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-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-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
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
that set not their heart aright and whose spirit was not stedfast with God 8. And take warning by the punishments inflicted on them not to imitate the ingratitude of their Forefathers who were not onely a refractory generation but so fickle that they fell off from God to the worship of Idols presently after they came out of Egypt For they did not lay to heart what He had done for them and so were never rightly disposed to his service or if in a good fit they were inclined to it they soon revolted from Him 9. The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battel 9. What could be more shamefull then their base refusal to go and ingage the Canaanites when they were so well appointed for the fight and were commanded by God in whose power they had no confidence to go up and take possession of the Land I. Deut. 26. unless it were their foul cowardise when they did ingage them against his command I. Deut. 43 44. and the Ephraimites themselves though a valiant Tribe and excellent Archers ran away and were chased in a shamefull manner by their enemies 10. They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law 10. For they brake their word with God who therefore would not be with them XIV Numb 43. and would not be governed by his will but by their own 11. And forgat his works and his wonders that he had shewed them 11. Never thinking of the illustrious works which their eyes had seen and so distrusting his power notwithstanding all the Miracles whereby He had demonstrated the greatness of it to them 12. Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt in the field of Zoan 12. Nor were the next Generation any better though the memory was then fresh of that heap of wonders which their Fathers saw him doe publickly not in a corner but in all the Land of Egypt yea in and about the principal City of the Kingdom 13. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through and he made the waters to stand as an heap 13. From whence when He had delivered them and they were in great distress at the red Sea He made it give way to them that they might walk through it on dry ground the fluid waters swelling into little hills XV. Exod. 8. which stood like a solid wall on either hand to secure them in that dangerous passage XIV Exod. 22. 14. In the day-time also he led them with a cloud and all the night with a light of fire 14. Through which He conducted them as He did at all other times by a glorious Cloud whose dark side served also in the day-time for a shadow from the scorching rays of the Sun and its bright side in the night for a torch to guide them when they travelled or if they rested to light them in their Tents 15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as out of the great depths 15. And when they wanted water in the wilderness He brought it out of the Rocks which He commanded Moses to smite more then once first at Rephidim XVII Exod. 6. and then in Kadesh XX. Numb 8 11. And they had it in such plenty both for themselves and their cattel as if it had been a great pond or lake 16. He brought streams also out of the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers 16. And yet it was no standing but a flowing water which ran continually out of the dry Rock as out of its Fountain in several streams or rather like unto Rivers which followed them in their travels 17. And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness 17. But all these miraculous works did not alter their depraved Nature which broke out into new and greater provocations in that very place where without the singular Providence of their most high Benefactour they had all been starved 18. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust 18. For they were not content with the bountifull provision which he had made for them XVI Exod. but muttered within themselves against Him And wisht if He was so powerfull and kind as was pretended that He would give them a new proof of it by sending them meat to satisfie their wanton appetite 19. Yea they spake against God they said Can God furnish a table in the wilderness 19. And at last they openly declared that distrust of his power which was in their hearts saying Is God able to make us a feast here in this barren wilderness XI Numb 4 5 c. 20. Behold he smote the rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed can he give bread also can he provide flesh for his people 20. It is true He hath brought water out of a Rock for us in great abundance which perhaps was lodged there before in the caverns of it and might have flowed out of it self but can he give us more substantial bread not such light stuff as this Manna is which He also hath sent us XI Numb 6. here where no corn grows and make an ample provision for all this multitude of such flesh as this place doth not afford 21. Therefore the LORD heard this and was wroth so a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also came up against Israel 21. Which rude and insolent language highly incensed the Divine displeasure so that He sent lightning from heaven XI Numb 1. to consume those whom He had before cherished and He resolved also to punish them more severely before He had done with them Ver. 33. 22. Because they believed not in God and trusted not in his salvation 22. Because they had so mean an opinion of Him that they durst not confide in Him and commend themselves to his good providence to preserve and conduct them safe to Canaan 23. Though he had commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven 23. No not after such extraordinary benefits as they had received from Him for He had undertaken in a miraculous manner as is fit to be more particularly remembred to dispense food to them from above and to make the clouds their granary whose doors he opened to them 24. And had rained down manna upon them to eat and had given them of the corn of heaven 24. And instead of rain to make the earth with long labour become fruitfull to send showers of Manna out of the air XVI Exod. 4. which was a kind of Corn ready prepared for them XI Numb 8 9. 25. Man did eat angels food he sent them meat to the full 25. There was not a man among that vast multitude but was fed with that strong and hearty or rather princely food brought to them from the habitation and by the ministry of Angels This was their daily entertainment as long as their travels in the wilderness
