shall not befall thee 13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet 13. No shouldst thou come among Serpents Asps and Dragons with all the rest of those venemous sort of Creatures they shall not be able to doe thee hurt but thou shalt victoriously trample upon them and triumph over them X. Luk. 19. XVI Mark 18. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me therefore will I deliver him I will set him on high because he hath known my name 14. For so hath the Lord declared his will and pleasure to be when He gave commission to his Angels concerning me saying Because he heartily loves Me and delights in Me therefore will I deliver him from all present danger and raise him above the reach of all future because he hath acknowledged Me to be the onely safe refuge and relied on My power for his protection 15. He shall call upon me and I will answer him I will be with him in trouble I will deliver him and honour him 15. I will grant him all his petitions especially when he is in any distress I will be present with him to afford him sutable comfort and not onely preserve him from perishing but after a happy deliverance make him great and illustrious 16. With long life will I satisfie him and shew him my salvation 16. And more then that he shall have the satisfaction of injoying his honour to a great old Age and when his strength fails him I will not but still give him evident proofs of my care of him and kindness towards him PSALM XCII A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath-day ARGUMENT If Adam had made this Psalm presently after he was created in the evening of the Sabbath which is a Rabbinical fancy mentioned in the Midrash upon this place sure it would have been set in this fourth Book of Psalms before that of Moses who may more probably be conceived to have composed it to raise the hearts of the Israelites to the proper business of the Sabbath-day which was to praise God when they meditated upon his wonderfull works not onely of Creation but of Providence in the government of the world Several instances of which in rewarding the good and punishing the wicked they themselves had seen since they came out of Egypt and were to see more when they came into the Land of Canaan to keep their Sabbath or rest there after their long travels in the Deserts with respect to which some thing Moses might call this A Psalm for the Sabbath-day But there is no certainty of these things or rather it is certain that neither of these conjectures are true For as Adam in Paradise had no enemies to rise up against him nor was troubled with any workers of iniquity such as we reade of Ver. 7 11. and there were no Psalteries Harps and Instruments of Musick then made which Moses himself tells us were found out by Jubal so those Instruments were not imployed in the service of God till the days of David who may therefore more reasonably be thought to have made this Psalm for the Sabbath then either of the other after God had given him such Rest round about from all his enemies 2 Sam. VII 1. that he concluded he should be able to subdue those who should hereafter adventure to oppose him such as those mentioned in the following Chapters 2 Sam. VIII X. 1. IT is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD and to sing praises unto thy name O most High 1. NOW is the proper season to give thanks unto the Lord for all the benefits we have received from Him and it is no less delightfull then it is profitable to sing Hymns in the praise of the Divine perfections which infinitely transcend all that can be said or thought of them 2. To shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night 2. This is the sweetest imployment in the morning and no entertainment equal to it at night to commemorate and declare to all how bountifull Thou art and how faithfull in performing thy promises to those who depend on thy Almighty Goodness 3. Vpon an instrument of ten strings and upon the psaltery upon the harp with a solemn sound 3. Which ought to be celebrated with a full Consort not onely of our chearfull Voices but of all the Instruments of Musick 4. For thou LORD hast made me glad through thy work I will triumph in the works of thy hands 4. For all are too little O Lord to express the joy I have in the acts of thy Providence by whom as the world was made so it is still governed it ravishes my spirit and makes me shout for joy to think how excellently Thou orderest and disposest all things 5. O LORD how great are thy works and thy thoughts are very deep 5. Whose administration though I cannot fully comprehend yet I admire and applaud the astonishing greatness of thy works and reverence the unsearchable depth of thy counsels and designs 6. A bruitish man knoweth not neither doth a fool understand this 6. Of which a stupid man who looks not beyond his senses is so wholly ignorant that seeing himself and other such like fools prosper and thrive while better men are in trouble and affliction He presently concludes Thou dost not meddle in our affairs but leavest all to chance For he doth not understand so much as this secret 7. When the wicked spring as the grass and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish it is that they shall be destroyed for ever 7. That when the lewdest men grow rich high and powerfull and their interest is such that by their means all the workers of iniquity and few other men are promoted the reason is because nothing in this world is of any great value nor of any long continuance but after they have flourished a while in an empty glory they shall be cut down like grass and which is more never rise up again 8. But thou LORD art most high for evermore 8. And that Thou who rulest all things though far out of their sight canst as well punish or reward men hereafter as at present being the eternal Lord. 9. For lo thine enemies O LORD for lo thine enemies shall perish all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered 9. Who shewest Thou dost not intend to let the wicked escape though now they flourish for Thou hast begun already to give thy enemies who have long prospered a remarkable defeat they have received such a notable blow that I am confident they shall perish and all their partakers though never so numerous and strongly linkt together be dispersed and utterly destroyed 10. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn I shall be anointed with fresh oil 10. But my power and authority Thou shalt raise to a formidable height and crown that dignity with such undisturbed joy and pleasure as shall
