Psalm with an Epiphonema in which he perswades all good men to consider the former Premises and lay it to heart To observe the whole course of Gods Providence that they impute not the Changes of the World to Chance and Fortune nor be overmuch dejected at them but rather bless God for all as Job did 1. The righteous shall see it Consider and seriously meditate upon it 2. And rejoyce when they are assured that God is their Guardian and that therefore the Crosses which he layes upon them are trials for their good not for their ruine 3. And all iniquity shall stop her mouth By observation of the event at last evil doers shall not have occasion to laugh and blaspheme and find fault with Gods wayes but confess That all was by God justly done and wisely disposed But this is a Consideration not for every brain 't is for wise men that look afar off and think on it 1. Who is so wise will observe these things That is vicissitudes and changes of this World 2. And they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord It shall appear unto them at last how ineffable his mercy is toward them which truly fear him and call upon his Name but our life is hid with Christ in God The Prayer collected out of the One hundred and seventh Psalm O Omnipotent God when we look upon the strange vicissitudes and alterations of the things of this World our faith would waver and our hearts would faint were we not assured that all things are guided by thy hand and over-ruled by thy Providence and secret Will and Counsel Ver. 1 Who art good and whose mercy endures for ever Be it then that we are brought to wander in the Wilderness in a solitary way that we be pilgrims and strangers and have no City to dwell in that we are oppress'd with hunger and dryed up with thirst so that our soul is ready to faint within us yet will we not despair In our trouble to thée will we cry to thée will we make our moan nothing doubting but that if it shall be for thy glory and our good Thou wilt deal by us as thou hast done formerly with thy servants them thou hast deliver'd from their distresses those thou hast led forth by the right way and brought to dwell in their own Cities and Habitations Thou hast satisfied their longing souls and filled their hungry souls with good things which since thou art good and thy mercy endureth for ever we are in good hope Thou wilt do for us Redéem O Lord thy banished and bring them home So shall we praise thee for thy goodness and declare thy wonderful works which thou dost for the Children of men Long it is O merciful God That we have sate in darkness Ver. 10 and in the shadow of death our back is bowed down with many iron hands that we cannot lift up our head our heart is brought low through affliction and we find none to help and all this is justly come upon us because we have rebelled against the words of our God and contemned the Counsel of the most High We have not done thy Will nor kept thy Commandments but have set up abominations and have multiplied offences But now O Lord in our trouble we cry unto thée we how the knées of our hearts beséeching thée of grace forgive forgive O Lord and destroy us not with our iniquities Save us Lord from our distresses bring us out of this darkness and shadow of death and break our Bands asunder break these gates of Brass and cut asunder these Bands of Iron so shall we thy redeemed praise thee O Lord for thy goodness all the dayes of our lives and declare the wonderful works which thou dost for the children of men O Lord I confess against mine own soul that I have béen seduced and pielded to many foolish lusts of the flesh Ver. 17 and because of this my iniquity and transgression I am justly afflicted and séel no whole part in my body that thou shouldst lengthen out my dayes any farther I sée no hope my disease is so grievous That my soul abhorreth all manner of meat and my vital spirits so far spent That I am drawing to the gates of death To whom O Lord should I flie but to thée To whom should I cry in this my trouble but to thée O God be merciful to thy servant and press me not beyond my strength save me out of my distress send out thy Word and heal me and deliver me from destructions O let not thy fierce anger go beyond a fatherly correction and in judgment remember thy mercy that endures for ever So shall I whom Thou hast redeemed from the jawes of death praise thee my God for thy goodness and for thy wonderful works to the children of men I will sacrifice the Sacrifices of Thanksgiving and declare thy works with rejoycing O Lord our Vocation calls upon us to go down to the Sea in Ships and to negotiate Ver. 23 and do our business in great waters where we see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep At thy Command the stormy wind ariseth and the waves of the Sea are lifted up Tossed we are and mount up to Heaven and by and by we go down to the bottom of the Sea so that there we dwell in the shadow of death and our soul is melted and faints because of the present trouble we reel too and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at our wits end for our wisdom and our skill then fails us our sole refuge is in our prayers In this instant of our trouble as thou hast commanded We cry unto thee look down upon thy servants who in the abyss of the Seas and the abyss of our trouble invocate the abyss of thy mercies bring us out of these distresses Thou which didst command the winds and rebuke the Seas and they obeyed thée Make the storm a calm Rebuke the furious winds and waves and still them by thy power make us glad by rescuing us from the present danger and quietly bring us to the desired Haven So will we praise thee O Lord for thy goodness and for thy wonderful works to the children of men And when we come to land We will exalt thy Name in the Congregation of thy people and praise thee in the Assembly of the Elders O Lord we set our minds too much upon earthly things and attribute too much to Nature and second Causes whereas all the power that is in the Creature is from thée and that restraint that is upon the Creature procéeds from thée Remove from our hearts this heavy and gross ignorance and impiety and make us know and acknowledge that it is thy hand That turns Rivers into a Wilderness and a land water'd with pleasant Springs into a dry ground by which a fruitful land becomes barren But in this change thy Iustice O Lord is exalted by this thou shewest
