both by my Birth and by my Education and by this marvellous Deliverance whereby Thou hast rescued me from the power of death which had in a manner taken hold of me 17. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and will call upon the name of the LORD 17. I can never sure prove ungratefull to Thee unto whom I am tied by so many bonds But will always be making Thee my most thankfull solemn acknowledgments for the benefits I have received And together with those praises and thanksgivings wait upon thy Goodness for the like mercies in time to come 18. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people 18. I resolve again religiously to make good these and all other my vows wherein I stand ingaged to the Lord and that not onely in private but here at this solemnity in the face of all his people 19. In the courts of the LORD's house in the midst of thee O Jerusalem Praise ye the LORD 19. When they are gathered together at his House in the midst of the holy City of our God where they meet to worship Him and to doe Him honour There let them all join with me to bless and praise the great Creatour and Preserver of all things PSALM CXVII ARGUMENT This Psalm like the CX seems to be altogether Prophetical of the joy that all the world should conceive at the coming of the Messiah to give Salvation first to the Jews and then to all other Nations according to his faithfull promise Saint Paul applies the first words of it to this business Rom. XV. 11. and some of the Hebrews justifie his application confessing that this Psalm belongs to that matter The brevity of it makes it the more remarkable and easier to be remembred both by Jews and Gentiles 1. O Praise the LORD all ye nations praise him all ye people 1. LET not the praises which are due to the great Lord of all be confined to our Nation but let all people upon the face of the earth praise Him Let all mankind sing thankfull hymns unto Him 2. For his mercifull kindness is great towards us and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever Praise ye the LORD 2. For they are all concerned in his transcendent kindness which hath done mighty things for us and the Lord who changes not will never fail to perform his faithfull promises to the worlds end Therefore let us all join our praises to our common Benefactour PSALM CXVIII ARGUMENT There is nothing more probable then that David composed this Psalm after God had settled him upon the Throne of Israel as well as Judah and also subdued the Philistines who hoped to have crusht him before he grew too powerfull 2 Sam. V. 17. together with other enemies round about him who though they are not mentioned yet in all likelihood joyned with them as we may gather from Ver. 10 11. of this Psalm compared with 2 Sam. VII 1. For that it was written after he had brought the Ark to Jerusalem mentioned there Chap. VI. and placed it in the House he had prepared for it seems very plain from Ver. 19. of this Psalm Where he begins to praise God in such words as had not their compleat fulfilling till the Lord 's Christ whom the Jews rejected and said He shall not reign over us was made King of the World For to Him R. Solomon himself acknowledges those words The stone which the builders refused c. are to be applied And as the latter part of the Psalm is a Prophecy of Christ in David his Type so the former part may be accommodated to all Christians who being persecuted as Theodoret speaks and tormented and disgracefully treated by many Princes and their people by Kings and Governours got a glorious Victory over them all after they had indured a thousand deaths It seems also to have been pronounced at first in some solemn assembly of all the people met together to praise the Lord for his benefits And it is the common opinion of most Interpreters that they all had a part in this Psalm The greatest part of which was spoken by David who begins with a declaration how much he was indebted to God desiring all to assist him in his praises And then coming in a solemn procession I suppose to the Gates of the Tabernacle calls upon the Porters Verse 19. to open them to him that he might praise God in his Sanctuary which he doth in the very entrance Ver. 20 and then in the Courts of his House Ver. 21. After which all the people shout and magnifie the Divine Goodness in making him who was banished from his Country their King Ver. 22 c. And then the Priests come forth and bless both the King and people in the Name of the Lord Ver. 26 and exhort them to be thankfull Ver. 27 And then David seems to take the words out of their mouth and to declare that he will never be unmindfull of God's benefits desiring all the people also to remember them Ver. 28 29. According to which account of the Psalm I have ordered the Paraphrase 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good because his mercy endureth for ever 1. O Make your thankfull acknowledgments to the great Lord of all the world who as He is the Authour of all good and hath been exceeding bountifull unto us so will continue his kindness to all succeeding generations 2. Let Israel now say that his mercy endureth for ever 2. Let the Children of Israel who have had such long experience of his love and now see his promises fulfilled let them confess and thankfully acknowledge that his kindness continues to all generations 3. Let the house of Aaron now say that his mercy endureth for ever 3. Let the Priests and the Levites whose business it is to attend upon His service confess now and thankfully acknowledge that his kindness extends unto all ages 4. Let them now that fear the LORD say that his mercy endureth for ever 4. And let all the devout Worshippers of the Lord of whatsoever Nation they be join together with us for there is one Lord of all who dispenses various benefits to every one of us and confess now most thankfully that there is no end of his kindness 5. I called upon the LORD in distress the LORD answered me and set me in a large place 5. You may see an example of it in me who was in grievous straits and dangers 1 Sam. XXIII 26. XXVII 1. but then imploring the Divine Protection the Lord not onely delivered me but placed me in a secure estate free from all such molestation 2 Sam. V. 3. VII 1. 6. The LORD is on my side I will not fear what can man doe unto me 6. For the Lord it is evident takes my part and therefore though I have many enemies I am not afraid of them for when He is for me what disturbance can men be they
potent Kings who presuming of their strength opposed the accomplishment of his promises to you 11. Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan and all the kingdoms of Canaan 11. First of all Sihon King of the Amorites who were esteemed invincible XXI Numb 24. II. Amos 9. and then Og that giantly King of Bashan XXI Numb 33. III. Deut. II. and at last all the Kingdoms and Kings of the Land of Canaan XII Josh 7 24. 12. And gave their land for an heritage an heritage unto Israel his people 12. Which He graciously bestowed upon us the Children of Israel as an inheritance we should hold of Him by a Divine right of which none while we continue his obedient people shall be able to dispossess us 13. Thy name O LORD endureth for ever and thy memorial O LORD throughout all generations 13. O Lord how astonishing is this thy omnipotent Goodness the fame of which shall never be forgotten But an illustrious memory O Lord shall be continued of it from generation to generation 14. For the LORD will judge his people and he will repent himself concerning his servants 14. For though our enemies may sometimes oppress us when we offend Him yet the Lord at last will take the part of his people and deliver them and being reconciled unto his servants will turn his severity into kindness towards them 15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold the work of mens hands 15. It is not in the power of the Idols which the heathen worship to divert his kindness from us for they are of no more value then the silver and the gold of which they are made and are so far from being able to doe any thing that they themselves are made by those that adore them 16. They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not 16. They are mere Images of things without their life having mouths but cannot give a word of advice or comfort to their supplicants and eyes also but cannot see much less prevent any danger that doth approach them 17. They have ears but they hear not neither is there any breath in their mouths 17. Ears they have but cannot hear a word that is said to them and noses also but they do not so much as breathe much less can they smell the odours that are offered to them 18. They that make them are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them 18. They that make them therefore or put any confidence in them are as senseless as themselves having eyes for instance but do not see that brutes are more excellent then such gods and that no help is to be expected from them 19. Bless the LORD O house of Israel bless the LORD O house of Aaron 19. O how much then are we all bound to bless the Lord the Creatour of all who hath freed us from this stupid blindness Let the whole Nation of the Children of Israel especially the Priests of the Lord praise Him and give thanks to Him who hath better instructed them 20. Bless the LORD O house of Levi ye that fear the LORD bless the LORD 20. Let all the Levites declare how gracious He is yea let all his pious Worshippers of whatsoever Nation they be join in this heavenly imployment of speaking good of the Lord. 21. Blessed be the LORD out of Sion which dwelleth at Jerusalem Praise ye the LORD 21. Let them all say with one accord the Lord be ever praised in this holy place who though He be the owner of all the World yet makes his special residence at Jerusalem The honour the heathens give to their lifeless Images ought to excite you all with the greater devotion to praise the Lord of the World PSALM CXXXVI ARGUMENT This Psalm like the former is a commemoration of the goodness of God expressed in his wonderfull works particularly those He had done for that Nation And it is likely was composed to be sung upon the great Festivals as every day I suppose they sung the foregoing which is of the same strain with this and contains much of the same matter onely here at every half Verse one half of the Quire answers to the other in these words For his mercy endureth for ever A form of acknowledgment prescribed by David to be used continually in the Divine Service 1 Chron. XVI 41 and accordingly followed by Solomon 2. Chron. VII 3 6. when he dedicated the Temple and by Jehoshaphat when by the incouragement of a Prophet he went out to incounter a vast Army with small Forces 2 Chron. XX. 21. and here is repeated six and twenty times to make them the more sensible that they owed all they had to the mere bounty of God and to excite them to depend intirely upon it and rest assured it would never fail them if they did piously and most heartily acknowledge it Such repetitions we use now in our earnest Prayers when we say Lord have mercy upon us c. which are no more vain then these I have variously expressed the sense of this repeated acknowledgment according as the other part of the several verses seemed to direct me 1. O Give thanks unto the LORD for he is good for his mercy endureth for ever 1. OFfer your thankfull Hymns unto the Lord of all who is as good as He is great and will continue his kindness which hath been exceeding abundant towards us unto all succeeding generations 2. O give thanks unto the God of gods for his mercy endureth for ever 2. He is the Sovereign of all the heavenly Hosts and therefore praise Him and give thanks unto Him for He can imploy them all for your help and protection as He hath in former times and you need not doubt of his kindness which continues unto all Ages 3. O give thanks unto the Lord of lords for his mercy endureth for ever 3. All the Kings and Princes of the Earth are his Subjects upon which account also give Him praise and thanks For his kindness endures throughout all Ages to defend you as He hath done hitherto from their tyrannical violence 4. To him who alone doth great wonders for his mercy endureth for ever 4. He it is and He alone whose Works are so great that they surprise all those who seriously consider them with wonder and astonishment and therefore give Him praise and thanks For his kindness will never fail still to imploy his infinite Power for the good of those who are truly gratefull to Him 5. To him that by wisdome made the heavens for his mercy endureth for ever 5. Look upon the Heavens and behold with admiration and praise the splendour and the order wherein his wisdome hath contrived and setled them For his kindness is as large and as firm and durable as they 6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters for his mercy endureth for ever 6. And then look down to the Earth and thankfully praise Him
