve to doe alway as Thou biddest me whatsoever I may lose by it to the very end of my days SAMECH XV. 113. I hate vain thoughts but thy law do I love 113. I hate all double dealing and crafty devices that are not warranted by thy Law to which I have resolved to stick with hearty affection 114. Thou art my hiding-place and my shield I hope in thy word 114. In that way I will trust to Thee for safety and protection having a firm hope that Thou wilt be as good unto me as thy Word 115. Depart from me ye evil doers for I will keep the commandments of my God 115. Do not perswade me any longer O ye evil doers to join with you but get you gone from me for I will follow none of your counsels but strictly observe the Commandments of my God who hath hitherto most graciously delivered me 116. Vphold me according unto thy word that I may live and let me not be ashamed of my hope 116. And on whom I still depend that Thou wilt support me O Lord according to thy promise against all the assaults of my enemies that seek my life and not let me be ashamed of
guilty so I do not fear so much what they can doe against me as lest I should doe any thing in my own vindication against thy word 1 Sam. XXIV 6. XXVI 9. 162. I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil 162. I would not purchase my liberty my peace or the honour they enjoy by any unlawfull actions for I take far more joy in doing thy will and in what Thou hast promised to doe for me then in the compleatest Victory over all my enemies 163. I hate and abhor lying but thy law do I love 163. I hate all fraud and deceit even to the degree of abhorrence and abomination but most heartily love those honest courses to which thy Law directs me 164. Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments 164. It is the subject of my perpetual thanks and praise that I have the happiness to be acquainted with the justice and goodness of those Laws whereby Thou governest us 165. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them 165. The observance of which gives such inward satisfaction and brings so many and great blessings to those who truly love them that they take all things which befall them in good part and nothing will tempt them to turn aside and leave those vertuous paths wherein they lead them 166. LORD I have hoped for thy salvation and done thy commandments 166. I have met with the most grievous discouragements But Lord in the midst of the greatest straits I have expected deliverance onely from Thee and never done any thing for my preservation contrary to thy Commandments 167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies and I love them exceedingly 167. All my care hath been still most heartily to observe thy Testimonies which I prefer infinitely before all earthly injoyments 168. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies for all my ways are before thee 168. There is not one of thy Laws of any sort but I have carefully observed even then when I might have privily broken them and been a gainer by it 1 Sam. XXIV 4 c. for I knew that nothing can be done so secretly but Thou art perfectly acquainted with it TAV. XXII 169. Let my cry come near before thee O LORD give me understanding according to thy word 169. As Thou art also with my most earnest petitions to which I beseech Thee O Lord vouchsafe a gracious answer and in the first place teach me according as Thou hast promised to walk not onely innocently but prudently in the midst of all the snares that are laid for me 170. Let my supplication come before thee deliver me according to thy word 170. Do not deny admittance to this humble suit but in due time grant this further request that I may according to the same promise be perfectly delivered from this long persecution 171. My lips shall utter praise when thou hast taught me thy statutes 171. Then will I praise Thee without ceasing first for instructing me how to please Thee in all things 172. My tongue shall speak of thy word for all thy commandments are righteousness 172. And next for fulfilling thy promise to me which I will loudly proclaim with my thankfull acknowledgments that whatsoever Thou hast said is truly and faithfully performed 173. Let thine hand help me for I have chosen thy precepts 173. Let thy Divine power therefore succour me in this weak and distressed condition wherein I am for I relie on that alone having resolved to be guided wholly by thy Precepts 174. I have longed for thy salvation O LORD and thy law is my delight 174. And I have long expected with most ardent desires thy help O Lord for my deliverance delighting my self in the mean time in thy Laws while Thou art pleased to delay it 175. Let my soul live and it shall praise thee and let thy judgments help me 175. O let me not perish in these straits wherein I am involved but spare my life according to thy wonted kindness and I will spend it in thy praises Send me relief by executing the judgments Thou hast decreed against my enemies 176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep seek thy servant for I do not forget thy commandments 176. Who have so chased me from place to place during this tedious banishment that like a wandring sheep which hath lost its way I know not whither to betake my self for safety But be Thou pleased like a carefull shepherd to look after me and to put thy servant into the right way of escaping all the dangers to which I am exposed and of recovering my liberty rest and peace again For how hard soever my condition hath been I can still seriously profess it I have not been careless in the observance of thy Commandments PSALM CXX A Song of degrees ARGUMENT There can no certain account be given why this and XIV other Psalms which follow are called Songs of degrees or ascents Their conjecture seems to me most probable who think this Title denotes either the elevation of the voice in the singing these Songs or the excellence of the composure or of the Musick to which they were set or the high esteem they had of them upon some account or other particularly because they were so fit for their use though most of them composed in former times at and after their return from the Captivity of Babylon Then some think this Title was given to them because they sung them as they went up to their own Country again But this present Psalm seems to have been made by David when the calumnies of Doeg and others forced him to flee his Country and to go as far as the Kedarens or Arabians Ver. 6. whose company was very irksome to him We do not reade indeed in his History that he was there but we may well think he sought for safety in more places then are particularly mentioned and might as well be there as among the Moabites and in the wilderness of Paran 1 Sam. XXV 1. which was not far from them As for Mesech I take that to signifie not a place but the length of time which he staid there before he durst stir from thence or which he was forced to spend in exile as all the ancient Interpreters except one understand it See Bochart in his Phaleg L. III. Cap. 12. 1. IN my distress I cried unto the LORD and he heard me 1. I Have had frequent experience of the goodness of the Lord who when I have earnestly implored his help in my straits and difficulties hath constantly relieved me 2. Deliver my soul O LORD from lying lips and from a deceitfull tongue 2. May it please Thee O Lord still to continue thy mercy toward me and now that men strike at my life by calumnies and cunningly devised lies 1 Sam. XXII 9. XXIV 9. to preserve me from the danger into which they have thrown me 3. What shall be given unto
thee or what shall be done unto thee thou false tongue 3. O thou false accuser what dost Thou hope to get by these specious tales which thou hast forged what will They add to that heap of wealth which thou treasurest up LII Psal 7. 4. Sharp arrows of the almighty with coals of juniper 4. They shall be so far from turning to thy advantage that they shall prove thy undoing for the mighty Lord whom none can resist shall take a sharp and a swift vengeance on thee which shall never cease till it hath utterly consumed thee 5. Wo is me that I sojourn in Mesech that I dwell in the tents of Kedar 5. For it is but fit thou shouldst smart for the mischief thou hast done under which I groan most sadly not onely in a tedious banishment from my own Country but in that I am forced to seek for shelter among the barbarous Arabs 6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace 6. Where my mind cannot but perpetually reflect upon the implacable spirit of my enemies whose bitter hatred will not suffer them to come to any terms of agreement 7. I am for peace but when I speak they are for war 7. As I never gave them the least offence so there is nothing that I more vehemently desire then peace and reconciliation but when I make a motion for it they are the more exasperated and as if I distrusted my cause or craftily sought advantage by a treaty betake themselves more fiercely and resolutely to their arms PSALM CXXI A Song of degrees ARGUMENT If David was the Authour of this Psalm and to whom can we with so much likelihood ascribe it it is an expression of the high trust and confidence which he reposed in God when he was in great straits and saw no hope of humane help being either inviron'd by Saul's Forces or pursued by his Son Absalom It is hard to say to which it belongs but if by hills in the first Verse we understand Sion and Moriah where David's Palace and the Ark of God were placed then it must be referred to the latter for Sion was not theirs during Saul's persecution There are those indeed who following Kimchi take the first Verse to be a military form of speech and suppose David to have looked round about him as a Captain in danger doth to see if he could spie any assistance coming to him down the neighbouring hills wherewith he was encompassed But the other sense seems to me more simple which therefore I have followed though if we should adhere to that conjecture still it will best agree to the distress into which Absalom had reduced him For then he might well look to see if any of his Subjects continuing their fidelity to him would appear to defend him Why called A Song of degrees see CXX 1. I Will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help 1. THough I am driven not onely from my own Palace but from God's Dwelling place 2 Sam. XV. 14 25. yet my eyes shall be ever directed thitherward from whence I expect a powerfull aid against those numerous enemies that are combined to destroy me 2. My help cometh from the LORD which made heaven and earth 2. I have no dependance on any other help but wait for deliverance wholly from the presence of the Lord to whom all Creatures are subject and who hath Angels at his command to send to the succour of his servants for he made the heaven as well as the earth 3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved he that keepeth thee will not slumber 3. And me thinks I hear his Ministers calling to me out of his holy place and saying Fear not since Thou hast placed thy confidence in the Lord alone He will not let thee be subverted thou hast a stronger guard then the most valiant Army would be to thee for they may be tired and fall asleep but He that hath thee in his custody will exercise a most unwearied care over thee 4. Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep 4. Be confident of it He that is the protectour of all good men will never in the least neglect thee much less abandon the care of thee but by a most watchfull providence keep thee in safety 5. The LORD is thy keeper the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand 5. The omnipotent Lord of the world is thy Guardian the very same Lord that covered your Forefathers with a glorious cloud XIII Exod. 21. is always present with thee to defend and assist thee against all the enemies that assault thee 6. The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night 6. Be not troubled that thou art forced to take up thy quarters in the open field for the Sun shall doe thee no hurt by its vehement heat in the day nor the Moon by its cold and moisture in the night 2 Sam. XVII 1 6 22. 7. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul 7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all manner of harm He will preserve thy life and not suffer thee to fall into the hands of those that contrive to take it away 2 Sam. XVII 1 2 14. 8. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even for evermore 8. The Lord shall secure thee whithersoever thou marchest and prosper thee all along in all thy undertakings either abroad or within doors not onely now but in all future times to the end of thy days PSALM CXXII A Song of degrees of David ARGUMENT The Title satisfies us that David was the Authour of this Psalm who having settled the Ark which before had no certain place at Jerusalem and being at this time upon some occasion in the Country heard the good people there speak one to another as some of them did to him of going to worship God at some of the three solemn Feasts Which devotion of theirs as it rejoiced his heart so it moved him I conjecture to compose this Psalm for their use at such times If the Talmudists may be believed they were wont to sing the first Verse of this Psalm as they went out of the Country towards Jerusalem carrying their first-fruits to the House of the Lord as the Law XXVI Deut. 2. directed them And when they entred within the Gates of the City they sang the second Verse There they were met by some of the Citizens who if this be true sang the rest of the Psalm it is likely together with them as they went toward the Temple Of this custom Mr. Selden treats L. III. de Synedr Cap. 13. Of A Song of degrees see CXX 1. I Was glad when they said unto me Let us go into the house of the LORD 1. I Was exceedingly pleased with the chearfull devotion of those who came unto me before the approaching Feast and said Let us go and pay our
thankfull acknowledgments to the Lord in the place where He dwells and makes Himself present among us 2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates O Jerusalem 2. Which motion ought to be the more readily embraced because now He hath fixed his habitation and we need not travel further then Jerusalem to enquire after the Ark of his presence 3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together 3. To Jerusalem I say that fair and beautifull City whose buildings do not now lie scattered and divided but are all compacted and united together as we ought to be in a goodly order 1 Sam. V. 9. 1 Chron. XI 8. 4. Whither the tribes go up the tribes of the LORD unto the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the LORD 4. Thither all the XII Tribes of Israel who own the great LORD for their God go up from all the parts of the Country by his special Commandment XXIII Exod. 17. to acknowledge before the Ark of his Testimony XXV Exod. 21 22. all the benefits they have received from his almighty Goodness and this above the rest that He thereby testifies his singular care and providence over them 5. For there are set thrones of judgment the thrones of the house of David 5. Thither also they repair for Justice for the supreme Judicatory of the Kingdom sits there 2 Chr. XIX 8. and there is the seat of the Royal Family where David and his Sons have their residence and govern the people 2 Sam. VIII 15 18. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem they shall prosper that love thee 6. O let this be part of your devout prayers when you come there that God would preserve Jerusalem in peace Happy shall they be who out of love to the Religion and Justice which is administred in thee O beloved City contribute their indeavours as well as their prayers for thy safety and prosperity 7. Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces 7. Let no enemy this shall be my constant prayer approach so much as to thy out-works to disturb thee and let plenty of all good things abound within thy Palaces 8. For my brethren and companions sakes I will now say Peace be within thee 8. The kindness I have for my kindred and my neighbours and friends whether in the City or the Country will not let me cease my earnest prayers to God that He will confer his blessings on thee 9. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good 9. But above all the love I have to the Lord our God whose house is here whither all his devout servants resort to worship Him and celebrate his Name shall excite not onely my prayers but my study to promote thy welfare PSALM CXXIII A Song of degrees ARGUMENT This Psalm it is certain was composed in a time of great distress when they were extreamly afflicted by some haughty and insolent enemies Ver. 3 4. who those enemies were there are several conjectures And I will add mine that this short form of prayer was made by some pious person when the King of Assyria whose pride the Prophet Isaiah describes VIII 7. and many other places sent Rabshakeh and other of his Captains to besiege Jerusalem where they poured out most contemptuous nay blasphemous words against God and his people 2 King XVIII XIX It is probable if this conjecture be admitted that it was made by Isaiah whom Hezekiah desired to lift up his prayer for the remnant that was left 2 King XIX 4. XXXVII Isa 4. Accordingly we reade 2 Chron. XXXII 20. both he and Hezekiah cried unto the Lord and we may suppose lift up his eyes to heaven and said these words 1. UNto thee lift I up mine eyes O thou that dwellest in the heavens 1. THough all humane help fail us in this sore distress yet I do not despair of relief from Thee O Lord whose Majesty and Power incomparably excells all earthly Monarchs 2. Behold as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God untill that he have mercy upon us 2. Behold how not onely I but the rest of thy faithfull people wait upon Thee submitting our selves to this severe punishment as poor slaves do to the stroke of their offended Master or Mistress and resolving to bear it patiently till Thou our LORD who doest inflict it wilt be pleased to shew thy self our most gracious God and in much pity towards us remove it 3. Have mercy upon us O LORD have mercy upon us for we are exceedingly filled with contempt 3. O be gracious unto us good Lord be gracious unto us and in much mercy take away this heavy scourge from us for we are become so beyond all measure contemptible 2 King XVIII 23 24. XIX 34. that we can scarce any longer indure it 4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease and with the contempt of the proud 4. We have a long time groaned under the intollerable load of the derision and contempt of those whose constant prosperity puffs them up with pride nay makes them insolently oppress all those who are unable to resist them PSALM CXXIV A Song of degrees of David ARGUMENT If the Title had not told us that this is a Psalm of David's I should have thought it had been composed by the Authour of the former to acknowledge the wonderfull power and goodness of God in delivering them from Senacherib's Army which came in like a floud LIX Isa 19. and had overflown all the Country as far as Jerusalem VIII Isa 7 8. which might well make them be called proud waters as the Psalmist here speaks Ver. 5. because they fancied nothing could stand before them Such it seems were either the Philistines upon whom when they spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim the Lord broke forth as a breach of waters 2 Sam. V. 19 or the Ammonites and their Associates 2 Sam. X. 6 15 16. Of A Song of degrees see CXX 1. IF it had not been the LORD who was on our side now may Israel say 1. IF we had not had such a mighty helper as the Lord who took our part may Israel now most thankfully acknowledge 2. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side when men rose up against us 2. If it had not been the Lord whom none can resist who took our part when such numerous enemies united their forces as one man to make war upon us 3. Then they had swallowed us up quick when their wrath was kindled against us 3. They would then have made but one morsel of our small Army and in the furious rage wherein they were have immediately devoured us as monstrous beasts doe their prey which they greedily swallow down alive 4. Then the waters had overwhelmed us the stream had gone over
our soul 4. Then they would have overrun all the Country like a violent torrent and we should have been buried in the floud 5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul 5. Having once made a wide breach by the overthrow of our Army they would have poured in more numerous forces upon us till like an inundation of water which swells more and more they had wholly overwhelmed us 6. Blessed be the LORD who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth 6. Thanks be to the Lord to whose infinite mercies we ought to ascribe it that He hath not permitted them to domineer over us and execute their cruel intentions against us 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers the snare is broken and we are escaped 7. They thought they had laid their design so strongly that we could not escape no more then a little bird which a fowler hath taken in his snare but blessed be the Lord who hath assisted our weakness their plot is defeated they are broken in pieces and we thereby most wonderfully delivered 8. Our help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth 8. This was not a work of our wit no more then of our power nor were we beholden to the help of any of our neighbours but we owe it wholly to his almighty Goodness who commands because He made all Creatures in whom we ought to place our confidence for ever PSALM CXXV A Song of degrees ARGUMENT We may well look upon this Psalm as a pious Exhortation to the people to trust in God when Senacherib's Army threatned to destroy Jerusalem And perhaps these were some of the comfortable words which we reade 2 Chron. XXXII 6 7 8. Hezekiah then spake to them when God chastised them by that rod of his anger as He calls Senacherib X. Isa 5. which the Psalmist here foretold Ver. 3. should not long afflict them Of A Song of degrees see CXX 1. THey that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Sion which cannot be removed but abideth for ever 1. THere are none so safe as they that repose a pious confidence in the Lord by which they shall both maintain themselves in a settled peace and tranquillity and remain for ever as unmoveable conspicuous and illustrious as mount Sion 2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever 2. For as Jerusalem is surrounded with high hills which make it not easily accessible by any enemies so the Divine providence incompasses his people who depend upon Him to guard and defend them from all dangers not onely now but in all succeeding ages to the end of the world 3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity 3. The power of wicked Tyrants indeed may heavily afflict the righteous for a time but they shall not always harrass their Country nor continue their oppression so long as quite to tire out the patience of the righteous and tempt them to forsake their pious confidence in Him and lay hold on any means though never so unjust of obtaining deliverance 4. Do good O LORD unto those that be good and to them that are upright in their hearts 4. To prevent so great an evil be pleased now good Lord to deal well with those who are truly good and reward their fidelity who notwithstanding all these calamities sincerely persist in thy ways and preserve their integrity 5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity but peace shall be upon Israel 5. But as for those who instead of growing bettter by these oppressions decline more and