thou break a leaf driven too and fro Ver. 11 How long wilt thou pursue the dry stubble While thou Writest these bitter things against us our dayes are like a shadow and decliues and we are withered as grass whose beauty and glory fades in a moment But why art thou thus vexed O my soul Ver. 12 and why art thus disquieted within me O put thy trust in God Call to mind that he endures for ever and the remembrance of his Covenant to all generations 'T is thy promise O Lord we look to 't is thy Covenant only we hope in according to thy word arise and have mercy upon Zion pity thy poor afflicted people for the time to favour her is now very seasonable Ver. 13 yea the time is come For thy servants think upon and take pleasure in her stones not so much those stones with which those goodly structures Ver. 14 in which we were wont to meet and praise thee were built and beautified as those living stones built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Ver. 17 Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone and it pitieth them to see her in the dust In the dust Lord we favour them and for these we pray that they may be restored to their places in thy Sacred Temple Ver. 16 O regard the prayer of the poor destitute and despise not our desire for this will tend to thy honour and enlargement of thy Kingdom being alsured Ver. 15 that when the Lord shall build up Zion and when he shall appear in glory that the heathen shall fear the Name of the Lord and all the Kings of the earth thy glory Look down then O Lord from the height of thy Sanctuary and from heaven behold the earth Ver. 19 Hear the groaning of the Prisoners and loose those that are appointed to death Ver. 20 that they may declare the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise at Jerusalem Ver. 21 May we but obtain so great a mercy it shall be written for the generations to come and the people our children that shall be born Ver. 18 shall praise the Lord They shall praise thee and sing of thy mercy in the great Congregation even when the people are gathered together and the Kingdoms to serve the Lord. That thou wilt make an Inquisition for innocent blood I am assured that those who have profaned thy dwelling place shall be as a rolling thing before the wind Ver. 23 I do believe that they who have swallowed down riches shall vomit them up again I know for God shall cast them out of their belly But thou hast so weakned my strength in the way and so shortned my dayes that it is not likely I shall lide to sée it Lord might my eyes sée thy salvation I would willingly sing with old Simeon Ver. 24 Now let thy servant depart in peace Yet will I pray O my God take me not away in the midst of my age I am thy Creature O Lord created after thy own image yet not to live for ever on earth as thou shalt live in heaven for thy years are throughout all generations Even the earth whose foundation thou hast laid and the heavens which are the work of thy Power and Wisdom wax old as a garment and as a vesture shall be wrapt up they shall perish and be annihilated spare me a little then because I am a creature of a short continuance and can bear no proportion to thy esernity for thou art the same and thy years have no end But I yield my self to thy Will I submit my self to thy dispose if I cannot arrive to what I desire to sée Jerusalem in prosperity yet grant that I may see my Lord in the Land of the living for I am assured that the children of thy servants shall continue and their seed shall be established before thee and live in thy presence for evermore Amen PSAL. CIII 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Psalm to David THE Title shews the Psalm to be inspired into David by the Holy Ghost and the end is to comfort a soul heavy and laden but especially with the burden of sin To him every word in it drops like an Honey-comb so that had not the comfort been revealed and sent from heaven it could never have been believed that Almighty God should be so merciful to sinful man Three parts there are of this Psalm 1. The Exordium in which David by an Apostrophe turns to his own soul and stirs it up to bless God ver 1 2. 2. The Narration or an ample Declaration of the Benefits from the first to the last conferred by God upon him and others and the causes of them from ver 3. to 20. 