like the Moon and the Stars give a good example unto all the Subjects and stir them up to meditate his praise 12. Both young men and maidens old men and children 12. Let no Sex no Age think themselves exempted from this heavenly imployment But let the Young men praise Him for their strength and the Virgins for their beauty they that are going out of the world for all that they have seen and heard of Him and they that are newly come into it for all the goodly spectacles that are before them 13. Let them praise the Name of the LORD for his Name alone is excellent and his glory is above the earth and heaven 13. Let them praise the incomparable Wisedom Goodness and Power of the Lord For how great soever any other Beings are there is no other God but He whose most excellent Majesty infinitely surpasses all that the Earth or the Heavens can tell us of Him 14. He also exalteth the horn of his people the praise of all his Saints even of the children of Israel a people near who him Praise ye the LORD 14. And yet so great is his condescention unto us who are bound therefore more particularly to praise Him He takes a peculiar care of us and hath set over us a powerfull Prince for the defence and safety of his People LXXXIX Psal 19. Whose fame He hath thereby raised to the highest pitch of honour having obliged the Children of Israel by many peculiar benefits especially this that they are a people more nearly related to Him then any other whatsoever for He dwells among them in his holy place where they approach to Him O praise Him there for this singular favour PSALM CXLIX Hallelujah See CXLVI ARGUMENT Theodoret thinks this Psalm was made for them that after their return from Captivity had many opposers but by the Divine Assistance overcame them And that it is a praediction of those great things which were done by the Maccabees Certain it is that some signal Victory was the occasion of it and thence Saint Chrysostome hath here given us a full account I think of the meaning of A new Song which according to the use of the word new in other places when they would express a thing very wonderfull such as hath not been seen or heard of before XVI Numb 30. XXXI Jer. 22. he takes to denote An illustrious and famous Hymn made for Victories for great Atchievements and Trophies Which were never more remarkable in this Nation then in the days of David and therefore this Psalm may very well relate to his reign who subdued several Kingdoms which had stood out and would not submit to Israel till his time though God had promised to give their Countries to them XV. Gen. 18. XXIII Exod. 31. 2. Sam. VIII 1 2 c. X. 19. The interpretation which I have given of the sixth Verse need not seem strange to any one who considers that it hath been and is the custom of all Nations to stir up themselves to fight by the sound of some musical Instrument or other The ancient inhabitants of Etruria saith Clemens Alexandrinus in the second Book of his Paedagogus chap. 4. used the Trumpet for this purpose the Arcadians the Whistle the Sicilians an Instrument called Pectids the Cretians the Harp the Lacedaemonians the Pipe the Thracians the Cornet the Egyptians the Drum the Arabians the Cymball But it was proper to the Israelites to go forth against their Enemies singing Psalms of Praise to God as we reade 2 Chron. XX. 21 22. who had given great Victories to their Ancestours and had promised never to forsake their Posterity while they served Him onely and piously confided in Him 1. PRaise ye the LORD Sing unto the LORD a new song and his praise in the congregation of saintâ— 1. SIng a new Hymn unto the Lord for the fresh and singular benefits He hath bestowed upon us Let Him be praised not onely in private but in the publick assemblies of those who have received special marks of his favour to them 2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him let the children of Sion be joyfull in their king 2. Let all the Israelites rejoice in Him that made them his peculiar people and hath now raised them to great splendour among the Nations of the world let the inhabitants of Sion more particularly be exceeding glad that the Lord who is our King hath there settled his royal Throne 2 Sam. V. 9. VI. 12. 3. Let them praise his name in the dance let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp 3. Let them leap for joy and unanimously praise his most excellent Majesty in their Dances to the Flute 2 Sam. VI. 16. let them testifie their gratitude to Him by singing Psalms with the Timbrel and the Harp 4. For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people he will beautifie the meek with salvation 4. For the Lord taketh pleasure in doing good unto his people and will not onely deliver them after they have been oppressed many years but if they meekly depend upon Him make them as great and illustrious as they have been contemptible and mean 1 Chron. XIV 2. 5. Let the saints be joyfull in glory let them sing aloud upon their beds 5. Which shall fill the hearts of good men who are dear to Him with the highest triumph in the honour that He hath done them and make them shout for joy in the security and peace He shall bestow upon them 6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand 6. Which they shall not doubt to maintain against all opposers for in assured hope of Victory they shall go to War with Psalms and Hymns in their mouths concerning the great acts of the Lord which they shall couragiously sing with a loud voice when they fall upon their enemies and prefer to the two edged sword wich they carry in their hand 7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people 7. Wherewith they shall take a just revenge upon the heathen for all the injuries they have done us and so chastise the insolence of the people that they shall fear again to molest us 1 Chron. XIV 17. 8. To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron 8. For their Victories shall be so compleat that they shall not onely rout their enemies and put them to flight but lead away their Kings captive in chains and take their great Captains and Commanders prisoners and keep them fast in fetters of iron 9. To execute upon them the judgment written this honour have all his saints Praise ye the LORD 9. In order to the executing upon them the judgment which God hath long ago decreed and is recorded in his Law VII Deut. 24. XXXII 41 42 43. This is the honour which all Israel shall have when they are in favour with God and such shall be their glorious Victories and
ye servants of the LORD praise the name of the LORD 1. O Ye Ministers of the Lord and whosoever you are that love his Service praise his eternal Majesty be not remiss in this heavenly imployment but with your best affections praise the power wisedom and goodness of his eternal Providence 2. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore 2. Praise him now in this present Age and wish that those incomparable perfections of his may be celebrated with the praises of those that live in future times as long as the world shall last 3. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's name is to be praised 3. And not onely here in this little spot of earth but wheresoever the Sun shines and lets men see how splendid and glorious his Majesty is 4. The LORD is high above all nations and his glory above the heavens 4. For all the Nations of the earth are his and but a little parcel of his supreme Dominion which extends far beyond the Sun and Moon and Stars whose light is but a dim resemblance of the brightness of his glory 5. Who is like unto the LORD our God who dwelleth on high 5. Do not think that any of them though worshipped by other Nations as gods is comparable to that great Lord and our most gracious God whom we adore for the very place where his glorious Majesty resides is far higher then they 6. Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth 6. And it is a great condescension in him that He will have any respect to the most illustrious of those celestial bodies though He be so gracious also as to extend his kind and carefull Providence even to us who dwell upon this earth 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill 7. Where among other manifest tokens of his stupendious goodness He is pleased to take special notice of those whom the world despises and to raise them out of a mean nay sordid condition to such a pitch of honour and dignity 8. That he may set him with princes even with the princes of his people 8. That at last they are advanced to sit upon a Throne and made the Governours of his own people 1 Sam. II. 8. 2 Sam. VII 8 9. compared with 1. XXIV 14. 9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyfull mother of children Praise ye the LORD 9. And which is still more strange He opens the barren womb which according to the course of nature would have brought forth nothing and makes a numerous Family spring from thence to the great joy of her that bears them 1 Sam. I. 20. II. 21. Praise the Lord in these and such like wonderfull works of his PSALM CXIV ARGUMENT As the foregoing Psalm puts them in mind of several works of the Divine Providence about particular persons so this makes a brief narration of some miraculous works wherein the Lord declared his power when He brought the whole Jewish Nation out of the Egyptian bondage 1. WHen Israel went out of Egypt the house of Jacob from a people of strange language 1. WHen our Forefathers with their whole Family were brought out of Egypt and not one of them left behind among that barbarous people who had long oppressed them 2. Judah was his sanctuary and Israel his dominion 2. There was a most glorious appearance of God among them by that bright cloud the token of his presence which then had no other peculiar place for its sanctuary but stood over the whole Camp of Israel XIII Exod. 21. XIV Numb 14. whom He then took for his peculiar Kingdom XIX Exod. 6. 3. The sea saw it and fled Fordan was driven back 3. At which appearance the red Sea forsook its channel and left a dry path for them to march through XIV Exod. 21 24. and so did Jordan also afterwards to make way for their easie entrance into Canaan III. Josh 15 16. 4. The mountains skipped like rams and the little hills like lambs 4. All the Mountains great and small which adjoined unto Sinai trembled and leaped like so many affrighted rams or little lambs before the same most dreadfull Majesty XIX Exod. 18. 5. What ailed thee O thou sea that thou fleddest thou Jordan that thou wast driven back 5. To what else shall we ascribe that sudden ebb of the Sea and that no less strange retreat of Jordan when it overflowed all its banks 6. Ye mountains that ye skipped like rams and ye little hills like lambs 6. What made the mountains and hills leap up like affrighted rams or lambs as if they would run away from the place where they were so firmly fixed 7. Tremble thou earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob 7. But onely the glorious presence of the Divine Majesty who was then bringing his people to the rest He had promised to give them And let the whole earth be afraid and tremble before that great Lord who hath honoured us so far as peculiarly to be our God 8. Which turned the tock into a standing water the flint into a fountain of waters 8. And was so kind as to supply the necessities of our Forefathers even when they murmured against Him by a new Miracle bringing out of hard rocks as hard as flint such plenty of water as if they had been dissolved into lakes or rivers XVII Exod. 8. XX. Numb 11. PSALM CXV ARGUMENT There is great reason to think that this Psalm was made in some time of sore distress when their Pagan Enemies began to boast and brag as if their gods were too hard for the God of Israel But by whom it was made or on what particular occasion there are so many conjectures that it will be no presumption to interpose mine which is this That when Jehoshaphat saw that vast Army which we reade of 2 Chron. XX. 2. composed of several Nations coming against him and after his prayer to God for deliverance was incouraged by a Prophet to hope for it Ver. 14 15. and had by the Levites given Him thanks for this hope he or that Prophet composed this Hymn to quicken and confirm their faith in God unto which you reade he exhorted them Ver. 20. And it is likely that this was the Hymn which by common consent the Singers were appointed to use when they went out to encounter those Enemies saying not onely those words which we reade there Ver. 21. Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever but these Not unto us O Lord not unto us but unto thy Name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truths sake c. 1. NOT unto us O LORD not unto us but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truths sake 1. PRosper our arms O Lord and give us the victory over these