more from the ways of piety unto the most perverse and crooked courses the Lord shall deliver them over to be punished with their oppressours when Israel after all these sore afflictions shall be settled again in peace and happiness PSALM CXXVI A Song of degrees ARGUMENT This Psalm is so universally thought to be a joyfull Song composed by Ezra or some such good man when they returned out of Babylon that I shall seek for no other interpretation But observe with Theodoret that when Cyrus gave them all leave to return to their own Land some were so ill minded that they chose to continue where they were But such as had any sense of the piety of their Forefathers and desired to see the worship of God according to the Law restored gladly embraced the opportunity of returning to their own Country Where they thought themselves so happy in the liberty which they enjoyed that they pray Ver. 4. all the rest of the Nation who remained still behind would come and partake of it This is the most received sense else I should have thought the deliverance from Senacherib might be here celebrated who had carried many of them Captive V. Isa 13. and other places and when they were delivered from his oppression they were indeed like men that dreamed as the Psalmist here speaks For awaking in the morning and seeing his vast Army to be dead Corpses 2 King XIX 35. they could scarce believe what they beheld with their eyes it was so wonderfull And perhaps it was first made then and afterward applied with some alteration to their return from Babylon See CXXXIII 1. WHen the LORD turned again the captivity of Sion we were like them that dream 1. TO the Lord alone must we ascribe this wonderfull change which is like the sudden recovery of health out of a tedious and desperate sickness For when the proclamation unexpectedly came forth to give us liberty to return to our own Country out of a long captivity I. Ezra 2 3. we could scarce believe it but were apt to look upon our selves as onely in a dream of so great a happiness 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing then said they among the heathen The LORD hath done great things for them 2. Which presently turned our heaviness into such a heighth of joy that it filled all places with our mirth especially with chearfull hymns in which the heathen themselves accompanied us saying This truly is the Lord's work who hath magnified his power in the strange deliverance of this Nation 3. The LORD hath done great things for us whereof we are glad 3. And truly so He hath we should be very ungratefull if we should not thankfull if we should not thankfully acknowledge the singular benefits which strangers admire the Lord hath not onely restored our liberty but declared the greatness of his power in this deliverance which justly fills us with joy and triumph 4. Turn again our captivity O LORD as the streams in the south 4. O that the Lord would be pleased to perfect what He hath begun and bring back in greater numbers the rest of
Address thy self unto Him in his holy place and the Lord shall bestow on thee whatsoever blessings thou askest of Him yea maist thou be so happy as to see Jerusalem the Seat of Justice and Religion in a flourishing condition all thy life long 6. Yea thou shalt see thy childrens children and peace upon Israel 6. And long maist thou live to such a good old age as to see thy Childrens Children and the whole Nation all the time in a prosperous tranquillity PSALM CXXIX A Song of degrees See CXX ARGUMENT This Psalm was made when some new Calamity threatned them either by Senacherib or as Theodoret thinks by those Nations which combined to destroy the Jews as soon as they returned from the Captivity of Babylon When they were taught by Ezra or some such holy man to recount what God had done for them ever since they were a people and to denounce the divine Vengeance against those that now sought their ruine The former conjecture seems the truer because as yet he saith vers 2. their Enemies had not prevailed against them unless we expound that phrase as I have done in the Paraphrase according to the received interpretation of the Psalm that they had not quite destroyed them and made them cease to be a Nation 1. MAny a time have they afflicted me from my youth may Israel now say 1. OUR Adversaries may Israel now upon this occasion say have very often and very sorely distressed us ever since we began to be a People 2. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth yet they have not prevailed against me 2. It is hard to number how oft or to tell into how great straits they have reduced us ever since we began to be a Nation and yet by the special favour of God they have not been able to compass their desire of our utter extirpation 3. The plowers plowed upon my back they made long their furrows 3. They have laid us sometimes exceeding low and not onely scourged us so severely that the marks of it might be seen as plainly as the furrows are which the Plough makes in the ground but long continued also our vexation and torment 4. The LORD is righteous he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked 4. But the Lord at last in much mercy hath made good his faithfull Promises and broken in pieces the power of wicked Oppressours that they might not always hold us under their yoke and thus miserably tyrannize over us 5. Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion 5. And may all those that still hate us and our Religion never have better success but be shamefully defeated and forced to desist in all their attempts upon us 6. Let them be as the grass upon the house tops which withereth afore it groweth up 6. Let none of their designs ever come to maturity but be blasted like the grass upon the house-top which having no root withers of it self and needs no bodies hand to pluck it up 7. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosome 7. And as it lies unregarded by those that reap or that carry in the fruits of the Earth so let these men and all their enterprises become contemptible and be looked upon as good for nothing 8. Neither do they which goe by say The blessing of the LORD be upon you we bless you in the Name of the LORD 8. Let all their hopes so speedily vanish that there be none to favour them nor so much as to wish prosperity to them No more then there are gathethers of such withered grass appear to whom the Passingers after the usual form II. Ruth 4. should say The Lord give you a good harvest We pray God you may reape the fruit of your labours PSALM CXXX A Song of degrees See CXX ARGUMENT Some think David made this Prayer after he had plunged himself into a very deep guilt by his sin with Bathsheba I rather think when he was persecuted by Saul and reduced to so low a condition that his heart began to sink within him For the flouds of ungodly men as he speaks XVIII Psal 4. made him afraid that he should one day perish in them 1 Sam. XXIX 1. and he complains elsewhere that he sunk in the mire where there was no standing c. LXIX Psal 2 14 15. In this condition he implores the divine Mercy with great earnestness and beseeches him to pardon his sins and the sins of all the people which made them deserve that ill government under Saul and his Flatterers It is the last but one of the VII penitential Psalms 1. OVT of the depths have I cried unto thee O LORD 1. IN the greatest straits when I can see no bottom no end of my troubles but I still sink lower and lower into them I never despair of thy mercy O Lord but cry unto Thee most earnestly to deliver me 2. LORD here my voice let thiâ—… ears be attâ—… to the voice of my supplications 2. Vouchsafe good Lord the Governour of all things to grant my Petition Do not reject it I humbly beseech Thee but give me a favourable answer when I deprecate thy displeasure 3. If thou LORD shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand 3. I do not plead any merits of mine but rather accuse my self before Thee knowing that if I were the most innocent person in the world yet if Thou Lord shouldest strictly examine my life and proceed against me according to my deserts Lord what would become of me I should certainly be condemned 4. But there is forgiveness with thee that thou maist be feared 4. But Thou most graciously invitest us unto thy service by thy readiness to pardon all those that are truly penitent without the hope of which we could not so much as think of becoming religious 5. I wait for the LORD my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope 5. This incourages me to wait and expect when the Lord will deliver me my Soul is earnestly bent to expect this happy time which I believe will come because I have his Promise for it on which I depend 6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more then they that watch for the morning I say more then they that watch for the morning 6. I direct my thoughts to the Lord alone for safety and relief which I implore incessantly with my early Prayers For they that watch in the Temple for the break of day I say the Priests that watch in the Temple for the break of day are not more forward then I to offer up their morning Sacrifice to the Lord. 7. Let Israel hope in the LORD for with the LORD there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption 7. In whom let all his People place their trust and confidence for the Lord is very ready to doe good and hath more ways then we can imagine to rescue those that hope in Him out of the
sorest distresses 8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities 8. And He will at last free them from all those troubles which He hath inflicted on them as a punishment for their iniquities PSALM CXXXI A Song of degrees of David See CXX ARGUMENT Though David could not purge himself from all manner of guilt as he confesses in the foregoing Psalm vers 3. yet in that matter which he was charged withall by his Enemies of affecting the Kingdome he could safely protest he was as innocent as a little Child Which he doth in this Psalm particularly and in several parts of other Psalms 1. LORD my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty neither do I exercise my self in great matters or in things too high for me 1. O Lord I am accused of traiterous designs against my Sovereign and of aspiring to the Throne wherein Thou hast placed him But Thou who searchest the hearts knowest that I harbour no such ambitious thoughts nor hath my behaviour betrayed any such intentions For I never looked upon any man superciliously nor medled with affairs of State or any thing else that is above my place and calling 2. Surely I have behaved and quieted my self as a child that is weaned of his mother my soul is even as a weaned child 2. But have levelled my mind else let me perish to an equality with my condition and resolved to acquiesce in the present state of things committing my self unto thy care and depending on thy Providence as a Child that is newly weaned doth upon its Mother just so do I silence my natural desires and am content to be disposed of as Thou pleasest 3. Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever 3. And let all good men in like manner modestly place their confidence and hope in the Lord as long as they live and choose rather to be depressed then by any undue means raise themselves to greatness and honour PSALM CXXXII A Song of degrees See CXX ARGUMENT This Psalm seems to have been composed by some holy man after God had given commandment to David by Gad the Seer to build an Altar in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite where the destroying Angel stood and the Lord had answered him by fire upon that Altar 1 Chron. XXI 18 26. whereby David knew what he had till now been ignorant of that this was the place where God would be worshipped and have his Temple built XXII 1. Accordingly we reade expresly that Solomon therefore built the Temple in this place because God here appeared to David his father and David designed and prepared this place for it 2 Chron. III. 1. that there God's habitation might be fixed and not removed from place to place uncertainly as it had been in former times For the Tabernacle which the Hebrews call Mischkan had been in an unsettled condition except one period of time ever since they came into the Land of Canaan It was first pitched in Gilgal and staid there 24. years Then it was removed to Shiloh where it remained to the death of Eli 369. years After his death Shiloh being laid waste it was translated to Nob where it remained they say 13. years but was now no better then a Cabinet without its Jewel the Ark being in another place and never restored to it after that desolation of Shiloh see Psal LXVIII And then it was carried to Gibeon where Solomon found it and from thence fetcht it when he had finished the Temple Which the Hebrews therefore call Beth Olamim the eternal House because it was fixed to a place and out of it the Ark never departed as it had done out of the Tabernacle but there as the Psalmist here speaks Verse 14. the Lord took up his rest for ever Never to depart that is to any other place till the Messiah came who was the Temple of God in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily There are those that think Solomon penned this Psalm because in the 2 Chron. VI. the two last Verses he concludes his prayer at the consecration of the Temple with some part of it viz. Ver. 8 9 10. And truly since he speaks as if the Priests were just taking up the Ark to carry it into this resting place and there begs that God would not for David's sake turn away the face of his Anointed i.e. refuse to hear his prayer it is not an improbable conjecture which I shall follow in my Paraphrase And connect also this Psalm with the former to which it seems to have respect if we render the last word of the first Verse as the ancient Interpreters doe not affliction but humility meekness or modesty Yet I have not forgot to take notice of the other signification and in like manner have expounded that phrase the mighty God of Jacob two several ways Ver. 2. and 5. 1. LORD remember David and all his afflictions 1. LET it appear O Lord that Thou art not unmindfull of the pious humility of my Father David CXXXI 1. who chose to endure many afflictions rather then by unlawfull means to prefer himself to a Kingdom 2. How he sware unto the LORD and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. 2. Which when he enjoyed his principal care was to provide a settled place for the worship of God for he bound himself with a solemn Oath unto the Lord and vowed unto the mighty One who had preserved him as He did Jacob in all his troubles 3. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed 3. Saying I am resolved as I hope to prosper that I will not come into the new Palace which I have built for my self 1 Chron. XIV 1. much less go to dwell and take up my lodging there 4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eye-lids 4. Nay I will not lay my self down to rest nor take a wink of sleep 5. Vntill I find out a place for the LORD an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. 5. Untill I have found out a convenient place for the Ark of the Lord 1 Chr. XV. 1. XVI 1 43. an habitation for that mighty One who there makes Himself present to his people the posterity of Jacob. 6. Lo we heard of it at Ephratah we found it in the fields of the wood 6. And now behold the Lord Himself to our great joy hath told us the very place where He will fix his habitation 1 Chron. XXI 18 26. in the territory of Bethlem Ephrata XXXV Gen. 16 19. in the fields of that Forest where the Angel stood and directed David to build an Altar unto the Lord 1 Chron. XXI 18. XXII 7. We will go into his tabernacles we will worship at his footstool 7. Let us go therefore into his Tabernacles and prostrating our selves before his Majesty let us take up the Ark on which his Glory stands 1 Chron. XXVIII 2. with humble reverence and bring it
see such variety of humours and inclinations all conspiring with one accord to promote the common good of the whole Society 3. As the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Sion for there the LORD commanded the blessing even life for evermore 3. The dew of heaven is not more necessary for the parched mountains which though never so distant one from another as far as from Hermon to Sion are refreshed with it then this is for men of all ranks and conditions who every where perceive the comfortable fruits of it for to this the Divine favour is immutably annexed which will pour upon such Societies innumerable blessings giving them an happy and long life an earnest of endless felicity in a constant enjoyment of all manner of good things PSALM CXXXIV A Song of degrees ARGUMENT It is uncertain by whom this Psalm was composed but it seems to have been made to be sung by some one or more of the Levites at the shutting up of the Gates of the Temple to excite the rest whose turn it was to watch that night to be diligent in their office of singing Psalms and making devout prayers for the people It is the last of those that have the Title of A Song of degrees concerning which see CXX 1. BEHOLD bess ye the LORD all ye servants of the LORD which by night stand in the house of the LORD 1. ATtend to your duty O ye Ministers of the Lord who not onely by day but by night also reverently wait upon Him in his House 1 Chron. IX 33. cease not to declare how great and how good the Lord is 2. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the LORD 2. Be fervent in your devotion and disclaiming all dependance on any thing else praise the Lord in his Sanctuary with pure hearts and clean hands and give thanks for all his benefits 3. The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Sion 3. Pray also for his people Israel and say The great Lord who though He cannot be confined being the Creatour of all things yet hath his special residence in this place dispense his blessings both heavenly and earthly from hence unto every one of you PSALM CXXXV ARGUMENT This perhaps was the morning Hymn which the Praecentor Ver. 4 5. called upon the Levites to sing at the opening of the Gates of the Temple as the former was sung at the shutting up of the Gates in the evening It recounts several of the great works of the Lord especially towards that Nation whom it excites to stedfastness in their Religion and to contempt of Idols and Idolaters It both begins and concludes with an Exhortation to give praise to God and so was intituled as several other Psalms are CVI. CXI c. Hallelujah or Praise the Lord. That is by this Hymn set forth the most excellent perfections and works of the Lord. There are those who conjecture from what we reade Ver. 14. of this Psalm that when it was composed they were or rather had been lately infested by some of their idolatrous neighbours Whose gods the Psalmist derides in the very same manner as he doth Psalm CXV For the four following Verses of this Psalm 15 16 17 18. differ very little from the 4 5 6 8. of that which it is certain was composed in a time of great distress as this was when it was over 1. PRaise ye the LORD praise ye the name of the LORD praise him O ye servants of the LORD 1. LET all here present praise the most wise and omnipotent goodness of the Lord Let Him especially be praised by you his Priests who minister unto his Majesty 2. Ye that stand in the house of the LORD in the courts of the house of our God 2. And by the Levites who attend upon Him in his House together with all the rest of his people that frequent the Courts of God's House who is our constant and most liberal benefactour 3. Praise ye the LORD for the LORD is good sing praises unto his name for it is pleasant 3. Let this excite you all to praise the Lord For as his Nature is most excellent so He is the fountain of all the good we enjoy and no imployment is so delightfull as to acknowledge his perfections and commemorate the benefits we have received from Him by singing Psalms and Hymns of praise and thanks unto Him 4. For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself and Israel for his peculiar treasure 4. I invite you above all other people to this heavenly duty both because the Lord had a peculiar kindness for Jacob your Forefather and doth still exercise a special providence over you his Children as far more dear and precious to Him then the rest of mankind who are under his care 5. For I know that the LORD is great and that our Lord is above all gods 5. And because I am sensible that the Lord under whose government we are is so great and powerfull above all other Beings though called by the name of gods that you can never praise his Majesty enough 6. Whatsoever the LORD pleased that did he in heaven and in earth in the seas and all deep places 6. His own will alone gives bounds to his power for as none can act without his leave so none can hinder Him from doing what pleases Himself in the heavens as well as in the earth and the seas and other deep waters 7. He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth he maketh lightnings for the rain he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries 7. He raises vapours for instance from any quarter of the earth and makes them go up into the air where some of them break forth in flashes of lightning and that which is strange is followed with great showres of rain and from unknown places and causes strong and violent winds blow with such continuance as if they came out of some Treasury where He had gathered and long lockt them up till He had occasion to bring them forth 8. Who smote the first-born of Egypt both of man and beast 8. He made the Egyptians feel how much superiour He was to all their gods XII Exod. 12. who could not defend them from his stroke but He sent his Angel and in one night slew all the first-born in the Country both of man and beast XII Exod. 29. 9. Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee O Egypt upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants 9. Before which terrible blow He had given many other wonderfull demonstrations of his power in several miraculous plagues which He openly inflicted on thee O Egypt not onely on the meaner sort but upon the King and all his Court Exod. VII VIII IX c. 10. Who smote great nations and slew mighty kings 10. And after He had by these means brought you out of their bondage He overthrew several great Nations and slew
