part haue no Commission to commend that reading vnto you Vers 6. Yet haue I set my King vpon my holy Hill of Sion As much to say as notwithstanding all this maugre the Folly and Fury and Vproares of the People maugre the Wit and Pollicy and Cunning of the Magistrate I God the Father the First Person in Trinity Vncreate Incomprehensible Eternall Almighty maker of Heauen and Earth and of all things Visible and Invisible and disposer of all things to their truest ends Haue set my King that is my holy One my beloued Sonne in whom I am so well pleased vpon Sion to wit the Church vpon my holy Hill of Sion my holy Catholike Church For p Aug. in Joh. Tract 115. Sion ille Mons ille non est de hoc Mundo This Sion and this Hill is not of this world Quod est enim eius Regnum nisi Credentes in eum Non ait Nunc autem Reguum meum non est hîc sed non est hînc For what is his Kingdome p Aug. in Joh. Tract 115. saith S. Austen but those that beleeue in him He saith not My Kingdome is not hêre but my Kingdome is not hence Concerning the Hill of Sion there is much speech in holy Scripture The Hill of Sion q Ps 48.2 saith our Prophet in another place is a faire place and the ioy of the whole earth vpon the North side lieth the City of the great King God is well knowne in her Palaces as a sure refuge Againe r Ps 68.15 As the Hill of Basan so is Gods Hill even an high Hill as the Hill of Basan Why hop yee so yee high Hills This is Gods Hill in the which it pleaseth him to dwell yea the Lord will abide in it for ever And yet againe Å¿ Ps 78.68 He refused the Tabernacle of Ioseph and chose not the Tribe of Ephraim but chose the Tribe of Iuda euen the Hill of Sion which he loued And there he builded his Temple on high and laid the foundation of it like the ground which he hath made continually Now it is here said that the Lord hath placed his Annointed vpon this Hill of Sion for that Sion and Ierusalem were the very first places in the World from whence this Gospell did first beginne Come yee t Esay 2.3 saith the Prophet Esay and let vs goe vp to the Mountaine of the Lord to the House of the God of Iacob and he will teach vs of his waies and we wil walke in his Paths for out of Sion shall goe forth hâ—â— Law the Word of the Lord from Ierusalem It is called here Holy Hill or in regard of that peculiar presence which the Lord at that time afforded to it like as he said to Moses u Exod. 3.5 The place whereon thou standest is holy Ground or in regard of the Temple and divine worship therein exercised like as Ierusalem is tearmed The holy City both by x Esay 48.2 Esay the Prophet and by y Mat. 4.5 S. Mathew Vers 7. I will preach the Law whereof the Lord hath said vnto me Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee The Prophet in the Verse before declared vnto vs what the Father said of the Sonne concerning the Kingdome in this Verse he declareth concerning the said Kingdome what it is the Sonne himselfe saith Which is thus much in effect I for my part shall bee farre from opposing force to force I will not seeke humaine helpes and encounter in like sort with the Folly or Fury or Pollicy of mine Enemies I will only rely on that Word which the Lord hath said concerning me and it shall bee powerfull enough against all resistance Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee This Word this Law this Decree of God aboue is powerfull enough and much more sharpe then any two edged Sword It is mighty through God to the pulling downe of strong bolds z 1. Pet. 1.24 Al Flesh is as Grasse and all the glory of Man as the Flowre of Grasse the Grasse withereth and the Flowre thereof falleth away but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever Concerning the words here Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee the Arrians laid hold vpon them to impugne therby the Eternity of our Saviour all for because forsooth mention is here made of Hodie this day Wherevpon S. Austen Quid me stimulas Arriane rides cum audis hodie Arrian a Aug. de quinque Haeresib c. 4. saith S. Austen why dost thou iog me on the elbowe and laughest in thy sleeue when thou hearest these words This day Why man with God it is neuer to Morrow nor Yesterday but alwaies this Day The Yeare is not turned about with the Circles of the Months the Month is not passed ouer with Daies that are still comming and still going the Houres are not changed the Times and Moments are not altered the Day is not finished with bonds limits nor begun with any beginning Againe in his Confessions speaking vnto God Thy Yeares b Aug. Confess l. 11. c. 13. saith he nether come nor goe but these of ours both goe and come that all at length may come All thy Yeares are altogither and all for because they are nor they that goe are excluded from them that come because they passe not but these of ours shall all of them bee when as all shal not be Thy Yeares are one Day and thy Day is not Quotidie every Day but Hodie this Day because thy Hodiè this Day giues not place vnto to Morrow the reason is for that it succeeded not Yesterday Thy Hodiè this Day is