but after I have suffered a while be preferred to those dignities from whence they fall and which is more be so graciously accepted by Thee as to continue in them unto immortal glory 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee 25. This I expect from thy Almighty Goodness who art the solest object of my hope For thou knowest there is none in Heaven whom I depend upon for help and protection but Thee alone none upon Earth whose favour I seek but onely thine which shall perfectly content me 26. My flesh and my heart faileth but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever 26. It is possible I may still be pressed with such sore afflictions that not onely my bodily strength but also my courage may begin again to fail me but then I will recover my self and fortifie my Soul by flying unto Thee O God for safety in whose love I will alway think my self happy and enjoy everlasting satisfaction 27. For lo they that are far from thee shall perish thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee 27. For there is nothing more certain or more remarkable then this that they who by forsaking Thee have put themselves far from under thy care will never be able by any other means to save themselves from perishing For Thou hast already made such men a terrible Example of thy displeasure and utterly destroyed those who quitting thy service have devoted themselves to the worship of other Gods 2 Chron. XXVIII 6 18 19. XXIX 7 8 9. 28. But it is good for me to draw near to God I have put my trust in the Lord GOD that I may declare all thy works 28. And therefore I will learn by their miscarriages that it is the best and safest course for me to adhere to my good God and to make my humble addresses to Him alone I have done so hitherto and no danger shall tempt me hereafter to quit this hold and to confide in any thing but onely in the Sovereign of the World who never fails those that depend upon Him and will I hope be so gracious unto me that I shall have abundant cause to publish and proclaim to all others the Works of his Providence in preserving the Good and in throwing the wicked down at last to the ground PSALM LXXIV Maschil of Asaph ARGUMENT The desolation of Jerusalem and of the Temple as well as the rest of the Country made by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon was the sad occasion of this Psalm For it is altogether improbable that it hath respect to the days of Antiochus Epiphanes as some fancy because as Theodoret perrinently notes to omit all other reasons we reade nothing in any History of his burning the Temple or so much as of his laying the City waste which are both here most sorrowfully bewailed by Asaph Who was not therefore that Asaph in David's time unless we should grant him to have written by the spirit of Prophecy and predicted what should be in after-times as a great many think because there was no such Temple in those days nor had been as is here described Nor was it Asaph the Seer in Hezekiah's days of whom see Argument of the foregoing Psalm who saw no such desolation made by Senacherib for he did not take Jerusalem nor shoot so much as an arrow into it nor in all likelihood prophesied of the destruction here spoken of because the description of it in this Psalm is so plain that we may most reasonably think the Authour of it had it before his eyes and did not merely see it by the spirit of Prophecy which is not wont to foretell things in so clear a manner but more obscurely and darkly I conclude therefore it was some other Asaph who composed this Psalm in the time of the Captivity and in the middle or rather toward the conclusion of it because he complains Ver. 9. that they had no Prophet as there was in the beginning of the Captivity particularly Jeremiah to tell them how long it should last And considering that in the second Verse he speaks of himself as one that dwelt still in the Land of Israel pointing to Mount Sion as a place near to him I take him to have been some pious man of the posterity of Asaph who was suffered to remain there with the Chaldaeans And if it were fit to suppose him to have written this Psalm very young and to have lived to a great age when I have no proof of either I should guess him to be Asaph the Keeper of the King's Forrest in the days of Nehemiah who desired Artaxerxes to write to him to furnish him with Timber out of Lebanon for the rebuilding some of those places which the Psalmist here complains were destroyed Among which the Porch of the Court of the Sanctuary remained unbuilt even unto those times Howsoever from the mention of Mount Sion in the second Verse it is manifest Grotius forgot himself when in his Notes upon Ver. 6. he applies this Psalm to the destruction of Shiloh which he supposes Asaph to have here bewailed For Mount Sion had then never been in their possession as it was afterward and had lain so long waste Ver. 3. when Asaph wrote this Psalm that it look'd like a perpetual desolation Besides the Tabernacle was not burnt when Shiloh was destroyed but remained though without the Ark till the days of Solomon 2 Chron. I. 3. see Psalm LXVIII And of the meaning of Maschil see Psalm XXXII 1. O God why hast thou cast us off for ever why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture 1. O God the Sovereign Judge of the world who hast justly expelled us out of our Land and continued our banishment so long that little hope appears of our being restored to it again behold the anguish of our Souls wherein we cry unto Thee for mercy For we are confounded to see Thee so highly incensed against those who were once under thy most indulgent care as if Thou wert resolved never to be reconciled to us any more 2. Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old the rod of thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed this mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt 2. Thou hast not forgotten we know though it be very long ago with the expence of how many Miracles Thou didst make our Ancestours thy peculiar people For which reason though we be exceedingly underserving we beseech Thee to let all the world see Thou wilt not utterly abandon the poor remainders of that Nation which Thou didst acquire at so great a price that Kingdom which Thou didst rescue out of the most miserable slavery to be thy own possession and this Mount Sion wherein after Thou hadst by many wonders brought us into Canaan and routed out the old Inhabitants Thou wast pleased at last to settle thy abode among us 3. Lift up thy feet unto
may well be a warning to all fell Tyrants not to be so fierce and outragious which will onely present Thee with the fairer opportunity to glorifie thy self and raise thy praise to a greater height as Thou hast now done by suppressing the Assyrians fury who if they have any reliques of wrath which may boil up again in their hearts Thou shalt chain it up and not suffer it to break forth to our further disturbance 11. Vow and pay unto the LORD your God let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared 11. And let this excite you all who are thus marvellously delivered to make more liberal promises of gratefull Sacrifices as well as to perform those which you have already vowed to the great Lord your most gracious God who so far excells all others that the Nations round about us who hear the fame of this shall reproach you if you be forgetfull of his benefits by the presents which they shall make to Him 2 Chr. XXXII 23. who ought to be feared by all his Friends and is most terrible to his Enemies 12. He shall cut off the spirit of princes he is terrible to the kings of the earth 12. For he can easily with a sudden stroke not onely take down the proud stomach but take away the life of the fiercest Captains and Commanders 2 Chr. XXXII 21. yea make the greatest Monarchs who keep the world in awe quake and tremble at his dreadfull executions PSALM LXXVII To the chief Musician to Jeduthun A Psalm of Asaph ARGUMENT A Psalm composed by Asaph and sent by him to that Song-Master who was over the Children of Jeduthun in which I imagined at first sight that he represented the sad condition of Hezekiah and the motions of his heart towards God in his sickness 2 Chron. XXXII 24. XXXVIII Isa 1. But upon further consideration it appears from the latter part of it that he bewails the calamity of all the Nation either when Senacherib over-ran the Country or else in the Captivity of Babylon If we refer it to the latter then it was not Asaph the Seer whom I mentioned before Psalm LXXIII that made this Psalm but some other in after times see Psal LXXIV who laments the long continuance of their Captivity which looked like an utter forsaking by God but he comforts himself at last with the remembrance of what God had done formerly for them when he delivered them out of the Egyptian bondage 1. I Cried unto God with my voice even unto God with my voice and he gave ear unto me 1. I Have incessantly made my prayer to God and I will still most earnestly intreat his favour To Him who hath justly afflicted us and can alone relieve us have I again and again renewed my importunate suit which I hope will at last prevail with Him for deliverance 2. In the day of my trouble I sought the LORD my sore ran in the night and ceased not my soul refused to be comforted 2. I have not negligently discharged this Duty but as the distress is great wherein we are so I have restlesly implored help from the Lord In the night when men are wont to bury their troubles in sleep I have with unwearied diligence spread out my hands unto Him in token that all my dependence is upon His power alone resolving to admit of no consolation till I obtained a gracious Answer from Him 3. I remembred God and was troubled I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed Selah 3. I remembred indeed how kind God had been unto us in former times but this onely gave me the greater trouble when I compared it with our present miseries and the more I mused on it the more my spirit was disturbed and miserably afflicted 4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking I am so troubled that I cannot speak 4. Insomuch that I could not close my eyes to take a wink of sleep nor open my mouth such was my perturbation and astonishment to express the heaviness of my grief 5. I have considered the days of old the years of aucient times 5. All that I could doe was to recount thy mercifull Providences over our Forefathers in times past and ponder seriously what wonders Thou didst for them many ages agone 6. I call to remembrance my song in the night I commune with mine own heart and my spirit made diligent search 6. I called to mind all the Songs I had indited to celebrate the memory of those ancient benefits and spent whole nights in silent meditations and diligent inquiries which I revolved to and fro in my mind why He who had taken such care of our Ancestours had so long rejected us 7. Will the LORD cast off for ever and will he be favourable no more 7. Will the Lord thought I abandon us for ever Is He so incensed against us that He will never be reconciled nor intend to shew us any more favour 8. Is his mercy clean gone for ever doth his promise fail for evermore 8. Is his infinite mercy which is the fountain of all his benefits quite exhausted and will He never hereafter speak a word of comfort to us 9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies Selah 9. Hath God whose property it is to shew mercy quite laid aside all thoughts of exercising his clemency towards us or have we so highly provoked Him to anger that He hath no regard at all unto our miseries 10. And I said This is my infirmity but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High 10. But having thus complained and said within my self This is the thing which sorely afflicts me to see such alterations in the proceedings of the most High that the same hand which formerly protected us now severely scourges us 11. I will remember the works of the LORD surely I will remember thy wonders of old 11. I presently considered that there might be a change again and resolved to comfort my self with the remembrance of the former works of the Lord and to go back as far as the Miracle Thou didst for us in bringing us up out of the Land of Egypt when our deserts were as small as in these days 12. I will meditate also of all thy work and talk of thy doings 12. Of all the ensuing wonders I will think rather then on our present miseries I will not omit one of them but instead of these complaints make them the constant subject of my discourse 13. Thy way O God is in the sanctuary who is so great a God as our God 13. From which I cannot but conclude that the method of thy Providence O God is not onely perfectly holy and just but quite out of our reach nor is thy Power inferiour but as Thou dost not proceed in the common way of our thoughts so none can resist what thy incomparable Majesty thinks fit to effect 14. Thou art the God that