Goodness first for promising me out of thy mere grace and favour the royal Dignity and then for performing thy promise most faithfully For Thou hast manifested thy most excellent power and goodness to me in nothing so much as in punctually fulfilling thy promise 1 Sam. XVI 13. nowithstanding all the opposition which was made to it nay in raising me higher then I expected 3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul 3. I had long ago faln short of this honour to which I am advanced hadst not Thou during all the time of Saul's persecution as readily relieved me as I cried to Thee and mightily supported my spirit by a couragious faith and hope in Thee 4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee O LORD when they hear the words of thy mouth 4. Which will move sure all our neighbouring Kings who have any knowledge of my affairs 2 Sam. V. 11 12. VIII 10. to join with me in praising Thee O Lord when they shall hear by how many strange providences Thou hast brought to pass that which Thou promisedst to me by thy Prophet 5. Yea they shall sing in the ways of the LORD for great is the glory of the LORD 5. The wonderfull ways whereby the Lord brings things about shall be the subject of their Songs and they shall think it their greatest happiness to be guided and governed by Him for they shall confess that none can doe such glorious things as the Lord hath wrought 6. Though the LORD be high yet hath he respect unto the lowly but the proud he knoweth afar off 6. Whose sublime greatness doth not make Him neglect as they see in me the meanest persons especially when their minds are as humble as their conditions but will not let Him stoop to the loftiest Princes as they may see in Saul whom He despises when they are forgetfull of Him and ungratefull to Him for his benefits 7. Though I walk in the mids of trouble thou wilt revive me thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies and thy right hand shall save me 7. Which have been so great to me that should I fall again into the same straits wherein I was before and be incompassed with them I should hope that Thou wouldst preserve me and bring me safe out of them all Thy power I am confident will repress the violent assaults of my enemies and by thy almighty Goodness I shall be delivered from their wrath and fury 2 Sam. V. 17 c. VIII 1 c. 8. The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me thy mercy O LORD endureth for ever forsake not the works of thine own hands 8. The Lord who hath begun will go on to finish his gracious intentions towards me not for my merits I know they are none at all but for thy own mercy sake O Lord which as it was the sole motive to what Thou hast done for me so will I hope for it is still the same and ever will be incline Thee to preserve and settle me in that dignity to which not my ambition but thy own good will and pleasure hath promoted me PSALM CXXXIX To the chief Musician A Psalm of David ARGUMENT The two last Verses of this Psalm seem to me a sufficient indication that David to whom the Title ascribes it composed it when he lay under the imputation of having evil designs upon Saul 1. Sam. XXIV 9. which as he protests against in several parts of other Psalms and calls God often to witness his integrity so here he appeals unto Him in a set and solemn meditation composed on purposed to represent before Him the clearness of his intentions which never suffered such designs to enter into his thoughts And who could believe that a man who seriously acknowledged it was impossible to conceal any thing from God's all-seeing eye who formes us in the womb should be so impudent as to make this appeal unto Him if he were conscious to himself of any such guilt And which is more how could he be confident as he declares he was Ver. 19. that God would make his innocence evidently appear by destroying his opposers if he did not know they were calumniatours whose vile aspersions when God had effectually confuted he delivered this Psalm to the Master of the Musick as a lasting testimony of his sincerity all along before he came to the Kingdom and a constant admonishment to himself and others never to promote any designs for the future by sinister arts though managed so secretly that they lay hid from the eyes of all the world since God cannot but be privy to them who loves righteousness and hates all iniquity 1. O LORD thou hast searched me and known me 1. I Am accused O Lord of grievous crimes but my comfort is Thou seest I am not guilty of them For the exactest survey cannot make any thing so well known to us as I am to Thee who art thoroughly acquainted with me 2. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising thou understandest my thought afar off 2. Thou knowest what designs I have when I sit musing at home and what I go about when I stir abroad nay my inclinations are so perfectly understood by Thee that before I have conceived any design it is visible unto Thee 3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways 3. Nothing can be so narrowly sifted as all the motions of my body and mind both by day and by night are scanned by thy all-penetrating eye which comprehends and is intimately privy to all the ends which I pursue 4. For there is not a word in my tongue but lo O LORD thou knowest it altogether 4. When I am about to speak Thou O Lord such is thy most admirable wisedom needest not to be informed what it is but knowest before I open my mouth every thing I intend to utter 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me 5. Whatsoever I have done long ago is as well known to Thee as that which is lately past or which I am about to doe For I am so invironed by Thee and so absolutely in thy power that I cannot possibly escape thy notice nor so much as stir without thy leave 6. Such knowledge is too wonderfull for me it is high I cannot attain unto it 6. O amazing height of understanding It is in vain to think I can hide any thing from it which so far surpasses all I can say or conceive that it excells even my admiration 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence 7. Into what world shall I go where Thou art not as present as Thou art in this It is impossible for me should I make never so much haste to get out of thy sight 8. If I ascend up into heaven thou art there if I make my bed in hell behold
thou art there 8. If I could get up into the highest part of heaven I should not be out of thy reach or go down and lie in the lowest depth of the earth I should find Thee still as near unto me 9. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea 9. If I could move as swiftly as the light of the rising Sun and in an instant flie from hence and take up my dwelling in the remotest parts of the world 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me 10. I should not be a jot the further from Thee without whom as I could not get thither so I should be still subject to thy Government and beholden to thy Providence to support me there 11. If I say Surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me 11. If I should have such a thought as this in my mind that though Thou art present every where yet in the dark I may lie undiscovered by Thee it would be very foolish For when the Sun is gone down all that is in me is as apparent unto Thee as if it were noon day 12. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee 12. The darkness cannot conceal any thing from Thee who being the Fountain of light feest as well in the blackest night as in the brightest day the night and the day the most open and the most covert practices are equally clear unto thy view 13. For thou hast possessed my reins thou hast covered me in my mothers womb 13. For my very thoughts and what is there more abstruse then they my most retired thoughts and contrivances and my most secret desires are apparent to Thee whose I am and by whom I was wrapt up in those skins which inclosed me in my mothers womb then which there is nothing more hidden and dark 14. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well 14. Yet there such is thy stupendious wisedom which I will never cease to praise and thankfully acknowledge I was I know not how in such a wonderfull manner formed that the thoughts of it strike me with astonishment thy operations in that work are most admirable and of that I am exceeding sensible but I can say no more for they are incomprehensible 15. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth 15. Though I was made in so secret a place yet not the least joint in my body was concealed from thy eyes but I received from Thee there where no more light can come then there doth into the lowest depths of the earth such a comely distinction of parts and variety of powers that no embroidery can be so curiously wrought 16. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect and in thy book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them 16. For when the matter out of which I was made was without any form it was visible to Thee how every muscle vein and artery with all the rest of my body should be wrought out of the pattern of them which was in thy mind and accordingly in time when there was not so much as one of them they were all fashioned for the several uses to which they are designed and not the smallest of them omitted or left imperfect 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me O God! how great is the sum of them 17. How invaluable also and incomprehensible O God I am not able to express the high and gratefull sense I have of it is thy tender care and providence which Thou hast exercised over me ever since I was born All the secret passages of it amount to such a summe that I am not able to give an account of them 18. If I should count them they are mo in number then the sand when I wake I am still with thee 18. When I attempt to reckon how many they are I find that I may as well undertake to number the sand For though I continue the whole day in this employment and after a nights rest begin again the next morning to think how numerous thy mercies are I am still as far as ever from seeing any end of them 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked O God depart from me therefore ye bloudy men 19. Which makes me consident O God Thou wilt not now desert me but rather destroy that wicked man CXL 1. who forgetting thy allseeing eye regards not by what means he plots my ruin And therefore it will be best for you all O ye men of bloud who have slain the Priests of the Lord 1 Sam. XXII 18. and now thirst after my life to make your retreat and desist from persecuting me any further 20. For they speak against thee wickedly and thine enemies take thy name in vain 20. For it is not so much me that they persecute as Vertue and Piety to which though they are not open yet they are the most dangerous enemies because they make it serve their wicked ends having godly pretences for their doing mischief and not sticking so little belief have they of thy Omniscience to call Thee to witness the truth of their lies and calumnies 21. Do not I hate them O LORD that hate thee and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee 21. And have I not reason then O Lord to hate those who have such an inveterate hatred unto Thee and to take the greatest distaste to them that oppose themselves so industriously to thy holy Laws 22. I hate them with perfect hatred I count them mine enemies 22. I detest them with all my heart and as their impiety is the onely cause of it so I cannot loathe them more then I do but declare my self upon that account to be their utter enemy 23. Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts 23. If I have any other ground of my enmity or am guilty of so much as designing any evil to them merely because they have done so much evil to me I desire to find it out and submit my self to the severest trials which may discover to me any such thought that lurketh in my heart 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting 24. For I would not continue in such a pernicious course But if in any thing I doe I intend them any hurt or so much as to be grievous to them my humble request is either that I may not live or live more exactly by the unchangeable rules of righteousness sincerity and truth PSALM CXL To the chief Musician A Psalm of David ARGUMENT There is no