3. A Conclusion in which he makes a motion to Angels and all other Creatures to joyn with him in the praise of God from ver 20. David stirs up his soul to praise God The first part to the last 1. David being fully perswaded that he was one of the number of the Elect stirs up himself in the person of the Elect to praise and speak well of God in the two first verses 1. Bless God think on the Benefit and bless the Benefactor Ver. 1 Extoll him with praises 2. O my Soul bless him because the Soul alone can know and inform the whole man what God deserves for his blessings 2. Again he would not have it a lip-labour but come from a heart affected with it Heartily done for quod cor non facit non fit 3. Not the Soul alone but that all that is within him Totum hominis And the whole man whatsoever is within his skin every part every faculty about him Will Understanding Memory Affections Heart Tongue Hand Eyes c. All joyn 4. And bless Jehovah for he gave them their Being and their Properties and Operations 2. Praise his holy Name his Essential Properties his Wisdom Power Goodness Justice for to oclebrate God in all these is To praise his holy Name 5. Bless the Lord O my Soul for he comes over it again Ver. 2 that he might press the Duty more emphatically and shew his vehement desire to have it done it shewes we freeze and are cold in the Duty and need a Goad to quicken us 6. And forget not all his benefits He repeats it and adds That we forget not His Benefits 1. Forget not He would not be guilty of the common Errour forgetfulness of a good turn for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which if it happen 't is impossible to be thankful and therefore Omnium ingratissimus qui beneficii accepti non reminiscitur Forget not then 2. All his benefits Not all no nor indeed any of them for not one but deserves a blessing 3. His benefits Some read Munera the Vulgar Retributiones If Munera they are freely given if Retributiones they are more than we can deserve yet it pleases him to accompt them so Let but a man well consider how many evils we
Donec Untill the time that his Word came So long then he lay in Prison and no longer For a time best known to God God hath then his Donec for his servants to suffer and when that Donec comes they shall suffer no longer 1. Vntill the time his Word came His Word i.e. Gods Word for his deliverance 2. Or as others Joseph's word to the Butler came to pass 2. The Word of the Lord tried him God tried his patience Or the Interpretation of the Dreams proving true were a sufficient trial that it was the Word of the Lord which he spake He spoke by the Spirit of God 2. And now followes his Honour and Advancement 1. But taken thence and exalted Pharaoh by his Butler hearing of Joseph's wisdom He sent and loosed him from Prison 2. Even the Ruler of the people let him go free a work fit for a King 2. To be the Rulet in Aegypt And his Advancement followes To free an Innocent a signal Favour but to advance him a greater this Pharaoh did 1. Ver. 21 He made him Lord of his House Majordorno 2. And Ruler of all his Substance He was his Treasurer Gen. 41.40 c. Indeed a great Viceroy a grand Visier 3. Ver. 22 The Kings end in it admirable not only in the Famine to provide bread to feed their bodies To feed them To instruct them but for the good of their fouls also 1. To punish the Rebellious To bind his Princes at his pleasure 2. To instruct them his Counsellors in that Wisdom those Arts Sciences Religion which he excelled in exalted he was to teach his Senators the great Counsel of his Kingdom wisdom and it is supposed That all the learning in which the Aegyptians excelled was first taught them by Joseph 4. Jacob and his Family descends thither The fourth Benefit followes of God toward his people from ver 22. to 37. which was their nourishment their increase in Aegypt their oppression and deliverance thence 1. He begins with Jacobs descent thither 1. Israel also Josephs father went down into Aegypt read Gen. 45. 2. Sojourns there 222. years And Jacob with all his family seventy souls sojourned there then to remain for a time viz. two hundred and twenty two years in the land of Ham viz. in Aegypt so called from Cham the father of Misraim that first peopled it after the Flood 2. And multiply He proceeds with their strange increase there for it is wonderful that in so short a time they should so multiply and grow into such multitudes Exod. 1.7 at their going out they were six hundred thousand besides children Exod. 12.37 And he increased his people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies Exod. 1.9 This was the Occasion of their Afflictions Bondage and Sufferings for 1. But are made Bond-men He turned the Aegyptian hearts to hate his people i.e. He suffer'd them to be turned For there arose another King which knew not Joseph Exod. 1.8 2. Afflicted and subtilly dealt with And to deal subtilly with his servants Come on say they let us deal wisely with them Exod. 1.10 and their wise work was 1. To set over them Task-masters to afflict them with their burdens Exod. 1.11 But when they saw That the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew ver 12. 2. Then they order'd That all the male-children should be strangled by the Midwives ver 16. And when this way took not neither 3. Then Pharaoh charged That every son that was born should be cast into the River ver 22. Thus subtilly they dealt but it hindered not their Multiplications God sends Moses to deliver them there is no Counsel against God Now God seeing their Affliction and hearing their Groans sent them a Deliverer Ver. 26 1. Hesent Moses his servant and Aaron whom he had chosen 2. By signs and wonders which were They shewed his signs among them 1. To the Israelites 2. And wonders in the land of Ham then to the Aegyptians of which the Caralogue followes 1. He sent darkness and it was dark and they i.e. Moses and Aaron rebelled not against his Word 2. He turned their waters into blood and slew their fish 3. The Land brought forth Frogs in abundance in the Chambers of their Kings 4. He spake and there