be devoured by ravenous Beasts and Birds 3. Their bloud have they shed like water round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them 3. For they valued the shedding of their bloud no more then the pouring out of water which flowed in such abundance about Jerusalem that they left not men enow alive to take care of the Interment of the dead 4. We are become a reproach to our neighbours a scorn and derision to them that are round about us 4. And we that remain lead a most despicable life being not onely scorned and abused but openly derided and made the sport of the Edomites and other Nations which formerly stood in awe of us 5. How long LORD wilt thou be angry for ever shall thy jealousie burn like fire 5. And which is saddest of all we have long complained of this and find no relief but onely in our most passionate cries to Thee O Lord the effects of whose just anger and jealousie we groan under because we have forsaken Thee and been unfaithfull to our Covenant with Thee but hope it will not always last nor proceed to make an utter end of us 6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name 6. Pour it out rather in as full a measure and with as little pity as they did our bloud Ver. 3. upon the Babylonians who though they have conquered many Kingdoms do not acknowledge Thee at all nor ascribe their successes to thy Power but to their Idols whom they serve and honour with that worship which is due to Thee alone 7. For they have devoured Jacob and laid wast his dwelling-place 7. They have been the Instruments indeed of thy vengeance but have executed it with such cruelty that not content with the conquest of us they have sought our total extirpation having depopulated our Country and made that pleasant Land a Wilderness which Thou gavest to Jacob and his Seed for their habitation 8. O Remember not against us former iniquities let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us for we are brought very low 8. O let not his vertue and the Covenant Thou madest with him be forgotten when Thou reckonest with us for the sins of our Fore-fathers the punishment of which we beseech Thee that we may bear no longer speed our deliverance Good Lord and how unworthy soever we be let thy tender compassion prevail with Thee to save us from utter ruin which is very near so few so broken and spent we are unless seasonably prevented by thy mercy 9. Help us O God of our salvation for the glory of thy name and deliver us and purge away our sins for thy names sake 9. Send us that seasonable help O God from whom alone we expect it and have heretofore very often received it for it will tend much to the honour of thy almighty Goodness which in former times was much celebrated but of late hath been exceedingly disparaged to save us now when none is able to preserve us upon that account be pleased to pass by our sins and to interpose for our deliverance lest Thou suffer together with us 10. Wherefore should the heathen say Where is their God let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the bloud of thy servants which is shed 10. While the Idolatrous Nations utter this insolent language which is exceeding grievous nay insupportable to us If their God be so great in Himself and so kind to them as they pretend why doth He not take their part and appear for their deliverance O that Thou wouldst put them to silence by taking such an open and remarkable vengeance on these blasphemous Nations for the bloud they have shed that not onely we but all the world may see Thou hast a care of us thy Servants 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die 11. Let the sighs and groans of those who lie in prison be as prevalent with Thee as thee prayers and magnifie thy power by preserving the lives of those whom they have condemned to die 12. And render unto our neighbours seven fold into their bosom their reproach wherewith they have reproached thee O LORD 12. And when Thou hast done with the Babylonians reckon with our neighbours also who have insulted over us and derided us or rather have spoken so reproachfully of Thee O God that they justly deserve not onely to be paid home in their kind but to be made seven times more contemptible then we have been 13. So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever we will shew forth thy praise to all generations 13. So we thy people being conducted again to our Land and happily restored to live under thy Government there will never cease to give thanks unto Thee for thy benefits bestowed upon us And be carefull to transmit the memory of them to those who shall come after us that all future Generations may perpetuate thy praises PSALM LXXX To the chief-Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth A Psalm of Asaph ARGUMENT This Psalm is something of kin to the former deprecating the displeasure of the Almighty in a time of great calamity Which as all that I have met withall think was either in the captivity of Judah and Benjamin by Nebuchadnezzar or of the Ten Tribes by Salmanassar But it seems to me rather to have been penned between these two in the time of Hezekiah who had wrote a Letter you find 2 Chron. XXXI 6. to the remnant that were escaped out of the hand of the King of Assyria especially to Ephraim and Manasseh the Tribes nearest to them that they would come to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem and keep the Passover with them which summons several of them obeyed Ver. 11. 18. and kept the Feast as long again as they were wont Ver. 23. And when this was finished they all went through the Country and threw down all the High places and Altars that they found not onely in Judah but in Benjamin also Ephraim and Manasseh 2 Chron. XXXI 1. But after this happy settlement you reade there XXXII 1. that the Land was invaded by Senacherib and sorely distressed to the great discouragement no doubt of those who had joined in the Reformation which moved Asaph mentioned 2 Chron. XXIX 30. see the Argument of LXXIII Psal most earnestly to beseech God Ver. 2. of this Psalm that he would be pleased to stir up Himself before Ephraim and Manasseh as well as Benjamin who was so linkt to Judah that part of Jerusalem and of the Temple stood in that Tribe and let them see by a remarkable deliverance that their zeal for the purity of their Religion was acceptable to Him Another reason indeed there may be given which I have not omitted in my Paraphrase why these three are joined
the rock should I have satisfied thee 16. He should have made their Country exceeding fruitfull and fed them with the richest Wheat And I my self saith the Lord would have blessed Thee with such plenty that in the Desarts thou shouldest have found the sweetest refreshments and without any care of thine the Bees should have laboured honey for thee in the Rocks and holes of Trees and such like places XXXII Deut. 13. XIV Judg. 8. 1 Sam. XIV 25 26. PSALM LXXXII A Psalm of Asaph ARGUMENT Though there had been a notable Reformation made by Jehosaphat 2 Chron. XIX 5 6 c. of those corruptions which had been growing in the supreme Court of Judicature at Jerusalem as well as in the lesser in other Cities ever since the times of David and Solomon who took care to see Justice done 1 Chron. XVIII 14. 1 King III. 9 28. yet it appears by the frequent complaints of Isaiah that when Hezekiah in whose days that Prophet lived came to the Crown there was a general depravation again and that notwithstanding the amendment he had made in matters of the Divine Worship 2 Chron. XXX XXXI and his resolutions and indeavours no question to reform the abuses which were in their civil Judicatures as I have expounded Psal LXXV 2 3. they continued still exceeding corrupt Insomuch that Isaiah calls their Judges Rulers of Sodom I. Isa 10. when he finds no fault with their religious Services Ver. 11 12 c. and says their Princes were rebellious companions of thieves loving gifts and following after rewards Ver. 23. Where it is evident he describes the Judges in the highest Court of all who are called by the name of Princes in several places particularly in Jeremiah who being condemned by the Priests and Prophets and People as a man worthy to die XXVI Jer. 8 9. was brought before the Princes Verse 10 11. at whose Bar he cleared himself so well that they acquitted him Ver. 16. And as there they are called Princes with respect to their superiority over the people so here in this Psalm they are called Elohim Gods in respect to the fountain of their power which was from the most High who honoured them with his own Name which is so frequent for those of the supreme Court that some not unreasonably understand those words IX Judges 13. which we render Cheers the heart of God and man in this manner Wine alike cheers both Princes and People Judges and Clients the meaner persons called in this Psalm Adam Man Ver. 6 7. as well as the greatest who in opposition to them are called Gods Whom Asaph who lived in the times of Hezekiah 2 Chron. XXIX 30. see Psalm LXXIII admonishes to be more carefull in their duty and to remember that God observed them and would judge them 1. GOD standeth in the congregation of the mighty he judgeth among the gods 1. REmember O ye Judges whose Ministers you are 2 Chron. XIX 6. and consider that you are not so powerfull but GOD who hath put you in his place and honoured you with his Name XXII Exod. 28. is far greater and as He is present in your Court to observe what you do so will call you to a strict account and severely punish you if you judge amiss 2. How long will ye judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked Selah 2. How dare you then pronounce an unrighteous Sentence Is it not time to leave off your partiality and no longer to favour a bad cause because the man is rich and great and can either give you a large bribe if you will judge it for him or doe you a mischief if you give sentence against him 3. Defend the poor and fatherless do justice to the afflicted and needy 3. Your duty is to doe equal justice to all men that come before you and to take a particular care that the poor and the fatherless do not suffer because they have no money to give nor any friend to solicit for the defence of a righteous Cause and that the men of low condition and such as are reduced to very great want be not condemned when they are injuriously prosecuted by those who are above them 4. Deliver the poor and needy rid them out of the hand of the wicked 4. See that you protect and deliver him that is quite exhausted and miserably oppressed with poverty let them not become a prey to violent men who have no conscience but put it out of their power to undoe them 5. They know not neither will they understand they walk on in darkness all the foundations of the earth are out of course 5. These are the constant admonitions which the men of God give the Judges but alas hitherto they have little prevailed For they will not study the Laws of God or if they do will not think it their interest to be governed by them but are blinded by bribes or by their corrupt affections to doe any thing that they would have them insomuch that the Foundations of the Kingdom which are Justice and Truth are shaken all things are in confusion and in danger to come to utter ruin V. Isa 23 24. X. 1 2 3. 6. I have said Ye are gods and all of you are children of the most High 6. Hear therefore the sentence of God upon you whose words these are I have put my Majesty upon you and though you be no more then other men in your selves have by my constitution raised you to such a dignity on earth as my celestial ministers have in heaven 7. But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the princes 7. Yet this shall not privilege you in your unjust proceedings but since you have no regard to me nor to your Office I will have as little regard to you for you shall perish like one of the common men without any respect to your honour and be thrown down from your seats like the Tyrants and cruel Oppressours that have been before you 8. Arise O God judge the earth for thou shalt inherit all nations 8. Let us see this sentence fulfilled O God the righteous Judg and do not suffer the insolent iniquity of these men any longer but redress all those evils wherewith such men have filled not onely this Nation but all the world which belongs to Thee and Thou wilt one day sure vindicate mankind as the just owner of them from the tyranny of those impious Governours who now abuse them as if they had an absolute dominion over them PSALM LXXXIII A Song or Psalm of Asaph ARGUMENT It is the common opinion that the combination of powerfull enemies against which they here implore the Divine assistance was that mentioned in the 2 Chron. XX. in the days of Jehosaphat The reason is because the Children of Lot Ver. 8. viz. the Moabites and Ammonites the ground of whose quarrel with the Jews is set down in XI Judg. seem to have been the principal in this Confederacy and the