One generation shall praise thy works to another and shall declare thy mighty acts 4. For there are none of thy works which we see that we are able to understand but though this Age transmit its observations to the next and that recommend the study of them to posterity yet still we are ignorant and cannot praise them enough no nor sufficiently declare the prodigious acts of thy miraculous Providence for the preservation of thy people which shall be perpetually commemorated 5. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works 5. It shall be my business in this present age to speak of the dazling splendour and beauty of thy Majesty which I want words to express but appears in thy stupendious works 6. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declare thy greatness 6. Which they that come after shall rehearse and from the narratives that I shall make of thy magnificent greatness declare to their posterity what dreadfull things were done by thy irresistable power for the subversion of our enemies 7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness and shall sing of thy righteousness 7. And with the same diligence shall they continue the constant memory of thy numerous benefits to us which they shall no more cease to celebrate with their praises then a spring doth to pour out water but publish in their perpetual Hymns how just and faithfull Thou art to thy word 8. The LORD is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy 8. For the Lord this shall be the subject of their and of my Song is exceeding propense to doe us good and very indulgent when we doe amiss which makes Him that He doth not presently punish but rather chuses to bestow new and greater benefits upon us if we repent of our faults 9. The LORD is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works 9. Nor is his goodness confined unto us but extends it self in various acts of bounty to all mankind who need not doubt of his kindness when they see He takes so tender a care of all his Creatures 10. All thy works shall praise thee O LORD and thy saints shall bless thee 10. Who all in their several kinds declare O Lord throughout all generations how great how wise how powerfull and provident Thou art which such as we who are particularly bound unto Thee for special favours bestowed upon us ought most sensibly to acknowledge with thankfull praises 11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom and talk of thy power 11. It is their duty to discourse of the incomparable wisedom and goodness and care which Thou exercisest in the government of the whole world especially of us and to recount the memorable acts of thy invincible power among us 12. To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom 12. That all mankind who regard not such things so much as they ought may be made sensible how mighty the Lord is and adore the amazing splendour of his illustrious works and the admirable order He observes in his government of all things 13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations 13. Which as they are all intirely subject to Him so his Empire over them is immoveable and neither ends nor decays but when earthly Kingdoms fail and are transferred from one to another his dominion is still the same throughout all successions 14. The LORD upholdeth all that fall and raiseth up all those that be bowed down 14. In which He doth not neglect any of his subjects that depend upon Him as mortal Princes too frequently doe but supports and comforts the meanest of them that are oppressed with grievous afflictions and gives them a seasonable deliverance when they are in danger to sink and perish under the heavy weight of their burthens 15. The eyes of all wait upon thee and thou givest them their meat in due season 15. He makes a constant provision also for them which every Creature when their necessities call for supply daily receive from Thee O Lord in the proper season for it 16. Thou openest thy hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing 16. And Thou art not sparing of thy blessings but dispensest them with such a bountifull hand that there are none of them live without satisfaction but have all their appetites filled by thy liberality to the smallest of them 17. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works 17. And therefore let us not doubt but thankfully acknowledge that the Lord is not onely just in all the dispensations of his Providence to us though perhaps we do not apprehend it but exceeding mercifull and kind in every thing that befalls us 18. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him to all that call upon him in truth 18. We need doe no more but piously commend our selves to Him and He will take care of us for He is ready on all occasions to relieve every one that addresses himself unto Him with a sincere heart truly disposed to be faithfull to Him 19. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him he also will hear their cry and will save them 19. He that satisfies the appetite of all Creatures Ver. 16. will not fail we may be confident to gratifie in their desires such religious persons as fear to offend Him But though He let them fall into troubles and straits in due time will be moved by their importunate prayers to send them a seasonable deliverance 20. The LORD preserveth all them that love him but all the wicked will he destroy 20. For since they love Him so well that they had rather suffer any thing then disobey Him the Lord undoubtedly will preserve them and destroy all those impious men who have no regard to his Laws nor make any scruple to abuse and oppress such vertuous persons 21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever 21. For which and all the rest of his benefits I will never cease to sing Hymns of praise unto the Lord and let all mankind remembring how weak and frail they are join together with me in this imployment as the greatest support and comfort and security they have to bless his incomparable Goodness and Power and carefull Providence for ever and ever PSALM CXLVI Hallelujah ARGUMENT This Psalm and the other four which follow both begin and conclude with the word Hallelujah i. e. Praise ye the Lord. And therefore might if the Jews had pleased have been called The great Hallelujah being all of them exhortations and incitements to the people to stir up themselves unto that heavenly imployment which this Psalm recommends to them from the consideration of several of the Divine Excellencies which make
Him the proper object of our confidence in all conditions The vulgar Latin and the present Greek intitle it to Haggai and Zachariah but there is no such thing in the Hebrew nor in other ancient Interpreters nor in the LXX in the Hexaplus as Theodoret tells us And we might rather think it not unlikely to have been composed by David when Saul who at first had a great kindness for him afterward turned his most bitter enemy were it not for one word viz. the mention of Sion which was not then in David's possession This it is possible inclined those that made the foregoing Title to think it was not composed till after-times and they could find none so likely as that after the Captivity when they soon found it was in vain to rely upon the favour of Princes some of which hindred the building of the Temple as much as Cyrus at the first had furthered it I shall not trouble the Reader with any other conjectures but onely note that the eighth Verse was most exactly and literally fulfilled in our Lord Christ when he came to give Salvation to us 1. PRaise ye the LORD Praise the LORD O my soul 1. STir up thy self O my Soul to give the Lord who gave Being to all things those affectionate praises which are due unto Him 2. While I live will I praise the LORD I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being 2. The best resolution Thou canst make is this I will praise the Lord all my life long and never cease to give thanks unto my God who never ceases to bestow his benefits on me 3. Put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help 3. And let all mankind if they would be happy preserve his favour by being gratefull to Him and not with the neglect of his service court the favour of Princes and settle upon them their dependance For the greatest King on earth though never so just never so bountifull as well as rich and powerfull is still but a man who cannot be present every where when we are in danger nor be able always to help us in our greatest needs 4. His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish 4. For there is a time when he cannot help himself nor by the whole power of his Empire keep his soul from leaving his body nay a small accident may carry him away suddenly and then a clod of earth can do as much as he and whatsoever designs and projects he had laid for any mans preferment suppose they all die together with him 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the LORD his God 5. He and he alone is the truly happy man who expects help from the mighty God by whom Jacob was fed all his life long XLVIII Gen. 15. who trusts to Him that is Lord of the World and hath made Him his Friend so much that he can call Him his God 6. Which made heaven and earth the sea and all that therein is which keepeth truth for ever 6. For as He never dies so there can be no defect in his power nor want of his presence in every place the heavens the earth and the sea and all that is in them being his own works and as nothing can hinder Him from doing what He pleases so He will never alter his mind nor go back with his word but faithfully keep his promises for ever with those that rely upon them 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed which giveth food to the hungry the LORD looseth the prisoners 7. There are innumerable instances of the carefull Providence of this great King who doth not slight or forget the cries of his grieved Subjects but in due time asserts the right of those who are oppressed and can find no relief in other Courts of Judgment He supplies also the needs of poor hungry wretches who are ready to famish and is so gracious a Lord that He sets them at liberty who by unjust or pitiless men have been held in miserable Captivity 8. The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down the LORD loveth the righteous 8. The Lord sends help when there are no hopes of humane cure for He restores sight to the blind as we shall see most remarkably when the Lord Christ appears and lifts up those who are bowed together by tedious weaknesses XIII Luke 11. or crusht under other insupportable burthens and above all the Lord delights to doe good to them who have done good to others 9. The LORD preserveth the strangers he relieveth the fatherless and widow but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down 9. The friendless strangers are preserved by the Lord from those injuries which men are apt to doe them when they commit themselves to his protection And so do the disconsolate Widows and Fatherless Children find support and relief from Him against the injustice and violence of their wicked oppressours whose designs and practices He utterly confoundeth 10. The LORD shall reign for ever even thy God O Sion unto all generations Praise ye the LORD 10. Be of good comfort then O ye inhabitants of Sion who sincerely worship this great Lord that doeth all these wondrous things For his power and authority never fails but from age to age will ever succour those pious souls who are destitute of humane help therefore praise perpetually this everlasting King PSALM CXLVII Hallelujah See CXLVI ARGUMENT Saint Chrysostome and Theodoret think this Psalm hath respect to the return of the Jewish Nation from the Captivity of Babylon and the instauration of Jerusalem which followed upon it And the second and thirteenth Verses may well incline us to be of the opinion that it was made by some holy man at that time Haggai or Zachariah some ancient Interpreters imagin or rather Nehemiah who built the Walls and set up the Gates especially if we observe that there are some phrases in it which savour of the Chaldaean language And though this can be no more then a conjecture yet it is very certain and evident that in that deliverance God gave such illustrious proofs of his power wisedom mercy and justice as the Psalmist here exhorts the people to celebrate with their thankfull praises I shall follow it therefore in my Paraphrase it being reasonable to suppose that devout persons would be as forward to acknowledge the wonderfull Providence of God in their restauration as they were to bewail which they do Ps CXXXVII the ruin of their Country and that posterity would be no less carefull to preserve what was composed in memory of the one then they had been to continue the memory of the other And there is no Hymn we can find so sutable to that occasion as this 1. PRaise ye the LORD for it is good to sing praises unto our God for it is