no whit lesse then Eternity it selfe and therefore thou didst beget one Coeternall to thy selfe whenas thou saidst This Day haue I begotten thee And yet againe in another place The Baptisme of Christ c Aug. Enchirid. ad Laurent c. 49 saith S. Austen is not in water only as was the Baptisme of Iohn but also in the Holy Ghost that whosoeuer beleeues in Christ might bee regenerated by that Spirit by whom Christ being regenerated needed no Regeneration Wherevpon that voice of the Father that came vnto him at his Baptisme This day haue I begotten thee pointed not out that one Day of time wherein he was Baptized but that of immutable Eternity thereby to shew that his being a Man pertained to the Person of his only Begotten For where the Day is nether begun with the end of a former nor is ended with the beginning of any that followeth there is alwaies This Day There are that d Vid. D. Boys Festiv Thursd in Easter week interprete these Words Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee of the day of our Saviours Incarnation the Apostle S. Paul he interpreteth it of the Day of his Resurrection e Act. 13.33 We i saith he declare vnto you glad Tidings how that the Promise
not escape which have zeale without knowledge what shall become of us which have knowledge without zeale And you whosoever you are that by such meanes have decayed the Lords house and abridged the provision and maintenance thereof and see the miserable wrack of Gods Church if there be any zeale of God in you if you have any fellowship of the spirit if any compassion and mercy if you love God if you desire the continuance of the Gospell Oh remember you have the Patrimonie due unto them that should attend in the Lords house You take unto your selves wrongfully that which was not lotted for you Give unto Caesar those things which belong to Caesar and unto God the things which appertaine to him and make for the beautie furniture of his house Enrich your selves by lawfull meanes without the spoile and wast of Gods Church Let not the Ministery by your meanes be despised you enriched them which mocked blinded and devoured you spoile not them now that feed and instruct and comfort you Let us seek the glory of God let us at length serve the Lord and not our belly and greedie wantonnesse So shall God blesse you and prosper you in all your affaires so shall he strike a terrour of you into all forraigne Princes that dwell about you so shall your heart be kept stedfast in the hand of God so shall your heart be perfect before the Lord so shall you leave such as shall alwaies praise the Lord in Sion so shall you see your childrens children and peace upon Jsrael And thou ô most mercifull Father grant that thy words be not spoken in vain in is thy cause Thou art our Father we are as clay in thine hands Thou hast the key of our hearts give zeale to them that have knowledge give knowledge to them that have zeale that they may be enflamed and ravished with the love of thy house to sorrow for the decay thereof and to doe all their endeavour to build up and establish the same for ever AMEN FINIS PSAL. I. Beatus Vir. 1 BLessed is the man that hath not walked in the Counsel of the Vngodly nor stand in the way of sinners and hath not sit in the seate of the scornfull 2 But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his Law will he exercise himselfe day and night 3 And he shall be like a Tree planted by the water side that will bring forth his fruit in due season 4 His leaf also shall not wither and looke whatsoever he doth it shall prosper 5 As for the Vngodly it is not so with them but they are like the Chaff which the wind scattereth away from the face of the earth 6 Therefore the Vngodly shall not be able to stand in the iudgement neither the Sinners in the Congregation of the Righteous 7 But the Lord knoweth the way of the Righteous and the way of the Vngodly shall perish THE ANALYSIS THis First and Formost Psalme be it but an Introduction to the rest as some will haue it or a Psalme it selfe and one of the rest as all in a manner are of opinion certaine it is that as it yeelds vs good Instruction so was it framed to that purpose In the which the Psalmist endeauouring to describe the Felicity of the Godly he both prôposeth vnto vs and ôpposeth betweene themselues the Godly and the Wicked Concerning the Godly he declares vnto vs their Condition their Reward Their Condition in that abhorring Impiety as it is in the First Verse they follow religious courses as it is in the Second Their Reward in that they participate of the manifold Blessings of God as the same Blessings are intimated to vs in the Third and Fourth Verses Concerning the Wicked he proclaymes vnto vs both their State their End their State in the Fift Verse their End in the Sixt which State and End of theirs to be most miserable he prooueth from the Day of Iudgement and that in the Seauenth and last Verse And thus much briefly of the a Concerning this Analysis as also all the rest they are for the most part taken out of Huldericus Herlinus his Analises Synopticae