other but assistants as it is plain they were in that Invasion 2 Chr. XX. 1. And then the Authour of this Psalm must be either Jehaziel one of Asaph's posterity upon whom you reade there Ver. 14. the spirit of the Lord then came or some other in those days whose proper name this was Which is much more probable then their conjecture who think the Authour was Asaph in the days of David who subdued indeed the Moabites and Edomites and other neighbouring Nations but we do not reade of any Confederacy they made against him much less that they sent as far as Assyria for help or that they began the War as the people here mentioned did The same may be said against the application of it to the Conquests made in the days of Uzziah over several people here mentioned 2 Chron. XXVI 6 7 8. Or to the Invasion made by Senacherib King of Assyria who did not join himself as we reade here Ver. 8. with other Nations but by the forces of his own Kingdom alone as far as appears came up against them There are those indeed that take in all the attempts made upon them since that in Jehosaphat's days by several Nations the last of which was Assyria whose King came to doe that which the rest had not been able to effect And then the Authour is easily found to be the same that I have named in the Argument of the foregoing and many other Psalms And which way soever we are pleased to determin the matter it is plain in general that many Nations both near and remote who had a hatred to the Jews set themselves together when this Psalm was penned to destroy them assaulting them not onely severally but conjunctly entring into consultation also and conspiring together how to effect it Which hatred continuing after their return to their own Land from the Captivity of Babylon gave occasion to Theodoret to say both in his Preface to this Psalm and upon the twelfth Verse of it that the Psalmist here complains of the opposition which several of their neighbours made to the rebuilding of the Temple and of Jerusalem But this seems more improbable than all the rest many of those Countries here named being before that time destroyed and the Assyrians themselves as he himself observes upon Ver. 8. being not then extant Though whensoever this Confederacy happened there was very great reason for that solicitous and vehement importunity wherewith this Psalm begins Why it was called a Song-Psalm see Psalm LXVII 1. KEep not thou silence O God hold not thy peace and be not still O God 1. O God the supreme Judge of the World whose power is so great that the united forces of all men on earth or Angels in heaven are not to be compared with it 2 Chr. XX. 6 12. who with one word of thy mouth canst dissipate this great Army do not refuse now to answer our prayers in this sore distress O do not shut thy mercifull ears to our cries nor quietly see us perish most mighty God 2. For lo thine enemies make a tumult and they that hate thee have lift up the head 2. For we are surprised with a sudden Invasion of numerous Enemies haters of Thee and thy Worship as much as of our Nation who make a dreadfull noise like the waves of the Sea 2 Chron. XX. 2. and proudly promising themselves a Victory insult as if they had already won it 3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people and consulted against thy hidden ones 3. They have with equal malice and subtilty carried on a close design against thy people and with great secresie consulted how to destroy not onely us whom Thou hast hitherto wonderfully protected as thy Jewels but thy Temple also and the secret place wherein Thou there dwellest 4. They have said Come and let us cut them off from being a nation that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance 4. Come say they one to another Let us agree and join all the power we have together not merely to make a Conquest of them but for their utter exstirpation 2 Chron. XX. 11. that there may be no mention hereafter in the world of such a people as the Commonwealth of Israel 5. For they have consulted together with one consent they are confederate against thee 5. And accordingly Ten several Nations are combined heartily in this design and how different soever their inclinations are upon other accounts they have all entred into a solemn league and made a covenant of mutual help and of imploying their joint indeavours totally to subvert that Government and Religion which Thou hast established 6. The Tabernacles of Edom and the Ishmaelites of Moah and the Hagarens 6. Those warlike Nations the Edomites and Ishmaelites who dwell in Tents are ingaged in this enterprise and so are the Moabites and others descended from Hagar the Mother of Ishmael 7. Gebal and Ammon and Amalek the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre 7. With whom are united our neighbours the Giblites XIII Josh 5. the Ammonites our old enemies the Amalekites and Philistines and they that dwell in and about the famous City of Tyre 8. Assur also is joined with them they have holpen the children of Lot Selah 8. And to add to their strength they have called the powerfull Nation of the Assyrians into their association on whose assistance the Moabites and Ammonites the Authours of this War do principally rely 9. Doe unto them as unto the Midianites as to Sisera as to Jabin at the brook of Kison 9. The greater need we have of thy assistance and with the greater earnestness we beseech Thee to make them an example of humane weakness by defeating them as Thou didst that vast Army of the Midianites and their Confederates VI. Judg. 5. VII 12. whom Gideon overthrew with no greater power then three hundred men VII Judg. 21 22. compared with 2 Chron. XX. 23. and as Thou didst in former times to that famous Captain Sisera who fell by the hand of a Woman IV. Judg. 21. and to Jabin his King who together with his Army was swept away in the brook of Kishon IV. Judg. 21 24. V. 21. 10. Which perished at Endor they became as dung for the earth 10. A great slaughter there was of them near Endor compare V. Judg. 19. with XVII Josh 11. where their carkases lay and rotted and served instead of dung to fatten and inrich the earth 11. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb yea all their Princes as Zebah and as Zalmunna 11. Let their Princes and Commanders fall like Oreb and Zeeb VII Judg. 25. and their Kings not be able to save themselves by flight but be taken and slain like Zebah and Zalmunna VIII Judg. 12 21. 12. Who said Let us take to our selves the houses of God in possession 12. Who came with a design VI. Judg. 3 4 5. as these Nations do now 2 Chron. XX. 10 11. to possess
prove the pious are not always miserable 11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me 11. Nor the wicked alway prosperous For to all other pleasures this shall be added that I shall see those deprived of all power who have long watched to doe me mischief or certainly hear of the ruin of those malicious men who set themselves with all their might to destroy me 12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon 12. Which may be an incouragement to every good man to hope in God and not question the justice of his Providence if at present he be afflicted for as He shall overturn all his enemies at the last so He will make the righteous flourish not as the wicked do like the grass Ver. 7. but in a durable prosperity like the fruitfull Palm and the stately Cedar in Lebanon 13. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God 13. For they are under the care of the Lord our God whose House they frequent and there partake of his Divine blessing for the growth and increase of their happiness 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age they shall be fat and flourishing 14. Which shall not decay as the strength and freshness of those Trees will do with age but the older they grow the more happy fruits shall their piety produce and they shall abound in wealth and honour as much as they do in that 15. To shew that the LORD is upright he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him 15. To demonstrate to all the world that the Lord is a most impartial Governour whom I have found my firm unmoveable Friend and assure your selves is so just and kind that he will never let wickedness go unpunished nor vertue be always unrewarded PSALM XCIII ARGUMENT There is no Title in the Hebrew to tellâ— us who was the Authour of this Psalm Nor was there any in Origen's Hexaplus or in Eusebius as Theodoret confesses who found in the Greek Copy which he used this Psalm called An Ode of David in praise of God To which hath been since added in the day before the Sabbath when the earth began to be inhabited Which Musculus thinks was not rashly done by the Greeks but suspects they were moved to it because they knew perhaps that the Jews used this Psalm upon that day As indeed they did for the words of the Talmud in the Title Kedishim confirm his suspicions which are these as I find them set down by de Dieu upon the foregoing Psalm The Canticles which the Levites sung in the Sanctuary were as follow on the first day of the week the XXIV on the second the XLVIII on the third the LXXXII on the fourth the XCIV on the fifth the LXXXI on the sixth the XCIII and on the seventh the XCII Nor is the matter of this Psalm more distant from the foregoing then the sixth day is from the seventh for it seems to me to have been composed when some of those potent enemies began to take heart again and threaten to disturb David's peace and tranquillity which in the foregoing Psalm he had said he was confident they should never be able to overthrow Though in the more sublime sense it ought to be applied to the stability of Christ Kingdom which several of the Jews acknowledge is prophesied of in this and in all the Psalms that follow unto the Hundredth 1. THe LORD reigneth he is cloathed with majesty the LORD is cloathed with strength wherewith he hath girded himself the world also is stablished that it cannot be moved 1. LET the Nations boast of the power and splendour of their Kings and trust to their military preparations this is our glory and our confidence that the LORD reigneth over us whose royal ornaments are not gold and precious stones but Majesty it self and is not armed with sword and spear but with almighty strength which is ready to fight for us who have this comfort also that He who made the world will support that excellent order wherein we are settled so that it shall not be in the power of man to disturb what He hath established 2. Thy throne is established of old thou art from everlasting 2. This we know because thy Kingdom O Lord is fixed and immoveable and did not begin now when we were made thy peculiar people but was as Thou art from everlasting 3. The flouds have lifted up O Lord the flouds have lifted up their voice the flouds lift up their waves 3. We will not be afraid therefore though multitudes of combined enemies threaten to break in upon us like a floud though they storm and rage and insolently vaunt as if they were sure to overwhelm us 4. The LORD on high is mightier then the noise of many waters yea then the mighty waves of the sea 4. Though they roar terribly and be as numerous as the waters of the Sea swelling like its boisterous waves in a furious tempest the great Lord is above them all and can instantly depress them as low as He pleases 5. Thy testimonies are very sure holiness becometh thine house O LORD for ever 5. And thy fidelity in performing the promises wherein Thou hast testified thy good will to us is as unquestionable as thy power no age shall find it fail for it becomes not Thee to start from thy word delivered to us by thy Oracle but it is thy glory to observe it sacredly for ever PSALM XCIV ARGUMENT This Psalm also wants an inscription in the Hebrew to tell us who was the Authour of it but the later Greeks intitle David to it and call it A Psalm of his for the fourth day of the week which they had as I shewed in the Argument of the foregoing Psalm from the Hebrew Tradition in the Talmud And he hath little acquaintance with the History of David who doth not see that here is an exact description of the Court of Saul who abused their Authority to all manner of oppression and violence especially against David without any fear of God or thought that He would call them to any account for it as he complains in several other Psalms particularly LVII LVIII LIX But it might as well be penned by any other holy man who lived in times of general corruption when as Theodoret expresses it their Kings and their Princes i. e. Judges loved not to be tied to the Law but pronounced unjust sentences and committed murthers selling the bloud of innocents for bribes of whom the Prophet Isaiah sadly complains Ver. 21. of the first Chapter where Ver. 10. he calls them Rulers of Sodom Certain it is the Psalmist whosoever he was desires he may see justice done upon such Atheistical Oppressours and desires good men not to be discouraged under their tyranny but patiently
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
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