came divers sorts of Flies and Lice in all their Coasts 5. He gave them Hail for Rain and flaming fire in their land 6. He smote the Vines also and Fig-trees and brake the Trees of their Coasts 7. He spake and the Locusts came and Caterpillars and that without number and did eat up all the herbs in the land and devoured the fruit of their ground 8. He smote also the first-born of their Land the chief of all their strength These were the wonders that God wrought in Aegypt by the hand of Moses and Aaron for the deliverance of his people which therefore the Psalmist briefly Records that they might remember to be thankful and praise him 5. The fifth Benefit which God bestowed upon his people is He brought them out and entiched them that he brought them not out Beggars but enriched them with the Spoiles of Aegypt nor in a sickly but healthful condition 1. He brought them forth with silver and gold for they were sent by God to borrow Jewels And when they pretend by their example to rob honester men than themselves whom yet they esteem no better than Aegyptians can shew such an immediate Commission from God to do it content I am that they borrow and never restore rob and spoil whom they please till that be shewn they are Thieves and Robbers and Sacrilegious persons 2. Farther Gave them healthful bodies whereas they left the Aegyptians afflicted with some strange disease of which their first-born was dead in every house they came forth with healthy bodies There was not one no not one feeble person among their Tribes not one among six hundred thousand men The terrour of them was so great and the fear of death so instant And brought fear upon the Egyptians that little regarding their Jewels Gold and Silver they urged them to be gone they thrust them out as glad at heart they were upon terms rid of them which the Prophet thus expresseth Aegypt was glad when they departed for the fear of them fell upon them for Exod. 12. They said We are all dead men 6. The sixth Benefit followes after their departure which was After their departure The Pillar of a Cloud by day and the Pillar of fire by night He spread a Cloud for a covering and Fire to give light in the night Which most interpret As if the Cloud by day did overshadow them and keep off the heat of the Sun He gave them a Pillar of a Cloud and Fire And therefore the Prophet saith He spread it for a covering But Bellarmine conceives it somewhat otherwise grounding his conjecture upon
expect none but muddy troubled water that then the Prophet saith He shall drink of the Torrent intimates That the drink offer'd him should be much and troubled And at his Passion he descended into the very depth of the Torrent and drank very deep of it 3. In the way That was while he was Viator in his Journey all the time of his life that preceded his Resurrection and Ascension 2. His Ascension and Honour But Claritas Humilitatis praemium because he thus humbled himself and willingly underwent his Death and Passion for the Glory of his Father and the Salvation of Mankind therefore shall God lift up his Head he shall ascend into Heaven sit at his right hand and be constituted the Judge of quick and dead he shall rise from the dead and have all power committed to him in Heaven and Earth The Prayer out of the One hundred and tenth Psalm O Almighty God most gracious and merciful Lord sinned all Mankind hath and by it incurr'd thy displeasure and by the disobedience of our first Parents had we not since added to that disobedience béen utterly lost it was not in the power of any creature to save us it was not within the compass of any humane or angelical ability to make our peace to get our pardon and to reconcile us again unto thée The sentence of death was passed upon us and nothing could respite the execution but thy own Ordinance A Mediator was wanting to interpose and hear all differences a Priest to step in and make an Atonement an Advocate to plead for thy people and allay the anger that was gone forth And such an one O merciful Lord Thou out of thy méer love hast in mercy provided for us Thou saidst to thy own Son Thou art a Priest for ever and thy own Son said Lo I come to do thy Will Ver. 4 and so by thy wonderful Decrée and his willing Obedience we are redéemed Who ever heard so strange a thing who could or would ever believe this report hadst not thou O God revealed it The zeal of the Lord hath done this for us the zeal of the Son of God hath done this brought to pass that which flesh and blood would never believe were it not That thou hast commanded it to be believed O mystery beyond comprehension which when we séem to comprehend yet we understand not the secret so far passeth what our weak capacity can reach unto And in this thou O merciful Father hast condescended to our infirmity for that thy Decrée and thy Sons love be never more doubted Thou hast secured us by an Oath an Oath of which thou wilt never repent That he is a Priest for ever A Priest must have something to offer and he offer'd himself a Priest must offer blood and he offer'd his own a Priest must step in and appease thy anger when it was at the highest a Priest must reconcile when the terms of difference were the greatest And such an High Priest thou hast sworn thy Son shall be given him for us and to us not only to them that lived then and before but to all thine that are now and shall be hereafter for thou hast ordained to be a Priest for ever O holy and good Father how much hast thou loved us who hast not spared thine one only Son but hast deliver'd him to be our Priest and our Sacrifice and therefore our Priest because