a form of justice and under the colour and pretext of law make them miserable 21. They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent bloud 21. They assemble themselves together and in full council combine to destroy the righteous upon whom they pass a solemn sentence though he be perfectly guiltless to lose his life 22. But the LORD is my defence and my God is the rock of my refuge 22. But this doth not discourage me whose case this is let them decree what they please and be too hard for all laws the Lord who hates unrighteousness will be my defence He who hath been long very gracious to me I am confident will secure me from their violence 23. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness yea the LORD our God shall cut them off 23. And more then that retort it upon themselves for the mischief they intended against me shall fall upon their own head He shall cut them off in their own wicked contrivances though it be not in our power yet the Lord our God who hath undertaken the patronage of those that confide in Him shall cut them off PSALM XCV ARGUMENT This Psalm likewise is without any Title in the Hebrew but the Greeks call it A Psalm of David because the Apostle to the Hebrews cites a passage out of it under his Name IV. 7. Though that it must be confessed is no concluding Argument of its being composed by him because it is usual to call the whole Five Books by the name of the Psalms of David when it is certain he did not make them all but onely the greater part Whoever was the Authour it looks as if it were intended to be a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or solemn invitation of the people when they were all assembled together on the Sabbath or some publick occasion to praise the Lord their God and hear instructions out of his Law And is justly imployed still by the Church in the entrance of our Morning Service for the very same purpose For it plainly relates to the days of Christ as the Jews confess and the Apostle proves III. IV. to the Hebrews where he demonstrates to them of that Nation that the Rest here spoken of could not be merely that in the Land of Canaan which their Forefathers fell short of by their disobedience to God in the Wilderness but another far better into which they in that day were to be brought by the Messiah a far greater Captain of Salvation then Joshua And therefore it concerned them then he shews above all other times to take care they did not harden their hearts against Him when He came to invite them to a participation of the greatest blessedness but entertain his holy Gospel with a chearfull and joyfull obedience to it Theodoret is of opinion that it was particularly designed for the times of Josiah when he made that notable reformation which we reade of 2 Chron. XXXIV XXXV and called them from the worship of Idols to the service of the true God But it could never be more properly used by that Nation then when the Lord Christ came to call them to repentance 1. O Come let us sing unto the LORD let us make a joyfull noise to the rock of our salvation 1. OStir up your selves all ye that are come hither to worship the Lord and with united affections let us chearfully sing his praises Let us lift up our voices and triumphantly laud the Authour of all the good we enjoy and in whom we may safely confide for ever 2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyfull noise unto him with psalms 2. Let us approach into his presence with thankfull hearts to acknowledge the benefits we have received from Him and devoutly proclaim with triumphant hymns what a joy it is to us that we may address our selves unto Him 3. For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods 3. For the Lord is infinitely powerfull and hath a sovereign authority not onely over all the Princes on the earth but all the Angels and principalities in heaven 4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth the strength of the hills is his also 4. All those Treasures are in his possession which lie in the deepest and most secret parts of the earth whither none of our Monarchs can extend their power and the loftiest hills which none but the clouds can touch are part of his dominion 5. The sea is his and he made it and his hands formed the dry land 5. The Sea also obeys Him alone who hath an unquestionable title to it and to all the rest of his wide Empire for He made both it and the dry Land with all the things contained therein 6. O come let us worship and bow down let us kneel before the LORD our maker 6. O be not backward then to comply with this renewed invitation but let us all with the lowest prostrations devoutly adore his Majesty Let it not suffice us to doe it once but again let us with humble reverence bow both our bodies and souls in token of our subjection to Him Let us fall on our knees and submissively acknowledge the duty we owe to the great Lord who gave us our Being 7. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand to day if ye will hear his voice 7. Which we above all people have reason to doe because He hath a peculiar relation to us and kindness for us providing for all our wants most liberally and continually defending us from all dangers O that you would therefore without delay listen to Him and be obedient to the voice of your Creatour Conserver and Benefactour who calls upon you most graciously by his own Son III. Heb. 6 7. IV. 7 saying 8. Harden not your heart as in the provocation and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness 8. Lay to heart what I have done for you and be not so stupidly insensible as your Fathers were at that place whose Name Meribah and Massah preserves the memory of their provoking strife with Moses and temptation of God in the Wilderness XVII Exod. 2 7. 9. When your fathers tempted me proved me and saw my work 9. When they doubted of my power and demanded new proofs of my presence among them XVII Exod. 7. though they had seen my wonderfull works in their late deliverance at the red Sea and in making the bitter waters sweet and sending them bread from heaven Exod. XIV XV. XVI 10. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said It is a people that do erre in their heart and they have not known my ways 10. Nor did they then cease their discontented murmurings and distrust of me but continued their stubborn infidelity vexing nay tiring my patience for the space of
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.