welcome that day and meet the Lord with forward affection who is coming to them For he comes to reform the earth and will govern mankind by righteous and mercifull Laws and faithfully keep his word with all those that truly observe them PSALM XCVII ARGUMENT Some of the Hebrews conceive as I observed upon Psalm XC that Moses was the Authour of this as well as the rest of these Psalms which want an Inscription And indeed he excelled in this faculty of composing Hymns as we learn from Exod. XV. and Deut. XXXII and might upon some other occasion as well as the overthrow of Pharaoh in the red Sea make a Song of triumph after some of those great victories which God gave them over their enemies Which was a thing in use before his time as it appears by the fragments of ancient Songs recorded in his Books particularly that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 made by some Poet among the Amorites after Sihon had taken Heshbon from the Moabites to whom it formerly belonged wherein they triumph over their God Chemosh as unable to deliver his worshippers XXI Numb 27 c. And if we could be sure this Psalm was made by Moses I should think it to have been composed after the Israelites had conquered Sihon and his Land over whom they triumphed as he had done over the former possessours of that Country But the Psalm seems so plainly to have been composed in pursuance of what was said in the foregoing Psalm that the Lord reigneth and is King not onely over Israel but all the earth that one cannot but think they had the same Authour who shews the truth of that by the illustrious Victories which God as their King had given them over all those that opposed them For the eighth verse makes it manifest that this Psalm hath respect to some Conquests they had lately made over the heathen which I suppose were no other then those which David won over divers Nations not long after 1 Chron. XVIII 1. he had brought the Ark to Sion and delivered the foregoing Hymn to be sung to put the Israelites in hope and their enemies in fear of the great things which would insue upon this special presence of God among them Which moved the Greeks to call this A Psalm of David after his Land was restored unto him that is after he was made Master of all those Countries which God anciently designed to be the inheritance of Israel For that it should relate to the restoring his Kingdom to him after Absaloms rebellion is not probable because the mention of Idolaters and of their gods Ver. 7. seem to determine it to other Countries In the subduing of which God it is likely fought for them by some such tempest as we reade of 2 Sam. V. 20 21 24. whereby their enemies Armies were shatâ—ered and so terrified that they not onely fled but left their images behind them such was their haste and gave the Israelites an easie Victory over them But whatever was the carnal sense it belongs in the diviner meaning to Christ's triumph over the grave and all the powers of darkness at his Resurrection and Ascension to his throne in heaven as appears by those words which the Apostle to the Hebrews alledges out of the seventh verse and applies to Christ's royal power and authority over Angels Which the Hebrew Doctours themselves as Kimchi confesses take to be there intended and may be further justified from that exposition which we meet withall in Midrasch Tanchuma of the words of the Prophet Isaiah LII 13. Behold my servant shall prosper He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high This is the King Messiah says that gloss who shall be exalted above Abraham and extolled above Moses and be very high above the Angels of the Ministry 1. THe LORD reigneth let the earth rejoice let the multitude of Isles be glad thereof 1. THE Lord it is manifest is the Sovereign of the world under whose happy Government not onely we and they who are already become subject to Him in other places ought to rejoice but the most distant Countries have the greatest reason to be glad thereof 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne 2. His Majesty is most dreadfull and hath appeared in great terrour against those that oppose Him whom as he will not wrong so He will certainly punish for He maintains his Authority and supports his Government by doing exact and equal justice 3. A fire goeth before him and burneth up his enemies round about 3. Let none therefore resist Him for flames of fire proceedâ— from his presence which make the battel too hot for his enemies who can turn no way but they feel them flashing in their faces 4. His lightnings enlightned the world the earth saw and trembled 4. It was his thunder and lightning the brightness of which the world lately saw and were so amazed that shivering pains took hold upon them as upon a woman in her travail 5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD at the presence of the LORD of the whole earth 5. The hearts of the stoutest Kings and Captains failed them and melted like wax before the fire at this terrible appearance of the Lord at the appearance of Him whose dominion extends over all the earth 6. The heavens declare his righteousness and all the people see his glory 6. For He is the Lord of the heavens which have declared by this dreadfull tempest excited by his Angelical Ministers his severity against his enemies and made all the people sensible of the incomparable splendour of his Majesty 7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images that boast themselves of idols worship him all ye gods 7. Which may well make them all ashamed and they shall be confounded by Him if they will not renounce their errours who worship graven Images though of gold and silver 2 Sam. V. 21. and boast themselves in vain gods who can doe nothing for them Let all that are called gods whether Princes on earth or Angels in heaven bow down to Him as the onely Saviour 1. Heb. 6. and acknowledge his supreme authority over them all 8. Sion heard and was glad and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments O LORD 8. Jerusalem the mother City hath received the news of thy Victories with a joyfull heart after whose example all the other Cities of Judah are exceeding glad O Lord because Thou hast judged righteously in destroying our idolatrous enemies and defending thy faithfull servants 9. For thou LORD art high above all the earth thou art exalted far above all gods 9. Whose hearts are filled with the greater joy because Thou O Lord hast manifested thy self hereby to be the supreme and onely Potentate who rulest over all the earth and art infinitely superiour to all that have the name of gods 10. Ye that love the LORD hate evil he preserveth the
enemies that invade us not that we may grow more famous no we have no thoughts of the glory that will accrue to our selves thereby but that thy Divine Majesty may be honoured and thy goodness and faithfulness to thy promises be made the more illustrious 2. Wherefore should the heathen say Where is now their God 2. What a sad thing will it be to hear the Nations that surround us insult not so much over us as over Thee saying what is become of their God in whom they trusted If He be so powerfull as they boast why doth He not deliver them 3. But our God is in the heavens he hath done whatsoever he pleased 3. Let them know that Thou art infinitely superiour to them and all their gods being the possessour of the heavens as well as the earth 2 Chron. XX. 6. whom no power of theirs can hurt or so much as restrain but art able to doe whatsoever Thou pleasest for their confusion and for our deliverance 4. Their idols are silver and gold the work of mens hands 4. Their Idols cannot hinder it in the least who are of no more value then the silver and gold of which they are made and are so far from being the makers of things that they themselves are the work of those that adore them 5. They have mouths but they speak not eyes have they but they see not 5. They are mere lifeless Images that have mouths but cannot give a word of advice or of incouragement and comfort to their supplicants and eyes also but cannot see the devotion wherewith they look up unto them or prostrate themselves before them 6. They have ears but they hear not noses have they but they smell not 6. Let their worshippers cry to them never so loudly they cannot hear a word All the Frankincense and sweet Odours which they burn to them are merely lost for they cannot smell them 7. They have hands but they handle not feet have they but they walk not neither speak they through their throat 7. Though they have thunderbolts in their hands they feel them not nor are able to doe either good or harm They cannot stir a foot from the place where they stand unless they be carried nor make so much noise as a fly being utterly void of breath as well as of sense and reason 8. They that make them are like unto them so is every one that trusteth in them 8. To what then but to those Idols shall we compare the makers of them and such as confide in them who are mere Images of men having eyes but do not see that the brutes are more excellent then such gods and that the least help is not to be expected from them 9. O Israel trust thou in the LORD he is their help and their shield 9. O ye Israelites who by the Divine Favour are better instructed repose that confidence in the eternal Lord which they do in those Vanities And He will not onely protect and defend you against all the assaults of your enemies but help you to overcome them 2 Chron. XX. 9. 10. O house of Aaron trust in the LORD he is their help and their shield 10. O ye Priests and Levites do you above all others rely upon that eternal Lord whose praise you sing and to whom you offer continual Sacrifice For He will never fail not onely to protect but to assist all such as piously confide in Him 11. Ye that fear the LORD trust in the LORD he is their help and their shield 11. And let all that fear the Lord and devoutly worship Him of whatsoever Nation they be place the like confidence in his Almighty Goodness For He will never forsake those that depend on Him alone though they be not of the seed of Abraham but defend them also in all dangers and aid them against all their enemies 12. The LORD hath been mindfull of us he will bless us he will bless the house of Israel he will bless the house of Aaron 12. We have had abundant experience of his care over us in all ages and therefore though now for the present our enemies afflict us yet let us believe that the Lord will doe us good and bless us with a glorious deliverance All the house of Israel shall see how kind He is especially they that minister unto Him in his holy Temple 13. He will bless them that fear the LORD both small and great 13. And He will not forget those pious Proselytes that are come to worship Him there as the onely God but without any respect of persons give them his blessing also which shall not be denied either to old or young to rich or poor 14. The LORD shall increase you more and more you and your children 14. Nor will He grant you onely a single blessing by sending a present deliverance but heap his benefits and multiply his mercies upon you and upon all those that shall succeed you 15. You are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth 15. Ye are a happy people who live under the care and love and benediction of that mighty Lord whose power nothing can confine for He is not made like the Gentile gods but Himself created both the Heaven and the Earth 16. The heaven even the heavens are the LORD's but the earth hath he given to the children of men 16. In which He cannot be comprehended neither for his Empire extends further then you can see to the heavens which are above these visible heavens from whence his Providence reaches down even to us the children of men whom He hath placed upon this earth to admire and praise his infinite Majesty 17. The dead praise not the LORD neither any that go down into silence 17. And therefore will not suffer us to be rooted out as our enemies design 2 Chron. XX. 11. for then the earth would have none in it to sing his praises which the dead who dwell in the silent grave cannot celebrate 18. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore Praise the LORD 18. But will continue us still alive that we may praise the Lord and speak good of his Name as we do at this time 2 Chron. XX. 21 22. and leave those to succeed us who shall continue his praises in all future generations to the worlds end Hallelujah Praise the Lord. PSALM CXVI ARGUMENT I do not understand the reason why Theodoret applies this Psalm to the times of Antiochus Epiphanes when it agrees so exactly to the condition of David in his flight from his Son Absalom which seems to be mentioned Ver. 11. when Ahitophel and others proved very false to him and he had little or nothing to depend upon but onely the Goodness of the Almighty who was pleased to plead his cause and deliver him For which he resolved to be very thankfull and to call all his Friends to rejoice with him as I have expressed it Ver. 13. where the first