such Hymns and melodious Songs shall they sing saying Hallelujah praise the Lord by whose power and might we have done all this PSALM CL. Hallelujah See CXLVI ARGUMENT Theodoret takes this also to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Song of Triumph after some Victory and the mention of the mighty acts of the Lord Ver. 2. seems to countenance this conjecture which consists well enough with what others conceive that it was at first particularly directed to the Levites by David I suppose whose office it was to praise the Lord with musical Instruments 1 Chron. XVI 4 5. and excite others to his praises not onely for Victory but for all other his benefits For if the Tradition of the Jews be true which we reade at large in Maimonides in a Treatise on that subject when the people of any place brought up their first fruits to present them to the Lord at Jerusalem according to the Law XXVI Deut. with a pipe going before them as soon as they came to the mountain of the Temple every one took his basket into his hand and sung this whole Psalm till they came to the courts of the Lord's house where the Levites met them singing the XXX Psalm And indeed it might well be used upon occasion of any exceeding great joy for it seems to be intended by the repetition of these words praise the Lord or praise Him thirteen times and by the calling for no less then ten Instruments of Musick to express the height and fulness of their joy and thankfulness to God for his benefits nor can Musick be so well imployed to any other use as this Divine and heavenly exercise of praising God by Hymns and Psalms and spiritual Songs to which the Psalmist seems to me to excite all Creatures in heaven and in earth from the highest to the lowest And with this the Collectour of these five Books of Psalms thought good to conclude the whole and not unfitly For in whatsoever condition we be as there are Psalms adapted to several purposes we should never forget to praise the Lord but after we have prayed or complained c. still end with thankfull acknowledgments to God for his goodness to us Here are several sorts of musical Instruments mentioned which I have not adventured to explain because the Hebrews themselves acknowledge they do not understand them We have no way saith Aben Ezra upon those words Ver. 5. which we translate loud Cymbals to know what these musical Instruments were there being many found in the Country of the Ismaelites i. e. Mahometans which are not among the men of Edom i. e. Christians and others among them which the wise men of Ishmael never heard of 1. PRaise ye the LORD Praise God in his sanctuary praise him in the firmament of his power 1. PRaise the mighty God ye Angelical Ministers that attend upon Him in his celestial Sanctuary Praise Him all ye inhabitants of heaven where you see the brightest demonstrations and most lasting monuments of his power 2. Praise him for his mighty acts praise him according to his excellent greatness 2. Praise Him all ye Ministers of his upon earth for the miraculous things which He hath done for our deliverance and exaltation let your praises bear some proportion to the excellence of his Majesty and the multitude of those great and magnificent acts of mercy towards us 3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet praise him with the psaltery and harp 3. Let the Priests of the Lord X. Numb 8. praise Him with the sound of the Trumpet and let the Levites 1 Chron. XXV 6. praise Him with Psalteries and Harps 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance praise him with stringed instruments and organs 4. Let some praise Him with the Timbrel and the Flute and others praise Him with the stringed Instruments and Organs 5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals 5. Let all sort of Cymbals accompany their Psalms and Hymns in his praise both those of daily use and those that are wont to be imployed in times of the highest joy and triumph 6. Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD Praise ye the LORD 6. Finally Let every man living join himself to this sacred Quire and at every breath praise the Lord the giver of life and of all good things To Him let all the world with one consent give perpetual praise THE END
prove the pious are not always miserable 11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me 11. Nor the wicked alway prosperous For to all other pleasures this shall be added that I shall see those deprived of all power who have long watched to doe me mischief or certainly hear of the ruin of those malicious men who set themselves with all their might to destroy me 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon 12. Which may be an incouragement to every good man to hope in God and not question the justice of his Providence if at present he be afflicted for as He shall overturn all his enemies at the last so He will make the righteous flourish not as the wicked do like the grass Ver. 7. but in a durable prosperity like the fruitfull Palm and the stately Cedar in Lebanon 13. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God 13. For they are under the care of the Lord our God whose House they frequent and there partake of his Divine blessing for the growth and increase of their happiness 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age they shall be fat and flourishing 14. Which shall not decay as the strength and freshness of those Trees will do with age but the older they grow the more happy fruits shall their piety produce and they shall abound in wealth and honour as much as they do in that 15. To shew that the LORD is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him 15. To demonstrate to all the world that the Lord is a most impartial Governour whom I have found my firm unmoveable Friend and assure your selves is so just and kind that he will never let wickedness go unpunished nor vertue be always unrewarded PSALM XCIII ARGUMENT There is no Title in the Hebrew to tellâ— us who was the Authour of this Psalm Nor was there any in Origen's Hexaplus or in Eusebius as Theodoret confesses who found in the Greek Copy which he used this Psalm called An Ode of David in praise of God To which hath been since added in the day before the Sabbath when the earth began to be inhabited Which Musculus thinks was not rashly done by the Greeks but suspects they were moved to it because they knew perhaps that the Jews used this Psalm upon that day As indeed they did for the words of the Talmud in the Title Kedishim confirm his suspicions which are these as I find them set down by de Dieu upon the foregoing Psalm The Canticles which the Levites sung in the Sanctuary were as follow on the first day of the week the XXIV on the second the XLVIII on the third the LXXXII on the fourth the XCIV on the fifth the LXXXI on the sixth the XCIII and on the seventh the XCII Nor is the matter of this Psalm more distant from the foregoing then the sixth day is from the seventh for it seems to me to have been composed when some of those potent enemies began to take heart again and threaten to disturb David's peace and tranquillity which in the foregoing Psalm he had said he was confident they should never be able to overthrow Though in the more sublime sense it ought to be applied to the stability of Christ Kingdom which several of the Jews acknowledge is prophesied of in this and in all the Psalms that follow unto the Hundredth 1. THe LORD reigneth he is cloathed with majesty the LORD is cloathed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself the world also is stablished that it cannot be moved 1. LET the Nations boast of the power and splendour of their Kings and trust to their military preparations this is our glory and our confidence that the LORD reigneth over us whose royal ornaments are not gold and precious stones but Majesty it self and is not armed with sword and spear but with almighty strength which is ready to fight for us who have this comfort also that He who made the world will support that excellent order wherein we are settled so that it shall not be in the power of man to disturb what He hath established 2. Thy throne is established of old thou art from everlasting 2. This we know because thy Kingdom O Lord is fixed and immoveable and did not begin now when we were made thy peculiar people but was as Thou art from everlasting 3. The flouds have lifted up O Lord the flouds have lifted up their voice the flouds lift up their waves 3. We will not be afraid therefore though multitudes of combined enemies threaten to break in upon us like a floud though they storm and rage and insolently vaunt as if they were sure to overwhelm us 4. The LORD on high is mightier then the noise of many waters yea then the mighty waves of the sea 4. Though they roar terribly and be as numerous as the waters of the Sea swelling like its boisterous waves in a furious tempest the great Lord is above them all and can instantly depress them as low as He pleases 5. Thy testimonies are very sure holiness becometh thine house O LORD for ever 5. And thy fidelity in performing the promises wherein Thou hast testified thy good will to us is as unquestionable as thy power no age shall find it fail for it becomes not Thee to start from thy word delivered to us by thy Oracle but it is thy glory to observe it sacredly for ever PSALM XCIV ARGUMENT This Psalm also wants an inscription in the Hebrew to tell us who was the Authour of it but the later Greeks intitle David to it and call it A Psalm of his for the fourth day of the week which they had as I shewed in the Argument of the foregoing Psalm from the Hebrew Tradition in the Talmud And he hath little acquaintance with the History of David who doth not see that here is an exact description of the Court of Saul who abused their Authority to all manner of oppression and violence especially against David without any fear of God or thought that He would call them to any account for it as he complains in several other Psalms particularly LVII LVIII LIX But it might as well be penned by any other holy man who lived in times of general corruption when as Theodoret expresses it their Kings and their Princes i. e. Judges loved not to be tied to the Law but pronounced unjust sentences and committed murthers selling the bloud of innocents for bribes of whom the Prophet Isaiah sadly complains Ver. 21. of the first Chapter where Ver. 10. he calls them Rulers of Sodom Certain it is the Psalmist whosoever he was desires he may see justice done upon such Atheistical Oppressours and desires good men not to be discouraged under their tyranny but patiently