our Sacrifice to Sacrifice himself upon the Altar of the Cross that he might cancel and nail there the Hand-writing that was against us and by death destroy him that had the power of death the Devil This could not be done till he had drank of the Brook in the way till all thy storms and waves had gone over him for so it behoved Christ to suffer Ver. 7 and to enter into his Glory But now all those indignities that agony those unknown sufferings are at an end and thou hast lifted up his head He that sacrificed himself on Earth is an High Priest an Advocate a Mediator an Intercessor for his Body in Heaven and there applies his purchase and continues this his Office for his Servants and Saints O Lord I am the meanest the most sinful of this Society so often as I provoke thée to anger by infirmity or surreptitious by enormous or presumptuous iniquities turn thy face from me a wretched Caitiff and behold those wounds in his hands féet and side and accept of that precious Sacrifice which he made upon the Cross for me hear the cry of those wounds that intercede for me at thy Throne of Grace I rely upon no other Advocate I will sue to no other Mediator if he be not able to save me then let me perish for ever speak peace to my soul in his Name be reconciled unto me in his blood and make his intercession so powerful unto me That I may be purged from my sins and turned from mine iniquities And this Supplication I do not only offer unto thée for my self but for all thy people Ver. 1 for whose sakes thou hast lift up his head and said unto my Lord Sir thou at my right hand All power is now given unto him both in Heaven and in Earth for he is not only a Priest but a King also a Scepter he hath and a Rod in his right hand this is the Rod of his strength and it came first out of Zion Ver. 2 I mean his Gospel that Law which came first out of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem O set thy King upon thy holy hill of Zion give him the Heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession break them with a Rod of Iron and dash them in pieces like a Potters Vessel Oppose all those that oppose the growth and enlargement of his Kingdom Let him rule in the midst of thine enemies and sit at thy right hand until thou hast made all his enemies his Foot-stool O Lord let him preside and have the Dominion over all till there be no Adversary left that shall dare to oppose him in his Offices Behold we humbly beséech thée how in these our dayes there are risen up blasphemous and wicked men cruel and bloody Antichrists who go about to break his Bands asunder and dare boldly and impudently say of him We will not have this man to reign over us Be present then O Lord our Saviour at the right hand of thy people and strike through Kings Princes and Potentates in the day of thy wrath Exercise judgment against these blasphemous and heathenish Rebels let not thy Eye pity them nor thy Sword spare them but fill the places with their dead bodies and in what Countrey soever they remain what Aire soever they breath let their factious bodies and their Machivillian and Tyrannical heads and leaders receive their deaths wound from thy hand and fury O Lord pronounce a favourable sentence for thy Church and let
thy Gospel which came out of Zion and was planted by thy Apostles and diffused by the impulse and power of thy good Spirit Ver. 3 once more flourish amongst us so visibly and extraordinarily work for us That all men even thine enemies may acknowledge That this is the day of thy power Thy power it must be that can collect us whom Heresie Schism and Tyranny hath dispersed thy power to cause us to méet in our solemn Assemblies speak but the word O Lord and appoint the day and thy people will be a willing people they will méet out of love and joy of heart and offer thee free-will offerings in the beauties of holiness O holy Father we must with shame confess against our own souls that we have profaned thy Sanctuary by entring into it with our shooes on our féet and when we have béen in it we have too often offer'd the Sacrifice of Fools holiness is that virtue which becomes thy house for ever and this holiness is from the womb of the morning it comes not from the will of man it procéeds not from the will of the flesh it is a swéet and Virgin dew that distills from thy holy Spirit and as by the silver drops that descend from above the roots of the Herbs are moistned refreshed and cherished so by these secret dews of grace our dry hearts are quickned and recover life vouchsafe we beséech thée therefore to descend upon us with these dewes that being regenerate and born again we may grow and increase in holiness in obedience in alacrity in thy Service refresh us when we are weary make us shoot when we are at a stand ever let us retain the dew of our youth that being lively in all the exercises of Christianity we may at last be exalted and set at thy right hand as thou art seated at the right hand of thy Father and enjoy those heavenly Mansions which our Lord is gone to prepare for us Grant us this O heavenly Father for thy Son Jesus Christs sake to whom with thee and the Holy Sprit three Persons and one God be ascribed all Honour Glory and Praise for ever and ever Amen PSAL. CXI 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 T IS conceived that this Hymn was set by David to be sung at the Passeover and that it might be the easilier learned and remembred the Colons of it are in number as many and digested by order of the Hebrew Alphabet The Sum of it is an Exhortation to praise God for his wonderful favours and benefits bestowed upon the World at large and in special toward his people Israel and the Church Three parts there are of this Psalm 1. A Protestation of David to praise God and the manner how and the company with whom he would do it ver 1. 