pleasant and praise is comely 1. LET all the Nations praise the Lord who will send us new benefits when we are truly thankfull to Him our great Benefactour for the old For it is a thing highly acceptable to Him as well as delightfull to those who are imployed therein and best becomes us of all other things there being nothing so decent as to see men gratefull to Him that hath obliged them 2. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel 2. To which we stand bound above all other men for the Lord hath not onely delivered us out of a sad Captivity but in spite of all the opposition our enemies have made to it IV. Ezra 12. hath raised Jerusalem out of its ruines whereby He invites the rest of our Brethren who remain behind to return to their own Country from whence they are expelled 3. He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds 3. He comforts us after our long sorrows which had in a manner broken our heart with grief and sadness and hath in some measure repaired our breaches which like a festering wound indangered the life of our Nation 4. He telleth the number of the stars he calleth them all by their names 4. Whom He knows how to gather out of all their dispersions and to find every one of them wheresoever they are though as numerous as the stars of heaven XV. Gen. 5. which He as distinctly and exactly understands how confusedly soever they seem to us to be scattered in the skie as we do those things which we call by their proper names 5. Great is our Lord and of great power his understanding is infinite 5. Let us not despair of it for nothing is impossible with our Lord and Governour who is not like earthly Kings that rule over a few petty Provinces but the great Sovereign of the whole world whose power and wisedom are so unlimited that He is able to doe whatsoever He pleases and knows how to compass whatsoever He designs 6. The LORD lifteth up the meek he casteth the wicked down to the ground 6. And doth not because He is so great despise the afflicted but if they meekly commit themselves to his care will raise them up to a better condition and throw down the mightiest Princes that proudly oppress them as low as the very ground 7. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving sing praise upon the harp unto our God 7. Celebrate therefore with your thankfull Songs you cannot make a less return unto Him this infinite Power and Wisedom and Goodness Begin now with the usual Instruments of Musick to sing Hymns of praise unto our God for all his benefits 8. Who covereth the heaven with clouds who prepareth rain for the earth who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains 8. Particularly for the great plenty He hath given us by his almighty Goodness II. Haggai 1. which shews it self first in raising vapours from the earth and then turning them into clouds wherewith He covers the face of heaven and then bringing forth rain out of those clouds which He sends back to the earth again and makes not onely the green pastures but the parched mountains and desart places become fruitfull 9. He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens which cry 9. By which wonderfull Providence He provides food even for the wild goats and suck like beasts that live upon the top of craggy rocks For He neglects not the vilest creatures but satisfies the hunger of the young ravens though it be so ravenous that they are continually crying for new supplies 10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man 10. Let us not doubt then but He that takes care of crows will much more take care of us and not be afraid though we are of little force IV. Nehem. 3 4. VII 4. and have no armies of horse and foot to defend us For the Lord who fights for us IV. Nehem. 20. hath no need of these and will not take part with our enemies because they are superiour to us in the strength of their horses and the nimbleness of their souldiers 11. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him in those that hope in his mercy 11. But delights to give those his assistance and protection who worshipping Him devoutly fear to offend Him and having no help in themselves nor any earthly refuge to fly unto depend notwithstanding with a stedfast faith on his infinite mercy 12. Praise the LORD O Jerusalem praise thy God O Sion 12. Praise the Lord O ye inhabitants of Jerusalem sing joyfull Hymns unto your God O ye people of Sion XII Nehem. 27 31 40 43. who have seen this truth abundantly demonstrated in your days 13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates he hath blessed thy children within thee 13. For He hath made this City which was lately without Walls and Gates so strong a place that no enemy dare assualt it VI. Nehem. 15 16. and hath increased the number of thy Citizens which were but few VII Nehem. 4. XI 1 2. by the manifold blessings He hath poured on them 14. He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat 14. Which are not confined within the Walls of that City but He hath settled all the Country in peace no enemy appearing to infest thy borders and to disturb the husbandmen in their labours which have produced so rich a crop that plentifull provision is made for all our satisfaction 15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth his word runneth very swiftly 15. This we ought to ascribe to his mercifull Providence who shews by the fruitfull seasons He sends after all things seem to be killed by a hard winter that He doth not intend by our affliction to destroy us and that He can easily bring all our Brethren hither who remain still in Captivity For when He would have any alteration made in the earth it is done as speedily as we can speak 16. He giveth snow like wooll he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes 16. He sends for instance a sudden cold which sometimes turns the moist vapours in the air into flakes of snow to cover the earth as with a fleece of wool and defend the corn from the biting winds and sometimes into hoary frost which He gently scatters and straws like ashes upon the earth 17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels who can stand before his cold 17. And sometimes congeals them into ice which He breaks into bits and throws down in violent hail accompanied with such extremity of cold that neither man nor beast nor the fishes in the ponds and rivers are able long to endure it 18. He sendeth out his word and melteth them he causeth his wind to blow and the waters flow 18. But then to prevent the hurt that might insue by its continuance He issues forth
their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses 28. And yet when in the midst of this great strait they make their addresses to the Lord with earnest prayers for his protection He is graciously pleased to hear their cry and to free them from that anguish of mind which sorely oppresses them 29. He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still 29. For He silences the blustring wind and makes so great a calm that the swelling waves lie quiet and still 30. Then are they glad because they be quiet so he bringeth them unto their desired haven 30. Which happy change turns their fear into joy when they see not onely the storm appeased but gentle gales arising to carry them directly to the port for which they are bound 31. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness and for his wonderfull works to the children of men 31. O that they who are thus unexpectedly preserved would never forget to make their thankfull acknowledgments to the Lord for this singular kindness But every where proclaim what wonders He hath done for them 32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people and praise him in the assembly of the elders 32. Let them magnifie his power and goodness in the greatest assemblies of the people especially in his Temple Let them praise Him in the supreme Court of the Kingdom that the Judges and Governours may be excited to make Him their trust and confidence 33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness and the water-springs into dry ground 33. Who turns well watered Countries into a mere wilderness and makes moist and fertil soils become dry and barren ground 34. A fruitfull land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein 34. Where none of those fruits will grow which before it plentifully yielded because of the ill disposition of the inhabitants who produce nothing but all manner of vice and wickedness 35. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water and dry ground into water-springs 35. And on the other side He turns a barren desart for none of these things come by chance into rich and fruitfull pastures and sends such plenty of water into dry and sandy grounds 36. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell that they may prepare a city for habitation 36. That there they who lived wretchedly before find a comfortable habitation and are invited to build Towns and Cities in those formerly desolate places 37. And sow the fields and plant vineyards which may yield fruits of increase 37. Where they sow all manner of grain and plant vineyards which recompense their pains with a plentifull harvest and a joyfull vintage 38. He blesseth them also so that they are multiplied greatly and suffereth not their cattel to decrease 38. His blessing also makes the inhabitants fruitfull as well as their ground they grow exceeding populous together with their flocks and their herds which by the increase of people are not diminished 39. Again they are minished and brought low through oppression affliction and sorrow 39. But when they prove ungratefull to Him He quite alters the course of his Providence and on a sudden sends some grievous pestilence which lessens their numbers or lays them low by tyrannical oppressours into whose hands He delivers them by dearth and other calamities which make them pine away in grief and sorrow 40. He poureth contempt upon princes and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way 40. Their Princes and the most eminent persons in their Country are not able to preserve themselves from contempt and scorn To which they are so openly exposed that they who had troops of followers and attendants are utterly deserted and forced to walk in solitary places to hide their shame without any means that they can see to recover their thrones out of which they are disgracefully thrown 41. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction and maketh him families like a flock 41. Which he bestows upon some poor despicable person whom from a low condition He raises to the highest dignity and gives him a very numerous istue to maintain and continue the honour He hath conferred on him 42. The righteous shall see it and rejoice and all iniquity shall stop her mouth 42. Which is a great incouragement to the righteous who herein behold with joy the wise and just providence of Almighty God But gives the wicked who under those bad Princes were insolent and full of proud boasts such a rebuke that they hang down their heads and are confour dedly put to silence 43. Whoso is wise and will observe those things even they shall understand the loving kindness of the LORD 43. And therefore whosoever will be truly wise ought to mark and ponder such passages as these in the Divine Government that they may make others who are less considerate understand how very kind and gracious the Lord is to those who study to please Him and to obtain his favour by dutifull obedience and humble submission to Him PSALM CVIII A Song or Psalm of David ARGUMENT The Title tells us this Song-Psalm see the reason of this name upon Psal LXVII was made by David and was placed here as I conjecture because now he was in a hopefull way to perfect some Victories which he had begun to win whereby some of those Captives in strange Lands mentioned Ver. 2. and 3. of the foregoing Psalm were rescued and set at liberty What those Nations were over whom he was about to triumph see in the Title of Psalm LX For the latter part of this Psalm from Ver. 6. to the end is the very same with some light variations with the eight last Verses of that As the former part of it is very little different from the five last Verses of Psalm LVII Which the Psalmist I suppose here placed instead of those wherewith the LX. begins though he retains all the latter end of it because now as I said he had made some progress in those Wars which he was but entring upon when he made that LX. Psalm And therefore here he begins with thanks to God for his mercy as there he laments the ill condition wherein he found the affairs of the Kingdom when he came to the Crown 1. O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise even with my glory 1. MY heart is ready O most gracious God it is firmly resolved to give Thee most solemn thanks My tongue also wherewith I ought to glorifie Thee shall sing of thy Goodness and with all the expressions of joy set forth thy praise 2. Awake psaltery and harp I my self will awake early 2. Nor shall any of the instruments of Musick be silent but accompany my Hymns which I will sing unto Thee so early that I will prevent the rising of the Sun 3. I will praise thee O LORD among the people and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations
3. Nor will I merely make Thee my private acknowledgments but publish thy praise in the greatest assemblies of thy people among whom this Song shall be sung yea other Nations shall reade therein how thankfull I am for what Thou hast begun to doe for us 4. For thy mercy is great above the heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds 4. For it is fit my thankfulness should be as boundless as thy mercy which infinitely transcends all my expressions and hath nothing equal to it but thy faithfulness and truth 5. Be thou exalted O God above the heavens and thy glory above all the earth 5. Be Thou more and more exalted in these O God and raise to thy self thereby the highest praises spread the fame of them every where that Thou mayest be glorified throughout the world 6. That thy beloved may be delivered save with thy right hand and answer me 6. Especially now I beseech Thee to grant my humble petitions that by thy mighty power accompanying my Arms I may be an instrument of delivering thy beloved people from their Oppressours 7. God hath spoken in his holiness I will rejoice I will divide Shechem and mete out the valley of Succoth 7. Why should I doubt of it and not rather rejoice in assured hope of a perfect Victory since God who is most holy and cannot lie hath said He will deliver them by my hand 2 Sam. III. 18. and hath already put me in possession as He also promised Ver. 2. of all the Country about Samaria which I will distribute under such Officers as I think fit to set over them 8. Gilead is mine Manasseh is mine Ephraim also is the strength of mine head Judah is my lawgiver 8. Gilead also and Manasseh who were lately under another King 2 Sam. II. 9. have submitted themselves to me and so hath the of Ephraim which is a main support of my Authority These and all the rest of the Tribes of Israel are united to the royal Tribe of Judah which according to the prophecy of our Forefather XLIX Gen. 10. supplies me with wise and able men to administer the Laws and order the affairs of my Kingdom 9. Moab is my washpot over Edom will I cast out my shoe over Philistia will I triumph 9. Which shall now extend it self beyond the bounds of this Country for I will tread the Moabites under my feet and reduce them to the vilest servitude 2 Sam. VIII 2. I will trample also upon the Edomites and make them my slaves Ib. Verse 14. the Philistines also whom I have begun to smite 2 Sam. V. 17 c. 22. shall add to my Triumphs and be forced to submit unto me as their conquering Lord 2 Sam. VIII 1. 10. Who will bring me into the strong city who will lead me into Edom 10. These are difficult things indeed and I may well ask when I consider how potent these Nations are by what power or force I shall be able to enter that strongly fenced City in the frontiers of their Country Who is it that will conduct me into Idumaea and make me Master of it 11. Wilt not thou O God who hast cast us off and wilt not thou O God go forth with our hosts 11. But I can soon answer my self For why should I despair of thy presence with us O God of all power and might who formerly indeed didst reject us and forsake the conduct of our Armies 1 Sam. XXXI 1 7. but now I hope wilt graciously aid us and make us victorious 12. Give us help from trouble for vain is the help of man 12. Do not frustrate these hopes but afford us thy help against the Syrians also 2 Sam. VIII 5. now that they distress us for no humane force is able to deliver us nor have we any confidence in it but in Thee alone 13. Through God we shall doe valiantly for he it is that shall tread down our enemies 13. By whose assistance we will behave our selves couragiously and doe valiant Acts For God will utterly rout our Enemies and tread them down like the mire in the streets PSALM CIX To the chief Musician A Psalm of David ARGUMENT Most Interpreters consent to the opinion of Aben Ezra and D. Kimchi that David to whom the Title ascribes this Psalm hath respect here in the first place to the grievous persecution which he suffered by Saul and some of his Court who would let him enjoy no rest but having driven him from his own house pursued him so close wheresoever they heard he was that he could have no certain dwelling but became like a Locust as he speaks Verse 23. which having no nest as Bochartus observes P. II. L. IV. de Animal sac cap. 2. leaps or flies from hedge to hedge as he did from place to place To provoke Saul to this rage against him as they all loaded him with many calumnies which made David curse them to Saul's face 1 Sam. XXVI 10. so one especially among the rest who is generally thought to be Doeg the Edomite was notoriously guilty of this wickedness whom by a prophetical Spirit he here most solemnly curses in a direfull manner and pronounces the heaviest judgment upon him and his Family his inhumane villany being so great that it made him an exact picture of the Traitour Judas to whom the Apostle Saint Peter I. Act. 20. applies the eighth Verse of this Psalm The rest of which is spent in Prayer to God against such false accusers and in vows of the Praises he would give Him when he was delivered from the mischief which thereby they designed to him Accordingly when he was settled in his Throne he sent this Psalm among others unto the Master of Musick in the Tabernacle to perpetuate the memory of God's mercy to him Concerning such Imprecations as we here meet withall see the Argument of Psalm XXXV which is of the same nature with this 1. HOld not thy peace O God of my praise 1. O God the supreme Judge of the world who as Thou hast given me hitherto continual cause to praise Thee so I hope wilt still vindicate my honour I appeal unto thy Majesty beseeching Thee to declare thy self on my side and make it appear that I am innocent 2. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitfull are opened against me they have spoken against me with a lying tongue 2. For men of no conscience have taken the liberty to invent the most mischievous lies of me whereby though they always spake me fair to my face they have wickedly traduced me to Saul behind my back 3. They compassed me about also with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause 3. And spread those false reports so diligently that I find they have made me odious every where and thereupon without any provocation from me have levied war against me to take away my life 1 Sam. XXIII 8 25. 4. For my love they are my adversaries but I
Him the proper object of our confidence in all conditions The vulgar Latin and the present Greek intitle it to Haggai and Zachariah but there is no such thing in the Hebrew nor in other ancient Interpreters nor in the LXX in the Hexaplus as Theodoret tells us And we might rather think it not unlikely to have been composed by David when Saul who at first had a great kindness for him afterward turned his most bitter enemy were it not for one word viz. the mention of Sion which was not then in David's possession This it is possible inclined those that made the foregoing Title to think it was not composed till after-times and they could find none so likely as that after the Captivity when they soon found it was in vain to rely upon the favour of Princes some of which hindred the building of the Temple as much as Cyrus at the first had furthered it I shall not trouble the Reader with any other conjectures but onely note that the eighth Verse was most exactly and literally fulfilled in our Lord Christ when he came to give Salvation to us 1. PRaise ye the LORD Praise the LORD O my soul 1. STir up thy self O my Soul to give the Lord who gave Being to all things those affectionate praises which are due unto Him 2. While I live will I praise the LORD I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being 2. The best resolution Thou canst make is this I will praise the Lord all my life long and never cease to give thanks unto my God who never ceases to bestow his benefits on me 3. Put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in whom there is no help 3. And let all mankind if they would be happy preserve his favour by being gratefull to Him and not with the neglect of his service court the favour of Princes and settle upon them their dependance For the greatest King on earth though never so just never so bountifull as well as rich and powerfull is still but a man who cannot be present every where when we are in danger nor be able always to help us in our greatest needs 4. His breath goeth forth he returneth to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish 4. For there is a time when he cannot help himself nor by the whole power of his Empire keep his soul from leaving his body nay a small accident may carry him away suddenly and then a clod of earth can do as much as he and whatsoever designs and projects he had laid for any mans preferment suppose they all die together with him 5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help whose hope is in the LORD his God 5. He and he alone is the truly happy man who expects help from the mighty God by whom Jacob was fed all his life long XLVIII Gen. 15. who trusts to Him that is Lord of the World and hath made Him his Friend so much that he can call Him his God 6. Which made heaven and earth the sea and all that therein is which keepeth truth for ever 6. For as He never dies so there can be no defect in his power nor want of his presence in every place the heavens the earth and the sea and all that is in them being his own works and as nothing can hinder Him from doing what He pleases so He will never alter his mind nor go back with his word but faithfully keep his promises for ever with those that rely upon them 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed which giveth food to the hungry the LORD looseth the prisoners 7. There are innumerable instances of the carefull Providence of this great King who doth not slight or forget the cries of his grieved Subjects but in due time asserts the right of those who are oppressed and can find no relief in other Courts of Judgment He supplies also the needs of poor hungry wretches who are ready to famish and is so gracious a Lord that He sets them at liberty who by unjust or pitiless men have been held in miserable Captivity 8. The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down the LORD loveth the righteous 8. The Lord sends help when there are no hopes of humane cure for He restores sight to the blind as we shall see most remarkably when the Lord Christ appears and lifts up those who are bowed together by tedious weaknesses XIII Luke 11. or crusht under other insupportable burthens and above all the Lord delights to doe good to them who have done good to others 9. The LORD preserveth the strangers he relieveth the fatherless and widow but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down 9. The friendless strangers are preserved by the Lord from those injuries which men are apt to doe them when they commit themselves to his protection And so do the disconsolate Widows and Fatherless Children find support and relief from Him against the injustice and violence of their wicked oppressours whose designs and practices He utterly confoundeth 10. The LORD shall reign for ever even thy God O Sion unto all generations Praise ye the LORD 10. Be of good comfort then O ye inhabitants of Sion who sincerely worship this great Lord that doeth all these wondrous things For his power and authority never fails but from age to age will ever succour those pious souls who are destitute of humane help therefore praise perpetually this everlasting King PSALM CXLVII Hallelujah See CXLVI ARGUMENT Saint Chrysostome and Theodoret think this Psalm hath respect to the return of the Jewish Nation from the Captivity of Babylon and the instauration of Jerusalem which followed upon it And the second and thirteenth Verses may well incline us to be of the opinion that it was made by some holy man at that time Haggai or Zachariah some ancient Interpreters imagin or rather Nehemiah who built the Walls and set up the Gates especially if we observe that there are some phrases in it which savour of the Chaldaean language And though this can be no more then a conjecture yet it is very certain and evident that in that deliverance God gave such illustrious proofs of his power wisedom mercy and justice as the Psalmist here exhorts the people to celebrate with their thankfull praises I shall follow it therefore in my Paraphrase it being reasonable to suppose that devout persons would be as forward to acknowledge the wonderfull Providence of God in their restauration as they were to bewail which they do Ps CXXXVII the ruin of their Country and that posterity would be no less carefull to preserve what was composed in memory of the one then they had been to continue the memory of the other And there is no Hymn we can find so sutable to that occasion as this 1. PRaise ye the LORD for it is good to sing praises unto our God for it is