printed 1603. Analysis or Resolution of the whole Psalme into those severall Parts whereof it doth consist Come we now to the word◠themselues verse by verse and let vs rub them as S. Austen b Aug. de Verb. Dom. Ser. 14. speakes like Eares of Corne in our hand Vt ad latentia grana perveniamus that so we may come to the wheat that lies hid in those words as it were in the husk VErs 1. Blessed is the Man that hath not walked in the counsel of the Vngodly nor stand in the way of Sinners and hath not sit in the seate of the Scornfull It was Pindarus his c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pind. Od. 6. obseruation that in beginning any worke the Forefront thereof should bee made glittering and glorious And I may truely say of this First Psalme whether we respect the Psalme in generall or the very first word of it in particular it is most glittering most glorious Blessed is the Man Quà m aptum quà m opportunum principium d Ambros in hunc Psal saith St Ambrose how meet and convenient a beginning For as they saith he that take vpon them to exhibit Games are wont to propose a Reward and the Excellency of a Crowne that they which come to the Games may striue the more earnestly to obtaine the same so our Lord Iesus Christ hath proposed the Glory of an heauenly Kingdome the benefit of perpetuall Rest the Blessednesse of eternall Life to the best endeauours of men And as a Generall saith he going to warfar promiseth a Donatiue to the Souldier and Promotions to his Captaines Vt spes commodi furetur laborem metum abscondat periculi that the hope of gaine may both steale away their labour from them and hide and conceale the feare of any danger that may betide them so Dauid as the Herald of that great Generall exhorteth the Souldiers calls the Combatants to the Lists and proposeth the Reward in these words Blessed is the Man which hath not walked in the Counsel of the Vngodly A Praemio coepit vt pondu◠futuri certaminis eleuaret He begins with the Reward to make the burthen of that which they should afterwards endure the lighter He proposeth the wages that every man leaping over in his heart the troubles and vexations of these present worldly affaires should contend with most speedy desire to the happinesse of things to come Blessed saith he is the Man and what could more be giuen to Man then which nothing greater by the Apostle himselfe could be giuen vnto God For God is called by the e 1. Tim. 6.15 Apostle the Blessed and only potentate and King of Kings and Lord of Lords Beatitudinis tamen non supergreditur potestatem and yet for all that God goes not
may haue as it were one foot in the water and be ever drinking all the yeare long especially in a dry season Secondly where it is said He shall be like in the Future Tence the Future in this place signifies the Future and Present Tence both It is like the Lawyers Oportebit Verbum Oportebit tam praesens quà m futurum tempus significat The word Oportebit i De Verb. signif nu 8. say they signifies aswell the Present as it doth the Future Tence So that He shall bee like in this place signifies indeed that like he is already and then he Is and shall be too what is it but a continuance in that happy estate of his without any intermission at all Thirdly whereas he is likened to a Tree that will bring forth his Fruit it is apparent that here he is likened to a Fruitfull Tree And not only here but elsewhere for seldome or never shall wee read in Scriptures that a Godly man is likened to any other And therefore S. Iohn the Baptist l Mat. 3.10 Now the Axe is laid vnto the root of the Tree therefore every Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewen downe and cast into the fire Concerning the Fruitlesse Tree it is the Masters question in the Gospell m Luc. 13.7 Why cumbreth it the ground And though the Dresser of the Vineyard make answere for it Lord let it alone this yeare also till I shall dagge about it and doung it yet his Conclusion there is to shew his Iustice aswell as Mercy If it beare not this yeare then after that thou shalt cut it downe The Fruitlesse Figtree had not such respite but in a moment in a tryce in the twinckling of an eye n Mat. 21.19 Let no fruit grow on thee hence forward for ever And presently the Fig-tree withered away Fourthly this Fruit here specified must be in due season to that is such as is ripe and rellishing and of a good and wholsome tast Behold o Esay 28.16 saith the Lord in Esay I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation he that beleeueth shall not make hast Indeed as Liuy p Liu. Dec. 3. l. 2. speakes Festinatio improvida est caeca Hast or speed hath no foresight but is blind and as we vsually say in our English Proverb Hast makes Wast so Hast in this case makes wast of Faith therfore those Seeds that made such hast to spring vp because they had no deepnesse of earth our Saviour q Mat. 13.5 sheweth how they were scorched and withered away because they had not root I verily thinke r Senec. de Tranquill. Vit. l. 1. c. 1. saith Seneca that many might haue attained to wisdome indeed but