our brethren that still remain in Babylon which would be as welcome to this desolate Country as streams of water to the dry and thirsty grounds 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy 5. Then this small handfull of people who are come to plant themselves here again and have laid the foundation of the Temple with a great mixture of sadness and tears III. Ezra 12. shall shout for joy to see so great an increase and this pious work by their help brought unto perfection 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoycing bringing his sheaves with him 6. Just as we behold the poor husbandman going to and fro with a little seed which in a scarce year he throws with an heavy heart into the ground returning again and again from the field with songs of joy in his mouth when the harvest comes to reward his past labours with a plentifull crop of corn PSALM CXXVII A Song of degrees for Solomon See CXX ARGUMENT The Hebrew particle which here we translate for is thought by our Interpreters in most other places to signifie of and so they translate it a little before in the Title of Psal CXXIV and a little after in that of CXXXI Therefore I shall look upon this Psalm as composed by Solomon who you reade 1 King IV. 32. made above three thousand Songs though none of them except that large Poem called the Song of Songs and as some think Psal CXXXII and as I suppose the next to this have been transmitted to posterity but onely this which is a commentary upon a pious Maxime of his often repeated in the Book of his Proverbs that it is in vain to attempt any thing if the Lord do not prosper it Teaching us therefore in all our ways to acknowledge Him III. Prov. 6. XVI 3. and not to presume that it is in our power to direct our own way that is our designs enterprises and actions to what issue we please For Though a man's heart deviseth his way yet it is the Lord that directeth his steps XVI Prov. 9. XX. 24. XXI 30 31. A truth to be deeply pondered by all especially by Princes in whose affairs this over-ruling Providence is most visible Of A Song of degrees see CXX 1. EXcept the LORD build the house they labour in vain that build it except the LORD keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain 1. THE success of all our undertakings depends so intirely upon the Lord's blessing that it is in vain by building Houses and Cities to enter into Societies unless He prosper the design and when they are framed all the care of the Souldier and the Magistrate is to no purpose unless his good Providence be their guard 2. It is vain for you to rise up early to sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows for so he giveth his beloved sleep 2. And as fruitless unless He favour it is the toil and solicitude of you the Artificers and Tradesmen in the City who rise betime and go to bed late and fare hardly when they whom He loves because they own his Providence and depend upon his Blessing more then their own diligence live securely and want nothing that is fit for them though they have no such strong guard of Souldiers to defend them nor break their sleep with labour and care to supply their necessities 3. Lo children are an heritage of the LORD and the fruit of the womb is his reward 3. Observe it also it is not in the power of the strongest and most healthfull persons though nature designs above all things the propagation of mankind to have Children when they please to inherit the riches they have got but the Lord bestows them as freely as Parents do their estates and makes those women fruitfull whose pious reliance upon Him He thinks good to reward 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man so are children of the youth 4. And yet there is nothing of which we are more desirous then a numerous issue especially in the flower and vigour of our youth for they will be no less defence to us in our age then arrows or darts are in the hand of a valiant Champion to beat off his Assailants 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them they shall not be ashamed but they shall speake with the enemies in the gate 5. Happy is that man who hath obtained so much favour of the Lord as to have his house as full of them as the Champions quiver is of arrows they will undauntedly appear for him to answer any challenge sent him by his Enemies * See Theodoret. or any accusation put in against him before the Judges PSALM CXXVIII A Song of degrees ARGUMENT It is not unlikely that this Psalm was composed by the same Authour that made the former to excite men to be truly Religious as the onely way to obtain the blessings there mentioned of the Lord. Which as he there shews we must have from his free gift and not think to acquire merely by our own industry so here he shews the Lord is wont to bestow on those who fearing to offend Him sincerely keep his Commandments Some think this was a form prescribed to be used at the blessing of their Marriages when they wished the new married couple all manner of happiness especially a long life in peaceable times Vers 5 6. Of A Song of degrees see CXX 1. BLessed is every one that feareth the LORD that walketh in his ways 1. WHosoever thou art that desirest to be happy be sure to add unto the devout Worship of the Lord the practice of Justice and Charity and all other Vertues and thou shalt never miss of it 2. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands happy shalt thou be and it shall be well with thee 2. For then He will prosper thy honest labours and give thee an heart also to enjoy the fruit of them yea this will seem no small part of thy happiness that thou art able to live of thy self and not be beholden unto others 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitfull vine by the sides of thine house thy children like olive plants round about thy Table 3. He will bless thee also in thy Wife and make her as fruitfull as the Vine which spreads it self laden with full clusters over all the sides of thy House and in thy hopefull Children too who shall grow up and flourish like the young Olive plants that are set in thy Arbour round about thy Table 4. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD 4. Observe it that this shall be the comfortable portion of the Man that religiously serveth the Lord who alone can bless our labours and continue the product of them in our Families 5. The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life 5.
pleasant and praise is comely 1. LET all the Nations praise the Lord who will send us new benefits when we are truly thankfull to Him our great Benefactour for the old For it is a thing highly acceptable to Him as well as delightfull to those who are imployed therein and best becomes us of all other things there being nothing so decent as to see men gratefull to Him that hath obliged them 2. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel 2. To which we stand bound above all other men for the Lord hath not onely delivered us out of a sad Captivity but in spite of all the opposition our enemies have made to it IV. Ezra 12. hath raised Jerusalem out of its ruines whereby He invites the rest of our Brethren who remain behind to return to their own Country from whence they are expelled 3. He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds 3. He comforts us after our long sorrows which had in a manner broken our heart with grief and sadness and hath in some measure repaired our breaches which like a festering wound indangered the life of our Nation 4. He telleth the number of the stars he calleth them all by their names 4. Whom He knows how to gather out of all their dispersions and to find every one of them wheresoever they are though as numerous as the stars of heaven XV. Gen. 5. which He as distinctly and exactly understands how confusedly soever they seem to us to be scattered in the skie as we do those things which we call by their proper names 5. Great is our Lord and of great power his understanding is infinite 5. Let us not despair of it for nothing is impossible with our Lord and Governour who is not like earthly Kings that rule over a few petty Provinces but the great Sovereign of the whole world whose power and wisedom are so unlimited that He is able to doe whatsoever He pleases and knows how to compass whatsoever He designs 6. The LORD lifteth up the meek he casteth the wicked down to the ground 6. And doth not because He is so great despise the afflicted but if they meekly commit themselves to his care will raise them up to a better condition and throw down the mightiest Princes that proudly oppress them as low as the very ground 7. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving sing praise upon the harp unto our God 7. Celebrate therefore with your thankfull Songs you cannot make a less return unto Him this infinite Power and Wisedom and Goodness Begin now with the usual Instruments of Musick to sing Hymns of praise unto our God for all his benefits 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds who prepareth rain for the earth who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains 8. Particularly for the great plenty He hath given us by his almighty Goodness II. Haggai 1. which shews it self first in raising vapours from the earth and then turning them into clouds wherewith He covers the face of heaven and then bringing forth rain out of those clouds which He sends back to the earth again and makes not onely the green pastures but the parched mountains and desart places become fruitfull 9. He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry 9. By which wonderfull Providence He provides food even for the wild goats and suck like beasts that live upon the top of craggy rocks For He neglects not the vilest creatures but satisfies the hunger of the young ravens though it be so ravenous that they are continually crying for new supplies 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man 10. Let us not doubt then but He that takes care of crows will much more take care of us and not be afraid though we are of little force IV. Nehem. 3 4. VII 4. and have no armies of horse and foot to defend us For the Lord who fights for us IV. Nehem. 20. hath no need of these and will not take part with our enemies because they are superiour to us in the strength of their horses and the nimbleness of their souldiers 11. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy 11. But delights to give those his assistance and protection who worshipping Him devoutly fear to offend Him and having no help in themselves nor any earthly refuge to fly unto depend notwithstanding with a stedfast faith on his infinite mercy 12. Praise the LORD O Jerusalem praise thy God O Sion 12. Praise the Lord O ye inhabitants of Jerusalem sing joyfull Hymns unto your God O ye people of Sion XII Nehem. 27 31 40 43. who have seen this truth abundantly demonstrated in your days 13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates he hath blessed thy children within thee 13. For He hath made this City which was lately without Walls and Gates so strong a place that no enemy dare assualt it VI. Nehem. 15 16. and hath increased the number of thy Citizens which were but few VII Nehem. 4. XI 1 2. by the manifold blessings He hath poured on them 14. He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat 14. Which are not confined within the Walls of that City but He hath settled all the Country in peace no enemy appearing to infest thy borders and to disturb the husbandmen in their labours which have produced so rich a crop that plentifull provision is made for all our satisfaction 15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth his word runneth very swiftly 15. This we ought to ascribe to his mercifull Providence who shews by the fruitfull seasons He sends after all things seem to be killed by a hard winter that He doth not intend by our affliction to destroy us and that He can easily bring all our Brethren hither who remain still in Captivity For when He would have any alteration made in the earth it is done as speedily as we can speak 16. He giveth snow like wooll he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes 16. He sends for instance a sudden cold which sometimes turns the moist vapours in the air into flakes of snow to cover the earth as with a fleece of wool and defend the corn from the biting winds and sometimes into hoary frost which He gently scatters and straws like ashes upon the earth 17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels who can stand before his cold 17. And sometimes congeals them into ice which He breaks into bits and throws down in violent hail accompanied with such extremity of cold that neither man nor beast nor the fishes in the ponds and rivers are able long to endure it 18. He sendeth out his word and melteth them he causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow 18. But then to prevent the hurt that might insue by its continuance He issues forth