2. An Expression of the Reasons that moved him to it viz. his admirable benefits bestowed both general and special which he enumerates from ver 2. to 10. 3. A Conclusion or Inference upon the premises by way of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in which he commends the fear of God ver 10. 1. The Title of the Psalm is Allelujah Praise ye the Lord Allelujah The first part He praiseth God himself And that this his Exhortation might pierce the deeper and that his Subjects might the more readily follow his example presently he vowes and protests 1. I will praise the Lord And expresseth the manner how he would do it and as indeed it ought to be done Ver. 1 2. Not hypocritically with the lips and mouth only 1 In sincerity but with the heart 2 In unity and with the Church 3. Not with a heart and a heart but with the whole heart 4. Not separately or Schismatically but in the Assembly of the upright and in the Congregation 1. Both in that Assembly where good and upright men are met 2. And also in the company of many even with the mix't multitude secretly among good men and openly in the Congregation he would praise God 2. And having made a pious confession of his readiness to practise the Duty The second part next sets down the ground and matter of his praise which contains the Reasons that moved him to it as if he had said Which he doing and perswading sets down his Reasons for it There be great and urgent causes that may move me and all others to praise God 1. The first of which is His works of power be it the Creation of the World and its Conservation or be they the favours shewed to his Church these are his works And these works of the Lord are great Ver. 2 1. Great not only for variety and beauty 1 Because his works great 1. Of Creation but that also in the least and most base creature his Wisdom admirable his Power wonderful there is nothing that came from his hand which is not very great and greatly to be admired 2. Great 2 Of Election for it was a great work of his to take to himself a people out of another people to make a Covenant with them to them to reveal his promises to give them a Law to settle among them a policy for Church and State c. This was also a great and admirable work 3. Fools and impious men indeed little consider these works Which fools little think of but wise men consider they think not of the Authour and therefore esteem them not much But in the eyes of all wise men they are exquisite works and they are sought out searched into by all them that take pleasure therein That are pleased both with the Authour the work and the use and end of them 2. Ver. 3 The second of these is His work of Wisdom in the governing of those creatures which he hath created 2 His work of wisdom in governing the World his Church which is 1. Honourable and his Church which he hath collected and this his work is 1. Honourable worthy of honour worthy of praise and therefore much more the Authour 2. And glorious Many Princes have done very glorious works but not to be compared to any work of God the Glory Magnificence and Majesty far exceeds them all 2 Glorious 3. 3 Is his work of Justice The third work is that of his Justice He is a righteous God and his righteousness endureth for ever Men may complain that they see wicked men exalted and his servants under the Cross oppressed and afflicted But the judgments and wayes of God may be secret and hid from us unjust they can never be for he never departs from the exact Rule of Justice though we cannot discern it nor search it out 4. 4 His work of mercy His fourth work is a work of mercy of which he would have a Record kept 1. He hath made his wonderful works to be remembred as in the Jewish Feasts Ver. 4 2. And these proceeded from his meer mercy For the Lord is gracious
both great and small whether thou hast raised them to a high degrée of honour or made them vessels of dishonour Thou Lord art that great Lord that hath made both heaven and earth she power in heaven Thou hast reserved to thy self the earth Thou hast given to the children or men that they may inhabit it and be sustained by it By thine own mouth all those who serve thée in fear and reverence are pronounced to be the Blessed of the Lord give then good God to these the dew of heaven and the famess of the earth multiply and increase them more and more both the fathers and their children Of this nothing can deprive us but our abuse and unthankfulness that may make heaven brass and the earth iron under us So touch our hearts then with thy grace that we never receive a blessing but we be as ready to return a blessing that we use not the gift without blessing thée the Doner t is the end we live 't is the end we breath The dead praise thee not for the gifts of the earth because they have no use of them they that go down into the stlent places of the grave are altogether silent for thy swéet dewes and showres wherewith the earth is impregned and fatned because they stand not in néed of any of her supplies We are the men who yet live and draw our breath which must be nourished and sustained by the dugs of this good mother which we will never praw without thankfulness We will bless the Lord while we live upon the earth even from this time to the end of our life and if we could live for ever for evermore Since therefore O merciful Lord Thou hast given the earth for a possession to the sons