that they thought themselues sure of it to to soone and it was an excellent Å¿ Hist of Spain translated by Mr Grimst l. 28. p. 1069. saying of Charles the fift in his Instructions to his Sonne that Wise men must not disdaine to goe forwards by insensible degrees for so saith he the Sun goeth about the whole World But of this kind of argument I spake of in the Verse going before Fiftly and lastly the Season here specified is not so to be taken as if now very now were not a seasonable time of bringing forth some Fruit. Euer since we haue had the meanes to come to the knowledge of sauing Trueth the Time and Season hath bene to Vs nor can any man make excuse that he hath not heard of the Gospell of Christ For as the Apostle in like case t Rom. 10.18 Haue they not heard Yes verely their sound went into all the Earth and their words vnto the ends of the World So may we say of all Christians that as many as haue but heard the Word at any time preached to them are answerable for the bringing forth of such Fruit as will be required at their hands Verse 4. His Leafe also shall not wither and looke whatsoeuer he doth it shall prosper Hauing done with the Fruit he commeth now to the Leaues of the Tree which Nature that doth nothing in vaine hath not placed in Trees to no purpose Some be for Shade some for Medicine and some as Pliny u Plin. Nat. Hist l. 16. c. 24. obserueth may be giuen as fodder to Beasts All for Ornament insomuch that the Poet obserues that Trees without Leaues are as x Et Foliis viduantur Orni Horat. Carm. l. 2. Od. 9. Widows The same y Plin. Ib. c. 22. Pliny relateth that all Trees except some that he had named before whereof the Date Tree was one doe loose their Leaues in Winter and he tells of some of a wilde sort that be greene all the Yeare long but then are they fruitlesse Trees as the Firre the Iuniper the Cedar the Box the Holly the Yew and so forth But seeing it is said of the Godly man here that His Leafe shal not wither let vs see what that Leafe may be Some thinke by Leaues in this Verse the Godly mans Words should be vnderstood as his Workes in the Verse before and there is indeed the same correspondence betweene Fruit and Leaues that is betweene Works and Words Howbeit me thinkes it is more probable to say with z Tremell in hunc Ps others that as in the Verse before His plantation by the water side might signifie his Regeneration in Christ who is indeed the water of Life His bringing forth fruit in due season his Sanctification so in this Verse The not withering of his Leafe what should it be but his Constancy his Stedfastnes his Perseuerance to the end For hee it is that shall be saued as a Mat. 10.22.24.13 speakes our Sauiour once and againe Or if Leaues be taken here for his temporall estate his worldly Goods and so forth euen these also may be said not absolutely to wither if so be they be taken away which in good and convenient time may bee as b Iob. 42.12 Iobs Goods were restored to him againe He that nombreth the c Mat. 10.30 Haires of our head so that not d Act. 27.34 one of them shal fall nombreth these Leaues to And that which St Austen e Aug. Confess l. 7. c. 6. saith of Providence in general that the World is gouerned thereby Vsque ad Arborum volatica Folia to the very Leaues that fell from Trees may be applyed to the Godly man in this case that the least little belongs vnto him is not despised or vnregarded with God Whereas it is here added And look whatsoeuer he doth it shall prosper First for the Word Looke as much as Ecce Behold I graunt it is not in the Originall nor yet in the Greeke or Septuagint no nor yet in the last Traâ—slation nor in that other that was before yet being in a Translation that was before both these I mean a Translation
4 He that dwelleth in heauen shall laugh them to scorne the Lord shall haue them in derision 5 Then shall he speake vnto them in his wrath and vexe them in his sore displeasure 6 Yet haue I set my King vpon my holy hill of Sion 7 I will preach the Law whereof the Lord hath said vnto me Thou art my Sonne this day haue I begotten thee 8 Desire of me and I shall giue thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the vttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession 9 Thou shalt bruise them with a Rod of iron breake them in peeces like a Potters vessell 10 Be wise now therefore Oye Kings be learned ye that are Iudges of the Earth 11 Serue the Lord in feare and reioyce vnto him with reuerence 12 Kisse the Sonne least he be angry and so ye perish from the right way if his wrath be kindled yea but a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him THE ANALYSIS THis Psalme is one of those Three that besides the ordinary saying of it the first day of the Moneth is appointed to be read in the Church at Morning Prayer on Easter day Why it was selected to that purpose we shall perceiue by the Annotations and especially the Annotation at the end of this Psalme In the meane time supposing this Psalme to be meant of our Sauiours Kingdome let vs consider Verse by Verse the Prophets Method in this