and the King of Gerar XX. 3 c. to prevent the mischief which they were designing to them 15. Saying Touch not mine anointed and doe my prophets no harm 15. For He told them these were sacred persons whom He designed to make greater men then themselves and therefore charged them not to burt them but to honour them not merely as Princes XXIII Gen. 6. but as Prophets XX. 7. by whose prayers they should receive great blessings if they were kind to them 16. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land he brake the whole staff of bread 16. And when in the days of Jacob He punished the Land of Canaan as well as other Countries with such a dearth XLI Gen. 54 c. that the earth brought forth no kind of grain for the support of humane life 17. He sent a man before them even Joseph who was sold for a servant 17. He took a special care in a most wonderfull way to provide both for him and for his family for Joseph whom his Brethren first conspired to destroy but afterward were diverted from their purpose and onely sold for a slave was brought into Egypt by the secret Counsel of God XLV Gen. 5 7 c. to be the instrument of their preservation 18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters he was laid in iron 18. He was oppressed indeed for a long time by a most grievous calumny which was a sorer affliction to him then the chains and fetters that were at first laid upon him in prison 19. Vntill the time that his word came the word of the LORD tried him 19. Till mention at last was made of him to Pharaoh by one of his Officers who related how exactly Joseph predicted what had befaln him and another of his Fellow-servants as if he were a man inspired XL. Gen. 21 22. XLI 12 13. 20. The king sent and loosed him even the ruler of the people and let him go free 20. Whereupon the King presently sent for him XLI Gen. 14. that great Prince whose Dominion extended over many Provinces commanded him to be set at liberty 21. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance 21. And received such satisfaction from him about his dream which none of his Wise men could interpret that he not onely wholly discharged him from his imprisonment but made him the chief Officer in the Court and under himself the supreme Governour of his whole Kingdom XLI Gen. 40 41. 22. To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his senatours wisedom 22. Yea intrusted him with an absolute power to command all the Rulers of his several Provinces what he pleased and to punish their disobedience according to his discretion The most ancient and wisest Counsellours in the Realm were ordered to repair to him and to doe nothing without his Instructions XLI Gen. 44. 23. Israel also came into Egypt and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 23. By which great Authority he procured not onely the leave but the invitation of Pharaoh XLV Gen. 16 17 c. to his Father to come and bring all his Family with him into Egypt and accordingly he came and dwelt in the best part of all the Country XLVI Gen. 26 28. 24. And he increased his people greatly and made them stronger then their enemies 24. Where according to his promise when He bad Jacob accept that invitation XLVI Gen. 3 4. the Lord multiplied them exceedingly I. Exod. 7. and made them mightier then the Egyptians I. Exod. 9. who of Friends were now become their Enemies 25. He turned their heart to hate his people to deal subtilly with his servants 25. For the kinder God was to the Israelites and the more He increased their Numbers the greater jealousie it begat in the heart of the Egyptians which turned at last into an absolute hatred of them and provoked their malice to invent the cruellest ways first to diminish I. Exod. 10 11 c. and then to destroy them Ver. 15 16. 26. He sent Moses his servant and Aaron whom he had chosen 26. This moved the Divine compassion when He saw their oppression grew intolerable to give commission to Moses whom He had in an extraordinary manner preserved from perishing III. Exod. 10. and to Aaron whom He chose to be his Assistant IV. Exod. 15. to go and demand their liberty of Pharaoh IV. Exod. 23. V. 1. 27. They shewed his signs among them and wonders in the land of Ham. 27. And he disputing their Commission and refusing to let Israel go they proved it and perswaded him to obey it by many miraculous works which God commanded them to doe as tokens that He had sent them 28. He sent darkness and made it dark and they rebelled not against his word 28. Among which the pitchy darkness which overspread the whole Land three days except onely where the Israelites dwelt was a very remarkable punishment of Pharaoh's blindness who would not see the hand of God in all those other plagues which Moses and Aaron not fearing his displeasure but pursuing their orders had inflicted on him 29. He turned their waters into bloud and slew their fish 29. As first of all the Lord commanded them to stretch their hand upon all the waters of Egypt which He turned into bloud and made them so putrid that the fish which was in the river died VII Exod. 20 21. 30. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance in the chambers of their kings 30. And at the next stroke produced such a vast number of frogs out of the stinking waters and mudd that not onely the whole earth was covered with them but no house no room in their houses no not the Cabinets of their King and his Princes were free from their annoyance VIII Exod. 3 6. 31. He spake and there came divers sorts of flies and lice in all their coasts 31. And then followed an infinite swarm of the most pestilent sort of flies see Psal LXXVIII 45. after a troublesome and filthy plague of lice which had infested all the Country VIII Exod. 17 24. 32. He gave them hail for rain and flaming fire in their land 32. Which was succeeded after a murrain upon their Cattel and a fiery ulcer on their own bodies by a dreadfull storm of hail when fruitfull showrs of rain were most desirable together with such lightning as was never seen for it ran upon the ground and burnt up all that was not destroyed by the hail IX Exod. 23 24 c. 33. He smote their vines also and their fig-trees and brake the trees of their coasts 33. Which not onely struck down the grapes and the figgs but shattered the vines and fig-trees themselves together with many other fruit-trees in the Land 34. He spake and the locusts came and caterpillers and that without number 34. And whatsoever escaped this tempestuous storm for some things were not then grown up IX Exod. 31. was not long after devoured by an innumerable army
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