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
thou art there 8. If I could get up into the highest part of heaven I should not be out of thy reach or go down and lie in the lowest depth of the earth I should find Thee still as near unto me 9. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea 9. If I could move as swiftly as the light of the rising Sun and in an instant flie from hence and take up my dwelling in the remotest parts of the world 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me 10. I should not be a jot the further from Thee without whom as I could not get thither so I should be still subject to thy Government and beholden to thy Providence to support me there 11. If I say Surely the darkness shall cover me even the night shall be light about me 11. If I should have such a thought as this in my mind that though Thou art present every where yet in the dark I may lie undiscovered by Thee it would be very foolish For when the Sun is gone down all that is in me is as apparent unto Thee as if it were noon day 12. Yea the darkness hideth not from thee but the night shineth as the day the darkness and the light are both alike to thee 12. The darkness cannot conceal any thing from Thee who being the Fountain of light feest as well in the blackest night as in the brightest day the night and the day the most open and the most covert practices are equally clear unto thy view 13. For thou hast possessed my reins thou hast covered me in my mothers womb 13. For my very thoughts and what is there more abstruse then they my most retired thoughts and contrivances and my most secret desires are apparent to Thee whose I am and by whom I was wrapt up in those skins which inclosed me in my mothers womb then which there is nothing more hidden and dark 14. I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well 14. Yet there such is thy stupendious wisedom which I will never cease to praise and thankfully acknowledge I was I know not how in such a wonderfull manner formed that the thoughts of it strike me with astonishment thy operations in that work are most admirable and of that I am exceeding sensible but I can say no more for they are incomprehensible 15. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth 15. Though I was made in so secret a place yet not the least joint in my body was concealed from thy eyes but I received from Thee there where no more light can come then there doth into the lowest depths of the earth such a comely distinction of parts and variety of powers that no embroidery can be so curiously wrought 16. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect and in thy book all my members were written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them 16. For when the matter out of which I was made was without any form it was visible to Thee how every muscle vein and artery with all the rest of my body should be wrought out of the pattern of them which was in thy mind and accordingly in time when there was not so much as one of them they were all fashioned for the several uses to which they are designed and not the smallest of them omitted or left imperfect 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me O God! how great is the sum of them 17. How invaluable also and incomprehensible O God I am not able to express the high and gratefull sense I have of it is thy tender care and providence which Thou hast exercised over me ever since I was born All the secret passages of it amount to such a summe that I am not able to give an account of them 18. If I should count them they are mo in number then the sand when I wake I am still with thee 18. When I attempt to reckon how many they are I find that I may as well undertake to number the sand For though I continue the whole day in this employment and after a nights rest begin again the next morning to think how numerous thy mercies are I am still as far as ever from seeing any end of them 19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked O God depart from me therefore ye bloudy men 19. Which makes me consident O God Thou wilt not now desert me but rather destroy that wicked man CXL 1. who forgetting thy allseeing eye regards not by what means he plots my ruin And therefore it will be best for you all O ye men of bloud who have slain the Priests of the Lord 1 Sam. XXII 18. and now thirst after my life to make your retreat and desist from persecuting me any further 20. For they speak against thee wickedly and thine enemies take thy name in vain 20. For it is not so much me that they persecute as Vertue and Piety to which though they are not open yet they are the most dangerous enemies because they make it serve their wicked ends having godly pretences for their doing mischief and not sticking so little belief have they of thy Omniscience to call Thee to witness the truth of their lies and calumnies 21. Do not I hate them O LORD that hate thee and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee 21. And have I not reason then O Lord to hate those who have such an inveterate hatred unto Thee and to take the greatest distaste to them that oppose themselves so industriously to thy holy Laws 22. I hate them with perfect hatred I count them mine enemies 22. I detest them with all my heart and as their impiety is the onely cause of it so I cannot loathe them more then I do but declare my self upon that account to be their utter enemy 23. Search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts 23. If I have any other ground of my enmity or am guilty of so much as designing any evil to them merely because they have done so much evil to me I desire to find it out and submit my self to the severest trials which may discover to me any such thought that lurketh in my heart 24. And see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting 24. For I would not continue in such a pernicious course But if in any thing I doe I intend them any hurt or so much as to be grievous to them my humble request is either that I may not live or live more exactly by the unchangeable rules of righteousness sincerity and truth PSALM CXL To the chief Musician A Psalm of David ARGUMENT There is no