Psalme The Prophet then after the Description of the Enterprises of the Wicked against that Kingdome First in the Peoples opposition and that in the First Verse Secondly in the Counsailes and Endeauours of the Magistrates and that in the Second and Third Verses he obserueth two points First he proposeth to them certaine Conclusions Secondly he dealeth friendly with them by way of perswasion The Conclusions he proposeth are partly in respect of the Lord and things to bee done by his power partly in respect of Men and things to be taught them by the Gospell The things to be done by the Lordâ— power are First that he litle reckoneth of these their Attempts and that in the Fourth Verse Secondly that in time he would crush them euery one and that in the â—ift Verse The things that by the Gospell are to be taught vnto men are that Christ being a King appointed by the Lord himselfe as it is in the Sixt Verse the Lord first proclaimed it to the whole World as it is in the Seuenth aâ—d then endowed him with the Possession of it as it is in the Eight and Ninth Verses At length descending to perswasion he dealeth with the Magistrates whom it principalâ—y concerned to be wiser then the rest and that in the Tenth Verse First that they would presently serue the Lord as it is in the Eleuenth Verse Secondly his Anointed that is his onely begotten Sonne Christ Iesus whom in his owne sâ—eed he had placed ouer them as it is in the Twelfth and last Verse a Hyper. de Rat. Stud Theol. l. 2. c. 27. Obseruat 3. Hyperius makes this whole Psalme as it were a kinde of Dialogue wherein are many Speakers First the Prophet Secondly the Wicked Thirdly God the Father Fourthly and lastly God the Sonne First the Prophet he begins by way of Admiration and that in the First Verse then by way of Narration and that in the Second The Wicked they speake tumultuously and that in the Third The Prophet he replyes and that in the Fourth and Fift Verses God the Father in the Sixt God the Son in the Seauenth God the Father againe in the Eight and Ninth The Prophet againe by way of Exhortation in the Tenth Eleuenth and Twelfth Verses And thus much of the Analysis VErse 1. Why doe the Heathen so furiously râ—ge together and why doe the People imagine a vaine thing First as touching the Heathen here it is in the Originall Goijm Gentes by which appellation the Iewes call all those Nations that were not of their Religion The Heathen then here meant in respect of Dauid might be the Iebuzites the Philistians the Moabites the Syrians and the Ammonites with whom King Dauid had so much to doe In respect of our Sauiour Christ all the Nations of the World might here be meant Gentiles and Iewes to For how did the Gentiles rage against his Kingdome how did the Iewes b Senec. Herc. Fur. Act. 2. sc O Magne Nunquid immunis fuit Infantis aetas King Herod heard no sooner of his Birth but himselfe was c Mat. 2.3 troubled and all Hierusalem with him And how like a Fox he went about to haue surprised him the Story is manifest The People are d Horat. Epist l. 1. Ep. 1. Bellua multorum capitum a Beast with many heads who if they be once vp in armes e Virg. Aeneid l. 1. Iamque Faces Saxa volant furor arma ministrat Fire brands and Stones flye about the Streets and that 's a Weapon that com s next to hand Where the People are principall Actors f Dr Fentoa Sermon 6. Wisd of the Ritch p. 81. saith a good Divine there 's a dangerous peece of worke towards How many seuerall times is it said in the Booke of Iudges vpon occasion of great misdemeanors in the Kingdome of Israel g Iudg. 17.6.18.1.19.1.21.25 In those dayes there was no King in Israel but euery man did that which was right in his owne Eyes How furious popular Tumults haue bene in this case no History whatsoeuer but hath Examples thick and threefold but of all Histories that of Iosephus concerning the Warres of the Iewes is in my minde most remarkeable But what is this Vaine thing here imagined by the People Concerning the Word Vaine Aulus Gellius h A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 18. c. 4. tels of a great Controuersie betweene two notable Grammarians about the propriety of the Word The one of them maintaining that Vanity and Folly were both one the other that Folly is one thing and Vanity an other But howsoeuer they dissented the meaning of the Word in this place may well be agreed vpon by vs all that all that was done in this case or by the Heathen or by the People was done to no purpose at all So St Austen Pro eo dictum est vt quid ac si diceretur Frustra It is here i Aug. in hunc Ps said Why doe they so to intimate vnto vs that it was but lost labour that so they did it being most true which the Prophet Esay hath l Esay 8.10 Take counsell together it shall come to naught speake the Word and it shall not stand for God is with vs. And againe m Esay 40.15 Behold the Nations are as a drop of a Bucket and are counted as the small dust of the Ballance behold he taketh vp the Yles as a very little thing n Vers 17. All Nations before him are as Nothing and they are counted to him