of men and to that end that there may be upon the earth some to celebrate thy Name we beséech thée to defend thy little flock from the hands of violent men and suffer them not by their rage and fury to be taken from their possessions by a violent and immature death But much more O Lord preserve them from eternal death and damnation in which no man can praise thée and grant unto them that while they live on earth they may live by the life of thy Spirit that both now and for ever as it is their bounden duty they may praise and magnisle thy Name and set forth thy mercies in Iesus Christ our only Lord and Saviour Amen PSAL. CXVI Didascalicus THIS Psalm is gratulatory for it shewes some great straits to which David was brought from which God delivering him he vowes to be thankful The points of this Psalm are three 1. David makes profession of his love and shews the Reasons of it viz. Gods goodness to him in hearing him when he was in a sad condition and helping him from ver 1. to 9. 2. He professeth his duty and faith ver 9 10 11. 3. He vowes to be thankful and in what manner from ver 12. to 19. 1. Deum David diligit He begins with the expression of his content and love I have enough I love the Lord The first part and presently sets down his Reasons 1. Ver. 1 Because he hath heard my voyce and my supplications good reason then to love him Ratio prima That God heard him 2. Because he hath inclined his ear to me a certain evidence that he was heard Upon which certainty and experience of Audience Ver. 2 he infers this protestation Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live Secunda Ratio Amoris auditum in suâ angustiâ 2. Another Reason that moved him to love God and acquiesce in him was That he heard him in his greatest need and extremities which he describes in the next verse Neither can there be any greater for he suffered in body and soul by the sense of Gods wrath which how great they are those only can tell you that have had experience of them 1. The sorrowes of death compassed me even death it self is the King of fear Describet angustias 2. The pains of Hell gat hold upon me He feared the anger of God for his sin and the consequent of that anger 3. Both these brought him into a heavy case many compass'd about with the sorrowes of death living in prosperity they observe it not they consider it not and therefore they nor fear nor grieve But David was sensible of his condition he found where he was and therefore in grief and fear he-professeth I found trouble and sorrow but at last faith seems to conquer them he despairs not For he betakes himself to his old and safe remedy a remedy that never had failed him 1. Then in these sorrowes these pangs these troubles 2. Invocatio refugium I called upon the Name of the Lord Invocation was his sole Refuge 3. And he sets down the very words of his prayer for our use in the like case O Lord I beseech thee deliver my soul i.e. from the sorrowes of death and dangers of hell And then Ostendit quibus fundament is nixus ad Deum fugit oravit viz. that he might shew that he prayed to God in faith and hope he acquaints us upon what ground he did it viz. those Attributes of God of which every one that happens to be in his case hath especial use or else he is not like to find comfort for then no talking of merits of predestination of Enthusiasms in such a case these are no Cordials to a soul under the sense of Gods wrath That which will then comfort any man is to remember and believe what David doth here 1. That God is gracious he inspires prayer and repentance into a man and freely remits sin Dei Attribut is and receives to favour all such as by a lively faith flie to him 2. And righteous and just that will perform what he hath promised and grant an induigence upon those terms that he hath promised 3. Yea our God is merciful he mingles mercy with his justice and though he scourgeth every son that he receives yet 't is with a fathers hand which is more prone to forgive than to punish 4. The Lord preserves the simple i. e. Men sine plicis such simple men as Job was these being without counsel or help he keeps he saves Of which David gives an instance in himself I was brought low and he helped me And the like favour others may find that call upon him on those grounds that I did relying on him because he is gracious righteous and merciful and preserves the simple 3. Another Reason he had to love God was the great rest quiet Tertia Ratio Amoris acquiescentia animi orta ex reconciliatione peace and tranquility he found in his soul after this storm was over and therefore after he had described the Tempest and the means he used for his deliverance out of it viz. Faith and Invocation and found them effectual
both may very well stand together 1. Ver. 7 Let my soul live not only a natural but a spiritual life which is properly the life of the soul and the way to that life which is eternal 2. And it shall praise thee which should be the especial work of the soul here and shall be the great employment in Heaven 3. And let thy judgments help me Let thy judgments which I have kept be a comfort unto me and help me when I appear before thy Tribunal For I know thou wilt judge every man according to his works 4. He relies not on his obedience And yet David relies not on these he knew his works were not perfect and therefore in the last verse 1. He confesseth his Errours 2. Desires mercy 3. And protests his obedience 1. 1 For he confesseth his errours I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost Erravi I learned it from Adam his corrupt nature adheres to me hath and doth seduce me and I yet to my grief follow it so much I confess against my self notwithstanding all my sincerity all my diligence my seeking purpose resolution to keep thy Law Erroris medicina est confessio 1. But yet my errour hath been out of infirmity and simplicity I have erred as a sheep not as the Devil maliciously nor as a roaring Lyon malapertly and presumptuously proudly 2. But yet my errours have carried far from the Fold I am that lost sheep Luke 15. 2. 2 Asks mercy And upon it I petition for mercy O seek thy servant Thou which art the great Pastour that leftest the ninty nine feeding in the Wilderness to seek that sheep that wander'd from thee come thou Lord and by thy grace bring me home again seek me for by thy grace I seek thee 3. 3 Yet protests his service I seek thee where by thy grace I hope to find thee in a sincere obedidience to thy Will Seek me who am thy servant for I forget not thy Commandments Though I have fallen yet there remains some grace in me transgressed I confess I have yet I have not fallen into a full oblivion of thy Will as David was quickned by the Word so by it he is conserved when he fell the Word wakened him when wounded the Word cured him if at any time he resisted the Word armed him it went then well with him so long as he did not forget the Word The Prayer IT is thy Command O Lord that we ask séek and knock and thy promise is to give and open to such Ver. 1 in obedience to which thy Command I have so often sollicited thée and with servour of spirit and importunity of soul approached unto thy Throne of grace Let my cry O Lord come near before thee and my supplication be admitted in thy sight Ver. 2 and as I often have importuned thée make me wise not according to the methods of worldly wisdom but according to the rule of thy Word deliver me from the power of sin and malice of Satan I have chosen thy precepts and made thy Law my delight as well knowing that without the observation thereof I cannot hope for salvation This Lord I long for let thine hand then help me that I may fulfil thy Commandments and by my obedience come to everlasting life O spare me a little before I go hence and be no more seen but throughout that little remainder of my life let my soul live the life of grace then I shall praise thée then shall my lips utter and proclaim the equity of thy commands then shall my tongue intreat of thy Word even to the edification of others and make it known That thy Commandments are righteousness and of force to those who will take héed to them to reform all iniquity When I shall appear before thy Tribunal let thy judgments help me and when every man shall be judged according to his works let it be a comfort unto me that I have had a regard to thy Word in all my wayes This Lord I plead but not for my justification for many are my aberrations from thy Law I have gone astray like a lost sheep my corrupt nature hath seduced me and I have followed it O miserable man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death Thou which art the great Shepherd that leftest the ninty nine in the Wilderness to séek that shéep which wander'd from thy Fold come Lord and by thy grace bring me home again séek me for by thy Spirit I séek unto thée and however in simplicity and 〈◊〉 I shall still erre yet by thy assistance maliciously and presumptiously I will no◠offend O Lord kéep me in the right way and write thy Law so 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 memory and heart that I may bear a great affection to and 〈…〉 Commandments Reclaim me from sin and make me obedient to thy Word for thy mercy-sake which thou hast fréely made known and fréely given to the World in thy Son Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen Of the fifteen following Psalmes called Hammahaloth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Psalmes of Ascension or Degrees WHY the fifteen Psalmes following bear this Title it is not certainly known many conjectures there are of which the most likely are these 1. The first is of Rabbi David Kimchi and it is most generally received that there were fifteen steps by which the Priests ascended into the Temple upon every one of which the Priests standing sung one of these Psalms ascending by degrees from the lowest step to the highest and for this Reason these were called Psalms of Ascension or Degrees 2. A second opinion is that of Lyranus which is near to the former for he speaks not of the steps of the Temple but of a higher and more eminent place of the Temple where the Levites were wont to sing these fifteen Psalms daily and for this he conceives they were called Ascensions or Psalms of Degrees because they ascended unto that place to sing them 3. Rabbi Saadias conceives That Mahuloth had reference to a kind of Musick or Melody and when the word signifies an Ascent he supposeth that the Levites were thereby admonished that when they sang these Psalms they should sing with a full high voyce a degree higher than usual 4. Abenezra refers not these to the intention of the voyce in singing but to some Tune then commonly known to which these Psalmes were set 5. Some say they were set to be sung by the Jews when they came out of Captivity from Babylon and ascended to Jerusalem But this is not likely if David was the Author of them as is generally received More likely it is that they were composed to be sung by the way when they went up to the Temple yearly For they ascended with a Pipe Bellarmine hath this Moral of it that we ought still to ascend and be mounting upward from vertue to vertue or from one degree of vertue to another till we come to